Three rifle companies with 190 men each. These are: The Communications Platoon (formerly the Signals Platoon) is primarily designed to support Battalion HQ by providing C4I services and radio operators. Gimpy is too big and heavy for a section weapon, its hard going over walls/fences/through buildings etc and shouldnt really be fired from any position but the prone, unlike the lighter and more agile LMG. An official website of the United States Government, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil. Because of the protected mobility this general purpose infantry would become to slow, to few and to dependent on specific logistical assets. If they are vehicle commanders of two of the four section vehicles then when they dismount their vehicle gunner will have double workload. This means units/sub-units pinged would spend a colossal amount of time rehearsing at cost of other training and tasks. There was no JCompany: the letter J was traditionally not used because in 18th- and 19th-century old-style type, the capital letters I and J looked alike, and were therefore easily confused with one another. Battalions consist of four to six companies and can include up to about 1,000 soldiers. I really like your idea of sharing public duties! That idea could be developed but I dont think it is right for all British infantry. VFHVe xC=E>wPK gk R$~(k: CQuu9#MN mb)jNE1>SCBC+l 1 And to the opposite for open terrain which is tank friendly the said general-purpose all-mech infantry would be more expensive than simple tanks without infantry which would dominate the open terrain against such infantry as the more numerous enemy infantry would rule the closed terrain against the to few of the general-purpose bataillons because the number of infantry outside the vehicles would become much lower if you include all this vehicles in an infantry bataillon. It has been estimated that only 1/3 of a division actually served as combat infantrymen---the remainder were command, support, artillery, etc. Mechanised units usually have an attached light aid detachment (LAD) of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) to perform field repairs on vehicles and equipment. The Army overall is about 5000 under authorised strength and an increase to about 7000 under strength does not seem a good change. Light Role Battalions are likely to need fewer mechanics, so there is room for downward adjustment. The Fire Support Company HQ structure is the same as a rifle company, except that it will have1 officer + 15 other ranks. I was throwing around the idea of top slicing the TA and just plugging companies into existing battalions with the intention that it would enhance their professionalism and that they could pull through the three regular companies as casualty replacements. Service I like your idea: dismounted mass needs to be maximised. This is will mean better effect of weapons and better for load distribution. The total then is simply calculated as 18338. Each have different jobs and roles each of which is necessary to keep the wagon fighting and surviving. Teams with special functions may also include officers or warrant officers. Its more the lack of balance than PD itself. Recon The discussion has been first -rate too. This would inevitable change their way of fighting and therefore hinder them to be an true general purpose infantry. equipped with heavy Machine Guns and 81mm Mortars(See chart for A nominal structure of 1 officer + 19 other ranks is proposed. These are light infantry, including various light foot units, air assault, and airborne infantry. The armoured brigade would have Ajax Recce, Chally, Ajax IFV (bye bye Warrior! When you constantly need to juggle different group sizes, theres a risk of not knowing whether you have enough boots on the ground to complete allocated tasks. The organization here has been valid since approximately 2012, although weapon systems have changed over time. If push comes to shove, the gunner or commander can do both but it is such a struggle to guide the driver (who has very constricted situational awareness in Warrior), talk on the various nets, look out for anti-armour threats, identify, track and shoot targets and watch out for dismounts and all the other stuff going on from the cramped turret (which was not designed for blokes encumbered by todays mandated PPE). It offers a range of new ammunition natures from anti-tank rounds to bunker-busting HE. Id integrate a fourth rifle company from the TA into your battalion too, to train alongside it and to be fully conversant with its people and its methodology. They are not man-portable, so will usually only accompany a platoon when mounted on MIV, MRVP, MWMIK (Jackal) or other vehicles. That gives a reduction of 1590 from current strength that could be used for the new bronegruppa. Signals Platoon Table of US Divisions 338 MMGs are going to make GPMG SF obsolete. To differentiate them from field armies, groups are usually written