Army, the size of Army units can be difficult to grasp and therefore, the human scale of war. While figures are flexible and can vary by war and assignment armored, artillery, cavalry, ranger , here are some explanations about how the U. Army is organized.
The U. Since the end of the Vietnam War, the U. Army has been all-volunteer— meaning no one is drafted—and as always, everyone receives a salary. The three commanders of the U. General Creighton Abrams, from to General Frederick Weyand, from to A field army is the U. The last use of a field army was in during Operation Desert Storm, which took place in Iraq, Kuwait, and outlying areas of Saudi Arabia. A four-star general commands a field army.
The five-star rank of general has only been issued in times of war and the last to hold it was General Omar Bradley, who died in The other five-star generals in the history of the U. The corps is treated as an operational unit of employment by the U. Army and can be comprised of 20,, soldiers.
Both field forces were deactivated in Three battalions together with artillery and other supporting units made up a regiment, a unit of about 3, men and commanded by a colonel. Finally, three regiments plus additional artillery and other supporting units engineer, signal, medical, etc.
Corps were commanded by lieutenant generals, and armies by generals. The structure of a infantry division together with a list of its vehicles, artillery, and anti-tank guns is pictured here.
In addition to the weapons listed there, the division was armed with mortars; machine guns; 90 submachine guns; anti-tank rocket launchers; 5, carbines; and 6, rifles. Also pictured is the structure of a American armored division. This division had 10, officers and men and tanks.
In addition to the artillery and anti-tanks guns listed there, the division was armed with mortars; machine guns; 2, submachine guns; anti-tank rocket launchers; 5, carbines; and 2, rifles. Note that each of the four corps contained a different number of divisions.
As this chart shows, the First Army, in addition to commanding the four corps, had a variety of supporting military units under its own command. Similarly, each corps, in addition to commanding its divisions, had additional military units under its own command, including additional artillery and tank battalions. By 1 August , the Americans had 21 divisions in Normandy, and Gen.
Bradley's 12th Army Group was established to command these divisions. They were divided into 2 armies the First and the Third with each containing 3 corps. When Germany surrendered on 7 May , the 12th Army Group commanded 4 armies, organized into 11 corps, containing 43 divisions. An additional American corps with 4 divisions was attached to the British 21st Army Group. British infantry divisions in World War II, in contrast to the case in World War I, grew larger rather than smaller as the war went on.
In September , a British infantry division organized into 3 brigades with 3 battalions per brigade numbered about 13, officers and men. The division contained a machine gun battalion men and 48 heavy MGs and 3 field artillery regiments each with men and 24 guns, either 4.
The infantry battalion numbered about men and was composed of 4 rifle companies and a headquarters company. The battalion was armed with rifles, 58 light machine guns, 14 mortars, and 22 anti-tank rifles.
By , a British infantry division still organized into 3 brigades with 3 battalions per brigade numbered 18, officers and men and was, thus, larger than an American infantry division. The division still had 48 heavy MGs and 72 field guns these were now pdrs [87mm] , and the rifle battalions had increased only to officers and men. The increase in the total number of men in the division was due mainly to increases in the size of supporting units e.
The British armored division in numbered 14, officers and men, which made it also larger than the comparable American unit. The division had tanks as compared to the American and was supported with, among other arms, 48 pdrs. In addition to its tanks, the division had armored cars, armored tracked vehicles, and trucks.
German units in World War II are less easily described. In , the German army not only had five different kinds of divisions infantry, motorized infantry, armored, mountain, and light , there were five different kinds of infantry division. The largest infantry division had 17, men organized in 3 regiments each with 3 battalions. The division was armed with 75 guns ranging from 75mm to mm ; mortars; 75 anti-tank guns; heavy and light machine guns; and 12 anti-aircraft guns.
The smaller infantry divisions had some 15, men and were less heavily armed. The German armored divisions in had about 11, men and tanks. The division was organized into 2 brigades. The tank brigade had two regiments, each with 4 battalions, and the infantry brigade had one regiment of motorized infantry and a number of supporting units e.
