This structure is ideal for counter insurgency operations where there is a focus on foot patrols in complex terrain. Russian infantry units size and formation vann7 on sat feb 21, 2015 9. Boyle arrived in vietnam in 1967, commanded a platoon, and then became a lt company commander in the 322 infantry, 25 th infantry division, early in 1968. It will have two m240 type machine guns and two antitank missile systems normally a. In the 1920s, the british created the experimental mechanized force between the wars to test the capabilities of allarms formations of mechanized units, this included motorized infantry motor battalions. Understanding why a ground combat vehicle that carries nine. Five of the national guards 27 brigade combat teams are sbcts. Command post, 5th infantry division boundary between 7th and 8th infantry.
Jul 01, 2016 comparison between the panzergrenadier division 44 and a motorized infantry division from 1939. College, tactical commanders development battle book. In general an infantry battalion would form 3 company groups although companies and or company groups could be detached to other units, a company group being a company and attached elements that are not part of its normal structure. Composition of the 9th infantry division click on the numbers for more information infantry regiments. In the new zealand army, an infantry platoon is commanded by a 2nd lieutenant or a lieutenant, with a platoon sergeant, a platoon signaller and a medic where relevant composing the platoon headquarters. As a lieutenant, kilner served in germany as a mechanized infantry platoon leader and a battalion scout platoon leader in the 1st armored division in germany. To fully understand operations of the mechanized rifle platoon and squad, leaders must have an understanding of fm 390. Units varied at different times during the period of the vietnam war. Most apcs and ifvs are fully tracked or are allwheel drive vehicles, for mobility across rough ground. Tactics 101 101 the mechanized infantry platoon armchair. Unlike the dragon, with a range of only 1,000 meters, the javelin has a maximum effective range beyond 2,000 meters. The enduring size and organization of the modern infantry squad. Apr 08, 2011 mechanized infantry units and armored cavalry units would have had them. In this way, you can assign atgm teams to the mechanized motorized infantry units.
On paper, the mechanized infantry and leg infantry would have essentially been identical, with the exception of each squad having an m1 and an additional member vehicle driver, plus the mortars being mounted. The platoon can fight as part of a pure mechanized infantry company or as part of a company team that is task organized with tank platoons and mechanized infantry platoons. In our initial article, we will address the organization of the mechanized infantry platoon. Basic infantry building block army university press. The mechanized infantry is one of the leaststudied components of the u. The score now stands at 2, with blue force leading. Enjoy every minute of it, even the difficult times, and give of yourself freely to your mission and your men. Nlt 070600mar15, 3rd mechanized infantry battalion mibn, 801st brigade tactical group btg attacks to breachbypass in order to allow freedom of maneuver to the btg decisive operation. Preparing a mechanized infantry task force for combatan nco.
The infantry battalion was the basic tactical unit of the ground forces of the canadian military throughout the 20th century. It is also the squad and platoon manual for mechanized infantry operation under the hseries toe. I am looking for the basic rundown of a 1985 west german mechanized infantry platoon composition, in marder ifvs. Mechanized infantry are infantry units equipped with armored personnel carriers or infantry fighting vehicles for transport and combat. This branch of the terran federation army is the main ground combat force with other active ground units being k9 corps used for recon heinlein depicts the mobile infantry as a heavily armored but highly mobile force which virtually dominates the battlefield and greatly. Chinas new mechanized infantry division, developed from these trials, was recently unveiled and has been described as being two generations ahead of current mechanized infantry divisions. After approximately 84 days of rigorous and intensive jungle training in the tropics of hawaii, the 423rd boarded the uss walker on 15 april 1966. What was the typical composition of an infantry squad in. The mechanized infantry platoon and squad apc chptr. It is used in the armies of austria, germany and switzerland additionally, in the german army, panzergrenadier pzg is also the. He also said that the total strength of such a company was 193, all ranks. The basic structure of the mechanized infantry platoons has been unchanged since 2002, although the equipment. Before the toa, the departing unit develops a continuity book with the necessary information on the. Each squad leader keeps a casualty coupon book platoon.