with Arabic numerals (example - 12th Army Group) as opposed to having their number written out. This structure is ideal for counter insurgency operations where there is a focus on foot patrols and other dismounted operations. The overall structure defined by sub-unit organisation reflects the fact that protected mobility is now needed more widely. @MikeW A Logistics Platoon (formerly the Motor Transport Platoon) will be responsible for operating resupply and replenishment trucks. Perhaps in Armd/Mech it could even be comverted into a 120mm Mortar Pl, complementing the 81mm which can struggle in the faster-moving and dispersed Armd battle? Someone pointed out that US stryker brigades had been gamed against Russian motorized and were looking at I think 50% casualty rates in under a week. ~T,=y-2ZxKx FrV{^=bB&T* u \' UUplpD_&e\ Battalion sizes vary between branches. This is vital. The HQ company contains signals, quartermaster, catering, intelligence, administration, pay, training, operations and medical elements. The battalion was a standard tactical organization throughout the 20th Century, and overseas deployments were usually done with formations . The addition of the antitank platoon meant that a BTR battalion at full strength was 525 personnel and 60 BTRs, including three command variants, while a BMP battalion consisted of 497 personnel and 45 BMPs, including three command variants. Weapons companies do not receive a letter designation. Italy. It has also been suggested that rifle companies should acquire 81 mm mortars. The order of battle shows 101 German infantry divisions and 139 Soviet rifle divisions. Without the institutional Army, the operational side cant function. It enables a return to pre-1950s rule of four: assault, suppress, reserve, exploit. 2 Officers and 18 Othr ranks and the RLC Catering Platoon again a similar number commanded by a WO2 and then the SASC Sergeant and the RAPTC 2 to 3 SNCO/WO all those also add to a Battalions strenth as attached arms. Their light cavalry troops are even bigger: 50 soldiers in eight LOVs (Pinzgauers). @UKLP The GPMG Light Role and GPMG Sustained Fire are very different weapons with very different roles and capabilities. With a universal size, it is easy to see gaps and to fill them. Rotate one Guards Bn posted as public duties resident Bn (another 560 troops under current ORBAT or 690 under UKLPs Universal ORBAT) For the light infantry company the building blocks are: Soldier>Fire Team>Squad>Platoon. Light Machine Gun Section and a Mortar Section. This is an interesting idea, but would impose an increased weight and logistical burden on rifle companies. By embedding these assets at the battalion and brigade levels these organisations get used to working autonomously and are supported by more CSG as each level moves up. For all modern technology, gunning and commanding really require two people, else you have an ineffective platform. MPSA is a jointly-staffed organization, headquartered in the National Capital Region, which serves as the single point of contact with the United States Postal Service and oversees the Military. So to summarize it up: my suggestion would be to create identical infantry bataillons, but without any organic protected mobility. Almost as potent as 12.7 mm HMGs, .338 MMGs are man-portable, so could help to increase overall platoon lethality, especially when operating dismounted. In addition, each section now has an organic 7.62 mm L7A2 GPMG gunner plus a designated marksman with the 7.62 mm L129A1 Sharpshooter rifle. A colonel is generally in command. The nine regular force infantry battalions each contain three or four rifle companies and one or two support companies. Weapons like the 12.7 mm HMG and 40 mm high velocity grenade machine gun are primarily vehicle-mounted systems. However unlikely it is, I think it is desirable though: replacing CVRT, Warrior and Bulldog with a common base platform would be hugely beneficial. - Our Army Structure in Vietnam. They can range from a few dozen soldiers to up to 200. It also gives Platoon HQ additional firepower that can be allocated to individual sections as required. Culling BHQs may be good for the budget, but by nowhere near enough to justify trading such depth. For dismounted infantry, the US Army is looking at .338 (8.59 mm) medium weight machine guns to provide increased firepower and range. Use tab to navigate through the menu items. Though I strongly disagree with replacing the Woodentops, it is always good to see non-Guards have a turn. Total raised: $5,448,951.00 Total includes user, company, and offsite donations. With common ORBATs, marine battalions can quickly be prepared for the allocated mission. Light Role battalions had 8-soldier sections. Division Artillery, Motorized, Infantry Division. - light cannon, assigned to AT unit. MP - Often these will be stored in vehicles until needed. Option C Platoon divides the platoon into three groups (or multiples) of 12 