How many people are in the American division. How many people were in the battalion during WWII

Division, regiment, company, brigade, battalion - all these unit designations are something unknown to people who are far from military service. It will take a long time to describe their main features. Let's talk about the difference between a division and a brigade, because these military formations have many common features.

Definition

Division- tactical or operational-tactical formation in various branches of the armed forces and types of armed forces of the world, consisting of units, subunits and headquarters.

brigade- tactical military formation in all types of troops and types of armed forces, which is an intermediate link between a division and a regiment.

Comparison

In some states, the brigade, along with the regiment, belongs to the category of basic tactical formations. Serves as a kind of intermediate link between the regiment and the division. It has a structure similar to the regiment, but at the same time it has more battalions and other units. It may well include two regiments, as well as auxiliary companies and battalions. The number of people in the brigade varies from two to eight thousand, and its commander, as well as in the regiment, is a colonel.

A division is a larger military formation, consisting of a headquarters, subdivisions and units. It includes a large number of regiments, divisions, battalions, companies and platoons. The size of the division averages from twelve to twenty-four thousand people, and its commander bears the rank of major general.

Simplified organizational structure and the smaller staff makes the brigade a much more flexible formation than the division. However, the structure of logistic and combat support, in contrast to the brigade, is duplicated in the division, which gives the latter an advantage in the reliability of the functioning of units in combat conditions. It is logical that the maintenance of divisions, which are distinguished by a more complex staff, implies a much larger investment than the maintenance of brigade structures. This was the reason for the refusal of the Russian Armed Forces from divisions and the transition to a more mobile and flexible brigade structure. The only exception is the Rocket Forces strategic purpose and Airborne Troops. In NATO states, divisions are still one of the main types of military formations.

Findings site

  1. The brigade serves as an intermediate link between the regiment and the division.
  2. The division is larger military formation, its average number is from twelve to twenty-four thousand people. The personnel of the brigade consists of two to eight thousand people.
  3. The division commander has the rank of major general, the brigade commander - colonel.
  4. The brigade is considered to be much more flexible and mobile than the division.
  5. The division has an advantage in the reliability of the functioning of units in combat conditions.
  6. The maintenance of divisions implies a much larger investment than the maintenance of brigade structures.
  7. To date, the Russian Armed Forces (unlike the NATO countries) have abandoned divisions, the only exceptions being the Strategic Rocket Forces and the Airborne Forces.

In 2009, during the reform Russian army the main ideologists of the reforms informed the military personnel, and indeed all the citizens of the country, that the military doctrine had undergone serious changes, and that the army needed significant internal restructuring. At the same time, the main threat to Russia was identified, to counter which it was supposedly not necessary to conduct large-scale military operations, but could be limited to solving local combat missions. Like, it’s no longer worth waiting for great aggression from outside against Russia, but attacks by bearded men with grenade launchers and Kalash should be expected.


Due to the metamorphosis of military doctrine, it was decided to switch to the use of brigades, almost completely abandoning such a concept as a division. The main argument in favor of the transition to the brigade composition of the army was as follows: the brigade has a smaller staff and, therefore, may turn out to be better organized than the division. This was supposed to give the entire Russian army greater mobility and flexibility, which met new challenges in terms of security.

However, after the divisions urgently began to be cut and shrink, it turned out that the brigade version of the formation had its own significant drawbacks. One of these disadvantages can be considered the fact that it was not always possible to achieve full interaction between the individual components of the same brigade. Considering that the brigade was conceived as a kind of middle line between the regiment and the division, which was supposed to absorb all the best from both sides: the power of the division and the mobility of the regiment, then the result of such an idea turned out to be clearly blurry. Numerous exercises in which the renewed military formations took part showed that the brigades did not absorb divisional power and at the same time failed to accumulate regimental coherence and mobility. It turned out that the brigades were organizationally stuck between the regiment and the division, not realizing all the positive things that they actually wanted from them.

