Formations of the WWII U.S. Army Infantry Rifle Squad
Vložit
- čas přidán 1. 06. 2024
- This video illustrates the squad’s basic approach march formations and movement techniques.
Timestamps
00:00 Introduction
1:40 Squad Column
2:36 Skirmishers
3:18 Squad Wedge
3:54 Diamond Formation
5:31 Formation Transitions
6:48 1945 Changes
7:50 Squad Movement Techniques
![Eminem - Houdini [Official Music Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/22tVWwmTie8/mqdefault.jpg)
You always have the exact video on topics that are really important but aren't done enough you're great
Thank you. I know these types of video don't have the widest appeal, so it's always great to hear that they are appreciated.
These videos are exactly what I’ve been looking for for MONTHS!!!!
I'm glad you found them!
Me too!
Exactly these videos are so instriguing
Great videos! Very well written, animated, and organized. I know for a fact your channel will be big one day.
Keep it up!
Thanks a lot. I'm glad you enjoyed them. I'm hard at work on the next one. I had planned to get it out a month ago, but these videos always take longer to complete than I think.
WOW! that was a brilliantly researched and presented piece of work! I am a field manual and tactics junky and you hit a home run!
Wow. Thank you very much. I hope I can keep up my batting average.
Thank you and I certainly hope that you're going to continue to make these outstanding videos.
When my dad got out of the navy (1950s), he was at a bar and made the assemble gesture to bring the waitress over so they could ask for a check. She brought another round of drinks instead.
seriously well done. Can't believe it took this long to find this series.
Thank you very much. For whatever reason, CZcams decided to promote the heck out of one of my old videos this week. I'm getting a lot of eyes on this channel for the first time.
Excellent sir I enjoy your programs very much. Thank you!
Still waiting on that patrol video. Very excited!
Best presentation on CZcams, keep them coming please bro
Great video series. Wish for more! great job
Thank you.
Very interesting stuff. Hope you'll take this up to battalion level at some point. Additionally, I hope that you'll do much the same thing with the USMC TO&E as well.
awesome video. Very cool to know this.
Thank you.
Formations aren't the sexiest topic, but they're an important piece of the puzzle.
this is a master piece work, gracias!!!
Thank you very much!
Great, informative and well-made video's. I'll keep coming back for more. Thx for doing the research and translating it so skilfully to images. And just a hint of tongue in cheek humor. Belgium marpches behind you (closed column)
Thanks a lot. It's much appreciated. It motivates me to get started on the next one.
Thanks! I'll use this information for my model battles.
These are great videos. Your last upload was six months ago, which is sad to see. Please make more. You have over four thousand subscribers from four videos. That is one hell of a job sir.
Thank You. I appreciate the support. I recently experienced the type of computer problem that eats half-finished videos. (That was a serious blow.) I'm in the processes of remaking that video now (and aggressively backing up my data). I'm aiming to have it up by the end of the month.
@@G.I.HistoryHandbook - Do not lose heart. You make quality content.
We all know what it is like to lose countless hours of work.
If you never heard of it before, somebody at Pixar deleted like 90% of the original Toy Story by accident from their servers and the film was only saved thanks to a member of production having a back up on their personal computer at home.
So no matter how bad it gets, it will never be that bad. You can do it!
I love this stuff!
Thank you! I love when people love this stuff!
this video is awesome! why do you make this kind of great videos once a year?
Beauty. Regarding use of "defile" I've never heard anyone use it in the dee-file English version when speaking in military contexts. Veterans I've interviewed, military today and even older English drill/tactics manuals (retaining the loan word accents over the e's) have used an Anglicized version of défilé (def-ih-LAY), originally the French verb for sending files to the rear to cross narrow obstacles.
They were referring a geographical defile? My "DEE-file" pronunciation was lifted from a 1942 training film on the subject. The terrain feature "defile" and the military concept of "defilade" both stem from the same French root word, but seem to have developed differing pronunciation. Both terms were defined in TM 20-205, Dictionary of United States Army Terms, but only defilade has a pronunciation approximating French (there rendered as “DEF a layd”).
@@realWARPIG Many dictionaries, such as Google's own (by Oxford Languages), list it as an accepted pronunciation:
"de·file 2
/dəˈfīl,ˈdēˌfīl/
noun
noun: defile; plural noun: defiles
a steep-sided narrow gorge or passage (originally one requiring troops to march in single file)."
Here's the entry from Dictionary. com:
"defile
2
[ dih-fahyl, dee-fahyl ]
noun
any narrow passage, especially between mountains."
Merriam-Webster has example audio for the "dee-file" pronunciation of the noun:
www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/defile
Both of these videos are great. For a future video could you do squad and company organization video for a U.S Airborne in World War II preferably in the 506th?. Anyway keep up the great work
Thanks, man. Yeah, Airborne's a popular request. I'm planning on getting to it sooner rather than later, but even that may take some time.
Does anyone else watch these and think about using this stuff in video games? Just me?