soldiers. As we begin to look towards autonomous vehicles, REME support across all battalion types will become more important. They are accompanied by the company First Sergeant, a Supply Sergeant, and a Supply Clerk who ride in a M1083 Standard Cargo Truck that tows a 400- or 800-gallon water tank. Date. Anti-drones? CnC can be further rationalised across the whole unarmed force by having a single force structure around 1 HQ, 4 commands, each operating 2 divisions that hold all naval, land, cyber, air, space and command assets assigned to them and having a flatter structure. The US Marine Corps already adopts a similar approach to the one described here. Usually commanded by a major general, divisions are made up of three or four brigades and include 10,000 to 15,000 soldiers. Prior they would have travelled in an M1165A1 HMMVW, although any mark of HMMVW that was available likely would have been used. of US Divisions, Corps and independant units that served in Italy. The Light Infantry Company. Same for Mech Inf, if you are happy to reduce dismounted infantry mass to 22 (36 + 4). They are not man-portable. Mollo, Tranquillo and Joseph Georg Mansfield The Austrian Army in 1798: the Uniform Plates of Tranquillo Mollo and Joseph George Mansfield Contemporary prints of the Austrian Army in 1798. Armored BCTs (ABCTs) include three armor/mechanized infantry battalions, an armed reconnaissance cavalry squadron, a field artillery battalion, a logistics support battalion, and a brigade engineer . The basic individual weapon in the light infantry battalion was the M14 rifle, while the airmobile unit was authorized M16 rifles. REME do not just fix vehicles, an Infantry Battalion has a huge amount of other equipment that REME have to support. The Table of Organization (T/O) of the Marine Corps lays out the organizational structure and the equipment required to function. Consider too the fact that soldiers are bigger now and less flexible in such cramped space, having bulky rigid body armour, helmets, belt kit and the ubiquitous daysack which did not factor to the same extent when Warrior was designed. In an infantry squad, the teams divide duties: one serves as a base-of-fire element, while the other serves as the maneuver element. Infantry Regiments and Their Commanders 1792 - 1815 The Austrian infantry and their commanders. What if you disbanded the reserve artillery regiments and added reserve batteries to your regular regiments? Print Cite. So that the tanks can seperate from the infantry completly and then act as an force for their own. Ref Exellent article and I just thought Id add some thoughts. Option B creates three sections of 10 soldiers plus a smaller Platoon HQ of 6 soldiers. Dubbed Infantry Battalion Experiment Campaign Plan, or IBX30, the three-battalion effort is part of the Corps' push to reorganize for conflicts with near-peer adversaries by 2030, which the. US Army Infantry Battalion Numbers. Is this concept outdated ? Commando Battalion (joint para/RM group) Born on the island of Kauai, he moved to Honolulu to go to high school but left before he graduated to take a job at the Halekulani Hotel where he was working when he was drafted in 1941. 1. Nominally, an extra GPMG and DMR are proposed, but a light mortar or multi-role 40 mm AGL could be carried instead. INSIGNIA The Company Headquarters is also allocated one senior company Combat Medic who provides second-line, company-level tactical casualty care. Traditionally, most British regiments have had more than one battalion. And yes, this is my ideal platoon properly-resourced as I see it based on recent indeed, current experience. Are/were you Guards, Captain Nemo? Two items that the infantry cannot do without. These include light infantry (foot), airborne and air assault units. DUI Great conversation going here, I am squished onto public transit in 30 c temps in Ontario, so please excuse typos ! The wagons overall capability is diminished because youre tasking a soldier to do two soldiers jobs in an incredibly stressful situation the middle of a firefight! Cramming ten blokes kit in is a nightmare. - You are spot on that dismounted mass should dictate the ORBAT rather than vehicle capacity. It was the only infantry organization from the reserve components to participate in the war. They are numbered and assigned missions based on their structures. And sometimes Recruiting Team. The operational Army conducts full-spectrum operations around the world, supported by institutional units. As I say Im just throwing ideas around, not trying to invade Poland. The central idea in proposing a universal battalion structure is to build it around platoons of 1 + 35 soldiers. The captain is responsible for the direction, training, and welfare of those below him. If additional, theyll require their own wagon with the necessary extra personnel as crew. For example, during the confusion and high casualty rates of both the Normandy Landings and the Battle of the