Another undoubted minus of the brigades can be called the fact that, unlike the same divisions, if they were forced to take part in combat (combat training) operations, then in full force. A situation emerged in which a brigade, consisting of a couple of regiments, several separate battalions, including a battalion (company) of logistics, was removed from its place of deployment to perform combat missions, leaving this very place virtually empty and completely unprotected. In the divisional version for conducting active hostilities, there was always special group servicemen, which was determined to solve practical military tasks to counter the attacking side. This group could be larger, could be smaller, depending on the conditions and scale of hostilities. In any case, the rear remained covered. In the case of a brigade, to strengthen the rear, you need to use either another brigade (and this is nonsense), or somehow isolate separate units from it, which in itself is a contradiction in using the brigade as a single and mobile unit.

An additional headache was added (added) by the fact that a hypothetically probable military confrontation may not always fit into the framework of local opposition, where it would be appropriate to use a brigade. After all, on the same Far East one cannot exclude the possibility of a collision between the Russian army and the armies of its neighbors (with all due respect to China, Japan and other states of the region). If, God forbid, such a military clash occurs, then it is hardly worth harboring illusions that it will be limited to some limited area (very small) territory ... There were a sufficient number of examples in the country of how even the most seemingly insignificant border conflict, turned into a large-scale military confrontation. And it is in the case of large-scale confrontations that brigades can hardly be considered effective.

Despite this, all segments of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, with the exception of the Strategic Missile Forces and Airborne Troops. At the same time, none of the major military powers decided on such a large-scale transition to the brigade principle of formation of the Armed Forces. In particular, the armies of the USA, Germany, China and other countries use brigades only as additions to existing divisions, which form the basis of the army. At the same time, in the United States, brigades are generally parts of divisions in the vast majority of cases. It turns out that only Russia is among the countries with significant military power relies exclusively on brigades and takes into account the option of military conflicts only at the level of local skirmishes. Potential adversaries do not discount the scenario of a full-scale war with the use of solid formations.

Numerous military experts, who began to increasingly raise the issue of the inexpediency of an almost 100% transfer of the RF Armed Forces to a brigade version, seem to have been heard by the new leaders of the Ministry of Defense. Despite the fact that not so long ago, President Putin announced that the reform was almost completed and that it was time to abandon the “shit” from side to side, information appeared that in the near future several divisions that had been lost could be recreated in Russia at once. this status is about 3-4 years ago. In particular, information appeared that in less than a couple of months, namely, at the Victory Parade (May 9, 2013), soldiers of the Taman and Kantemirovskaya divisions will march across Red Square. Namely divisions, since this status will be returned to the famous military formation of the Moscow region, along with red banners, which the divisions were once awarded for the military exploits of soldiers and officers.

In addition to the restoration of the Taman and Kantemirovskaya divisions, the Ministry of Defense plans to start creating several divisions in the Far East at once, which indirectly confirms the concern shared by military experts in terms of the need to cover Russia's distant borders. It is possible that the division may again be reborn in Tajikistan - on the basis of the 201st military base of the Russian Federation. Indeed, in this region, after the withdrawal of the NATO contingent from Afghanistan, another large-scale armed conflict, which, not even an hour, is able to spread to the entire Central Asia.

But if the Ministry of Defense decided to turn again to the divisional variant of manning the army, then what will happen to the created brigades? There is no definite answer to this question yet, but, most likely, brigades will be left as the main combat units where their use is really more effective than the use of divisions. The regions where brigades can remain in the current version include, for example, North Caucasus. It is simply pointless to use large divisions here to conduct counter-terrorist operations. In this district, mobile groups are needed that could fight with bandit formations with maximum efficiency.

It turns out that the leadership of the Ministry of Defense is revising military doctrine, pointing out that local wars are certainly dangerous for Russia, but you need to insure yourself in case of more significant external aggression. To hope that we do not have major enemies is naive, how naive it is to believe that if there are big enemies, then they will not provoke Russia into an armed conflict. Reasonable restoration of divisions is good insurance.

