From: John Atkinson <johnmatkinson@y...>
Date: Tue, 3 Apr 2001 15:53:43 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Squads (getting long)
--- "Bell, Brian K (Contractor)" \
> What COMMON* online source would have had the
I thought this would be an easy question to answer..
.
But I find problems. I guess I've known this one for so long that I havn't had
to look it up... FWIW, there is no 'official' US definition of squad or
platoon. The official definition of company is:
company (A)
Basic administrative and tactical unit in most arms and services of the Army.
A company is on a command level below a battalion and above a platoon and is
equivalent to a battery of artillery, etc.
(Ref: AR 310-25)
FM 7-8 (The Infantry Platoon) has no definitions. It
has a number of organizations of US platoons (34,39, or 40, plus aidmen and
forward observers).
FM 7-7J has the Bradley platoon org (23
dismounts-counting aidman and 2 FOs, 12 Bradley
crewmen) but no definitions.
In fact, the only useful thing I've found on the web so far has been a
bibliography on the history of US Infantry squads from CALL
***
As a defined US Army tactical element, the squad first appeared in the 1891
Infantry Drill Regs and became fully established in the 1904 edition. See:
Havron, M. Dean, and others. "An Interview Study of Human Relationships in
Effective Infantry Rifle Squads: PRS Report No. 983." Technical report
contacted for by Personnel Research Section, Adj Gen's Office, Dept of Army,
31 Dec 1952. 168 p. UB337AQ4712. no. 983. See also PRS Report No. 1087, Dec.
1954, 25 p.
Ney, Virgil. Organization and Equipment of the Infantry Rifle Squad: From
Valley Forge to ROAD. Study, Combat Operations Research Group, US Army Combat
Development Command, Ft. Belvoir, VA, January
1965. 115 p. ARMY-CDC-CORG-M-194.
See also his study of armored infantry rifle squad,
CORG-M- 198, 19 Mar 1965.
Rigg, Robert B. "Whither the Squad?" Army 10 (Feb
1960): pp. 35-41. Per.
Hist survey of the squad as a tactical unit.
See also:
- JMSIUS 18 (Jan 1896): pp. 97-102. Per.
- JMSIUS 30 (May 1902): pp. 409-17. Per.
- JMSIUS 30 (Jul 1902): pp. 606-07. Per.
NOTE: SQUAD FRONTAGE rjw 86
The squad did not exist as a tactical unit until after the American Civil War,
although certain Civil
War-era drill manuals discuss four-man sections as a
tactical formation for skirmishers. Organization of
small elements dates back to the Roman 10-man squad,
the "maniple," ten of which constituted the "century" commanded by a
"centurian." In the American Army, the
squad as an ident-
ifiable element for administrative purposes dates back to the drill
regulations of Von Steuben, but the "squads" of 1776 were not assigned
distinctive battle missions apart from their parent company or regiment. SQUAD
p.2
During the First World War, squads still did not operate as tactical entities.
They remained submerged into four sections of a platoon. Sections were
designed around specialties, i.e., grenadiers, trench mortarmen, riflemen, and
machinegunners. As before, the squad was merely an administrative formation.
Infantry Regiment: Field Manual 7-40, discusses
defensive frontages and those for smaller units are discussed in Rifle
Company, Rifle Regiment: Field
Manual 7-10, (Jun 1942). Squad frontages were
determined by the limits of the platoon area and mission, with the entire
platoon frontage ranging from less than 250 to more than 500 yards. The
platoon physically occupied no more than 300 yards of front, with the
remainder covered by weapons fire.
The Korean War-era edition of Field Manual 7-10 (Oct
1949), states that frontage assigned to a platoon may range from under 300 to
more than 600 meters, being determined by the intervals which can be left
between foxholes and between adjacent units without jeopardizing the
effectiveness of the defense. A review of the later eds indicates specific
footage for individual squads first appeared in Infantry, Airborne Infantry
and Mechanized Infantry Rifle Platoons and
Squads: Field Manual 7-15, (Jan 1962). Accordingly,
the defensive frontage for a 10-man squad would vary
from approx 30 meters in unfavorable terrain to 100 meters in favorable
terrain. These figures reappear
in the 1965 ed of FM 7-15 and the manual that
superseded the 7-15 series, The Rifle Company,
Platoons and Squads: Field Manual 7-10, (Apr 1970).
The 1980 manual for infantry squads appears to complete the doctrinal circle.
The Infantry Platoon and Squad (Infantry, Airborne, Air Assault and
Ranger): Field Manual 7-8 (Dec 1980) does not specify
frontage for a squad. Allocation of battle footage for the squad is a decision
left to the individual platoon leader. See:
Ney, Virgil. Organization and Equipment of the Infantry Rifle Squad: From
Valley Forge to ROAD. Cited above.
U.S. Dept of Army. Infantry, Airborne Infantry and Mechanized Infantry Rifle
Platoons and Squads. FM
7-15, Jan 1962. 275 p. FM.
See pp. 136-37.
. Infantry, Airborne Infantry and Mechanized
Infantry Rifle Platoons and Squads. FM 7-15, Mar
1965. 300 p. FM.
. The Infantry Platoon and Squad (Infantry,
Airborne, Air Assault and Ranger). FM 7-8, Dec 1980.
ca 300 p. FM.
See pp. 4-18 to 4-24.
. Rifle Company, Infantry Regiment. FM
7-10, Mar 1944. 323 p. FM.
. Rifle Company, Infantry Regiment. FM
7-10, Oct 1949. 560 p. FM.
See pp. 145-147.
SQUAD p.3. The Rifle Company, Platoons and Squads.
FM 7-10, Apr 1970. ca 200 p. FM.
See pp. 4-7 and 4-9.
. Rifle Company, Rifle Regiment. FM 7-10,
Jun 1942. 280 p. AuthRm.
See pp. 122-23.
***
I will attempt to find some definitions for you.
I once did a LONG rant on unit organization once (on a Usenet group), defining
every major term used to denote military unit size. I wish I still had it.