Composition of a US Army WWII infantry company?
Peter Nelson
a US Army infantry company in an infantry division consisted
of 4 platoons - 3 rifle platoons each consisting of 3 squads of
12 men each, and a weapons platoon. He also said that the
total strength of such a company was 193, all ranks.
So what are the other soldiers in the company? Assuming
that the weapons platoon is of similar size as the rifle
platoon - 36 men, that still leaves almost 50 other soldiers -
with what duties?
Also, what was the command structure of such an infantry
company? How many lieutenants, sergeants, etc? In
reading war histories I often see captains commanding
companies - was this the standard in the US Army? I
just finished reading an account of Canadian forces in
France in 1944 where it appeared that their companies
were commanded by majors. I thought that in the US Army
majors were battalion XO's.
Thanks in advance for any insights.
---peter
john...@istar.ca
(as portrayed in "Saving Private Ryan" I'm tempted to add).
And yes, WW II Canadian infantry companies were commanded by Majors,
as it also was in other Commonwealth armies. This difference remains
to the present day.
As to the correlation between rank and level of command, it generally
goes like this:
Platoons in most armies are commanded by Lieutenants/2nd Lieutenants. The
chief distinction between those two ranks being that 2Lts are "new" guys in
the first year or so of their job. This was true in all of the Anglo-US
armies then and now. The Germans, then and now, are a notable exception. As
a general rule, the Germans have senior NCOs rather than officers in command
at the platoon level. They do use Lts to command platoons, but they do not
attempt to fill every pl comd with a young junior officer, but only as many
as they need to ensure the production of enough experienced captains for
command at the next level ...
Companies, are commanded by either captains or majors, as noted above.
The Germans and French also went for captains at this level. In British and
Commonwealth practice, captains serve as the second in command of
companies, the adjutants and like at battalion level, and the worker-bee
level staff officers at all headquarters.
Battalions are commanded by lieutenant colonels in both US and
Brit/Commonwealth armies. The Germans used lieutenant colonels, more
commonly majors, and sometimes even captains at this level.
Brigades or Regiments (as the case may be) are commanded by colonels,
brigadiers, or brigadier generals, as the case may be. Once again, the
Germans tended to use lower ranks, often giving command of regiments
to lieutenant colonels.
Divisions are commanded by major generals.
As can be seen, the Germans had a persistent bias to use lower ranking
officers. This was true before they began to suffer shortages of manpower,
and represented a conscious choice on their part. They deliberately
emphasized quality over quantity in officer selection and training.
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Cavbygod3
where to start?
each platoon was actually 38 men. 3 squads of 12 (36) plus a platoon leader
(LT) and a platoon sergeant (usually a SFC in peace time). the weapons platoon
is about the same, if not bigger. one must take into account the mortar
section requires three to four men per gun tube, plus fire direction types.
at that time, each company had a mess section (food service) that would vary
per company as to how many men, supply section, commo section, company clerks
(2 or 3 is a good guess), company commander, company executive officer, first
sergeant, medics (one per squad), and a few other assorted support personnel.
i could be sharpshooted on some of this, but i think i'm fairly accurate just
working off the top of my head.
as far as today, Captains do (and always have as far as i know) commanded
companies. obviously, there are times when commanders are killed, missing,
sick, etc, and Lieutenants command companies, but its a Captains job.
Majors are in fact executive officers at battalion level in the us army.
there is also an additional major assigned to each battalion as the operations
and planning officer (S-3)
hope this helped.....
john b
Bruce Dodds
I don't know anything about the command structure of a US infantry
platoon in WW II. However, I do know that each rifle squad had to have
a tough sergeant, a street-smart kid from Brooklyn, a Pole, an Italian,
and a college boy to play the hero.
Peter Nelson
>Is this an old thread?
You're is the only response I've seen at this site.
> A US Army infantry company was made up of
>four platoons, each made up of four squads, each containing a
>quantity of individuals ranging from four to ten depending on how
>hot the combat had been. A platoon sergeant (or corporal) was the
>only enlisted man and one of the few Army executives to have so
>many men reporting to him.
In my original posting I noted:
#According to George Forty's _US Army Handbook 1939-1945_
#a US Army infantry company in an infantry division consisted
#f 4 platoons - 3 rifle platoons each consisting of 3 squads of
#12 men each, and a weapons platoon. He also said that the
#total strength of such a company was 193, all ranks.