Regiment, you need to understand the standard structure of military formations. The primary unit of the army structure is a squad, the number of which can reach 10-16 fighters. Usually three make up a platoon. As part of motorized rifle company there are three or four platoons, as well as a machine-gun crew and a squad that solves the tasks of protecting against enemy tanks.

The company is designed to solve most tactical tasks in combat conditions; its number reaches 150 people.

Several companies are organizationally part of the battalion. This structural unit is followed by the regiment. It is an autonomous and key military formation designed to solve tactical tasks, as well as take part in operations and strategic maneuvers. A regiment is usually led by an officer of a fairly high rank - a lieutenant colonel or colonel.

The composition of the regiment and its weapons are not homogeneous. Subdivisions related to the most different types. The name of the regiment usually includes the name of the branch of service prevailing in terms of numbers. It should be borne in mind that the structure and total strength of the regiment is largely determined by the characteristics of the tasks being solved. In conditions of hostilities, the number of units can be increased.

Regiment as an independent combat unit

A motorized rifle regiment includes two or three motorized rifle battalions, tank, artillery and anti-aircraft missile battalions, and a medical and sanitary unit. In addition, a regiment may have several auxiliary companies, such as reconnaissance, sapper, repair, and so on. The composition of the regiment in the armies different countries determined by the charter and the needs of wartime. As a rule, the strength of the regiment is from 900 to 1500 people, and sometimes more.

The regiment is distinguished from other units by the fact that it is organizationally independent in terms of combat, economic and administrative unit. Any regiment has in its composition a department called headquarters.

Above the regiment in the military hierarchy is a division commanded by a general. Depending on the goals and tasks solved by this formation, the composition of the division, as well as its name, depends. For example, a division can be missile, tank, airborne, aviation. The size of a division is determined by the number of regiments and other subunits of an auxiliary nature included in it.

December 2nd, 2012



If the Soviet and German rifle squads and platoons were approximately similar in composition and structure, then there were very significant differences between the Soviet rifle and German infantry companies.
The main difference was that the Soviet rifle company, unlike the German one, did not have material supply and support units in its structure.

It was a 100% combat unit.
The rear support of the company was a rifle battalion and a regiment. There were corresponding rear structures, rear convoys, etc.

At the level of a rifle company, the only person who was directly involved in providing the company was the company commander himself and the company foreman. It was on them that all the care for a simple company economy hung.

The rifle company did not even have its own field kitchen. Therefore, hot meals were provided at the battalion or regiment level.

The situation was quite different in the German infantry company.


A German infantry company can be conditionally divided into two parts: combat and logistics (convoy, two quartermaster detachments, a mobile workshop).
These are the rear divisions of the company, which were engaged in supplying the company with everything necessary.

They did not participate directly in the fighting at the forefront and during the offensive of the company they were directly subordinate to the battalion and regimental rear structures.

From the front line, these units were at a distance of 3-5 km.

And what was the combat unit of the German infantry company?

German infantry company (Schuetzenkompanie).

The total strength of the German infantry company - 191 people (in the Soviet rifle company 179 people).
This is what it looks like schematically:

Four messengers up to and including Gefreiter.
One of them is simultaneously a bugler, the other a light signaller.
Armed with carbines.

Two cyclists in the rank from to gefreiter (Gefreiter) inclusive.
Armed with carbines. They ride bicycles.

Two coachmen in the rank up to Gefreiter inclusive. They drive a heavy horse-drawn carriage drawn by four horses.
Armed with carbines.

Groom for an officer's horse up to and including Gefreiter. Armed with a carbine. For movement is equipped with a bicycle.

Thus, the total number of combat units of the control department was not 12, but 9 people. With the company commander - 10 people.

The basis of the combat unit of an infantry company was infantry platoons.
There were 3 of them, just like in the Soviet rifle company.

