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--- TABLE DES MATIERES / CONTENTS --- CONTENTS INTRODUCTION DESCRIPTION GMC MILITARY CAREER THE DUKW GMC CIVIL USES FIREFIGHTING VEHICLES 206 220 INTRODUCTION Having created a motor service from nothing in 1916 to ensure replenishment of the Mexican expedition against Pancho Villa, the US Army found itself in charge of a large store of nondescript equipment which had, by and large, been far from Satisfactory. When the USA entered the war in 1917, the US Army had no desire to use commercial vehicles adapted in varying degrees to military purposes. It therefore launched a standardization program by ordering standard items esigned by its own services (Militor) or by private bodies (Liberty). In fact, it was extremely difficult to introduce standardized manufacture with producers already swamped with English or French orders and obviously not prepared to change their assembly lines to manufac- ture vehicles designed by a competitor or by a military administration. For this reason, the program did not show any convincing results before the end of hostilities. For light and medium vehicles in particular, the US Army had to be content with commercial vehicles which it did not want.…