Bulge, in order to bolster the strength of a depleted infantry regiment, companies and even battalions were moved around as necessary. If the light battalions have the current strength of 560 then 28, with the specialised infantry unchanged at 267, gives a total of 16748. A common structure with an identical headcore for each bataillon and protected mobility for each of it would therefore create an force which in the case of the UK forces would be to small to fight in closed terrain and would not achieve the necessery critical mass there and to the opposite would not have enough fighting power to achieve victory in open terrain against an more tank heavy but despite of its higher fighting power smaller and therefore more faster and agile enemy force. Could we not then consider having whole crews staying with the vehicle rather than depleting them when the section has to dismount? To solve this problem, and to give flexibility through spare seats (needed for terps, picking up dismounts whose wagons are elsewhere and any atts and dets), to build on your idea would it be an idea to give the Pl Sgt and Pl Comd their own wagon each? This coincided with the U.S. Army's reorganization and implementation of the Brigade Combat Teams (BCT). Are your Pl Comd and Pl Sgt vehicle commanders or are they additional? 100th Infantry Battalion. With this weapon now returned to individual sections, in lieu of the 5.56 mm L110A2 LMG, there is arguably no need for a separate machine gun platoon, especially as platoon vehicles will have a mix of 12.7 mm HMGs and 40 mm GMGs. In my world it would be EAGLE 44 and 66 to have commonality in light and medium protected mobility. NATO defines a battalion as "larger than a company, but smaller than a regiment" while "consisting of two or more company-, battery-, or troop-sized units and a headquarters. . 40mm MV is would be an excellent addition to the ammo mix in sections bit there will be some work for the SASCs to update Pams and traces so unlikely to happen. Storage space is hardly ample; the wagons were designed for blokes to fight from, not live in. Now that the GPMG has been returned to rifle sections, a separate, fourth fire support platoon is no longer needed. * Tows 400-gallon water tank trailer (1-1/2 ton), 1 per company, or M1082 flat bed trailer, 2 per company. With the US Army planning to adopt a new 6.8 mm High Velocity Armoured Piercing Ammunition (HVAP), the rest of NATO may follow its lead. This amounts to 1 officer and 38 permanent enlisted personnel, as well as 3 usually attached enlisted personnel. Various members of the platoon will also carry a 9 mm Glock 17 pistol. Does it have to be infantry? Is putting the GPMG back Into the section enough to ditch 12.7mm or 40mm GMG from a heavy machine gun platoon in the Support Company ? If you look only at the bataillon here one should realize that a bataillon because of its small size is very insufficient for any real infantry combat in terrain which is suited for infantry. Automatic 120mm mortars have small crews for high firepower. At least in tracked / wheeled armoured infantry ? Ser. This structure was used during Operation Banner in Northern Ireland for many years and proved to be extremely effective. With the Dutch artillery units, the equivalent of a battalion is called an afdeling (which translates to "section"). Some armies are looking at 40 mm medium velocity grenades to reach-out to 800 metres. [32] A regiment consists of between two and six organic battalions, while a brigade consists of between three and seven separate battalions. I think that wider structures, instead of ten BCTs we should look at the French and Australians. I cant upload pics but their SOIs are on AKX if you have access to it and are interested. Beginning in the early 1980s, some elements of the combat support companies (the mortar and scout platoons) were merged into the headquarters company with the staff and support elements, others were moved to their parent type organization (ground surveillance radar and air defense), and in infantry battalions the heavy anti-tank missile platoon was organized as a separate company (ECompany). Given that kit is cheaper than people in the long run, do we need fire firepower to make up for lack of infantry mass ? Guardsmen and women who get very basic training, plus drill. I advocate that dressing up and waving the Colours to the sound of the drums enhances and instils pride and camaraderie tremendously. 