The total number of soldiers in infantry platoons was 49x3 = 147 people.
Taking into account the number of combat units of the control section, including the company commander (10 people), we get 157 people.

Infantry platoons at the company level received reinforcements in the form of an anti-tank squad (Panzerabwehrbuchsentrupp).

There are 7 people in the department. Of these, 1 non-commissioned officer and 6 soldiers.
The group weapons of the squad are three Pz.B.39 anti-tank rifles.
Squad leader in rank from Obergeifreiter to Unterfeldwebel. Armed with a carbine.

Three calculations of anti-tank guns.
Each calculation consisted of a PR shooter in ranks up to Gefreiter inclusive (personal weapons - a pistol) and his assistant in ranks up to Gefreiter inclusive. Armed with a carbine.

The total number of calculation is 4 people.
Squad strength - 7 people (3x2 +1 squad leader)
The anti-tank squad was armed with:
Anti-tank gun Pz.B.39 - 3 pcs.
Mauser 98k magazine rifle - 4 pcs.
Pistol 8-shot - 3 pcs.

Total in a German infantry company combat strength 157 + 7 = 164 people out of 191 people in the company.

27 people are rear guards.

Vehicles:
1. Riding horse - 1 pc.
2. Bicycle - 3 pcs.

Only 4 horses per company.

A few words about the Pz.B.39 anti-tank rifle.

German anti-tank gun Pz.B.39

The German army in World War II had two main types of anti-tank guns - the PzB-38 and its later modification PzB-39.

The abbreviation PzB stands for Panzerbüchse (anti-tank rifle).
Both the PzB-38 and the PzB-39 used the "Patrone 318" 7.92x94 mm cartridge.
Several types of such cartridges were produced:
Patrone 318 SmK-Rs-L"spur- a cartridge with a pointed bullet in a shell, with a poisonous reagent, tracer.

Patrone 318 SmKH-Rs-L"spur.- a cartridge with a pointed bullet in a shell (solid) with a poisonous reagent, tracer.
This is actually an armor-piercing cartridge.

Number 318 was the reciprocal of the old designation (813 - 8 mm bullet in a 13 mm sleeve).
smk meant Spitzgeschoss mit Kern (pointed bullet in a sheath)
SmKH- Spitzgeschoss mit Kern (Hart) (pointed bullet in a jacket (Hard)
Rs- Reizstoff (Poison agent), because the bullet had a small amount of tear gas to affect the crew of armored vehicles, chlor-acetophenone was placed in the recess at the bottom of the core - a tear-acting poison, but due to the small amount of tear gas in the capsule, the crew most often simply did not notice. By the way, until the German samples of anti-tank rifles were captured, no one suspected that there was gas in their bullets.
L "spur- Leuchtspur (tracer), the bullet had a small tracer in the back.

His bullet weighing 14.5 g accelerated in the barrel to 1180 m / s. A rather high armor-piercing effect of a bullet penetrating 20 mm armor set at an angle of 20 ° to the normal at a distance of 400 m was provided by a tungsten core.

According to other data, the PTR pierced 20 mm armor from a distance of 300 m and 30 mm armor from a distance of 100 m at an angle of 90 °.
In practice, fire was fired from a distance of 100 to 200 m, mainly on the tracks and fuel tanks of the tank in order to stop it.
However, at the same time, the PTRovets very quickly found its position and became an excellent target for shooters.
Therefore, if the PTRs were a strengthening of the German infantry company in the confrontation with tanks, then not too significant.

The bulk of the tanks were still destroyed by anti-tank guns, which were not at the disposal of the German infantry company.

Now let's compare a German infantry company with a Soviet infantry company not from the point of view of total strength by state, but in terms of combat strength, those who were directly at the forefront.

Soviet rifle company
The rifle company was the next largest tactical unit after the platoon and was part of the rifle battalion.

He commanded a rifle company company commander (company commander) with the rank of captain.
The company commander relied on a riding horse.
Because on the march of the company, he had to control the movement of the company, which was stretched during the march, and if necessary, the horse could be used to communicate with other companies or the battalion command.
Armed with a TT pistol.