I made this thread so that we can compare the average russian infantry be it mechanized or any other, to other countries infantry. The mobile infantry is an elite planetary fighting force of the terran federation. Enjoy every minute of it, even the difficult times, and give of yourself freely to your mission and. These were divided up in the hq company with 120 men. Mechanized and armored divisions range in size from about 12,000 to 18,000 men, usually organized into three combat brigades that consist of three or more battalions and numerous support units. Bt mechanized infantry when i am referring to the btrules version of it and apcmobile infantry when discussing foot infantry riding on separately statted apcs though some call that mounted infantry as well. The primary audience for this manual comprises the mechanized infantry rifle platoon leaders, platoon sergeants, and squad and fire team. The term panzergrenadier came about in 1942, classifying all the. Section iii role of the mechanized infantry platoon and. Basic military map symbols united states army center of. This manual updates the tactics, techniques, and operational procedures for the mechanized infantry platoon and squad equipped with the armored personnel carrier m1 but organized under the jseries tables of organization and equipment toe. This publication provides doctrinal guidance for commanders, staff, and leaders who are responsible for planning, preparing, executing, and assessing operations of the sbct infantry battalion. He had recently received orders over the radio from the 801st btg headquarters. On 17 december 1965, the 4th battalion mechanized 23rd infantry regiment was alerted for overseas deployment and on 22 january 1966 it became part of the 25th infantry division tropic lightning.
Most apcs and ifvs are fully tracked or are allwheel drive vehicles 6. Dismounted mechanized infantry on the future airland. In 1944 an us army infantry battalion roughly consisted of 900 men. Orbat 1980s british bg part 7, the infantry battalion. Most modern mechanized and motorized infantry platoons have atgm teams. Also, it is suitable air assault infantry operating from helicopters. This page is a quick guide to some of the battalion structures that ive proposed on other pages.
A weapons company with 160 men and a medical detachment with 30 men. The basic maneuver unit is the brigade, consisting of maneuver battalions and a wide array of combat support and combat service support elements. Army mechanized infantry platoon 2002 present armor company 1990s present infantry battalion of the marine regiment u. What was the typical composition of an infantry squad in the. Platoon collective task publication august 20 headquarters, department of the army. Mechanized infantry is distinguished from motorized infantry in that its vehicles provide a degree of protection from hostile fire, as opposed to softskinned wheeled vehicles for motorized infantry. Platoon and squad tactics, techniques, procedures, and drills rely on these principles. Mechanized infantry m1 defense tactical planning and preparation. Being an infantry platoon leader is the greatest job in the world. Sitting in the back of his bmp2, the mechanized infantry battalion mibn commander stared at his map. This study traces the idea of mechanized infantry from its roots in the early armored operations of world war i, through its fruition in world war ii, to its. Infantry, airborne and mechanized 19650310 this manual provides doctrinal guidance on the organization and tactical employment of each rifle platoon and squad organic to the infantry, airborne, and mechanized rifle company. This manual supersedes fm 78, infantry platoon and squad dated april 1981, as well as fm 770, the light in fantry platoon and squad dated september 1986, and is aligned with the armys. They cannot rely on a book to solve tactical problems.
This summary of army tables of organization and equipment includes only combat and directly related major support units. You have the ability to mold men and make our country stronger 24 hours a day. The mechanized infantry platoon is equipped with four apcs. Various information gleened indicates that this is supposed to be a battle against iraq or iran while the more powerful u. Mechanized infantry units and armored cavalry units would have had them. This atp provides employment of the sbct infantry battalion in decisive action. A comprehensive document it does detail the organisation of a mechanized infantry platoon and what each infantryman carriesdoes although it is somewhat unclear as to the composition of the nine man dismount section this is a lot clearer in the 2002 chart shown below. In infantry combat the reader leads a rifle platoon charged with protecting the flank of u. Fm 10063 chptr 4 mechanized infantry and tank brigades. As an example, the above thread provided the breakdown for an army infantry rifle platoon, within an infantry rifle company, within an army infantry battalion, within an army infantry brigade, within the big red one 1st inf division. Go here for a template scenario showing how to change mech infantry team assignments, as well as researched platoon compositions for major nationalities of different time periods. The mechanized infantry platoon is a robust fighting unit comprised of 40 infantrymen when fully manned. Just as we did in our dissection of the light infantry.
The platoon leader and his headquarters are mounted in one apc, and. Tactics 101 093 the infantry platoon armchair general. As the name suggests, the weapons squad can be an extremely lethal unit on the battlefield. Unfortunately, i have a while to wait before i can attend bolc. In this report, mechanization or mechanized infantry refers to the use of. Note that the word panzergrenadier literally translated is tank grenadier, but the correct term nowadays is mechanized infantry or even armored infantry, but in world war 2 most panzergrenadiers were actually motorized infantry. Administratively, battalions are subdivisions of regiments. It will have two m240 type machine guns and two antitank missile systems normally a javelin. The platoon is subdivided into three section of between 710 soldiers, each commanded by a corporal with a lancecorporal as the section 2ic. Infantry rifle and mechanized platoon collective task. For the next several years, units will be in various stages of transition to division 86 organizations. Modern support helicopters such as the uh60 blackhawk and uk puma hc2, for example, carries up to 12 personnel, while a ch47 chinook can carry an entire platoon. Panzergrenadier pronunciation help info, shortened as pzgren modern or pzg wwii, is a german term for motorised or mechanized infantry that is, infantry transported in combat vehicles specialized for such tasks as introduced during world war ii. Your mechanized infantry platoon defends as part of a company or company team and.
