| Summary |
In April 1941, the Middle East Supply Center was established with headquarters at Cairo, Egypt, by the British as a war time measure to see that essential civilian supplies reached the Middle East in sufficient quantity to insure subsistence of that region's 80,000 inhabitants. The problems faced by this new organization were staggering for not only were German and Italian forces knocking on the door of Egypt and threatening the Suez Canal but they had also cut the vital Mediterranean Sea lane. This act forced supplies to be brought in the long way, around the Cape of Good Hope in Africa, a trip of over 12,000 miles or roughly more than one half of the diameter of the earth. In addition every leg of this tremendous journey was made under the constant threat of submarine attack. Moreover, almost all types of commodities had to be imported for the Middle Eastern economy needed imports of all types to survive, even food (Walter R. Sharp, "The Middle East Supply Center," United States Foreign Economic Administration Files--National Archives, (April 20, 1943), p. 1). In the following pages, the story will be retold of the foundation of the Middle East Supply Center, its early history, and some of its accomplishments. In addition, emphasis will be placed on the coming of the Americans into the Middle East and the development of joint Anglo-American co-operation in the Supply Center. But before proceeding into the history of the Middle Hast Supply Center, some background is needed. |