The assistant commander of the company was a company political instructor.
He led the educational work in the divisions of the company and kept in touch with the watered department of the battalion and regiment.
Armed with a TT pistol.

But the actual assistant to the company commander was the company foreman.
He was in charge of a poor, one must say frankly, company economy, dealt with issues of providing company units with everything necessary, getting everything they needed in a battalion, which included a rifle company.
For these purposes, the company had one horse with a cart, which was driven by a rider in the rank of private, armed like a foreman with a rifle.

The company had its own clerk. He was also armed with a rifle.

There was one messenger in the company with the rank of private. But despite enlisted rank he was, perhaps, the left hand of the company commander. He was entrusted with responsible tasks, he was always close to the battalion commander, he knew all the platoon and squad commanders well, etc. And he was known not only in the divisions of the company, but also in the battalion.
He was also armed with a rifle.

The basis of a rifle company was rifle platoons.
There were 3 such platoons in a rifle company.
At the company level, rifle platoons received reinforcements, primarily in the form of a machine-gun platoon.

Machine gun platoon.
The machine gun platoon was led by a machine gun platoon commander with the rank of lieutenant.
Armament - TT pistol.

The machine-gun platoon consisted of two crews of the Maxim machine gun.
Each crew was commanded by a sergeant.
Armament - TT pistol.

The calculation consisted of a calculation commander and four privates (gunner, assistant gunner, cartridge carrier and rider), armed with rifles.
According to the state, each calculation relied on a horse and a cart for transporting a machine gun (tachanka). The calculation was armed with rifles.

The number of machine-gun crew was 6 fighters.
The number of machine gun platoon was (6x2 + platoon leader) = 13 fighters.
In service with a machine gun platoon:
Machine gun "Maxima" - 2 pcs.
Self-loading rifle SVT 38/40 - (4x2) = 8 pcs.
TT pistol - 3 pcs.

The main purpose of the Maxim machine gun was to suppress enemy firing points and support infantry.
The high rate of fire (combat 600 rounds per minute) and the high accuracy of the machine gun fire made it possible to carry out this task from a distance of 100 to 1000 m to friendly troops.
All fighters of the machine gun crew had the same skills in shooting from a machine gun and, if necessary, could change the crew commander, gunner, etc.
Each machine gun carried a combat set of cartridges, 12 boxes of machine-gun belts (tape - 250 rounds), two spare barrels, one box of spare parts, one box of accessories, three cans for water and lubricants, an optical machine gun sight.
The machine gun had an armored shield that protected against shrapnel, light bullets, etc.
Shield thickness - 6 mm.

German machine gunners have no protection other than a helmet.

True, this shield did not always save the machine gunner.

Bullet hits are visible.

And here in general a sieve. Apparently fired from armor-piercing cartridges.
And the trunk got it.

Thus, the main armament of the platoons at the company level was the 7.62 mm machine gun of the Maxim system of the 1910/30 model.

In addition, as a company reinforcement of platoons during the battle, there were 2 snipers in the company.
Sufficiently powerful strengthening of company units for the purpose of destroying enemy firing points from a long distance and incapacitating enemy unit commanders.
The snipers were armed with a Mosin rifle (three-line) with optical sight PU (short sight).
What is a sniper? good sniper from a distance of 300 m per minute of shooting, he can easily lay down with an infantry squad. And in pairs - half a platoon. Not to mention machine-gun points, gun crews, etc.

But they could work from 800 m.

The company also included a sanitary department.
The department was commanded by the commander of the department, a sergeant-medical instructor.
He had 4 nurses under him.
The squad is armed with 1 pistol.
Well, this is practically one orderly per platoon.
In rifle platoons, unlike the German infantry, the orderly was not supposed to be in the state.
But as we can see, the platoon still did not remain without a nurse.
Total: 5 people. Armed with one pistol.

