World War II Maneuvers

The war games lasted from September 1942 to March 1944, and nearly one million soldiers passed through the area. The army saw in the Cumberland River and the hills around it a likeness to the Rhine and Western Europe, with Nashville standing in for Cherbourg. Lebanon was headquarters and Nashville the main railhead. Maneuvers paused at noon on Thursday or Friday, when a plane sounded a siren, and thousands of soldiers headed for towns, where cafes and theaters were packed and churches opened lounges and schools held weekend dances.

What the plaque says

World War II Maneuvers Macon was one of 22 Tennessee host counties for World War II maneuvers before the invasion of Europe in 1944. The county was chosen because its terrain was similar to that in Europe. The war games prepared soldiers for active combat after the invasion. Soldiers were divided into Blue and Red camps to conduct mock drills and battles. On June 15 and 16, 1943, the skies above Brattontown were filled with the 101st Airborne C-47 transport planes and 326th Glider Regiment WACO CG-4A gliders. The flat open ground in the area was ideal for the 502nd and 506th Parachute Infantrymen's glider practice. The prior evening, this same paratrooper unit jumped into Willette in Macon County to draw Red forces in a feinting action.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Red Boiling Springs — 11 mi
  A Macon County spa town built around red sulphur springs, with five kinds of mineral water, red-painted pumps and the surviving hotels of a resort that once held more than a dozen.
• Wynnewood State Historic Site — 17 mi
  A National Historic Landmark log inn at the Bledsoe's Lick springs, beside a Mississippian mound center and tied to the domestic slave trade.

More markers nearby

• William Owen Bradley — 10 mi
• The James DeBow Home — 11 mi
• "The Hartsville Races" — 11 mi
• Captain William Alexander — 11 mi