Re: FIRE TEAMS IN SG II

> > David,
>
> No, each section (= US squad) had a machinegun. (The platoon had a
> AT rifle and (still has) a two inch mortar.)

Most modern units in most armies are set up similarly, the main
difference
is the size of the units. They were quite a bit larger in WW2 (if at
full
strength)
than today.

> According to my sources, the Germans allocated three men, two with
> the machinegun (and pistols, and perhaps the tripod) one with a
> rifle carrying additional ammo.

I think this goes again to what was allocated and what was there.

>
> With two men per MG and their fire directed by the squad leader,
> you might have as many as three, if lucky. I'd think one of these
> would be a senior private directing the second MG and the rest
> carry ammo.

LOL they all still do carry ammo, trust me...

>
> To return to the point, my (limited) understanding is that almost
> all WW2 armies used a squad with it's own machinegun or automatic
> rifle, which could operate as a small independent group covering
> advancing rifles and vice versa. The British operated that way on
> the attack when the riflemen went into close combat. The Germans
> so emphasised machineguns that the riflemen perhaps didn't operate
> alone very much. The Americans eventually beefed up their infantry
> with a second (or third) automatic rifle and perhaps started to
> operate in "fireteams" at that time.

I've been looking into that a bit, it seems to be a natural progression.
It continues to today with the increase of fire power in the squad and