Total company strength:
Company commander - 1 person.
Political instructor of the company - 1 person.
Company foreman - 1 person.
Messenger - 1 person.
Scribe - 1 person
Riding - 1 person.
Rifle platoons - 51x3 = 153 people
Machine gun platoon - 13 people
Sniper - 2 people
Sanitary department - 5 people.
Total: 179 people.

In service with the company:
Machine gun "Maxima" - 2 pcs.
Machine gun PD Degtyarev - 12 pcs. (4 pieces each in each rifle platoon)
Light 50 mm mortar - 3 pcs. (1 piece each in each rifle platoon)
Submachine gun PPD - 27 pcs. (9 pieces in each platoon)
Rifle SVT-38, SVT-40 - 152 pcs. (36 pieces in each platoon + 8x4 = 32 + 8 pieces in a machine gun platoon + 4 for the rest)
Mosin sniper rifle with PU sight - 2 pcs.
TT pistols - 22 pcs. (6 pieces in each platoon + 1 in the machine gun platoon + 1 in the sanitary department + 2 in the commander of the company and political officer)

Vehicles:
Riding horse - 1 pc.
Horse with a cart - 3 pcs.
Total 4 horses

In service with a German infantry company / in comparison with a Soviet rifle company:

1. light machine gun - 12/12
2. Machine gun - 0/2
3. Submachine gun - 16/27
4. Magazine rifle - 132/0
5. Self-loading rifle - 0/152
6. Sniper rifle - 0/2
7. Mortar 50 mm - 3/3
8. Anti-tank rifle - 3/0
9. Pistol - 47/22

From this we can conclude that the Soviet rifle company at the company level significantly outnumbered the German infantry company in terms of firepower and armament.

Conclusions on the number.
The total strength of a German infantry company is 191 people. (Soviet rifle company - 179 people)
However warhead infantry company was only - 164 people. The rest belonged to the rear services of the company.

Thus, the Soviet rifle company also outnumbered the German infantry company by 15 people (179-164) in terms of the number of combat personnel.
At the battalion level, this excess was 15x3 = 45 people.
At the regimental level 45x3 = 135 people
At the divisional 135x3 = 405 people.
405 people is almost 2.5 companies, that is, almost an infantry battalion.

advantage in vehicles, wagons and draft power at the company level in a German infantry company was associated with the work of the rear services of a German company.
The combat unit of the company moved on foot in the same way as the Soviet rifle company.

Vehicles of the combat unit of the Soviet rifle company:
1. Riding horse - 1 pc.
2. Horse and cart - 3 pcs.
Only 4 horses per rifle company

Vehicles of the combat unit of the German infantry company:
1. Riding horse - 1 pc.
2. Bicycle - 3 pcs.
3. 4-horse heavy wagon - 1 pc.
Only 4 horses per infantry company.

On the march, the German infantry company moved exclusively on foot, as did the fighters of the Soviet rifle company.

Therefore, the German infantry company had no advantage in vehicles over the Soviet rifle company.

Making a general conclusion, we can conclude that both in terms of the number of combat personnel and in terms of weapons and firepower, the Soviet rifle company was superior to the German infantry company, yielding to it only in the supply organization system.

Armed Forces (AF) of the state- government-supplied defense and combat organizations used in the interests of the state. In some countries paramilitary organizations are included in the structure of the Armed Forces.

In a number of countries, especially in the West, the armed forces are linked to the government through a civilian agency. It may be called the Ministry of Defense, the Department of Defense, the Military Department, and otherwise.

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Subtitles

Aircraft types

The aircraft are usually divided into different kinds; usually they are the army (ground forces), aviation ( Air Force) and the navy (Navy / naval forces). The Coast Guard may also be part of the Armed Forces (although in many countries it is part of the police or is a civilian agency). The French structure, copied by many countries, includes three traditional views, and, as a fourth, the Gendarmerie.

The term consolidated forces is often used, meaning military units made up of two or more branches of the Armed Forces.

