Size of a battalion/brigade/division...

Hey guys...

This is going to sound ridiculously elemantary, but I honestly don't exactly know precise answers. What is the generic size of a battalion? A brigade? A division?

I'm curious to get some sort of numbers that will just give a general sense.

 

A simple reply goes something like this:

A Battalion consists of 3 (triangular) or 4 (square) (or 5 or 6) companies. You see, each nation at different points in time might construct a battalion in different manner. At any one point in time a nation may construct battalions of Armour, Infantry, Artillery, Marine or Airborne infantry in totally different manner.

A Brigade folows the same rule; typically a Brigade will consist of 3 primary battalions plus several companies of other arms in support. Such supporting arms might include anti-aircraft, or anti-tank defense, plus some engineer or heavy weapons support. In some nations, a brigade is similar to a regiment; see below.....(but do not assume that the two words are interchangeable).

A division is again, something quite flexible in concept. A division might contain 3 primary brigades or regiments plus supporting regiments (brigades) plus supporting service, signal, medical, transport, engineer or reconnaissance battalions. And to add to the confusion, any nation might have any number of permutations of size according to period, application theatre, etc.

Add to this the reality that many nations were never able to fill their divisional formations with a correct (paper) number of men or equipment and you are no more the wiser.

To make things simpler, think in threes, since most nations abandoned the square formation at one point or another.
3 Companies of infantry form a infantry battalion
3 battalions form a regiment and 3 regiments will form a division.

At each level add on extra resources; divisions get supporting regiments and battalions, regiments get supporting battalions and companies, etc

Ask about a particular division at a particular time and can you expect a clear and concise answer?
Probably not.

Paper strengths almost never approached reality and operational considerations over-rode any theoretical numbers.

You didn't ask about Corps?

 

Major Destruction,

Thanks for the reply... I was thinking of things along those lines that you laid out, but your post really helped to kind of clear things up for me.

As far as the Corps question goes... I'm assuming that these are simply composed of Divisions (three?)? Would this assumption be correct?

 

About the Wehmacht

Unit Organization

A company used to have 100-200 men. Brigade and regiment are NOT the same, brigade is the upper unit!

[ 13. December 2003, 12:50 AM: Message edited by: KnightMove ]

 

In the USSR a motor/rifle(mech-infantry) batallion held about 400 men, a regiment about 2000(including support units, and divisions had roughly 12000 men.

A brigade usually refers to a independent special/elite unit for instance a Spetznaz(Special Perpouses) Brigade, Rifle Brigade, Marine Infantry Brigade etc.

Also a soviet Tank Division had less men than a soviet motor-rifle division. In most countries the opposite was the case.

Hope this helps

 

I read into the USMC during the beginning of the Pacific campaign.

This is a list going from smallest unit to largest:

-4 Man fire team (Either all rifles, or 2 crew MG with 2 support rifles)
-12 Man squad (3 Fire teams. Typically the Sgt would command one of the fire teams directly)
-40 Man Platoon (3 Squads of 12, +4 Officers and Non-Coms working in Platoon HQ)
-130 Man Company (3 Platoons of 40, +10 Officers and Non-Coms in Coy HQ)
-400 Man Battle Groups (3 Companies of 130, +10 Officers and Non-Coms in Group HQ)
-1250 Man Battalion (3 Battle Groups of 40, +50 Officers and Non-Coms in Battalion HQ)\
-3000 Man Regiment ( 2 Battalions of 1250, +500 Officers and Non-Coms in Regiment HQ/MIR(Hospital), Cooks, and other support groups such as intel)
-10000 Man Division ( 3 Regiments of 3000, +1000 Officers and Non-Coms in Division HQ, Artillery Battery and Platoon sized special units such as intelligence, signals and MP's)


After that is anyones guess as its not always specific from formation to formation. But from what I understand the Marines usually fought in Division sized units with few exceptions. One of those being Guadalcanal where the 1st Marine Division was supported by the 1st(or 2nd?) Raider Battalion and 1st Para-Marine Battalion.

(Note: The Para-Marine battalion was the only one of its kind at the time of Guadalcanal, and they where used as amphibious infantry rather than air assault. Too bluntly put it, they where used as reserve troops for the 1st Division after they took too many casualties I hate to say it, but they where well trained for a specific task and poorly used.)