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German Infantry Division 1939 - 1942
Submitted by Jon Martina

This description of the German Infantry Division was made with Norm Koger's Operational Art of War in mind. All equipment is listed in the order that it appears in the Operational Art of War's editor. Equipment in Red is equipment that is not represented in the equipment data base and recommended substitutions are added in parenthesis.



The Rifle Squad

The German Rifle Squad consisted of one officer and nine men, but during the course of the war this often dropped down to five or six men. This is the standard make up of a squad:

Squad Leader: Sub Machine Gun (1941 and later) or Rifle (1939 and 1940)
Gunner 1: Operated Light Machine Gun and was issued a pistol and a pair of sunglasses.
Gunner 2: Carried four 50 round ammo drums, 300 round ammo box, sheet metal barrel protector with two spare barrels, and a pistol.
Gunner 3: Armed with rifle. Carried two 300 round ammo boxes and carried MG tripod.
Riflemen 1 - 6: Armed with rifle. Carried 45 rounds in five round clips and two or three hand grenades.

Weapons & Equipment:

Karabiner 98K: Bolt action rifle in 7.92mm caliber using five round magazines.

Gewehr 41 (W): Semi automatic rifle sometimes used by the squad leader on the Eastern Front. It was a 7.92mm caliber weapon which used a 10 round box magazine.

MP 34: Sub Machine gun used by squad leader. Also known as the 'Bergmann' it was a 9mm weapon with a 32 round detachable box magazine that fired at 650 rpm.

MP 38: Sub Machine gun used by squad leader. Also known as the 'Schmeisser' it was a 9mm weapon with a 32 round detachable box magazine that fired at 500 rpm.

MG 34: Light Machine Gun fired by Gunner 1. This was a 7.92mm weapon using either a belt feed system or a saddle drum. This weapon could achieve a rate of fire of 850 rpm.

Steilhandgranate 39: Also known as the 'Potato masher' it was the standard grenade and used a filling of 7 oz of TNT with a 4 ½ second delay fuse.

The Rifle Platoon

The German Rifle Platoon consisted of the platoon leader, platoon troop, four squads, a light mortar troop, and one two horse wagon. This is the standard make up of an infantry platoon:

Platoon Leader: Armed with one Sub Machine Gun, 6 x 30 binoculars, message case, one compass, and one flashlight.

Platoon Troop: One platoon troop leader, two messengers armed with rifles, one messenger armed with sniper rifle, and one medic. The platoon troop also carried wire cutters, signal flags, and a flare pistol.

Four Rifle Squads: As described above.

Light Mortar Troop: this consisted of one 50mm mortar which was manned by a troop leader and two gunners.

Weapons & Equipment:

Granatwerfer 36: 50mm mortar with a 1lb 15 ½ oz HE projectile that had a maximum range of 500 meters. This weapon could fire around 40 rpm.

The Rifle Company

The German Rifle Company consisted of one company commander (mounted), company troop, three rifle platoons, three anti tank rifle troops, supply train, commissary unit I, commissary unit II, and a pack train.

Company troop: One Feldwebel with Sub Machine Gun, 6 messengers (2 with bicycles), one groom, and two medical personnel.

Anti Tank Rifle Troop: One troop leader with bicycle and three Anti Tank Rifles manned by two men each.

Three Rifle Platoons: As described above.

Trains and Commissary: Total of four two horse cargo wagons and three 3 ton trucks along with various field kitchens, cooks, and orderlies.

Weapons & Equipment:

Panzerbuchse 38 and 39: Anti Tank Rifle used by the ATR troop. This weapon was a 7.92mm caliber weapon that could penetrate 25mm of armor inclined to 30 degrees at 300 meters. The ammunition contained a small capsule of tear gas which was intended to force a tank crew to abandon their tank although it was not proven to be effective. These weapons saw limited action in Poland, France, and North Africa.

2.8cm Schweres Panzerbuchse 41: The Germans described this weapon as a 'Heavy Anti Tank Rifle', although it may also be considered a Light Anti Tank Gun. It was principally used in North Africa, but it was also used in the initial invasion of the Soviet Union. It was an unusual weapon in that it used 'squeeze bore' technology to achieve very high muzzle velocities for its projectile. A tungsten core was required for the ammunition because a standard core would simply shatter upon impact at such high velocities, therefore when tungsten became hard to acquire the weapon fell out of use. This weapon could penetrate 52mm of armor inclined to 30 degrees at 500 meters.

TOAW TO&E:
For the purposes of TOAW, a German Rifle Company would look like this:

Rifle Company
12x Rifle Squad
3x ATR
3x 50mm Mortar
7x Horse Team
3x Truck

The Infantry Battalion

The infantry battalion consisted of a battalion staff, intelligence unit, infantry engineer platoon, machine gun company, combat supply troop, supply troop I, supply troop II, pack train, and three rifle companies.

Infantry Engineer Platoon: This unit was assembled as necessary from soldiers of the rifle companies so it does not represent additional troops.

Machine Gun Company: This company had three heavy machine gun platoons and one medium mortar platoon. Each heavy machine gun platoon had two squads and each squad consisted of two machine guns for a total of 12 for the company. The mortar platoon consisted of three mortar squads with two medium mortars each. Generally, the equipment of the MG company was subordinated to the individual rifle companies. The Machine Gun used by the HMG company were usually the same MG 34 used by the Rifle Squad as their LMG.

Weapons & Equipment:

Granatwerfer 34: 81.4mm mortar that fired a 7lb 8oz HE projectile out to a range of 2,624 yards. A rate of fire of 15 rpm could be achieved in action.

TOAW TO&E:
For the purposes of TOAW, a German infantry battalion would look like this:

Infantry Battalion

3x Rifle Company

36x Rifle Squad
9x ATR
9x 50mm Mortar
21x Horse Team
9x Truck

1x Machine Gun Company

12x HMG
6x 81mm Mortar
22x Horse Team
3x Truck

Supply and pack trains

3x Horse Team
3x Trucks


The Infantry Regiment

The infantry regiment consisted of a regimental staff, regimental supply train, engineer platoon, mounted platoon, intelligence platoon, musicians, three infantry battalions, infantry artillery company, anti tank company, and a light infantry column.

Engineer Platoon: This unit were troops that carried out simple engineering tasks such as mine removal, roadbuilding, and trench work. They were also used to assist the combat engineers when needed. The platoon consisted of six squads with three light machine guns assigned to the 1st, 3rd, and 6th squads.

Mounted Platoon: This unit consisted of three cavalry squads, each with one NCO and seven men. The mounted platoon was used primarily in a reconnaissance and messenger role. During the course of the war some mounted platoons were replaced with motorcycle platoons.

Infantry Gun Company: This unit had three 75mm infantry gun platoons and one 150mm infantry gun platoon along with various support troops and transport. Each platoon contained two guns.

Anti Tank Company: This unit was fully motorized and had four platoons of three anti tank guns each along with various support troops and transport.

Light Infantry Column: While the name may imply some combat value, this unit is strictly a supply column consisting of 24 two horse wagons.

Weapons & Equipment:

3.7cm Panzerabwehrkanone (PAK) 36: 37mm Anti Tank Gun used at the outbreak of the war. AP penetration was 36mm/500m/30 degrees; APCR penetration was 40mm/500m/30 degrees.

5cm Panzerabwehrkanone (PAK) 38: 50mm Anti Tank Gun that entered service sometime late in 1940. This weapon frequently served side by side with the PAK 36. AP penetration was 61mm/500m/30 degrees; APCR penetration was 86mm/500m/30 degrees.

7.5cm Leichte Infanterie Geschutz 18: This was the standard 75mm Infantry Gun used throughout the war. It was light and handy to maneuver and was effective in a direct fire role for infantry when attacking strongpoints.

15cm Schwere Infanterie Geschutz 33: This was the standard 150mm Infantry Gun used throughout the war. While it was reliable and robust, its great weight led to complaints in the field. However, an attempt to lighten this weapon yielded a mere weight savings of 330 lbs from a 3,722 lb weapon. Very few of the lighter versions were built because aircraft were given priority on the light alloys required to build the guns.

SdKfz 10: Along with the Kfz 69, this unarmored half track was the standard prime mover for the Anti Tank Gun companies.

Kfz 69: This is a 4x4 car that was used to tow the 37mm PAK

TOAW TO&E:
For the purposes of TOAW, the infantry regiment would look like this:

Infantry Regiment

3x Battalions

108x Rifle Squad
36x HMG
27x ATR
27x 50mm Mortar
18x 81mm Mortar
138x Horse Team
36x Truck

Light Engineer Platoon

3x Light Rifle Squad
3x Rifle Squad
3x Horse Team

Mounted Platoon

3x Cavalry Squad
1x Horse Team

Infantry Gun Company

6x 75mm Inf Gun (75 Howitzer)
2x 150mm Infantry Gun
12x Horse Team
3x Truck

Anti Tank Company

12x Anti Tank Gun (37mm and/or 50mm)
12x SdKfz 10 or Kfz 69 prime movers (Truck or Jeep)
3x Truck

Light Infantry Column

24x Horse Team


The Infantry Division

The Infantry Division was made up of three infantry regiments, one Reconnaissance Abteilung, one Anti Tank Abteilung, one Artillery Regiment, one Engineer Battalion, and various supply and support columns.

Reconnaissance Abteilung:

One Mounted Squadron: The mounted squadron contained three mounted platoons, each with one HQ troop and three squads. Each mounted squad contained 1 NCO and 12 riders.

One Bicycle Squadron: The bicycle squadron contained three bicycle platoons each with a HQ troop and three squads and one light mortar troop. Each squad contained 12 men and one light machine gun.

One Heavy Squadron: The heavy squadron contained one cavalry gun troop armed with 75mm Infantry Guns, one motorized anti tank platoon with three anti tank guns, and one armored scout troop with three SdKfz 221-3.

Anti Tank Abteilung: The anti tank abteilung contained three companies of anti tank guns for a total of 36 guns. Each ATG company contained four platoons of three guns each and was fully motorized. A battery of 20mm AA guns was frequently attached.

Artillery Regiment:

Three Field Abteilung: Each Field Abteilung contained eight 105mm Howitzers and four 105mm Guns. These guns are typically drawn by teams of six horses. Horses on the right side were called 'hand horses'.

One Medium Abteilung: The Medium Abteilung contained twelve 150mm Howitzers. These guns are drawn by teams of six horses, although in bad weather it could require as many as ten horses to pull. Setting the gun up was a laborious and back breaking process for the crew.

Engineer Battalion:

Two horsedrawn engineer companies: Each engineer company contained three platoons, each with three squads armed with nine LMG, three flamethrowers, and three ATR.

One motorized engineer company: Same as above, but with an additional 16 trucks.

Bridge Column B: This contained the first and second pontoon platoon each with one officer and 35 men. Equipment was four SdKfz 7, nine trucks, eight two axle pontoon wagons, two trestle wagons, two transom wagons, and one motorboat. The second platoon was like the first platoon, but with a trailer containing six sturm boats rather than a motorboat.

Weapons & Equipment:

SdKfz 221-3: This vehicle was issued to light Armored Car companies but only 339 were built. Another type of vehicle which could be used would be the SdKfz 260 which would be the equivalent of a generic light armored car for game purposes.

2cm FlaK 38: This weapon was the standard divisional light AA gun for the entire war. Multiple barrels were added later in the war to cope with faster aircraft.

S 10cm K 18: This was the long arm of the divisional artillery. One battery of four was frequently found within each light abteilung

10.5 leFH 18: This was the standard divisional light howitzer for the entire war although it was outranged by the allied equivalents.

15cm sFH 18: This was the standard divisional heavy howitzer for the entire war. It was heavy and lacked range for its caliber.