2019-2023 Battle Order. I think that keeping divisions how they are is the better system and that each of the divisions should be organised into independent battlegroups (with some of their own logistics included) that can be used to bolt onto a heavier or lighter formation as and when required or massed together such as the armored div for a major confrontation. There are apparently 11 demonstration versions of the Warrior being put through their paces in Dorset. Unless, of course, you want to really shake up what the AR is for and how it works. The different types of light infantry organizations were all consolidated into the one "Infantry" organization in 2007. Armored DivisionTable of Organization and Equipment. For purposes of clarity, this display is simplified through the elimination of numerous headquarters, maintenance and other support units which are normally attached to or associated with the listed combat units [despite the well known fact that amateurs talks tactics while professionals talk logistics]. I can understand not having an SF Pl in armoured and mechanised battalions because the loss of firepower is offset by 30mm but in light-role battalions it is a battle-winner, especially in the defensive battle! The Anti-tank Platoon typically has 6-8 Javelin ATGM launchers, with each one operated by two soldiers. The infantry brigade combat team, as of 2014, contains 4,413 soldiers and is organized around three battalions of infantry. It could be the primary weapon and role of squaddie per section to be the grenadier. confronting an adversary such as the Russians in eastern Europe would require heavy and medium armour with the ability to mount a mobile defence via mobility and counter mobility along with long range fires etc what would the light brigade bring to this party? The infantry battalion was a key structure in the Royal Army and thus its structure went through a fair few changes during the course of the war. In the Canadian Forces, most battalions are reserve units of between 100 and 200 soldiers that include an operationally ready, field-deployable component of approximately a half-company apiece. My preferred direction is to to look at a common organisation for the Armoured and Mechanised infantry, and a different organisation for light infantry including air assault. In Platoon HQs that have 9 soldiers, the same structure would be adopted, providing an additional machine gun and designated marksman rifle. Rocket launcher artillery battalions consisted of a headquarters and headquarters platoon, a service battery and three firing batteries equipped with BM-21 Grads for a total of 255 personnel.[29][30]. How would they operate together from a logistical view point? Indeed, one was carried until the 51 mm was prematurely retired (because the ammunition went out of production). I further agree that 28 is a good number: four six-strong sections and a four-strong Pl HQ has sufficient flexibility, lethality and survivability (it can absorb casualties, something current AI platoons struggle to do). German Organization for Combat, 1944. Infantry mass do we have to give up on this concept ? The specialised infantry are acknowledged not to have a primary combat role and if these are left unchanged then the increase is 2050. HQ for direct fire support would also be nice (dont forget those 10 man BAOR sections in their FV432 had a lot more of them). Maybe have the armoured corps supplying the vehicle crews in a similar way to the Mastiff group on Telic? In the 1980s, BAOR armoured infantry units mounted in the FV432 APC routinely had 10-soldier sections. Thinking about the need to operate from IFVs, Mechanised infantry vehicles (MIVs), from helicopters, and on foot, the first proposal is to standardise all Infantry Rifle Platoons around a common size that provides some degree of flexibility. The article gives the numbers and personnel strengths of each type of battalion. 1. While this underwent amendments, most particularly in terms of antitank weapons, its overall structure influenced all subsequent Tables of Organization issued for the Battalion. This is why the dismount numbers vary a bench seats however many can fit, a seat is for one. This allows each platoon to have a total of four GPMGs and 4 DMRs. He says at one point that in his Army 2020 organization, The armoured brigade would have Ajax Recce, Chally, Ajax IFV (bye bye Warrior! A second issue is the now universal threat of IEDs, which means that all deployed infantry units need some form of protected mobility. The Bushmaster I believe is a 2 crew, 10 pax vehicle with some room for stores and kit. I agree on the close relationship between regs and reserves, having been in a specialist reserve unit, I have seen it work really well. The battalion is usually part of a regiment, group, or brigade depending on the branch of service. Ideally infantry should be carried in tracked IFVs or wheeled MIVs, but even light PMVs are preferable to MAN trucks and Land-Rovers that offer no protection. Bear in mind that you have to fit everybodys kit in thats not just kit to fight but to live from. It usually consists of 1 officer + 27 other ranks. . The squad is led by a Squad Leader (Staff Sergeant) and further subdivided into two homogenous fire teams designated Alpha Team and Bravo Team and each led by a Fire Team Leader (Sergeant). The senior of two Squad Leaders is also the Section Leader.
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