What were the respective organizational sizes for tank platoons, companies, battalions, etc in the American, German, British, Italian, and Russian armies, please? I am writing up some stuff for a WW2 game that I am thinking of having my students play. Can you also please include the correct national names for the units? Thank you. Did the British use the term Squadron? Okay, thank you again folks. all the best Hummel
OK, here's a start for the US A squad consisted of 10-12 men, a platoon was 40 men, a company was 150-200 men, a battalion was 600-1000 men, a regiment was around 2000-3000 men, a division was 10,000-15,000 men, an army was around 30,000 to 45,000 men, and army groups were of many different sizes. All of these figures are somewhat relative. Read more: Answers.com - What were the sizes of US army units in World War 2 and what was the rank of their commanders You can also get some data here WW2 Military Organization Primer
Here is one place to start, U.S. Army Divisions in World War II: More Information There were 5 types of divisions: infantry, mountain, armored, airborne, and cavalry. 91 divisions were mobilized during the war: 68 infantry divisions, 1 mountain division, 16 armored divisions, 5 airborne divisions, and 2 cavalry divisions. All divisions were activated in the United States except for the following divisions: Philippine (activated in the Philippines), Hawaiian (activated in Hawaii and renamed the 24th division), 25th (activated in Hawaii from troops of the Hawaiian division), and Americal (activated in New Caledonia.) There were three major theaters of operation during the war: Pacific (22 divisions were deployed to the Pacific), Mediterranean (15 divisions), and Europe (61 divisions). Seven divisions served in both the Mediterranean and European Theaters (1st, 3rd, 9th, 36th, 45th infantry divisions; 82nd airborne; and 2nd armored.) Two divisions were disbanded or deactivated before the end of the war: the Philippine division was destroyed and disbanded on 10 April 1942; and the 2nd Cavalary division was activated and inactivated twice: 15 Apr 41 to 15 Jul 42 and 23 Feb 43 to 10 May 44. Three divisions did not enter combat: 98th Infantry division, 13th Airborne division, and the 2nd Cavalary division. By June 1946, 74 divisions were inactivated or disbanded leaving 17 divisions on active duty. Just remembered I have the 1941 "Officers Guide" Haven't found a single source for all combatants, hope it helps. Just realized the photo did not come out readable: UNITS STRENGTH (approx.) Rank of commander Squad--------------------- 16 or less ----------------Sergeant or Corporal Section-------------------- 2 -- 136 ------------------Sergeant Platoon---------------------4---177-------------------2nd or 1st Lt. Company------------------12--700-------------------Captain Battalion------------------128-1250-----------------Lt. Col. or Major Regiment-----------------800-3700----------------Colonel Brigade-------------------3400-6900---------------Brigadier General Division------------------Triangular infantry------Major General -----------------------------division, 15,000: -----------------------------cavalry, 10,000----------- Corps----------------------65,000-90,000------------Lt. General Army----------------------200,000-400,000---------General Other names for units of similar size; Platoon= called Sub-flights in the Air Forces. Company= called “batteries” in the Field and Coast Artillery: “troops” in the Cavalry; “flights” in the Air Forces Battalion= called “squadrons” in the Cavalry and Air Corps Regiment= called “groups” in the Air Forces Brigade= called “wings” in the Air forces
No links, but if memory serves, the late war US, German and French Platoons had 5 tanks. Japanese & Russian platoons had 3 and British troops also had 3. There were some variance within the countries based on tank size, but I don't remember.
