Middle East Supply Center (MESC)
MIDDLE EAST SUPPLY CENTER (MESC)
world war ii agency in cairo set up to coordinate supply and transport problems of the middle east.
The economic strength of the Middle Eastern countries was necessary to the success of the Allied war effort. A multitude of agencies—British and American, military and civilian—had roles in ensuring that Middle Eastern economies remained viable and strong. In April 1941, the British established the Middle East Supply Center (MESC) as a clearing-house for all matters of civilian supply in the Middle East; it reported directly to the ministry of war transport in London. The goal was to regulate and control shipping and commerce among the countries of the Middle East, to eliminate nonessential shipping and trade, and to avoid the political and military hazards posed by populations made hostile because of hunger, unemployment, and the other problems of disorganized economies.
The U.S. Lend-Lease Act of 1941 sent massive amounts of American-made matériel, and after May 1942, the United States joined the British in the MESC, using it to coordinate the American war effort in the Middle East.
Bibliography
Motter, T. H. Vail. The Persian Corridor and Aid to Russia. Washington, DC: Office of the Chief of Military History, Dept. of the Army, 1952.
daniel e. spector