Organizational hierarchy of the Armed Forces

The minimum unit of the aircraft is a subdivision (English unit). The unit usually acts as a single unit, and is homogeneous in composition (for example, only infantry, only cavalry, etc.).

In the Soviet and Russian armies, the main unit is considered to be a platoon, company or battalion. These are the types of formations that are elements of the next level of the hierarchy - the military unit.

Larger units of the Russian Armed Forces are called, depending on the size, parts, formations and associations (English formations). The most common (but not the only) type military units Soviet army were regiments, and in the Russian army - brigades. An example of formations are separate brigades, divisions, wings, etc. Associations are represented in the Soviet and Russian armies by corps and armies.

Hierarchy of modern armies

Symbol Army unit name
(subdivisions, connections, associations)
Number of soldiers Number of subordinate units Army unit command
XXXXXXX theater of operations or armed forces 300000+ 2+ fronts supreme commander
XXXXXX front, county 150000+ 2+ army groups army general, marshal
XXXXX army group 80000+ 2+ armies army general, marshal
XXXX army 40000+ 2+ cases lieutenant general, colonel general
XXX frame 20000-50000 2-6 divisions major general, lieutenant general
XX division 5000-20000 2-6 brigades colonel, major general
X brigade 1300-8000 2-6 regiments Colonel, Major General, Brigadier General, Brigadier
III regiment 700-3000 2-6 battalions, divisions major, lieutenant colonel, colonel
II battalion, division 150-1000 2-12 mouth senior lieutenant, captain, major, lieutenant colonel, colonel
I company, battery, squadron 30-250 2-8 platoons, 6-10 squads lieutenant, senior lieutenant, captain, major
platoon, squad 10-50 2-6 branches warrant officer, senior warrant officer, junior lieutenant, lieutenant, senior lieutenant, captain
Ø department, crew, calculation 2-10 2 groups, links junior sergeant, sergeant, senior sergeant, foreman, ensign
Ø link, group, team 2-10 0 corporal, junior sergeant

Steps in this ladder can be skipped: for example, in NATO forces there is usually a battalion-brigade organization (in Russia such an organization is also used, it is an alternative to the battalion-regiment-division division). At the same time, in the Soviet army there were so-called separate brigades, the main difference of which was that, unlike modern brigades, they included separate military units (for example, two motorized rifle regiments).

The army, army group, region and theater of operations are the largest associations (eng. formations), which can be very different from each other in size and composition. At the division level, support forces are usually added ( field artillery, medical service, rear service, etc.), which may not be at the level of regiments (eng. regiments) and battalions. In the US, a regiment with support units is called a regimental combat team (eng. regimental combat team), in the UK and other countries - a combat group.

AT selected countries traditional names may be used, creating confusion. So, British and Canadian tank battalions are divided into squadrons (companies, eng. companies) and troops, eng. troops (corresponding to platoons, eng. platoons), while in the American cavalry the squadron does not correspond to a company, but to a battalion, and is divided into troops ( troops, resp. companies) and platoons.

The fronts of the Red Army during World War II corresponded, according to this classification, to army groups.

Add-ons

  1. The names of the listed units may vary depending on the type of troops. For example:
    1. In the Soviet army (and, accordingly, in the Russian one), a squad may be called a crew. Functionally corresponds to the crew of one combat vehicle;
    2. AT rocket troops and artillery, air defense forces, a squad can be called a calculation. Functionally corresponds to the calculation that serves one gun or combat vehicle;
    3. In the missile and artillery forces, the air defense forces, a company is called a battery, and a battalion is called a division;
    4. In cavalry, a company was called a squadron, and a battalion was called a division (but often in cavalry regiments this link was excluded and the regiment consisted of only a few squadrons). At present, in the armies of the Anglo-Saxon countries (Britain, USA) there are so-called. armored cavalry troops in which such a name is retained;
    5. In Russian Cossack troops there are other names - regiments of six hundred or four hundred, hundreds, fifty, squads (tens), individual artillery units. The Cossack troops also have their own system of military ranks;
  2. The specified number refers to the infantry (motorized infantry, motorized rifle) troops. In other branches of the military, the number of units with the same names may be significantly smaller. For example, an infantry regiment consists of 3-4 thousand people, an artillery regiment - of 1 thousand.
  3. Any military unit in the army has not one, but two states - peacetime and wartime. In the wartime staff, new positions are added in existing units, new units and new units. The missing military personnel are called up by general mobilization in war time. In the Soviet (and Russian) army, there are:
    1. Deployed wartime staff;
    2. Reduced staff;
    3. Staffed units (in which the staff consists only of officers at the level of platoon commanders, company commanders, or battalion commanders and above).