A US Tank Battalion in 1944 had 53 x M4* "Sherman" Tanks with 75mm or 76mm guns, 17 x M5 "Stuart" light tanks with 37mm guns, 6 x M4-105 "assault" tanks with 105mm howitzers and three half tracks carrying 81mm mortars. The Battalion Headquarters company had 2 x M4 tanks, 3 x M4-105 tanks and 3 x 81mm mortar half track carriers. Each of the three medium tanks companies had 17 x M4 tanks and 1 x M4-105 tank The Company HQ section had 2 x M4 and 1 x M4-105 tank Each of the three platoons in the company had 5 x M4 tanks Each platoon had a "heavy" section of 3 x M4 tanks and a "light" section of 2 x M4 tanks. *The M4 was produced in a number of different models, but the major difference was in the main gun size, 75mm or 76mm. The US Army also had Tank Destroyer (anti-tank) battalions. The self propelled variety had three "batteries" of 12 vehicles (either M10 "Wolverine" with 76.2mm (3 inch) gun or M36 "Jackson" with 90mm gun) each organized as three of platoons of 4 vehicles each. the US Army also fielded two "Heavy" Armored divisions (the 2nd and 3rd Armored Divisions, the 1st was converted to the "Light" configuration in July of 1944). The six battalions of each heavy division only had two medium companies (and one light company) in an unofficial organization, with a strength of 36 mediums and 17 lights. British Armoured "Regiments" (battalions) varied a lot over time and a little depending on whether they were part of a divisional armoured brigade with "cruiser" tanks or an independent tank brigade with "infantry" tanks, but were basically similar. A British Armoured Regiment in 1944 had a total of 55 cruiser (medium) tanks, 11 light tanks, 6 close support (CS) tanks (equipped with a howitzer), 6 AA tanks and 9 scout cars. The Regimental HQ Troop (platoon) had 4 cruisers and a scout (armored) car The HQ Squadron (company) had an AA Troop with 6 tanks, a Recce (reconnaissance) troop with 11 light tanks and an Intercommunication troop with 8 scout cars. Each of the three Squadrons had a headquarters with 2 cruisers and 2 CS tanks, and four troops of four tanks each, 1 x Sherman Firefly and three cruisers. In an Army Tank Brigade (with Infantry tanks) there were five troops of three tanks each. Cruiser tanks were 75mm Shermans or Cromwells, Infantry tanks were Churchills, and AA tanks were Crusader Mk II. Soviet (Russian) organization varied greatly over time and according to type of tank. A 1944 Soviet tank brigade was roughly the equivalent of a tank battalion in the other armies, having 65 tanks. The tank brigade HQ had 2 x T-34 tanks. Each of the three "battalions" in a brigade had an HQ with 1 x T-34 and two companies of 10 x T-34 tanks, for a total of 21 tanks in each battalion. Each company had an HQ with 1 x T-34 and three platoons of 3 x T-34. The T-34s could be either T-34/76 (with a 76mm gun) or a T-34/85 (with an 85mm gun). Soviet heavy tanks (KV-1 or IS-2) were organized into regiments of 21 tanks. One HQ tank and five companies of two platoons, each with two tanks. The Soviets Assault Gun Regiments followed the same organization as the heavy tanks and could be armed with SU-76, SU-85, SU-100 or SU-122 vehicles. German organization also changed greatly during the course of the war and also varied according to vehicle type with different organizations for Mk IV, Panther, Tiger, StuG and Jagdpanzer battalions. To further complicate matters the German tank battalions of 1944 usually adopted an "alternate" organization as opposed to the "standard" organization as they were almost always short of equipment. In practice a German battalion in 1944 would be organized around 45 vehicles. Three tanks in the battalion HQ, and three companies of 14 vehicles each. Each company would have two vehicles in the HQ and three platoons of four vehicles each. Even this strength (45) was rarely attained and then only for very a short time. The theoretical strength of the Panzer battalion was actually much higher, with as many as 96 vehicles authorized. The battalion HQ was authorized 8 tanks (including three AA tanks) and four companies of 22 vehicles each. Each company HQ was authorized two tanks and each of the four platoons was authorized five vehicles each. By the summer of 1944 German Armored Fighting Vehicles were very roughly 30% PzKw IV, 30% Panther, 30% StuG III and 10% everything else (Tigers, jagdpanzer and panzer-jager). An Italian tank battalion of late 1942 had approximately 50 M13/40 or M13/41 tanks, organized in three companies of three platoons of five tanks each.