Flammenwerfer 35: This flamethrower was a slightly modified version of the one that was used in 1918. It carried 2.6 gallons of fuel with a range of 33 yards.

SdKfz 7: Standard prime mover for heavy artillery, heavy flak, and towing heavy engineering equipment.

TOAW TO&E:
For the purposes of TOAW, the German infantry division would look like this:

Infantry Division

3x Infantry Regiments

9x Light Rifle Squad
333x Rifle Squad
9x Cavalry Squad
108x HMG
81x ATR
36x Anti Tank Gun
18x 75mm Infantry Gun (75mm Howitzer)
6x 150mm Infantry Gun
81x 50mm Mortar
54x 81mm Mortar
153x Truck
534x Horse Team

Reconnaissance Abteilung

9x Cavalry Squad
9x Bicycle Squad (Rifle Squad)
3x Anti Tank Gun
2x 75mm Infantry Gun (75mm Howitzer)
3x 50mm Mortar
3x Truck
3x SdKfz 221

Anti Tank Abteilung

36x Anti Tank Gun
12x 20mm AA
48x SdKfz 10 or Kfz 69 (Truck and/or Jeep)
22x Truck

Artillery Regiment

12x 105mm Gun
24x 105mm Howitzer
12x 150mm Howitzer
240x Horse Team
80x Truck

Engineer Battalion

27x Engineer Squad
6x Ferry/Bridging Team
9x ATR
19x Horse Team
8x SdKfz 7 (Truck)
56x Truck

6x Supply Columns totalling

33x Truck
36x Horse Team

Fuel Column

11x Tanker Truck (Truck)

Supply Company

14x Truck

Repair shop

19x Truck




References

The German Infantry Handbook, Alex Buchner, Schiffer Publishing 1991.

German Army Handbook, W.J.K Davies, Arco Publishing 1984.

Encyclopedia of Infantry Weapons of World War II, Ian V Hogg, Bison Books 1977.

Armed Forces of World War II, Andrew Mollo, Orbis Publishing 1981.

Machine Guns, Peter Chamberlain, Arco Publishing 1974.

Sub Machine Guns and Automatic Rifles, Peter Chamberlain, Arco Publishing 1974.

German Panzer Regiment
[Tank Regiment] 1944
Submitted by Richard Rinaldi


Overview and Organization

The armored regiment of the Type 1944 panzer division was intended to have two battalions: one with Panther tanks and one with the Panzerkampfwagen (PzKpfw) IV. Most divisions had the I. Abteilung [1st Battalion] of their panzer regiment withdrawn in 1943 or early 1944 for conversion to the Panthers, and these battalions did not always rejoin their parent division. In some cases the II. Abteilung might have Sturmgeschütz III or IV assault guns assigned in place of some of its tanks. From known examples, it appears the model for these units would be two companies each of PzKpfw IV and Sturmgeschütz.

Theoretically, a panzer regiment could have over 200 tanks and over 2,000 personnel. However, it is unlikely that any regiment in the field was equipped to that number, and none was able to maintain such a strength after entering combat. The regiment had a HQ and a HQ company, an AA platoon, and a tank maintenance company in addition to its two combat battalions. The battalions themselves had large maintenance and supply companies in addition to their combat elements.



Stab, Panzer Regiment [Regiment HQ]
By late 1944 the panzer regiment HQ had 14 personnel, 2 motor vehicles (most likely cars) and 4 motorcycles. An earlier TOE had 3 cars and 4 motorcycles, but the source did not give a personnel strength. The regimental commander, adjutant, and signals officer were located here, but actually commanded the three tanks shown in the communications platoon of the HQ company.

Stabs-Kompanie, Panzer Regiment [Regiment HQ Company]

By late 1944, the regiment HQ company totaled 109 personnel, 3 Panther and 4 PzKpfw IV tanks, 15 motor vehicles and 5 motorcycles. It was organized as follows:

Company HQ: 3 personnel, 1 motor vehicle and 1 motorcycle
Communications Platoon: 16 personnel, 3 Panther, 1 motor vehicle and 1 motorcycle
Tank Platoon: 20 personnel, 4 PzKpfw IV
Maintenance Section: 14 personnel, 3 motor vehicles and 1 motorcycle
Trains: 56 personnel, 10 motor vehicles and 2 motorcycles

Earlier in 1944, the tank platoon had 5 tanks, which would give the company a personnel total of at least 114.


Panzer-Fliegerabwehrzug [Armored AA Platoon]
An early version of this unit (1 Feb 1944) had 70 personnel and 22 vehicles. The platoon HQ had 4 personnel, 1 car, and 2 motorcycles. There were three AA sections, each 4 SdKfz 140 Flakpanzer 38(t) and a motorcycle (19 personnel). Supporting elements included a maintenance section (2 trucks and 7 personnel) and a supply section (2 trucks and 4 personnel). This gave the platoon 12 2-cm Flak 38 guns on the chassis of the old PzKpfw 38(t).

The unit was upgraded during 1944 to utilize the larger 3.7-cm Flak 36 gun. The final version of the platoon totaled 77 personnel, 8 3.7-cm SP AA guns, 7 vehicles (1 car and 6 trucks?) and 2 motorcycles. It may have begun with the SdKfz 7/2, an 8-ton halftrack with the 3.7-cm Flak 36 gun mounted. However, the desired vehicle was the PzKpfw IV chassis with the 3.7-cm Flak 43. The first version of this, Möbelwagen (“Furniture Van”) had the gun on an open compartment atop of the tank chassis. The later version, Ostwind (“East Wind”) had the gun in an open-top armored turret.



Maintenance Company
This was a large unit with 230 personnel, 68 motor vehicles and 6 motorcycles. It was organized as follows:

Company HQ: 11 personnel, 4 vehicles and 2 motorcycles
2 Tank Maintenance Platoons: each 60 personnel, 14 vehicles and 1 motorcycle
Tank Salvage Platoon: 46 personnel, 15 motor vehicles and 1 motorcycle
Ordnance Section: 10 personnel, 5 motor vehicles
Signal Equipment Repair Section: 12 personnel, 4 motor vehicles
Spare Parts Section: 8 personnel, 4 motor vehicles
Train: 23 personnel, 8 motor vehicles and 1 motorcycle



Tank Battalion [Panzer Abteilung]



The theoretical total for a tank battalion at the beginning of 1944 was 8 tanks at battalion and four companies of 22 tanks each, for a total of 96. In practice, a company of 17 tanks appears to have been accepted as an actual standard, especially for the Panther battalion. A source on panzer divisions in France in 1944 indicates that the establishment for the Panther battalion was 76 tanks (four companies of 17 each and 8 at battalion) and for the PzKpfw IV battalion the establishment was 96 tanks (four companies of 22 each and 8 at battalion). With the tanks at regiment, this would total 79 Panther and 101 PzKpfw IV. This is also shown as the official establishment for the 1st and 12th SS Panzer Divisions in a detailed study of their operations in Normandy. There were some variations in special units. Panzer Lehr, for example, had some Tiger tanks on establishment in June 1944, and Panzergrenadier Division ‘Grossdeutschland’ included a III Battalion with Tiger tanks in its panzer regiment.

By late 1944, the establishment for a battalion was reduced to three companies, and companies reduced to 14 tanks. This resulted in an official tank battalion of 48 tanks. However, at that time SS tank battalions were on a different and higher establishment, with an authorized strength of 59 tanks.



Stab, Panzer Abteilung [Battalion HQ]

This was a small group, with 15 personnel, 4 motor vehicles (3 cars and 1 truck), and 2 motorcycles. It may have begun 1944 somewhat larger, as one source shows 6 cars, 1 truck, and 2 motorcycles, but does not give a head count.

At least by late 1944, the PzKpfw IV battalion headquarters was smaller, with 14 personnel, 3 motor vehicles (2 cars and 1 truck?) and 2 motorcycles.



Stabs-Kompanie, Panzer Abteilung [Battalion HQ Company]
A detailed TOE of 1 Apr 1944 shows a unit with 141 personnel, organized as follows:

Company HQ: 4 personnel and 1 car


1st (Signal and Reconnaissance) Platoon
[1.(Nachrichten und Aufklärungs) Zug] (42 personnel)


Command group: 3 command Panther tanks and 1 truck (16 personnel)
Recce Group: 5 Panther tanks (20 personnel)
Medical Section: 2 SdKfz 251/8 ambulances (6 personnel)
2nd (Scout and Engineer) Platoon
[2.(Erkundungs und Pionier) Zug] (54 personnel)

Platoon HQ: 7 personnel with 1 car and 3 motorcycles

4 scout squads, each 1 car and 1 MC (5 personnel each)
3 engineer squads, each 1 SdKfz 251/7 Engineer vehicle and 1 Maultier [1] (9 personnel each)

3rd (AA) Platoon [3.(Flak) Zug] (36 personnel)

Platoon HQ: 4 personnel with 1 car and 1 motorcycle

3 Flak sections, each 2 SdKfz 7/1 halftracks with quad 2-cm Flak (10 personnel each)
Maultier and 2 personnel for ammo

This unit had 8 Panther tanks, 6 halftracks with quad 2-cm flak, and an integral scouting and engineer capability. The halftracks might have been later replaced with the ‘Wirbelwind’ (Whirlwind): quad 2-cm Flak mounted on a PzKpfw IV chassis.

The company was reduced somewhat later in 1944, although it retained the same basic organization. The revised unit had 135 personnel and 6 Panther tanks as opposed to 141and 8. Its internal division: company HQ (5 personnel and 1 motor vehicle); signals and recon platoon (36 personnel, 6 Panthers, and 3 motor vehicles); engineer and scout platoon (54 personnel; 11 motor vehicles and 7 motorcycles); and AA platoon (40 personnel, 3 quad 2-cm Flak, 4 motor vehicles [2] and 1 motorcycle). At that time, the SS panzer regiments still had a TOE with 8 rather than 6 Panthers.

Unlike with the battalion headquarters, the headquarters company in the PzKpfw IV battalion was identical in size to the Panther unit, the only difference being the presence of 8 PzKpfw IV tanks in lieu of the 8 Panthers. This was reduced for Army (but not SS) units later in 1944 to 6 tanks.



Panzer Kompanie

All tank companies had a headquarters (19 personnel, 2 tanks, 2 cars and 2 motorcycles) and three or four platoons. A full-strength platoon was 5 tanks (25 personnel). Following the comments at the beginning of the discussion on tank battalions, a Panther Company (three platoons) would total 94 personnel and 17 tanks, and a PzKpfw IV company (four platoons) would total 119 personnel and 22 tanks.

By late 1944, all Army tank companies were officially organized with 14 tanks (2 at headquarters and three platoons of 4 each) and 79 personnel. SS tank companies remained at 17 tanks as the establishment.



Versorgungs-Kompanie [Supply Company]
Under the freie Gliederung (f.G. in German documents: “free organization”) concept introduced by early 1944, the various administrative and supply elements previously found in line companies were moved to a separate unit. The intent was both to free the line companies from concern over these responsibilities and to reduce the support overhead. The two battalions had companies of similar organization, but that for the Panther battalion was much larger.