#So what are the other soldiers in the company? Assuming
#that the weapons platoon is of similar size as the rifle
#platoon - 36 men, that still leaves almost 50 other soldiers -
#with what duties?
So as you can see, I understand in a general way
that there were 4 platoons. But Forty's very well
researched book seems to imply there were a
substantial number of other personnel, too. I'm
looking for some clarification and detail.
Thanks ina advance.
---peter
TMOliver
Although units differed widely, I think you're omitting a
few key individuals....
Each platoon would have at least 3 other bodies, Co,
Platoon sergeant, messenger, and often more, bringing
table strength up to as many as 45, with each company
having an equivalent command structure, CO, ADJ, First
Sergeant, clerk(s), plus such extras as a supply sergeant
and even cooks and the like, so the 193 figure is
credible, although I suspect the traditional 180 would be
a likely total for an infantry company at full strength.
--
TMOliver AKA El Pelon Sinverguenza
"I want to die in my sleep like my grandfather,
Not screaming in terror like his passengers..."
john...@istar.ca
> #According to George Forty's _US Army Handbook 1939-1945_ the
> #total strength of such a company was 193, all ranks.
>
> #So what are the other soldiers in the company? Assuming
> #that the weapons platoon is of similar size as the rifle
> #platoon - 36 men, that still leaves almost 50 other soldiers -
> #with what duties?
I'm not expert on the US Army of that period (being Canadian), but
all right, I'll have this one on for a bit.
First of all -- there would not have been only 36 men in a platoon.
You quote 3 squads of 12 men each (equals 36), but that only
accounts for the rifle squads of the platoon. There would also be
the platoon headquarters. This would consist of (at minimum) one
lieutenant/2nd lieutenant platoon commander, and one platoon
sergeant. I'm willing to bet that the establishment also included
one platoon signaller as well, at least. Further, there was
probably also what we in the Canadian Army would call a
"weapons detachment" -- usually one medium machine gun,
maybe also a 60mm mortar or anti-tank weapon (PIAT or bazooka
as the case may be). Thus, total platoon strength was
probably something like 36 in the rifle squads, 3 in platoon
heaquarters and perhaps as many as another half dozen in
a platoon level weapons det, for a grand total of 45ish in
each rifle platoon.
The company level weapons platoon in a US infantry company I
am not at all familiar with. Canadian rifle companies contained no
such thing. But it presumably had 40ish men anyway.
Company headquarters would have consisted of a company
commander (captain -- we used majors in Commonwealth armies),
a company second in command or executive officer, a company
first sergeant (what we would call a company sergeant major), and
a collection of odds and sodds almost certainly including a company
clerk, and probably a company driver. This makes for at least
a half dozen in company headquarters.
Lastly there would have been a company level support echelon:
company quarter master sergeant, medics, cooks, motor pool?
mechanics? All told about a dozen?
So lets see, this gives us:
rfile platoons: 45x3=135
company hq = 6
weapons platoon = 40ish
support echelon = 12ish
total = 193 exactly, ta da!
So there you go.
Irwin Probstein
been described. I had thought it was 186 but I cannot say. There were
additional personnel such cooks. I think we had 3 but it's only a
guess. Then there was a supply sgt. and I think he had a
few men under him. Also a company clerk, a mail clerk, co. 1st sgt. a
co. exec. officer, plus a couple of runners for them. Then there was a
runner for or with each pltoonldr
plus a platoon medic. In my platoon we also had a platoon guide. But
what he did I was never sure. A fellow I correspond withwent all the
way, Nov.'44 to May'45 and he
can't recall either who that guy was.
More important is the doctrine of the rule of three developed by George
Marshall
when he was comdt of the Infantry School 1927-32. Why there is'nt more
comment
on him in this newsgroup puzzles me. Irwin
abr...@geocities.com
clerk was often attached to the Battlion to act as basically what the modern
US Army calls a PAC (Personnel .... center?). Sadly, they moved the clerk out
of being assigned to the Company, which from reading the article, I
understand why it was good the clerk was in the company but attached to
Battalion, to act as a the Commander's man at Battalion, to help get things
the company needed, supplies, personnel, and info and scuttle but..
Mike