In the modern Russian army, about 85% of military units have a reduced staff, the remaining 15% are so-called. "parts of constant readiness", which are deployed in full state. AT Peaceful time Armed forces in Russia they are divided into military districts, each of which is headed by the commander of the district troops with the rank of general of the army. In wartime, fronts are deployed on the basis of military districts;

  1. In all modern armies a "ternary" (sometimes "quaternary") composition was adopted. This means that an infantry regiment consists of three infantry battalions (“three-battalions”). In addition to them, it includes other units - for example, a tank battalion, artillery and anti-aircraft divisions, repair, reconnaissance companies, a commandant platoon, etc. In turn, each infantry battalion of the regiment consists of three infantry companies and other units - for example , mortar battery, communications platoon.
  2. Hierarchy, therefore, may not go directly, for example, a mortar battery in an infantry regiment is not part of any battalion (division). Accordingly, separate battalions can be allocated, each of which is an independent military unit, or even separate companies. Also, each regiment can be part of a division, or (at a higher level) immediately report to the command of the corps (“regiment of corps subordination”), or, at an even higher level, the regiment can report directly to the command of the military district (“regiment of district subordination”);
  3. In an infantry regiment, the main units - infantry battalions - report directly to the regiment commander. All auxiliary units are already subordinate to his deputies. The same system is repeated at all levels. For example, for artillery regiment district subordination, the chief will not be the commander of the troops of the district, but the chief of artillery of the district. The communications platoon of an infantry battalion reports not to the battalion commander, but to his first deputy - the chief of staff.
  4. Brigades are a separate unit. According to their position, the brigades stand between the regiment (the regiment commander is a colonel) and the division (the division commander is a major general). In most armies of the world, there is an intermediate rank between the ranks of colonel and major general. "Brigadier General", corresponding to the brigade commander (and during the Second World War, the Waffen-SS had the title of "Oberführer"). Traditionally, there is no such title in Russia. In the modern Russian army, the Soviet division military district-corps-division-regiment-battalion, as a rule, is replaced by an abbreviated military district - brigade - battalion. operational-tactical [i.e. 2-7]. - M. : Military Publishing House  M-va defense USSR, 1976-1980.
  5. Combat Charter ground forces Armed Forces of the USSR (Division - brigade - regiment). Military publishing house of the USSR Ministry of Defense. Moscow. 1985
  6. Regulation on passing military service officers of the Soviet Army and Navy. Order of the USSR Ministry of Defense No. 200-67.
  7. Reference book of an officer of the Soviet army and Navy. Moscow. Military publishing house 1970
  8. Reference book of an officer of the Soviet army and Navy on legislation. Moscow. Military publishing house 1976
  9. Order of the USSR Ministry of Defense No. 105-77 "Regulations on the military economy of the Armed Forces of the USSR".
  10. Charter of the Internal Service of the USSR Armed Forces. Moscow. Military publishing house 1965
  11. Textbook. operational art. Military publishing house of the USSR Ministry of Defense. Moscow. 1965
  12. I. M. Andrusenko, R. G. Dunov, Yu. R. Fomin. Motorized rifle (tank) platoon in battle. Moscow. Military publishing house 1989