Panther Battalion Supply Company: 277 personnel, 98 motor vehicles and 2 motorcycles

Company HQ 22 personnel, 4 motor vehicles and 2 motorcycles

Medical 9 personnel, 3 motor vehicles

Maintenance 166 personnel, 42 motor vehicles

Fuel 26 personnel, 21 motor vehicles

Munitions 18 personnel, 14 motor vehicles

Administrative 37 personnel, 14 motor vehicles



Panzer IV Battalion Supply Company: 181 personnel, 66 motor vehicles and 2 motorcycles

Coy HQ 22 personnel, 4 motor vehicles and 2 motorcycles

Medical 8 personnel, 3 motor vehicles

Maintenance 89 personnel, 27 motor vehicles

Fuel 12 personnel, 8 motor vehicles

Munitions 15 personnel, 11 motor vehicles

Administrative 35 personnel, 13 motor vehicles





Creating the Panzer Regiment in TOAW



Some choices may depend on whether you are creating the regiment as the game unit, or the two battalions, or if the panzer regiment will become part of a panzer division. For supply and mobility reasons, there are advantages to having some trucks to stand in for the supply and maintenance companies, but no advantage in having some two hundred or so of them. After briefly discussing the components, I will display an organization for an entire regiment, and a suggestion for having the two battalions as the basic game unit. You can then adjust the full TOE unit for actual strength, or the addition of special units such as the PzKpfw III (flame) sometimes found in a regiment.



Headquarters and Headquarters Company
There is no point in having any of the cars, trucks, or ambulances, so this is restricted to the tanks.

3 Panther

5 PzKpfw IV

Anti-Aircraft Platoon
8 Ostwind [or Möbelwagen]

Maintenance Company
If the regiment (or battalion) is the tactical unit then you should include some trucks.

8 trucks



I Battalion [Panther]
76 Panther

6 Wirbelwind [or SdKfz 7/1]

2 motorcycle squads [3]

3 engineer squads

3 SdKfz 251/1 halftracks [substituting for SdKfz 251/7 engineer vehicles]

11 trucks



II Battalion [PzKpfw IV]
96 PzKpfw IV

6 Wirbelwind [or SdKfz 7/1]

2 motorcycle squads

3 engineer squads

3 SdKfz 251/1 halftracks [substituting for SdKfz 251/7 engineer vehicles]

8 trucks



Complete Regiment I Battalion II Battalion

Panther 79 79 -

PzKpfw IV 101 - 101

Ostwind 8 4 4

Wirbelwind 12 6 6

Motorcycle Squad 4 2 2

Engineer Squad 6 3 3

SdKfz 251/1 6 3 3

Truck 27 15 12



In the summary above, “complete regiment” is for having the regiment as the tactical unit, or rolling it up into the panzer division. The totals for the two battalions are for using the battalion as the tactical unit, with regimental assets divided between them.
Sources

References

Davies, W. J. K. Panzer Regiments: Equipment and Organization. (London: Almark Publishing Co., Ltd., 1978)

Handbook on German Military Forces, War Department Technical Manual TM-E 30-451 (15 Mar 1945) [reprint]. The basic source in this area, but it provides summary data rather than specific vehicle types.

Niehorster, Leo. German Army Panzer and Panzer Grenadier Divisions 1943-1944 (World War II Organization and Equipment—Book I) (Brooklyn, NY: Enola Games, 1982). Detailed breakdown on equipment.

“Panzer Divisions in France: 1944; German tank distribution in Normandy June to August 1944.” Located at Tracks & Armour (www.geocities.com/MotorCity/8418/france44.htm). This particular document does not indicate its source.

Reynolds, Maj. Gen. Michael. Steel Inferno: I SS Panzer Corps in Normandy. (New York: Dell Publishing, 1997)

Scheibert, Horst. Panzergrenadier Division Grossdeutschland. (Warren, MI: Squadron/Signal Publications, 1977 [originally published earlier in Germany]

Steuard, Jim. “The Panther Tank Company.” The Best of AFV-G2, Volume I. (Baron Publishing Co, 1972)

Steuard, Jim. “The German Panzer IV Tank Company.” AFV-G2, Vol 2, No 1 (Apr 1970), 10-11

Steuard, James. “German Armored Flak. III: Initial Formations.” AFV-G2, Vol 3, No 10 (1972), 22-23

Steuard, James. “The German Tank Battalion Headquarters Company.” AFV-G2, Vol 4, No 1 (Jan 1973), 26-28





--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[1] To be replaced by a truck for units outside Russia.

[2] Given the normal way the 1945 U.S. Army Handbook displays equipment, 3 of the 4 vehicles would be the SdKfz 7/1 halftracks mounting the flak guns.

[3] The scout squads might be more accurately represented by a rifle squad, car, and motorcycle squad, but the motorcycle squads in TAOW have reconnaissance capability, and that more accurately captures the purpose of the units.
 

JMS

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German Infantry Division 1943 - 1945
Submitted by Jon Martina

This description of the German Infantry Division was made with Norm Koger's Operational Art of War in mind. All equipment is listed in the order that it appears in the Operational Art of War's editor. Equipment in Red is equipment that is not represented in the equipment data base and recommended substitutions are added in parenthesis. Organizational listings in Blue are possible alternate organizational structures and do not represent additional equipment assigned to a particular unit.



On October 2nd of 1943, the German army ordered a new type of division to be implemented. The basic structure of the new division was the same as for the old division but manpower was reduced. Although the switch to the new formation was slow, the different weaponry could still be applied to divisions using the old style formation. Divisions stationed in Norway and Germany proper were not switched to the new type division.

The Rifle Squad

The German Rifle Squad consisted of one officer and nine men, but during the course of the war this often dropped down to five or six men. This is the standard make up of a squad:

Squad Leader: Sub Machine Gun
Gunner 1: Operated Light Machine Gun and was issued a pistol and a pair of sunglasses.
Gunner 2: Carried four 50 round ammo drums, 300 round ammo box, sheet metal barrel protector with two spare barrels, and a pistol.
Gunner 3: Armed with rifle. Carried two 300 round ammo boxes.
Rifleman 1: Armed with Rifle and Shiessbecher (Grenade Launcher). He also had a double carrier containing ten explosive and five anti tank rifle grenades.
Riflemen 2 - 6: Armed with rifles or Sub Machine Guns. Carried 45 rounds in five round clips, two or three hand grenades, and a variety of Panzerfaust and magnetic anti tank grenades.

Weapons & Equipment:

Karabiner 98K: Bolt action rifle in 7.92mm caliber using five round magazines.

MP 40: Sub Machine gun used by squad leader. Also known as the 'Schmeisser' it was a 9mm weapon with a 32 round detachable box magazine that fired at 500 rpm. These weapons were distributed much more freely in the later stages of the war because they were easy to produce. Large numbers of 'extra' SMGs were assigned to rifle squads in an effort to increase the division's firepower.

MG 42: Light Machine Gun fired by Gunner 1. This was a 7.92mm weapon using either a belt feed system or a saddle drum. This weapon could achieve a rate of fire of 1200 rpm. A fresh barrel could be fitted in five seconds.

Steilhandgranate 39: Also known as the 'Potato masher' it was the standard grenade and used a filling of 7 oz of TNT with a 4 ½ second delay fuse.

Gewehr Sprenggranaten: Rifle grenades would normally be fired from a discharger cup that was attached to the rifle barrel with a clamp. The discharger cup was rifled to increase the range and accuracy of the grenades when they were fired. The rifle grenade launcher could fire up to fourteen different types of ammunition. These different grenades had either HE, anti tank, smoke, illuminating, practice, or leaflets for their warheads. The most powerful anti tank grenade could penetrate 125mm of armor out to a range of 200 meters.

Heft Hohladung granate 3 KG: This is an anti tank magnetic grenade. The grenade resembled a funnel with a set of permanent magnets attatched to the wide end. The device could be either thrown with a 4 ½ second delay fuse, or placed with a 7 second delay fuse. The warhead contained 3lb 5oz of TNT and could penetrate either 110mm of armor or 20 inches of reinforced concrete. The Germans were so concerned about allied use of magnetic grenades that they produced an anti magnetic paint with which to coat their tanks called 'Zimmerit'.

Panzerfaust: The Panzerfaust was simply a tube with a gunpowder charge in the center and a hollow charge explosive on the end. Once the warhead was fired the tube was discarded. There were five types of Panzerfaust produced, and they were all produced in mass quantities. For example, 1,256,500 Panzerfausts were produced in the month of January of 1945. Penetration for the large warhead was 200mm of armor. The small warhead could penetrate 140mm of armor.

The Rifle Platoon

The German Rifle Platoon consisted of the platoon leader; platoon troop, three squads, and one two horse wagon.

This is the standard make up of an infantry platoon:

Platoon Leader: Armed with one Sub Machine Gun, 6 x 30 binoculars, message case, one compass, and one flashlight.
Platoon Troop: One platoon troop leader, two messengers armed with rifles, one messenger armed with sniper rifle, and one medic. The platoon troop also carried wire cutters, signal flags, and a flare pistol. Three Rifle Squads: As described

Weapons & Equipment:

Granatwerfer 36: The 50mm Mortar used to be assigned at the platoon level. When the grenade launcher began to enter service toward the end of 1942, it was decided to discard the mortar since the grenade launcher was just as effective. However, second line units still retained the use of the 50mm Mortar and this weapon should still appear in their inventories instead of the Rifle Grenade.

Kampfpistole: Experience with the firing of small grenades from the flare pistol led the German army to produce a 'Battle Pistol'. The Kampfpistole fired a variety of projectiles including a grenade, smoke round, target indicator, and a few types of illuminating rounds.

The Rifle Company

The German Rifle Company consisted of one company commander (mounted), company troop, three rifle platoons, three anti tank rifle troops, supply train, commissary unit I, commissary unit II, and a pack train.

The German Rifle Company consisted of one company commander (mounted), company troop, and three rifle platoons.

Company troop: One Feldwebel with Sub Machine Gun, 6 messengers (2 with bicycles), one groom, and two medical personnel.
Three Rifle Platoons: As described.

Weapons & Equipment: No new equipment was introduced at this level.

TOAW TO&E:
For the purposes of TOAW, a German Rifle Company would look like this:

Rifle Company
4x Rifle RL Squad
4x Rifle HRL Squad
1x SMG HRL Squad
3x Horse Team
3x Truck

Rifle Company (2nd line unit)
6x Rifle Squad
3x Rifle HRL Squad
3x 50mm Mortar
3x Horse Team
3x Truck

The Infantry Battalion

The infantry battalion consisted of a battalion staff, intelligence unit, infantry engineer platoon, machine gun company, and three rifle companies.

Infantry Engineer Platoon: This unit was assembled as necessary from soldiers of the rifle companies so it does not represent additional troops.

Machine Gun Company: This company had three heavy machine gun platoons and either one medium mortar platoon or one light infantry gun platoons. Each heavy machine gun platoon had two squads and each squad consisted of two machine guns for a total of 12 for the company. The mortar platoon consisted of three mortar squads with two medium mortars each. The infantry gun platoon had two guns. Generally, the equipment of the MG Company was subordinated to the individual rifle companies. The Machine Guns used by the HMG Company were usually the same MG 42 used by the Rifle Squad as their LMG.

Weapons & Equipment:

Granatwerfer 34: 81.4mm mortar that fired a 7lb 8oz HE projectile out to a range of 2,624 yards. A rate of fire of 15 rpm could be achieved in action.

7.5cm Leichte Infanterie Geschutz 18: This was the standard 75mm Infantry Gun used throughout the war. It was light and handy to maneuver and was effective in a direct fire role for infantry when attacking strongpoints.

TOAW TO&E:
For the purposes of TOAW, a German infantry battalion would look like this:

Infantry Battalion

3x Rifle Company

12x Rifle RL Squad
12x Rifle HRL Squad
3x SMG HRL Squad
9x Horse Team
9x Truck

1x Machine Gun Company

12x HMG
6x 81mm Mortar
11x Horse Team
3x Truck

1x Machine Gun Company (alternate organization)

12x HMG
2x 75mm Infantry Gun (75mm Howitzer)
10x Horse Team
3x Truck


The Infantry Regiment

The infantry regiment consisted of a regimental staff, regimental supply train, engineer platoon, mounted platoon, intelligence platoon, three infantry battalions, infantry artillery company, anti tank company, and a light infantry column.

