I assume in the parts of France in 1944 where the Germans were pushed out for good, rear area personnel would wear their service uniforms. I am reminded of this when I saw Bill Mauldin’s book “Up Front” (OK he served in Italy) and one of his cartoons showed a club with the sign “TIES REQUIRED” in an area where there had been recent combat. I was wondering what regulations and what actual practices were.
That all depends upon what the personnel’s job was, who was the higher command in that area, and how long those personnel may be in a “rear area”. Ordnance crews working on machinery in a depot would be at a hazard wearing a tie, and ruin their service uniforms with oil, welding, etc. MP’s on the other hand would be quite spit & polish in their appearance, particularly if they are assigned at a more visible post. The Red Ball Express personnel would look like they’re working 24/7 to keep the field armies supplied to move forward.
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I was thinking people in office type jobs, which I assume were common enough, for telephone and radio duties as well. Or people in hospitals and such.
Or cooks. I remember the scene in the movie “Patton” where Patton tells the cook he needs to wear leggings, “… leggings, but I’m a cook!”
Ken
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Actual practices back them were largely dictated by the head brass. As Tankerken noted and it’s well documented by many sources, Patton was a stickler on military discipline and that, for him, included neckties and shaving. At least he modeled those expectations, unlike other generals who required one form of dress but themselves did otherwise. Class A or dress were required typically when on leave, rear areas were left up to the CO.