The United States Army GHQ (General Headquarters) Maneuvers of 1941 were the largest training exercises ever conducted by the U.S. Army. From the maneuvers, the U.S. learned valuable lessons in military strategy that would help it succeed in W.W. II. Louisiana and North Carolina were chosen as maneuver sites, and future W.W. II Army commanders Dwight Eisenhower, George Patton, Omar Bradley, Joseph Stillwell, Mark Clark, and J. Lawton Collins participated in the Louisiana operation conducted for two weeks in September 1941. Two opposing armies, named Red and Blue, fought one another in mock battles across most of West and North Louisiana. Vernon Parish was the setting for part of phase one, the Battle for the Red River. The Louisiana Maneuvers established Camp Polk, now Fort Polk, which continues to serve the nation as a vital military training center and emblem of the 1941 Louisiana Maneuvers.