Engineer Platoon: This unit contained troops that carried out simple engineering tasks such as mine removal, road building, and trench work. They were also used to assist the combat engineers when needed. The platoon consisted of six squads with three light machine guns assigned to the 1st, 3rd, and 6th squads.

Mounted Platoon: This unit consisted of three cavalry squads, each with one NCO and seven men. The mounted platoon was used primarily in a reconnaissance and messenger role. During the course of the war some mounted platoons were replaced with motorcycle platoons. These cavalrymen were given some of the new assault rifles in order to increase their firepower.

Infantry Gun Company: In the later stages of the war these units didn't usually have infantry guns in them anymore. The standard makeup of this unit was now twelve 81mm Mortars and either four 120mm Mortars or four 150mm Infantry guns.

Anti Tank Company: This unit had three platoons. The first platoon was an infantry platoon of troops who specialized in close assault versus armor, the second platoon was generally composed of 50mm anti tank guns, and the third platoon was generally composed of 75mm anti tank guns. The infantry 'tank hunter' platoon was armed primarily with the Panzerschrek.

Light Infantry Column: While the name may imply some combat value, this unit is strictly a supply column consisting of 24 two-horse wagons.

Weapons & Equipment:

5cm Panzerabwehrkanone (PAK) 38: 50mm Anti Tank Gun that entered service sometime late in 1940. This weapon frequently served side by side with the PAK 36 and the PAK 40. AP penetration was 61mm/500m/30 degrees; APCR penetration was 86mm/500m/30 degrees.

7.5cm Panzerabwehrkanone 40: 75mm Anti Tank Gun that entered service sometime in November of 1942. This weapon became the standard divisional anti tank gun in the later stages of the war and could defeat most allied armor. Its main problem was its size and the difficulty of moving in and out of position during daylight. AP penetration was 104mm/500m/30 degrees; APCR penetration was 115mm/500m/30 degrees.

8.8cm Raketen Panzerbuchse 54: Also known as the 'Panzershrek' (Tank terror), this was a shoulder fired rocket launcher that was inspired by the American Bazooka. The Germans improved the Bazooka design though and increased the caliber from 60mm to 88mm. Although it was an effective weapon, the Germans attempted to replace the Panzershrek later because of the critical shortage of propellant. The effective range was 150 meters with a penetration of 100mm at 0 degrees.

Schwere 12cm Granatwerfer 42: This is a 120mm Mortar. When the war began with the Soviet Union, the Germans captured large numbers of the Soviet 120mm Mortar. A decision was made late in 1942 to produce a German version of the 120mm Mortar with a few improvements to the Soviet design. The HE projectile's weight was 34.83 lbs with a range of 6,615 yards.

15cm Schwere Infanterie Geschutz 33: This was the standard 150mm Infantry Gun used throughout the war. While it was reliable and robust, it's great weight led to complaints in the field. However, an attempt to lighten this weapon yielded a mere weight savings of 330 lbs. from a 3,722 lb. weapon. Very few of the lighter versions were built because aircraft were given priority on the light alloys required to build the guns.

Maschinenpistole 43: This is a revolutionary weapon which could fire reduced charge rifle rounds at full automatic or semi automatic. The use of the reduced charge rifle round gave the weapon a much greater range than the Sub Machine Gun since those weapons used a less powerful pistol round. The weapons caliber was 7.92 and used a 30 round box magazine. At full automatic this weapon could achieve a rate of fire of around 500 rpm. Very few of the new assault rifles reached the hands of the common infantryman. They were most commonly found within elite units.

SdKfz 10: This unarmored 1 ton half track was the standard prime mover for the 50mm Anti Tank Gun.

SdKfz 11: This unarmored 3 ton half track was the standard prime mover for the 75mm Anti Tank Gun.

TOAW TO&E:
For the purposes of TOAW, the infantry regiment would look like this:

Infantry Regiment

2x Battalions

24x Rifle RL Squad
24x Rifle HRL Squad
6x SMG HRL Squad
24x HMG
12x 81mm Mortar
60x Horse Team
36x Truck

Light Engineer Platoon

3x Light Rifle RL Squad
3x Rifle RL Squad
3x Horse Team

Mounted Platoon

3x Cavalry Squad
1x Horse Team

Infantry Gun Company

12x 81mm Mortar
4x 120mm Mortar
15x Horse Team
3x Truck

Infantry Gun Company (alternate organization)

12x 81mm Mortar
4x 150mm Infantry Gun
24x Horse Team
3x Truck

Anti Tank Company

3x 50mm Anti Tank Gun
3x 75mm Anti Tank Gun
6x Rifle HRL Squad
3x SdKfz 10 prime mover (Truck)
3x SdKfz 11 prime mover (Truck)
3x Truck

Light Infantry Column

12x Horse Team




The Infantry Division

The Infantry Division was made up of three infantry regiments, one Fusiler Battalion, one Anti Tank Abteilung, one Artillery Regiment, one Engineer Battalion, and various supply and support columns.

Fusiler Battalion

The Fusiler Battalion represents the transformation of the divisional reconnaissance unit into a regular fighting unit. It was organized just like a standard infantry battalion only with one company equipped with bicycles.

Anti Tank Abteilung

The anti tank Abteilung contained three companies for a total of 36 guns. Each ATG Company contained four platoons of three guns each and was fully motorized. The first company contained six 37mm ATG and six 50mm ATG. The second company contained twelve 75mm ATG motorized. The third company contained twelve 20mm AA guns on self propelled chassis. Alternatively, the first company could contain a company of fourteen tank destroyers.

Artillery Regiment

Two Field Abteilung: Each Field Abteilung contained twelve 105mm Howitzers organized into three batteries of four guns each. These guns are typically drawn by teams of six horses. Horses on the right side were called 'hand horses'.

One Medium Abteilung: The Medium Abteilung contained twelve 150mm Howitzers. These heavy guns were fully motorized. Setting the gun up was a laborious and backbreaking process for the crew.

Engineer Battalion

One horsedrawn engineer company: Each engineer company contained three platoons, each with three squads armed with nine LMG and three flame-throwers.

One bicycle engineer company: Same as above, but with bicycles

One battle gear echelon: Same as above, but with an additional 16 trucks.

Weapons & Equipment:

3.7cm Panzerabwehrkanone (PAK) 36: 37mm Anti Tank Gun used at the outbreak of the war. AP penetration was 36mm/500m/30 degrees; APCR penetration was 40mm/500m/30 degrees. This valiant trooper was given an extended life through the use of a device called a 'Steilgranate 41'. This was a large hollow charge bomb on a stick with a finned tail boom. The stick was inserted into the muzzle and the fins surrounded the outside of the barrel. A blank charge was then fired in the barrel and the device was propelled to its target. The maximum effective range was 300 meters with a penetration of 180mm of armor.

Kfz 69: This is a 4x4 car that was used to tow the 37mm PAK 2cm

FlaK 38: This weapon was the standard divisional light AA gun for the entire war. Multiple barrels were added later in the war to cope with faster aircraft. It was frequently modified in the field to be mounted on trucks.

10.5 leFH 18: This was the standard divisional light howitzer for the entire war, although it was outranged by the allied equivalents.

15cm sFH 18: This was the standard divisional heavy howitzer for the entire war. It was heavy and lacked range for its caliber.

Flammenwerfer klein verbessert 40: This flame-thrower was an upgrade to the Flammenwerfer 35. It was lighter and it was a better fit on the operator's back. The range was still 33 yards.

SdKfz 7: This 8 ton unarmored halftrack was the standard prime mover for medium artillery and heavy flak.

JgdPz 38(t): Also known as the 'Hetzer' (troublemaker), this vehicle was primarily assigned to infantry divisions and independent anti tank battalions. It was a fully armored self propelled 75mm gun. 2,500 saw action

StuG IIIG: This was a fully armored assault gun carrying a 75mm anti tank gun. It was sometimes assigned to the infantry division's Anti Tank Abteilung. Around 8,000 of these vehicles were produced.

TOAW TO&E:
For the purposes of TOAW, the German infantry division would look like this:

Infantry Division

3x Infantry Regiments

9x Light Rifle RL Squad
81x Rifle RL Squad
90x Rifle HRL Squad
18x SMG HRL Squad
9x Cavalry Squad
72x HMG
9x 50mm Anti Tank Gun
9x 75mm Anti Tank Gun
72x 81mm Mortar
12x 120mm Mortar
9x SdKfz 10 (Truck)
9x SdKfz 11 (Truck)
144x Truck
345x Horse Team

Fusilier Battalion

12x Rifle RL Squad (some on bicycles)
12x Rifle HRL Squad (some on bicycles)
3x SMG HRL Squad
12x HMG
6x 81mm Mortar
20x Horse Team
12x Truck

Anti Tank Abteilung

6x 37mm Anti Tank Gun Steilgranate 41 (37mm ATG)
6x 50mm Anti Tank Gun
12x 75mm Anti Tank Gun
12x Truck 20mm AA
6x Kfz 69 (Jeep)
6x SdKfz 10 (Truck)
12x SdKfz 11 (Truck)
22x Truck

Anti Tank Abteilung (Alternate Organization)

14x Hetzer or StuG III G
12x 75mm Anti Tank Gun
12x Truck 20mm AA
12x SdKfz 11 (Truck)
22x Truck

Artillery Regiment

24x 105mm Howitzer
12x 150mm Howitzer
12x SdKfz 7 (Truck)
120x Horse Team
60x Truck

Engineer Battalion

27x Engineer Squad
19x Horse Team
38x Truck

3x Supply Columns totaling

44x Truck

Fuel Column

11x Tanker Truck (Truck)

Repair shop

19x Truck



* Notes: The Rifle RL Squad represents a squad with a grenade launcher and anti tank magnetic grenades. The Rifle HRL Squad represents a squad with a grenade launcher and a number of Panzerfausts. SMG HRL Squads are Sub Machinegun armed squads with Panzerfausts. Light Rifle RL Squad is a squad without an LMG but armed with a grenade launcher and magnetic mines.




References

The German Infantry Handbook, Alex Buchner, Schiffer Publishing 1991.

German Army Handbook, W.J.K Davies, Arco Publishing 1984.

Encyclopedia of Infantry Weapons of World War II, Ian V Hogg, Bison Books 1977.

Armed Forces of World War II, Andrew Mollo, Orbis Publishing 1981.

Machine Guns, Peter Chamberlain, Arco Publishing 1974.

Sub Machine Guns and Automatic Rifles, Peter Chamberlain, Arco Publishing 1974.

THAT'S IT, I FEAR, I CAN'T FIND ANYTHING ELSE ON GOOGLE'S CACHE...
 

Siberian HEAT

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Thanks JMS. That is some valuable information. Especially for those of us just getting started in design. :clap: :banana: :clap:
 

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Good. :nuts:

The ideal would be to have this stuff on the Design part, so it doesn't get submerged in the threads.
 

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A bit more useless stuff from Google¡s caches:

Organization for infantry in Africa 1942 year and over
company:
1 HQ squad 1 plat rifle(6 fucili mitragliatori a don't know in English like BAR), 1 plat mg(3), 1 plat AT rifle(3), 1 plat AT gun(3 47/32), total 129 men

1 btl on 4 coy if leg on 3 coy if motorisied
1 rgt on 3 btl leg or 2 btl motorisied
other rgt units hq coy, 1 mortar coy (9 81mm mortar)

And a very basic link for late war company TOEs:

http://www.panzer-war.com/TOE/page1.html

A hint for those looking for really strange things, mix Postal information with OOB site to get an idea of the components and deployment of armies, in this case the Czech Army in 1938:

www.japhila.cz/en/posthist/Petr_PH/Mil1.htm
www.geocities.com/kumbayaaa/czechorepobopgreen38.html

Or the best site on the Austro-hungarian Army:

http://www.kitzbuhel.demon.co.uk/austamps/dixnut/index.htm
 

Tim

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Thanks JMS that was one of them. there were others, two versions of panzer division, panzer grenadier brigade, volkgrenadier division and mountain division.
 