These considerations, arising from the different structures, are highlighted in appendix a. Army adopted the nineman infantry rifle squad over the twelveman infantry rifle squad it used in world war ii based on the discourse and findings of the 1946 infantry conference at fort benning, georgia. In other words exactly the sort of missions the army is likely to find itself doing. Taking a look at manpower, equipment and organization. German panzergrenadierdivision 44 and motorized infantry. The reconnaissance troop, infantry division, is the mobile reconnaissance agency available to the division commander and is employed by him to secure details of hostile organization. My question is, what are the advantages and disadvantages to being assigned to a mechanized infantry unit or a light infantry airborne unit. Besides the straight infantry squad, a platoon will also normally be equipped with a weapons squad. I am commissioning in may as an infantry officer in the army.
In0498 infantry platoon defense mechanized lesson 1. Armys combat arms, and its most visable piece of equipment, the bradley fighting vehicle, is one of the militarys most controversial pieces of equipment. The composition of vietnam era army and marine divisions. Mar 01, 2004 the javelin added range and lethality to the infantry platoon s arsenal of weapons to destroy armored vehicles, buildings, bunkers, mortar positions, and fortified positions. This chapter discusses the doctrinal principles of the mechanized infantry rifle platoon. The platoon is a basic combat unit capable of maneuvering in the conduct of combat operations. The battalion was a standard tactical organization throughout the 20th century, and overseas deployments were usually done with. The proposed platoon composition is therefore only suitable for a light infantry unit with truck support, or if the platoon will never conduct a mission as a whole but will always be tailored to the mission with the rest staying behind as a ready reserve. Within the platoon, there are two distinctive elements the mounted element and the dismounted element. The mechanized warrior by alex turkatte the 2001 elimination of militaryoccupation specialty mos 11m mechanized infantry, without a replacement mos or an additionalskill identifier asi1, has left the infantry branch without a. In this video i will cover a german panzergrenadierdivision setup and also its precursor the motorized infantry division from 1939.
Specifically it is directed toward the company commander, executive officer xo, first sergeant 1sg, platoon leader pl, platoon sergeant psg, fire support officer fso, master gunner, supply sergeant, signal support specialist, emergency care sergeant, field. The platoon leader must also understand the limitations of the bfvequipped mechanized infantry rifle platoon to effectively employ the platoon bfvs. The likely composition of the battle group in terms of sub units is covered in earlier posts here and here. To see more photos check out our book armored fighting vehicles in the vietnam war amazon books, paperback or ebook free with kindle unlimited. Assuming that the weapons platoon is of similar size as the rifle. It is also the squad and platoon manual for mechanized infantry operation under the hseries toe with special considerations. The mechanised infantry regiment is an infantry regiment of the indian army, comprising 27 battalions dispersed under various armoured formations throughout india. A very good read, even if all the insights arent exactly what the author would have wanted. Where are we stan us mechanized infantry platoon bradley. Despite the outcome of the 1946 conference and four major studies all of which agreed with the conferences conclusions, army leaders changed the squad size from nine men to eleven and returned to the 1940s doctrine of fire and maneuver. During the 1930s germany motorised and mechanized infantry came into being, organized as part of a combined arms formation. After korea, the army again changed the rifle squad size. They were the 1st and 2nd battalions, 503rd infantry, elements of the 173rd airborne brigade, previously stationed on okinawa. Mechanized infantry company 3 mechanized infantry platoons, hq mechanized infantry platoon as of 2018, 10 out of the u.
The composition of vietnam era army and marine divisions, for. Stryker rifle platoon 2012 present armored battalion mechanized infantry battalion of the armored brigade combat team u. These are non mechanized infantry forces and therefore well suited to mout, jungle, mountain, coin and lic operations. There is a reason why i always add bt to mechanized infantry i. Armor and mechanized infantry company team army publishing. Organized and equipped to fight as independent battle groups specifically on mountainous and urban terrain, its equipment is lighter in weight and. Us army table of organization and equipment intro to toe. The speed advantages of motorized infantry first became important in world war ii in the german blitzkrieg. The fundamental tactics, techniques, and operational procedures remain consistent for units operating under either organization. It is organized with a platoon headquarters and three rifle squads. Mechanized infantry is distinguished from motorized infantry in that its vehicles provide a degree of protection from hostile fire, as opposed to softskinned wheeled vehicles trucks or jeeps for motorized infantry. While none of these studies, exercises, or books led quickly to a formal change in doctrine.
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