In addition to its tanks, the division had 36 guns ranging from 75mm to mm ; 48 mortars; 48 anti-tanks guns; 46 heavy and light machine guns; and 12 anti-aircraft guns. When the Germans attacked in the west in May , they attacked with 3 army groups.
Army Group A von Rundstedt's had 3 armies comprising 13 corps and containing a total of 45 divisions. Of these 7 were armored, and their tank strength ranged from to , with an average of tanks per division. By , German infantry and armored divisions had changed significantly. The armored Panzer division now numbered 14, men and had about tanks. The division was organized into an armored regiment with two tank battalions and 2 regiments of infantry, each with 2 battalions, along with various supporting units reconnaissance, engineer, signal, etc.
In addition to its tanks, the division was armed with 77 guns ranging from 75mm to mm ; 70 mortars; 33 anti-tank guns; and machine guns; and some anti-aircraft guns. Waffen-SS armored divisions had 6 rather than 4 battalions of infantry, and some divisions totaled as many as 20, men. German motorized infantry divisions Panzer Grenadier , i. These were organized into 2 regiments, each with two battalions of infantry.
These divisions were equipped with supporting units and weapons comparable to those of an armored division except that the motorized division had no tanks.
It did have 45 assault guns these guns were on an armored tank chassis but not in a traversing turret. Some German infantry divisions had 9 battalions and numbered about 15, men, but most infantry divisions were organized in 3 regiments with only 2 battalions per regiment. The 6-battalion divisions numbered about 12, men. Twelve infantrymen formed the rifle squad, the basic combat unit of the Army.
Eleven of these soldiers were armed with the. A staff sergeant squad leader was in charge of the squad, and he was assisted by a sergeant assistant squad leader. In combat, the squad leader and his assistant directed the actions of seven riflemen and the three-man BAR team.
Three rifle squads and a small headquarters cell together comprised the infantry rifle platoon, which was commanded by a lieutenant -- for as long as he survived. Each platoon normally was augmented by a medical aidman from the Regimental Medical Detachment. Three rifle platoons 1st, 2nd, and 3rd , a weapons platoon sometimes called the 4th Platoon , and a company headquarters formed an infantry rifle company of six officers and enlisted men, commanded by a captain.
The weapons platoon authorized strength - 1 officer and 34 enlisted men contained two light machine gun squads and three 60mm mortar squads. The 60mm mortar could lob a projectile about three times as powerful as a hand grenade out to a range of 2, yards. The great benefit of the mortar is that since its trajectory is very steep, it can be used to drop rounds behind hills, houses, etc. The weapons platoon commander advised the company commander on disposition of the machine guns and mortars, which could be positioned to support the whole company generally, or to reinforce fires in a particular area of concern.
Usually, the three mortars were grouped together in a single firing location. The rifle company was the lowest level at which the unit was usually fielded in echelons, with components of the company not in physical contact with others. At this level, too, attachment of outside resources was habitual.
The rifle company was also the lowest level infantry organization to employ a reserve force, usually one rifle platoon. The heavy weapons company authorized strength - was designed to allow the battalion commander to add combat weight to the battalion in general, or to specific companies or parts of the battlefield.
In addition to a headquarters cell, the weapons company contained two platoons of heavy machine guns four. The 81mm mortar of WWII could lob a lb high explosive projectile to a range of about 3, yards. Regimental identification was numerical, e. Through a very complex and convoluted regimental assignment system, the regiments of a Regular Army division in WWII were never consecutively numbered, some of the regiments of a National Guard division were consecutively numbered, but all of the regiments of an Army Reserve division were consecutively numbered.
The regimental antitank company authorized strength - contained a large company headquarters, three antitank platoons of three wheeled 57mm cannon each, and an antitank mine platoon of three squads. The regimental cannon company authorized strength - contained a headquarters section and three cannon platoons of two self-propelled tracked mm howitzers each.
The Cannon Company usually operated from a single general location in support of the regiment, and was customarily grouped with the supporting field artillery battalion.
0コメント