JAMiAM

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JMS said:
The ideal would be to have this stuff on the Design part, so it doesn't get submerged in the threads.
Good idea. Draft an article and submit it. The TOAW Articles section hasn't had any new print for a while now, and the only things in the Scenario Design and Playtesting group are 4 year old articles by Wild Bill Wilder.
 

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Tim said:
Thanks JMS that was one of them. there were others, two versions of panzer division, panzer grenadier brigade, volkgrenadier division and mountain division.
In that case I will indulge into some self promotion:

http://www.orbat.com/site/toe/index.html

For the mountain division and the very late Panzer division.

http://perso.wanadoo.fr/did.panzer/gliederung.html (In french)
http://www.panzerdiesel.com/data/e/2s0.html (Only panzers)
http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/6931/ (panzergrenadiers)


This has nothing to do at all with TOAW, but I needed to save the link somwhere... :crosseye:
http://www.pnw-listings.com/Wargames/SPWW2/Documentation/THE ADVANCED PANZER BLITZ TO&E book version 3.pdf
 

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German Panzergrenadier Brigade 1943-45
Submitted by Jon Martina
This description of the German Panzergrenadier Brigade was made with Norm Koger’s Operational Art of War in mind. All equipment is listed in the order that it appears in the Operational Art of War’s editor. Equipment in Red is equipment that is not represented in the equipment database and recommended substitutions are added in parenthesis. Organizational listings in Blue are possible alternate organizational structures and do not represent additional equipment assigned to a particular unit. Equipment listed in Pink is optional equipment that may be assigned in addition to the standard equipment mix. My data on supply vehicles for the Panzergrenadier Brigade is incomplete, therefore trucks will only be included when I have reliable data for them. The lack of trucks in a formation does not mean that no supply vehicles were assigned to a particular unit.
The Panzergrenadier Brigade is the organic infantry component of the Panzer Division and consists of two regiments plus support equipment. There are two different components of the Panzergrenadier Brigade – an armored component and a motorized component. The armored component is mainly the 1st battalion of the first regiment as well as some engineer vehicles assigned at regimental level, while the motorized component would be the 2nd battalion of the first regiment and the entire 2nd regiment. The elite SS divisions (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 9th, 10th, and 12th) could have the entire first regiment armored rather than having one armored and one motorized battalion assigned to the first Regiment.
The Armored Rifle Squad
The Panzergrenadier Squad consisted of one commander, one driver, and eight or nine men, but during the course of the war this often dropped down to five or six men. This is the standard make up of a squad:
SdKfz 251/1: Armored half track used to transport the armored rifle squad.
Commander: Sub Machine Gun with six thirty round magazines.
Driver: Drives the Armored Personnel Carrier.
Gunner 1: Operated Light Machine Gun and was issued a pistol and a pair of sunglasses.
Gunner 2: Carried two 300 round ammo boxes, sheet metal barrel protector with two spare barrels, and a pistol.
Gunner 3: Armed with Assault Rifle. Carried two 300 round ammo boxes.
Rifleman 1: Armed with Rifle and Shiessbecher (Grenade Launcher). He also had a double carrier containing ten explosive and five anti tank rifle grenades.
Riflemen 2 – 5: Armed with Assault Rifles or Sub Machine Guns. Carried six 30 round magazines, two or three hand grenades, and a variety of Panzerfaust and magnetic anti tank grenades.

Weapons & Equipment:
Karabiner 98K: Bolt action rifle in 7.92mm caliber using five round magazines. The Schiessbacher was normally attached to this weapon.
Sturmgeschutz 44: This is a revolutionary weapon which could fire reduced charge rifle rounds at full automatic or semi automatic. It is the grandfather of all modern assault rifles, and the Heckler & Koch Gewehr 3 used by the Bundeswehr is its direct descendant. The use of the reduced charge rifle round gave the weapon a much greater range than the Sub Machine Gun since those weapons used a less powerful pistol round. The weapons caliber was 7.92 and used a 30 round box magazine. At full automatic this weapon could achieve a rate of fire of around 500 rpm.
MP 40: Also known as the ‘Schmeisser’ it was a 9mm weapon with a 32 round detachable box magazine that fired at 500 rpm. These weapons were distributed much more freely in the later stages of the war because they were easy to produce.
MG 42: Light Machine Gun fired by Gunner 1. This was a 7.92mm weapon using either a belt feed system or a saddle drum. This weapon could achieve a rate of fire of 1200 rpm. A fresh barrel could be fitted in five seconds.
Steilhandgranate 39: Also known as the ‘Potato masher’ it was the standard grenade and used a filling of 7 oz of TNT with a 4 ½ second delay fuse.
Gewehr Sprenggranaten: Rifle grenades would normally be fired from a discharger cup that was attached to the rifle barrel with a clamp. The discharger cup was rifled to increase the range and accuracy of the grenades when they were fired. The rifle grenade launcher could fire up to fourteen different types of ammunition. These different grenades had either HE, anti tank, smoke, illuminating, practice, or leaflets for their warheads. The most powerful anti tank rifle grenade could penetrate 125mm of armor out to a range of 200 meters.
Heft Hohladung granate 3 KG: This is an anti tank magnetic grenade. The grenade resembled a funnel with a set of permanent magnets attatched to the wide end. The device could be either thrown with a 4 ½ second delay fuse, or placed with a 7 second delay fuse. The warhead contained 3lb 5oz of TNT and could penetrate either 110mm of armor or 20 inches of reinforced concrete. The Germans were so concerned about allied use of magnetic grenades that they produced an anti magnetic paint with which to coat their tanks called ‘Zimmerit’.
Panzerfaust: The Panzerfaust was simply a tube with a gunpowder charge in the center and a hollow charge explosive on the end. Once the warhead was fired the tube was discarded. There were five types of Panzerfaust produced, and they were all produced in mass quantities. For example, 1,256,500 Panzerfausts were produced in the month of January of 1945. Penetration for the large warhead was 200mm of armor. The small warhead could penetrate 140mm of armor.
SdKfz 251/1: This is the most basic version of the 251 series. It was an armored half track that served as the German Army’s standard armored personnel carrier throughout the war. It was armed with an MG 42 set in a shielded mounting over the driver’s compartment. The squad weapon could also be mounted on a pintle mount at the rear of the vehicle. Although this vehicle was designed primarily as a carrying vehicle rather than a fighting vehicle, it was frequently used in the fighting role later in the war.
The Armored Rifle Platoon
The German Rifle Platoon consisted of the platoon leader; platoon troop, four squads, and a number of armored vehicles
Platoon Leader: Armed with one Sub Machine Gun, 6 x 30 binoculars, message case, one compass, and one flashlight.
Platoon Troop: Carried wire cutters, signal flags, a flare pistol, and operated the main gun of the platoon vehicle.
Four Rifle Squads: As described
Weapons & Equipment:
Kampfpistole: Experience with the firing of small grenades from the flare pistol led the German army to produce a ‘Battle Pistol’. The Kampfpistole fired a variety of projectiles including a grenade, smoke round, target indicator, and a few types of illuminating rounds.
SdKfz 251/10: This was the platoon leader’s vehicle. This vehicle is a SdKfz 251/1 armed with a 37mm ATG over the driver’s compartment. In 1944 a Panzershrek was added which could be removed from the vehicle by the platoon troop.
8.8cm Raketen Panzerbuchse 54: Also known as the ‘Panzershrek’ (Tank terror), this was a shoulder fired rocket launcher that was inspired by the American Bazooka. The Germans improved the Bazooka design though and increased the caliber from 60mm to 88mm. Although it was an effective weapon, the Germans attempted to replace the Panzershrek later because of the critical shortage of propellant. The effective range was 150 meters with a penetration of 100mm at 0 degrees.
The Armored Rifle Company
The German Armored Rifle Company consisted of one company commander, company troop, three rifle platoons, and a heavy weapons platoon.
Company troop: One Feldwebel with Sub Machine Gun, 6 messengers, two medical personnel, and various vehicles.
Three Rifle Platoons : As described.
Heavy Weapons Platoon: Two SdKfz 251/9, two SdKfz 251/2, and two SdKfz 251/sMG. A platoon of six SdKfz 251/17 or SdKfz 251/21 may also be attached to the heavy weapons platoon.
Weapons & Equipment :
Granatwerfer 34: 81.4mm mortar that fired a 7lb 8oz HE projectile out to a range of 2,624 yards. A rate of fire of 15 rpm could be achieved in action.
SdKfz 251/2: This was an SdKfz 251 that was modified to carry an 81mm mortar.
SdKfz 251/9: This was an SdKfz 251 that was modified to carry the 75mm gun from the early Pz IV tank. Nicknamed the ‘Stummel’ (stump), it was used as a direct support weapon for the Panzergrenadier squads.
SdKfz 251/sMG : This was a SdKfz 251 that was used as the carrier for the platoon HMG.
SdKfz 251/17 : This was a SdKfz 251 that was modified to carry a 20mm AA gun
SdKfz 251/21: This was a SdKfz 251 that was modified to carry a turret that had a triple HMG mounting.
For the purposes of TOAW, a German Armored Panzergrenadier Company would look like this:
Armored Panzergrenadier Company
12x Heavy Rifle HRL Squad
3x SdKfz 251/10
2x SdKfz 251/2 (SdKfz 251/1 & 81mm Mortar)
2x SdKfz 251/9
2x SdKfz 251/sMG (SdKfz 251/1 & HMG)
6x SdKfz 251/17 or 251/21 (There really is no equivalent, but the FlakPz 38t is the only option that comes close.)
12x SdKfz 251/1
The Armored Infantry Battalion
The infantry battalion consisted of a battalion staff, intelligence unit, heavy weapons company, and three rifle companies.
Heavy Weapons Company: This company had three heavy machine gun platoons, a close support section, one anti tank gun section, and either two 75mm Infantry Guns or four 120mm Mortars. Each heavy machine gun platoon had two SdKfz 251/sMG making a total of 6 for the company. The close support section consisted of six SdKfz 251/9s. The anti tank gun section consisted of three 75mm ATG towed by SdKfz 251/4. The Infantry Gun section consisted of two 75mm Infantry Guns towed by SdKfz 251/4.
Weapons & Equipment
7.5cm Leichte Infanterie Geschutz 18: This was the standard 75mm Infantry Gun used throughout the war. It was light and handy to maneuver and was effective in a direct fire role for infantry when attacking strongpoints.
7.5cm Panzerabwehrkanone 40: 75mm Anti Tank Gun that entered service sometime in November of 1942. This weapon became the standard divisional anti tank gun in the later stages of the war and could defeat most allied armor. Its main problem was its size and the difficulty of moving in and out of position during daylight. AP penetration was 104mm/500m/30 degrees; APCR penetration was 115mm/500m/30 degrees.
Schwere 12cm Granatwerfer 42: This is a 120mm Mortar. When the war began with the Soviet Union, the Germans captured large numbers of the Soviet 120mm Mortar. A decision was made late in 1942 to produce a German version of the 120mm Mortar with a few improvements to the Soviet design. The HE projectile’s weight was 34.83 lbs with a range of 6,615 yards.
SdKfz 251/4 : This was a SdKfz 251 that was modified to allow towing.
For the purposes of TOAW, a German Armored Panzergrenadier Battalion would look like this:
Armored Panzergrenadier Battalion
3x Rifle Company
36x Heavy Rifle HRL Squad
9x SdKfz 251/10
6x SdKfz 251/2 (SdKfz 251/1 & 81mm Mortar)
6x SdKfz 251/9
6x SdKfz 251/sMG (SdKfz 251/1 & HMG)
36x SdKfz 251/1
1x Heavy Weapons Company
3x 75mm Anti Tank Gun
2x 75mm Infantry Gun (75mm Howitzer)
6x SdKfz 251/9
6x SdKfz 251/sMG (SdKfz 251/1 & HMG)
5x SdKfz 251/4 (SdKfz 251/1)
1x Heavy Weapons Company (alternate organization)
3x 75mm Anti Tank Gun
4x 120mm Mortar
6x SdKfz 251/9
6x SdKfz 251/sMG (SdKfz 251/1 & HMG)
7x SdKfz 251/4 (SdKfz 251/1)

