Re: Force sizes

On Thu, 21 Mar 2002 16:09:46 -0500, "Tomb" <tomb@dreammechanics.com>
wrote:

>[Tomb] 2-4 line platoons usually, plus a Company HQ (small), plus
>sometimes attached armour (if infantry company). This will vary between
>about 50 and 160 men. Average is likley around 100-130.

Just to throw a historical perspective into the mix... In the American
Civil
War (ACW), companies were, on paper, 100 men (for infantry... I won't go
into
artillery, and cavalry was similar to infantry).

>Brigade?
>
>[Tomb] Usually some sort of entity comprised of multiple battalions.
>Combined arms with support arms attached like engineers, recce,
>support/logistics, etc. 

In horse and musket periods brigades were made up of regiments. You
forgot
regiment, which is still used -- if I remember correctly -- in Britain,
and
elsewhere. Am I right that the regimental level doesn't mean much in
modern
conflicts?

In the ACW, anyway, a full strength volunteer regiment (I won't go into
the
differences between volunteer regiments and US Regular Army regiments)
were
1000 men, on paper. There was a battalion level, but this was sort of an
ad
hoc designation for a unit bigger than a company but smaller than a
regiment,
as units were raised in a given area and may not have enough volunteers
to be
as big as a regiment.

Note that in combat, the average regiment size was about 300 to 500, and
some
got very, very small due to combat losses, straggling, disease,
desertions,
etc. 

A brigade in the ACW was made up of a number of regiments, 3 to 5 in the
North, usually more in the South. Southern brigades had more regiments
and
their regiments tended to be bigger.

>Any I missed?

Squad, Company, Battalion, Regiment, Brigade. That's about right. Next
size up
is Division, then Corps.

Allan Goodall		       agoodall@hyperbear.com
http://www.hyperbear.com

"At long last, the earthy soil of the typical, 
unimaginable mortician was revealed!"