theodore Posted 31 January Share Posted 31 January A Company split into platoons and then a platoon split into sections. So A, B, C and D Companies are all split into Platoons, A Company being numbered 1 2 3 4 B Company 5 6 7 8 C Company 9 10 11 12 and D Company 13 14 16 16. How are the sections identified? Numbers, letters? Regards Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin W Taylor Posted 1 February Share Posted 1 February Hi Theodore, Different battalions may have done different things but I've encountered numbering sections by company; i.e. No 5 Section, No 2 Platoon, A Company. No 3 Platoon sections numbered 9 - 12, No 4 Platoon 13 - 16 etc. B Coy No 5 Platoon starts again with 1-4. There were likely variations as there were with Coy letters (2nd Scots Guards used RF, F, G and LF Coys) and as the war progressed (by 1917) sections became more technical and role specific; a platoon commander would have a section of bombers and others of riflemen, Lewis gunners and rifle grenadiers rather than numbered rifle sections. Regards Colin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FROGSMILE Posted 2 February Share Posted 2 February (edited) On 31/01/2024 at 18:44, theodore said: A Company split into platoons and then a platoon split into sections. So A, B, C and D Companies are all split into Platoons, A Company being numbered 1 2 3 4 B Company 5 6 7 8 C Company 9 10 11 12 and D Company 13 14 16 16. How are the sections identified? Numbers, letters? Regards Peter The normal structure after 1913 for regular battalions (1915 for TF**) was: A Company - 1 , 2, 3, and 4 platoon. Sections A to D. B Company - 5, 6, 7, and 8 platoon. Sections ditto. C Company - 9, 10, 11 and 12 platoon. Sections ditto. D Company - 13, 14, 15, and 16 platoon. Sections ditto. Caveat. Some battalions favoured W, X, Y and Z Companies, but the remainder of the breakdown was the same as above. Some others numbered their companies 1, 2, 3, 4. Also some Foot Guards used Right Flank and Left Flank as their first and last company, respectively. Again the remaining breakdown stayed extant, e.g. No 1 Company, 1 Platoon, D Section. Sometimes Roman numerals were used to designate platoons, i.e. XX Platoon instead of 20 Platoon. Edited 2 February by FROGSMILE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fromelles Posted 3 February Share Posted 3 February In the AIF is was - A Company - I, II, III, and IV platoon. Sections 1 to 4. B Company - V, VI, VII, and VIII platoon. Sections ditto. C Company - IX, X, XI and XII platoon. Sections ditto. D Company - XIII, XIV, XV, and XVI platoon. Sections ditto. I don't believe there was any variation to the above, but would be interested to know of any examples. Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FROGSMILE Posted 3 February Share Posted 3 February (edited) 3 hours ago, Fromelles said: In the AIF is was - A Company - I, II, III, and IV platoon. Sections 1 to 4. B Company - V, VI, VII, and VIII platoon. Sections ditto. C Company - IX, X, XI and XII platoon. Sections ditto. D Company - XIII, XIV, XV, and XVI platoon. Sections ditto. I don't believe there was any variation to the above, but would be interested to know of any examples. Dan Not hugely different I guess Dan, as it’s just using Roman instead of European numbers for the platoons. Interesting all the same though. Edited 3 February by FROGSMILE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fromelles Posted 3 February Share Posted 3 February (edited) On 04/02/2024 at 00:15, FROGSMILE said: Not hugely different I guess Dan, as it’s just using Roman instead of European numbers for the platoons. No suggestion it was, just providing an answer to the OP Dan Edited 5 February by Fromelles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FROGSMILE Posted 3 February Share Posted 3 February 31 minutes ago, Fromelles said: No suggestion it was, just providing an answering to the OP Dan Understood. 👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theodore Posted 3 February Author Share Posted 3 February Thank you all for the feedback, most helpful. Regards Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fromelles Posted 24 April Share Posted 24 April I'd like to make an adjustment to the information I provided above. I'm not sure where I got that information from, but it's not correct. It should read - A Company - I, II, III, and IV Platoon - Sections 1 to 16 (4 sections per platoon). B Company - V, VI, VII, and VIII Platoon - Sections ditto. C Company - IX, X, XI and XII Platoon - Sections ditto. D Company - XIII, XIV, XV, and XVI Platoon - Sections ditto. Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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