The Motorized Rifle Company
The German Motorized Rifle Company consisted of one company commander, company troop, three rifle platoons, and a machine gun platoon. The organization of the squad and platoon was similar to the armored squad and platoon but without the armored vehicles. For space purposes I will not repeat their structure.
Company troop: One Feldwebel with Sub Machine Gun, 6 messengers, two medical personnel, and various vehicles.
Three Rifle Platoons : As described.
Heavy Weapons Platoon: The motorized heavy weapons platoon consisted of four HMG and two 81mm Mortar
Weapons & Equipment
Described above
For the purposes of TOAW the motorized infantry company would look like this:
Motorized Rifle Company
3x Motorized Rifle Platoon
6x Heavy Rifle HRL Squad
6x SMG HRL Squad
15x Truck
1x Machine Gun Platoon
4x HMG
2x 81mm Mortar
12x Truck

The Motorized Infantry Battalion
The Motorized Infantry Battalion consisted of a battalion commander, battalion troop, heavy weapons company, and three rifle companies.
Heavy Weapons Company: This unit consisted of one anti tank gun section and one 120mm Mortar platoon. Alternately this unit could contain one 120mm Mortar platoon and six truck mounted 20mm Flak guns.
Three Rifle Companies : As described
Weapons & Equipment :
SdKfz 11 : This unarmored 3 ton half track was the standard prime mover for the 75mm Anti Tank Gun.
SdKfz 10 : This unarmored half track was the standard prime mover for the 50mm Anti Tank Gun and for the 120mm Mortar.
2cm FlaK 38 : This was the standard divisional AA defence weapon used by the German Army in World War II.
For the purposes of TOAW, the motorized battalion would look like this:
Motorized Infantry Battalion
3x Motorized Rifle Company
18x Heavy Rifle HRL Squad
18x SMG HRL Squad
12x HMG
6x 81mm Mortar
81x Truck
1x Heavy Weapons Company
3x 75mm Anti Tank Gun
4x 120mm Mortar
3x SdKfz 11 (truck)
4x SdKfz 10 (truck)
1x Heavy Weapons Company (Alternate Organization)
4x 120mm Mortar
6x Truck 20 AA
4x Truck

1st Panzergrenadier Regiment
The first Panzergrenadier Regiment consisted of one Armored Panzergrenadier Battalion, one Motorized Panzergrenadier Battalion, one Engineer Company, one self propelled infantry gun company, one optional Flak company, one anti tank platoon, one motorcycle platoon, and one more engineer platoon assigned to the Headquarters Troop.
Engineer Company : This unit is composed of two platoons of motorized engineer squads armed with flamethrowers, and one armored platoon of six SdKfz 251/16s.
Self Propelled Infantry Gun Company: This unit consisted of six self propelled 150mm Infantry Guns. The two most common vehicles for this role after 1942 are the sIG 38(t)M, or the Pz A III/IV Hummel.
Flak Company: This unit consisted of the SdKfz 251/17 or 21. If you are assigning flak at the company level, then this unit will be excluded (having been assigned to the individual armored infantry companies).
Anti Tank Platoon : This unit consisted of one three gun platoon of 75mm Anti Tank Guns.
Motorcycle Platoon : One platoon of three motorcycle squads used for reconnaissance and dispatch riding.
Headquarters Engineer Platoon : Frequently this unit was simply added to the regular engineer company and consisted of six SdKfz 251/16.
Weapons and Equipment
SIG 38(t)M: Also known as the Cricket or Bison, it was a better solution to the self propelled infantry gun than the sIG IB or sIG II. It only carried 18 rounds of ammunition onboard. A total of 372 sIG 38(t) were built.
Hummel: This was another version of the self propelled infantry gun. Like the Cricket, the Hummel also carried 18 rounds of ammunition onboard. 714 were built.
SdKfz 251/16 : This was a SdKfz 251 that was modified to carry two flamethrowers (one on each side of the vehicle).
For the purposes of TOAW, the 1st Panzergrenadier Regiment would look like this:
Infantry Regiment
1x Armored Panzergrenadier Battalion
36x Heavy Rifle HRL Squad
3x 75mm Anti Tank Gun
2x 75mm Infantry Gun (75mm Howitzer)
9x SdKfz 251/10
12x SdKfz 251/9
6x SdKfz 251/2 (SdKfz 251/1 & 81mm Mortar)
12x SdKfz 251/sMG (SdKfz 251/1 & HMG)
5x SdKfz 251/4 (SdKfz 251/1)
36x SdKfz 251/1 (59 if you count the conversions above)
1x Motorized Rifle Battalion
18x Heavy Rifle HRL Squad
18x SMG HRL Squad
12x HMG
3x 75mm Anti Tank Gun
6x 81mm Mortar
4x 120mm Mortar
81x Truck
3x SdKfz 11 (truck)
4x SdKfz 10 (truck)
Motorized Engineer Company
6x Engineer Squad
6x SdKfz 251/16
13x Trucks
Infantry Gun Company
6x sIG 38(t)M
6x PzA III/IV (Hummel)
8x Truck
Self Propelled Gun Company
12x SdKfz 251/17 or SdKfz 251/21
Anti Tank Platoon
3x 75mm Anti Tank Gun
3x SdKfz 11 prime mover (Truck)
Headquarters Engineer Platoon
6x SdKfz 251/16 Motorcycle Platoon
3x Motorcycle Squad

2nd Motorized Panzergrenadier Regiment
The second regiment of the Panzergrenadier Brigade was entirely motorized and contained no armored components. In terms of organization and equipment it would be similar to the 1st Panzergrenadier Regiment, but without the armored vehicles. The only major difference would be the lack of an engineer platoon in the headquarters troop and perhaps a few less automatic weapons and Panzerfausts for the riflemen. To save space, I will simply show the regiment in terms of TOAW.
2x Motorized Rifle Battalion
24x Rifle RL Squad
12x Rifle HRL Squad
36x SMG HRL Squad
24x HMG
6x 75mm Anti Tank Gun
12x 81mm Mortar
8x 120mm Mortar
162x Truck
6x SdKfz 11 (truck)
8x SdKfz 10 (truck)
Motorized Engineer Company
9x Engineer Squad
13x Truck
Infantry Gun Company
6x sIG 38(t)M
6x PzA III/IV (Hummel)
8x Truck
Self Propelled Flak Company
12x SdKfz 251/17 or SdKfz 251/21
Anti Tank Platoon
3x 75mm Anti Tank Gun
3x SdKfz 11 prime mover (Truck)
Motorcycle Platoon
3x Motorcycle Squad
Panzergrenadier Brigade
The Panzergrenadier Brigade will consist of the two Panzergrenadier Regiments that have been described. The Heavy Rifle Squads are assumed to be using Assault Rifles, the SMG squads will be using Sub Machine Guns, and the Rifle Squads are primarily armed with bolt action rifles. HRL status is given to those squads using Panzerfausts, Grenade Launchers, and Magnetic Anti Tank Grenades while RL squads are only using Grenade Launchers and Magnetic Anti Tank Grenades. The elite SS units will have a much higher proportion of Heavy Rifle Squads as they were issued many more Assault Rifles than other divisions. Conversely, sub standard Panzer Divisions will have less assault rifles in their Panzergrenadier Brigades and should have a higher proportion of standard Rifle Squads (RL or HRL of course).
References
German Army Handbook , W.J.K Davies, Arco Publishing 1984.
Panzer Truppen Vol 2 , Thomas Jentz, Shiffer Publishing 1996.
Encyclopedia of Infantry Weapons of World War II , Ian V Hogg, Bison Books 1977.
Armed Forces of World War II , Andrew Mollo, Orbis Publishing 1981.
Machine Guns, Peter Chamberlain, Arco Publishing 1974.
Sub Machine Guns and Automatic Rifles , Peter Chamberlain, Arco Publishing 1974.


http://www.afn.org/~afn41941/43stp.html
http://www.1jma.dk/articles/1jmaarticlesww2.htm
 

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Volksgrenadier Division 1944-1945
Submitted by Jon Martina
This description of the German Volksgrenadier Division was made with Norm Koger’s Operational Art of War in mind. All equipment is listed in the order that it appears in the Operational Art of War’s editor. Equipment in Red is equipment that is not represented in the equipment database and recommended substitutions are added in parenthesis. Organizational listings in Blue are possible alternate organizational structures and do not represent additional equipment assigned to a particular unit.
In September of 1944, the German army ordered a new type of division to be created. These divisions were known as Volksgrenadier Divisions and were low grade infantry divisions that were formed from the remnants of shattered regular infantry divisions. They are a mixture of seasoned veterans, the very young, and the very old. These divisions contained a very large number of automatic weapons in them in an effort to increase firepower. The organization of all three regiments is the same except for the first battalion of the first regiment which was mounted on bicycles.

The Rifle Squad
The German Rifle Squad consisted of one officer and nine men, but during the course of the war this often dropped down to five or six men. This is the standard make up of a squad:
Squad Leader: Sub Machine Gun
Gunner 1: Operated Light Machine Gun and was issued a pistol and a pair of sunglasses.
Gunner 2: Carried two 300 round ammo boxes, sheet metal barrel protector with two spare barrels, and a pistol.
Gunner 3: Armed with rifle. Carried two 300 round ammo boxes.
Rifleman 1-6: Armed with rifles or Sub Machine Guns. Carried 45 rounds in five round clips, two or three hand grenades, and a variety of Panzerfaust and magnetic anti tank grenades.
Weapons & Equipment:
Karabiner 98K: Bolt action rifle in 7.92mm caliber using five round magazines.
MP 40: Also known as the ‘Schmeisser’, it was a 9mm weapon with a 32 round detachable box magazine that fired at 500 rpm. These weapons were distributed much more freely in the later stages of the war because they were easy to produce. Volksgrenadier units were issued large numbers of SMGs in an effort to increase the division’s firepower.
MG 42: Light Machine Gun fired by Gunner 1. This was a 7.92mm weapon using a belt feed system. This weapon could achieve a rate of fire of 1200 rpm. A fresh barrel could be fitted in five seconds.
Steilhandgranate 39: Also known as the ‘Potato masher’ it was the standard grenade and used a filling of 7 oz of TNT with a 4 ½ second delay fuse.
Heft Hohladung granate 3 KG: This is an anti tank magnetic grenade. The grenade resembled a funnel with a set of permanent magnets attatched to the wide end. The device could be either thrown with a 4 ½ second delay fuse, or placed with a 7 second delay fuse. The warhead contained 3lb 5oz of TNT and could penetrate either 110mm of armor or 20 inches of reinforced concrete. The Germans were so concerned about allied use of magnetic grenades that they produced an anti magnetic paint with which to coat their tanks called ‘Zimmerit’.
Panzerfaust: The Panzerfaust was simply a tube with a gunpowder charge in the center and a hollow charge explosive on the end. Once the warhead was fired the tube was discarded. There were five types of Panzerfaust produced, and they were all produced in mass quantities. For example, 1,256,500 Panzerfausts were produced in the month of January of 1945. Penetration for the large warhead was 200mm of armor. The small warhead could penetrate 140mm of armor.

