> If anyone else wants to offer advice on the makeup of the battalion
You're a bit light on assets attached at company and battalion level, I'd say
(and note "battalion" has one "L"). My Islamic Fed "independent
infantry battalion" is a bit heavy on those assets--some of these units
would be attached at brigade or higher if the battalion was operating as part
of a brigade:
Battalion HQ officers and staff Intelligence section Aerospace liaison
controllers HQ Security Platoon (as line infantry)
CSS / CS Company
Engineer Platoon
Air Defense Platoon (4 ADA vehicles or infantry squads with GMS/AA)
Signal/Electronic Warfare Platoon
Medical Platoon Transport Platoon Maintenance Platoon Recon Company (including
UAV drones, snipers, and scouts) Artillery Company Armor Company
Assault Company (assault pioneers / combat engineers as well as powered
armor platoons)
And the infantry companies each have a heavy weapons platoon which
include mortars and anti-tank assets. Company level mortars are very
nice in SG--they're "immediate response", so eg if you need to drop
smoke *right now* to cover you, they work a lot better than trying to persuade
Brigade to get around to it.
Thanks for the suggestions, I see things I have definately missed.
On 28-Mar-02 at 12:25, laserlight@quixnet.net (laserlight@quixnet.net)
wrote:
> And the infantry companies each have a heavy weapons platoon which
How many mortars would you recommend? I'm assuming 1 mortar team
replaces an infantry fireteam? As far as anti-tank, would the
GMS/Ls each platoon has be insufficient?
> How many mortars would you recommend?
What *I* did was 3 mortars per infantry company, then a separate artillery
company with 6 medium mortars, 3 heavy mortars, and 3 MLRS. I'm told that's a
little more arty than is really needed for a mechanized battalion, but I like
arty.
> I'm assuming 1 mortar team
No. Infanry company = 3 infantry platoons plus a HQ squad plus a heavy weapons
platoon. The Weapons platoon has the antitank and mortar teams.
I'll get a detailed TO up on my site sometime soon.
> --- Roger Books <books@jumpspace.net> wrote:
I'd have a seperate mortar section in each company (possibly as part of the
weapons platoon), at least for light infantry. I use 2 mortars, which is in
accord with US practice. The mech units don't get them because mech companies
use BN mortars and the BN gets an artillery battery chopped down from DIVARTY.
Batallion level always gets 6 mortars in my units. YMMV.
All MTOE questions are hard to answer if I don't know what your unit plans to
fight and what supporting assets will be available.
As far as anti-tank,
> would the
That really does depend. If you're fighting tanks,
you really need GMS/Hs in an AT company at the
batallion level, unless your troops are in IFVs with
GMS/Hs. If you're going against poorly-armed militia,
you may find lugging the GMS/Ls (I generally go for 2
per platoon) is too much touble although they are nice for popping bunkers (as
the Brits found in the Falklands).