From Foreword: The Office of the Undersecretary of War was the principal agency of the government responsible for planning the nation's industrial mobilization prior to World War II. The manuscript reprinted herein was written by Dr. Troyer Anderson, the official historian of that office. Dr. Anderson's untimely death in 1948 prevented the completion of the history. Despite its incompleteness, the manuscript contains an abundance of material and interpretations available only through one who was intimately associated with the Undersecretary of War and his office during World War II. It is therefore reproduced in unedited form in order to be immediately useful to those presently concerned with the problems of industrial mobilization -- Office of the Chief of Military History, December 1950.

Prepared for the Office of the Under Secretary of War, 1947 -- Reproduced by the Office of the Chief of Military History, Department of the Army, January 1951.

Foreword -- Introduction -- The Assistant Secretary and the First World War -- Between Wars -- The Coming of the Crisis -- The Crisis Strikes -- Getting the Program Started.