The Volksgrenadier Platoon
The Volksgrenadier Platoon consisted of the platoon leader; platoon troop, three squads, and one two horse wagon. This is the standard make up of a Volksgrenadier platoon:
Platoon Leader: Armed with one Sub Machine Gun, 6 x 30 binoculars, message case, one compass, and one flashlight.
Platoon Troop: One platoon troop leader, two messengers armed with rifles, one messenger armed with sniper rifle, and one medic. The platoon troop also carried wire cutters, signal flags, and a flare pistol.
Three Rifle Squads: As described
Weapons & Equipment:
Kampfpistole: Experience with the firing of small grenades from the flare pistol led the German army to produce a ‘Battle Pistol’. The Kampfpistole fired a variety of projectiles including a grenade, smoke round, target indicator, and a few types of illuminating rounds.

The Volksgrenadier Company
The Volksgrenadier Company consisted of one company commander, company troop, and three rifle platoons.
Company troop: One Feldwebel with Sub Machine Gun, 6 messengers (2 with bicycles), one groom, and two medical personnel.
Three Rifle Platoons: As described.
Weapons & Equipment:
No new equipment was introduced at this level
For the purposes of TOAW, a Volksgrenadier Company would look like this:
Rifle Company
3x Rifle Squad
3x SMG Squad
3x SMG HRL Squad
3x Horse Team
3x Truck

The Volksgrenadier Battalion
The Volksgrenadier battalion consisted of a battalion staff, intelligence unit, infantry engineer platoon, machine gun company, and three rifle companies.
Infantry Engineer Platoon: This unit was assembled as necessary from soldiers of the rifle companies so it does not represent additional troops.
Machine Gun Company: This company had two heavy machine gun platoons and either one medium mortar platoon and two light infantry gun platoons or another medium mortar platoon. Each heavy machine gun platoon had two squads and each squad consisted of two machine guns for a total of 8 for the company. The mortar platoon consisted of three mortar squads with two medium mortars each. The infantry gun platoon had two guns. Generally, the equipment of the MG Company was subordinated to the individual rifle companies. The Machine Guns used by the HMG Company were usually the same MG 42 used by the Rifle Squad as their LMG.
Weapons & Equipment
Granatwerfer 34: 81.4mm mortar that fired a 7lb 8oz HE projectile out to a range of 2,624 yards. A rate of fire of 15 rpm could be achieved in action.
7.5cm Leichte Infanterie Geschutz 18: This was the standard 75mm Infantry Gun used throughout the war. It was light and handy to maneuver and was effective in a direct fire role for infantry when attacking strongpoints.

For the purposes of TOAW, a Volksgrenadier battalion would look like this:
Infantry Battalion
3x Rifle Company
9x Rifle Squad
9x SMG Squad
9x SMG HRL Squad
9x Horse Team
9x Truck
1x Machine Gun Company
8x HMG
6x 81mm Mortar
4x 75mm Infantry Gun (75mm Howitzer)
12x Horse Team
3x Truck
1x Machine Gun Company (alternate organization)
8x HMG
12x 81mm Mortar
10x Horse Team
3x Truck

The Volksgrenadier Regiment
The infantry regiment consisted of a regimental staff, regimental supply train, engineer platoon, bicycle platoon, intelligence platoon, two infantry battalions, infantry artillery company, anti tank company, and a light infantry column.
Engineer Platoon: This unit contained troops that carried out simple engineering tasks such as mine removal, road building, and trench work. They were also used to assist the combat engineers when needed. The platoon consisted of six squads with three light machine guns assigned to the 1st, 3rd, and 6th squads.
Bicycle Platoon: This unit consisted of three infantry squads, and was used primarily in a reconnaissance and messenger role.
Infantry Gun Company: The standard makeup of this unit was four 120mm Mortars and four 75mm Infantry guns. Optionally, the 75mm Infantry Guns could be replaced by one six gun 81mm Mortar platoon.
Anti Tank Company: This unit had three platoons of infantry who specialized in close assault versus armor. No anti tank guns were assigned to this unit. The infantry ‘tank hunter’ platoons were armed primarily with the Panzerschrek.
Light Infantry Column: While the name may imply some combat value, this unit is strictly a supply column consisting of 12 two-horse wagons.
Weapons & Equipment
8.8cm Raketen Panzerbuchse 54: Also known as the ‘Panzershrek’ (Tank terror), this was a shoulder fired rocket launcher that was inspired by the American Bazooka. The Germans improved the Bazooka design though and increased the caliber from 60mm to 88mm. Although it was an effective weapon, the Germans attempted to replace the Panzershrek later because of the critical shortage of propellant. The effective range was 150 meters with a penetration of 100mm at 0 degrees.
Schwere 12cm Granatwerfer 42: This is a 120mm Mortar. When the war began with the Soviet Union, the Germans captured large numbers of the Soviet 120mm Mortar. A decision was made late in 1942 to produce a German version of the 120mm Mortar with a few improvements to the Soviet design. The HE projectile’s weight was 34.83 lbs with a range of 6,615 yards.
15cm Schwere Infanterie Geschutz 33: This was the standard 150mm Infantry Gun used throughout the war. While it was reliable and robust, it’s great weight led to complaints in the field. However, an attempt to lighten this weapon yielded a mere weight savings of 330 lbs. from a 3,722 lb. weapon. Very few of the lighter versions were built because aircraft were given priority on the light alloys required to build the guns.
For the purposes of TOAW, the infantry regiment would look like this:
Infantry Regiment
2x Battalions
18x Rifle Squad
18x SMG Squad
18x SMG HRL Squad
16x HMG
12x 81mm Mortar
8x 75mm Infantry Gun (75mm Howitzer)
60x Horse Team
36x Truck
Light Engineer Platoon
3x Light Rifle Squad
3x Rifle Squad
3x Horse Team
Bicycle Platoon
3x Bicycle Squad (Rifle Squad)
1x Horse Team
Infantry Gun Company
4x 75mm Infantry Gun (75mm Howitzer)
4x 120mm Mortar
15x Horse Team
3x Truck
Infantry Gun Company (alternate organization)
6x 81mm Mortar
4x 120mm Mortar
24x Horse Team
3x Truck
Anti Tank Company
12x Rifle HRL Squad
3x Truck
Light Infantry Column
12x Horse Team

Volksgrenadier Division
The Volksgrenadier Division was made up of three infantry regiments, one Fusiler Company, one Anti Tank Abteilung, one Artillery Regiment, one Engineer Abteilung, one Signals Abteilung, and various supply and support columns.
Fusiler Company
The Fusiler Company represents the transformation of the old divisional reconnaissance unit into a regular fighting unit. It was organized like a standard infantry company, with a few additional heavy weapons. The troops of the Fusiler Company rode bicycles.
Anti Tank Abteilung
The anti tank Abteilung contained four companies. Each ATG Company contained four platoons of three guns each and was fully motorized. The first company contained twelve motorized 75mm ATG. The second company contained twelve 20mm AA guns on self propelled chassis. The third and fourth companies were supposed to be equipped with fourteen self propelled anti tank guns each.
Artillery Regiment
One Light Field Abteilung: The Light Abteilung consisted of three batteries of six 75mm Guns drawn by teams of six horses.
Two Field Abteilung: Each Field Abteilung contained twelve 105mm Howitzers organized into two batteries of six guns each. These guns are typically drawn by teams of six horses. Horses on the right side were called ‘hand horses’.
One Medium Abteilung: The Medium Abteilung contained twelve 150mm Howitzers drawn by teams of six horses. Setting the gun up was a laborious and backbreaking process for the crew.
Engineer Abteilung
This unit consisted of two bicycle riding engineer companies along with some heavy support equipment.
Weapons & Equipment
7.5cm Panzerabwehrkanone 40: 75mm Anti Tank Gun that entered service sometime in November of 1942. This weapon became the standard divisional anti tank gun in the later stages of the war and could defeat most allied armor. Its main problem was its size and the difficulty of moving into and out of position during daylight. AP penetration was 104mm/500m/30 degrees; APCR penetration was 115mm/500m/30 degrees.
2cm FlaK 38: This weapon was the standard divisional light AA gun for the entire war. Multiple barrels were added later in the war to cope with faster aircraft. It was frequently modified in the field to be mounted on trucks.
7.5cm leFK 16nA: This is a modernization of the 77mm gun used by the Germans in WW I. These weapons were passed on to the Volksgrenadier divisions when they were formed in 1944.
10.5 leFH 18: This was the standard divisional light howitzer for the entire war, although it was outranged by the allied equivalents.
15cm sFH 18: This was the standard divisional heavy howitzer for the entire war. It was heavy and lacked range for its caliber.
Flammenwerfer klein verbessert 40: This flame-thrower was an upgrade to the Flammenwerfer 35. It was lighter and it was a better fit on the operator’s back. The range was still 33 yards.
SdKfz 11: This unarmored 3 ton half track was the standard prime mover for the 75mm Anti Tank Gun.
JgdPz 38(t): Also known as the ‘Hetzer’ (troublemaker), this vehicle was primarily assigned to infantry divisions and independent anti tank battalions. It was a fully armored self propelled 75mm gun. 2,500 saw action
StuG IIIG: This was a fully armored assault gun carrying a 75mm anti tank gun. It was sometimes assigned to the infantry division’s Anti Tank Abteilung. Around 8,000 of these vehicles were produced.
For the purposes of TOAW, the Volksgrenadier division would look like this:
Infantry Division
3x Infantry Regiments
9x Light Rifle Squad
72x Rifle Squad
36x Rifle HRL Squad
54x SMG Squad
54x SMG HRL Squad
48x HMG
36x 81mm Mortar
12x 120mm Mortar
36x 75mm Infantry Gun (75mm Howitzer)
273x Horse Team
126x Truck
Fusiler Company
12x Rifle Squad (on bicycles)
2x HMG
2x 81mm Mortar
2x 75mm Infantry Gun (75mm Howitzer)
7x Horse Team
4x Truck
Anti Tank Abteilung
12x 75mm Anti Tank Gun
12x Truck 20mm AA
14x Hetzer
14x StuG III G
12x SdKfz 11 (truck)
22x Truck
Artillery Regiment
18x 75mm Gun
24x 105mm Howitzer
12x 150mm Howitzer
120x Horse Team
60x Truck
Engineer Abteilung
18x Engineer Squad (on bicycles)
4x 81mm Mortar
19x Horse Team
Supply Columns totaling
120x Truck
60x Horse Team

* Notes: The Rifle Squad represents a squad with bolt action rifles and anti tank magnetic grenades. The Rifle HRL Squad represents a squad with Panzershreks, magnetic anti tank grenades, and a number of Panzerfausts. SMG HRL Squads are Sub Machinegun armed squads with Panzerfausts. SMG squad is a squad with Sub Machine Guns and magnetic anti tank grenades. Light Rifle Squad is a squad without an LMG but armed with magnetic anti tank grenades.


References
The German Infantry Handbook, Alex Buchner, Schiffer Publishing 1991.

German Army Handbook, W.J.K Davies, Arco Publishing 1984.

Encyclopedia of Infantry Weapons of World War II, Ian V Hogg, Bison Books 1977.

Armed Forces of World War II, Andrew Mollo, Orbis Publishing 1981.

Machine Guns, Peter Chamberlain, Arco Publishing 1974.

Sub Machine Guns and Automatic Rifles, Peter Chamberlain, Arco Publishing 1974.
 

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U.S. Marine Division 1944-1945
Submitted by Jon Martina





This description of the U.S. Marine Division was made with Norm Koger’s Operational Art of War in mind. All equipment is listed in the order that it appears in the Operational Art of War’s editor. Equipment in Red is equipment that is not represented in the equipment database and recommended substitutions are added in parenthesis. No supply vehicles were included because I did not have reliable data on them.

