Troop Staging Camps in France During WW II



After VE Day, the task of moving all of the US Forces from the ETO back to the United States was a huge undertaking. Many staging camps -- tent cities -- sprung up in the areas surrounding the ports of embarkation. The ports of La Harve and Marseille had their share of these camps. Returning soldiers leaving from Germany would usually go through Reims, France, and there were camps located here as well.

The assembley area camps were named after American cities, e.g. Camp Baltimore, Camp Pittsburgh....The staging area camps
were frequently called "cigarette camps", because most of the camps in the Red Horse staging area near Le Harve bore the names
of popular brands of cigarettes.

Here is a link to a page that has information on these camps ... Click HERE