The forming of Marine Divisions was first proposed in 1940 and it was not until mid 1942 before the 1st and 2nd Marine Divisions were considered ready for deployment. The Marine Division of May 1944 was a formed as a result of lessons learned in earlier campaigns.

The Marine Fire Team
The Marine Fire Team was an innovation of Lt Merritt Edson while he was fighting in Nicaragua during the early thirties. The Marine Corp officially adopted this principle sometime in the month of March in 1944. A fire team was composed of the following:

Team Leader: Corporal armed with M1 Rifle and M7 grenade launcher.

Rifleman: Armed with M1 Rifle and M7 grenade launcher

Automatic Rifleman: Armed with BAR

Assistant Automatic Rifleman: Armed with M1 Carbine

Weapons & Equipment
M1 Rifle: Better known as the ‘Garand’, this semi automatic rifle was adopted sometime in 1936 and proved to be accurate and reliable in service. The postwar M14 was largely designed from the ‘Garand’. This .30 caliber rifle had an eight round, clip loaded, integral magazine.

Browning Automatic Rifle: Commonly known as the BAR, this weapon was adopted by the US Army during the summer of 1918. It was originally intended to be used during the assault while firing from the hip, but the weapon’s action is so violent that accurate fire under those circumstances is impossible. Later it was fitted with a bipod so it could be used from the prone position, but the magazine is underneath the weapon which makes it difficult to reload. One other problem was the 20 round magazine which was fairly limited for automatic fire. It could achieve a rate of fire of 500 rpm.

M1 Carbine: A lighter semi automatic weapon that was used in place of the pistol normally assigned to machine gunners, drivers, and various service personnel. It was a Winchester design that was light and handy, but it used a pistol round that reduced range and accuracy.

Grenade, Rifle, Impact, M17: This was a later version of the Mark 11A1 rifle grenade, but this weapon did not require the adapter.

Fragmentation grenade, Mark IIA1: Also known as the ‘Pineapple’ this was the US Military’s standard defensive grenade. It had ¾ oz of smokeless powder flakes with a 4.5 second delay. It could also be fired from the rifle grenade launcher when used with a rifle adapter.

Anti tank grenade, M9: This was a weapon that was fired from the rifle grenade launcher. Penetration was only around 40mm because the nose fuse interfered with the hollow charge jet. Although it was standard issue throughout the war, it was rarely used.

The Marine Rifle Squad

The Marine Rifle Squad consisted of a squad leader and three fire teams. Kits with demolition charges, flamethrowers, and bazookas were issued to each squad from battalion level.

Squad Leader: Sergeant armed with M1 Carbine

3x Fire Team: As described

Weapons & Equipment
Launcher, Rocket, 2.36 inch anti tank, M1: More commonly referred to as the ‘Bazooka’ because of the weapon’s similarity between a comedian’s prop wind instrument and the long tube of the weapon. Toward the end of the war a 3.45 inch ‘Super Bazooka’ was developed, but it was decided to shelve the Super Bazooka in favor of continuing the use of the 2.36 inch version. This weapon could penetrate around 80 mm of armor out to a range of 400 yards.

Portable Flame Thrower, M2-2: This flame thrower was first used in operations on Guam but was adopted into service in March of 1944. It carried 4 gallons of fuel and fired a 9 second jet of flame out to a range of 40 yards.

Marine Rifle Platoon

The Marine Rifle Platoon consisted of three Rifle Squads and a Platoon Headquarters element.

Platoon Headquarters: This consisted of one second lieutenant, one platoon sergeant, and five radiomen and messengers.

3x Rifle Squads: As described.

Weapons & Equipment
No new weapons are introduced at this level.

Marine Rifle Company
The Marine Rifle Company consisted of a large headquarters element, three rifle platoons, and a machine gun platoon.

Company Headquarters: consisted of various headquarters elements and one 60mm mortar section which was transferred from the old weapons platoon.

3x Rifle Platoons: As described

Machine Gun Platoon: The Weapons Platoon was redesignated the Machine Gun Platoon in May of 1944 and consisted of six M1919A4 and six M1917A1 machine guns.

Weapons & Equipment

Browning M1917A1: In February of 1917 the US War Department realized that they did not have a modern machine gun with which to enter the war in Europe. John Browning was asked to demonstrate his water cooled design where it fired 20,000 rounds non stop. The A1 version replaced several bronze components with steel. This 32lb weapon used a 250 round fabric belt feed and could achieve a rate of fire of 450 – 600 rpm. The M1917 was water cooled. The water cooled version should probably be represented as a HMG.

Browning M1919A4: The Browning M1917A1 was a successful design, and attempts were made to mount that weapon on aircraft. It was found that a water cooled design was unnecessary for aircraft and the M1919 was born. This was the air cooled version of the M1917. It was soon found to be capable of being used in a ground role and 438,971 were produced and used throughout the world. This 30lb weapon used a 250 round fabric belt feed and could achieve a rate of fire of 400 – 550 rpm. The air cooled version should probably be represented as a MMG.

Mortar, 60mm M2: This was really a scaled down version of the famous French Brandt 81mm Mortar. It could fire a 2.94lb HE round out to a range of 1985 yards. Rate of fire was approximately 18 rpm. Weight in action was 42lb.

For the purposes of TOAW, the Marine Rifle Company should look like this:

1x Headquarters element

2x 60mm Mortar

3x Rifle Platoons

5x Heavy Rifle RL squad

4x Engineer Squad

1x Machine Gun Platoon

6x HMG

6x MMG

Note: Although the Marine squad is not really an engineer squad in the classic sense of the meaning, their plentiful use of flamethrowers and demolition charges gives them that status in my opinion.

Marine Battalion

The Marine battalion consisted of a headquarters company and three rifle companies.

Battalion Headquarters Company: One 81mm Mortar platoon consisting of four 81mm Mortars.

3x Rifle Companies: As described.

Weapons & Equipment

Mortar, 81mm M1: This is the Brandt 81mm Mortar license built in the US. It fired either a 6.87lb projectile out to 3290 yards or a 10.62lb projectile out to a range of 2558 yards. Rate of fire was 18rpm.

For the purposes of TOAW, the Marine Battalion should look like this:

1x Headquarters Company

4x 81mm Mortar

3x Rifle Company

15x Heavy Rifle RL squad

12x Engineer Squad

18x HMG

18x MMG

6x 60mm Mortar

Marine Regiment

The regiment consisted of a headquarters and service company, and regimental weapons platoon, and three infantry battalions.

Regimental Weapons Company: This unit had three 37mm gun platoons consisting of four 37mm guns each, and one 75mm gun platoon consisting of four M3 halftracks mounting 75mm guns.

3x Infantry Battalions: As described

Weapons & Equipment

M3 GMC Halftrack: This is a halftrack with a 75mm gun mounted to fire forward. It was the only halftrack used by the Marines and they successfully used them until the end of the war. Their use in Tunisia by the army met with mixed results because their armor was too thin to really challenge the German tanks they encountered.

37mm gun M3A1: This weapon was based on the German PAK 36 design, however the breech was entirely hand operated – semi automatic breech operation being the norm for anti tank weapons at the time. This weapon was outmatched by the German tanks that it met, but could deal effectively with all Japanese types throughout the war. A special round was developed primarily for use in the Pacific. It was a shotgun type round filled with lead balls for close range anti personnel use. Penetration was 2 inches at 1000 yards with a 0 degree incline.

For the purposes of TOAW, the Marine Regiment should look like this:

Regimental Weapons Company

12x 37mm AT Gun

4x Halftrack 75mm AT

3x Rifle Battalions

45x Heavy Rifle RL Squads

36x Engineer Squads

54x HMG

54x MMG

18x 60mm Mortar

12x 81mm Mortar

Marine Division

The Division usually consisted of three rifle regiments, one artillery regiment, one tank battalion, one headquarters battalion, service battalion, medical battalion, and a reconnaissance company.

Artillery Regiment: This unit consisted of two 75mm Howitzer Battalions, two 105mm Howitzer battalions, and one 155mm Howitzer battalion. Each 75mm and 105mm battalion contained three batteries of six guns each. The 155mm battalion contained three batteries of four guns each.

Tank Battalion: This unit contains two medium tank companies equipped with M4 series medium tanks and one company of M5 series light tanks.

Reconnaissance Company: This unit was originally formed with M3A1 scout cars and motorcycles, but these were never employed in combat. The recon company normally patrolled on foot. The sub machine gun was a favorite of the recon companies and the raider battalions.

Weapons & Equipment

M5A1 Light Tank: Also known as the ‘Stuart’ after the dashing confederate cavalry commander, this series of tank was light, fast, and comparatively well armed when they first came out in 1940. It was armed with a 37mm gun and was more than a match for most of the Japanese tanks that it met in combat. The M5 was an upgrade from the earlier M3 light tanks, but the M5 did not replace the M3 light tank in the Pacific until February of 1944.

M4A2 Medium Tank: Also known as the ‘Sherman’, this tank was designed to fulfill the role of a ‘exploitation’ tank. It was designed to assist infantry in breaking through enemy lines and penetrating through to disrupt communications and supplies. Outclassed by most German armor, this tank ruled the battlefield in the Pacific in 1944. This version of the ‘Sherman’ was equipped with diesel engines which made it preferred by the Marines since many Navy small craft were also equipped with diesel engines. Three out of the five ‘Shermans’ assigned to each company were authorized to be equipped with flamethrowers.

M1A1 75mm Pack Howitzer: This was developed in the 1920s as a mountain gun to be disassembled and carried by pack mules. It equipped both Marine and Airborne divisions.

M2A1 105mm Howitzer: This was the standard light divisional artillery piece for US units throughout the entire war.

M1 155mm Howitzer: This weapon was the usual companion to the 105mm Howitzer in divisional US artillery regiments. Over 4,000 were built by the end of the war.

Thompson sub-machine gun, M1928: Also known as the ‘Tommy Gun’, this sub machine gun was notorious as a gangster favorite and helped to make the 20s roar. The first prototype appeared in 1919. Production began in 1921 and continued continuously until the end of world war 2. It was a well made weapon using high quality materials. It could use a 20 or 30 round box magazine and earlier models could use a 50 or 100 round drum magazine. Rate of fire was around 800 rpm.

For the purposes of TOAW, a Marine Division should look like this:

3x Marine Regiments

135x Heavy Rifle RL Squads
108x Engineer Squads
162x HMG
162x MMG
36x 37mm AT Gun
54x 60mm Mortar
36x 81mm Mortar
12x Halftrack 75mm AT
Artillery Regiment

36x 75mm Howitzer
36x 105mm Howitzer
12x 155mm Howitzer

Tank Battalion


18x M4 Sherman (flame)
12x M4 Sherman
15x M5 Stuart
Reconnaisance Company

9x SMG Squad


References

US Marine Corps 1941 – 45 by Gordon Rottman

US Army Handbook 1939 – 1945 by George Forty

Encyclopedia of Infantry Weapons by Ian Hogg

Sub Machine Guns and Automatic Rifles by Peter Chamberlain

Machine Guns by Peter Chamberlain

Allied Rifles, Pistols, and Grenades by Peter Chamberlain
 

Chuck?

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The Panzergrenadier battalion listed here has twice the strength of a infantry battalion when created in TOAW. Does this sound about right?
 

Silvanski

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Old old thread but I decided to bump it because of the detailed TO&E info
 

L`zard

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Good idea. Draft an article and submit it. The TOAW Articles section hasn't had any new print for a while now, .
Good on YOU, Sil!

Considering that the 'Articles section' is and has been 'broken' for a long time now, this sort of thing will take an 'Individuals' effort to bring information back into the light!

Any chance that GS will fix the articles section, Don?

:shy:
 

Telumar

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