A great channel, great series which offers in some areas even more information than the Osprey publishing WWII tactics series, and a good introduction before reading through all the FM's personally, and especially since I only own a limited amount of first hand accounts. Do you have any links to the intel report on battle tested infantry squad formations? I'm sure it'd be fascinating to see what else the GI's in the field came up with.
Thank you.
I began tracking down period sources, many of which are long out-of-print physical copies (which makes searching through them a chore), because a lot of the available tactics books left me craving more details.
Unfortunately, I've only been able to find excerpts of "Battle Tested Infantry Squad Formations." I'd be as interested as you in seeing the original. For more information on how the "McIlmail formation" was employed, you can check out AD-A211 467, a 1988 monograph from Fort Leavenworth assessing, of all things, Bradley Infantry Squad organization. (A PDF of "Devising Doctrine for the Bradley Fighting Vehicle Platoon Dismount Element - Finding the Right Starting Point" can be found with a Google search.) That study also lays out a platoon formation pioneered by a 1st Lt. Logan Weston, sourced from another elusive 1945 document titled "Recommended Tactical Formations for Small Units in Jungle Warfare." (I wouldn't mind getting my hands on that one as well.)
Thank you for your answer, I'll be sure to look into the sources you recommended on the "Mcllmail formation". Keep up the great work!
Just downloaded company of heroes to try this.
Unfortunately I am the company leader, platoon leader and squad leader, when sudden attack by a.i. happened it gets hard to micro manage
You may not know it but this is not only extremely interesting but it's what is happening set up documents for a Battlefield V MilSim to the most realistic of my ability. Thank youuuy
Educational. Good job. Would like to see 2 matching videos that focus on the Marines.
Thanks. And I hear you...Airborne and Marines seem to be the popular requests.
Hell let loose players need this kind of advice!
So how exactly does the Buddy system work when the squad is broken into Able, Baker and Charley. Is there a Buddy team that only gets together over chow?
Cramaine when I was still in the military, our buddy team worked in groups of two or three. It’s not set stone but was dictated by what we had available vs what type of contact was established. A weapons team could be a group of three (gunner, assistant gunnner(rifleman), and spotter(rifleman)), while a rifle team could work in groups of two or four. Not every weapons team had three and not every rifle team was two.
Cool
Interesting considering the wedge is now the primary formation in the Army
Yeah, at least at the fire team level, if not the squad level. An article about reorganization in the April 1947 Infantry School Mailing List illustrates a modified 9-man squad wedge, with the BAR team on one side of the wedge, and the riflemen on the other. The October 1949 edition of FM 7-10 still uses the squad diamond, but a 9-man variation with a single rifleman on point and the assistant squad leader bringing up the rear alone. Training material from the start of Vietnam seems to focus on "file," "column," and "line" as the squad's three main formations (for the 10-man Alfa/Bravo squad organization).
G.I. History Handbook That modified 9 man wedge sounds just like the current wedge formation used today. You are either heavy left or heavy right with your M249/M240, depending on where you expect to take contact. File is still used as well, though limited. And everyone gets "on line" when contact is made. Didn't know it was called "as skirmishers" in WW2 though. These videos are great, hope you make more.
The Finnish army used the wedge formation to motti the opponent. Very effective in woodland. When attacked the leading edge of the wedge would scream commands in Russian to the other fellow whilst conducting a fighting withdrawl. Guess what the other edges of the wedge would do to complete the motti. With a centre peel you can motti the opponent even when in a row.
For me (15 years ago) they trained using a form of a double wedge, one in front of the other. The front wedge makes contact, comes onto skirmish line, then the squad lead deceides which side to send the rear wedge.... and if they should form a line and help lay down fire, or actually use them for a hammer flank.
I would love if you did a WW2 British army Organisation and tactics since there is none but nevertheless you made a awsome video
daimond formation lifted from the thesselian cavalry circa alexander the great methinks
This channel will be key. I know fate brought me here , i just hope it isn't for a reason
I remember seeing in one of your videos that squads or platoons had assigned sectors to patrol. I'm in the middle of watching this video again to find it, but do you happen to know the actual FM quote? I'm not sure how to PM people, but I'm working on an amazing project and plan to promote you through a credit. We should talk outside CZcams comments, my man. I love your work and think we can do a lot for one another, and I am seriously interested in including this fantastic content.
Dammit! I can find exactly where you say that squads or platoons were assigned sectors to patrol, and you say it just once. That, I am certain of. Could you possibly point me to the correct video or provide the FM, if available.
I know I'm asking a lot here, but I'd love to include the info in my work "through you," in particular.
Hmm... I don't recall discussing patrols outside the context of security on the march. I know in my platoon formations video it is mentioned that, "A leading platoon in a daylight approach march could have been given a zone of reconnaissance 300 yards or more in width." And that, "Some training material assigned specific squads in a formation designated flanks to secure; others recommended pulling all security elements from the same support squad..." (This might be what you remember. I illustrate this briefly at 11 minutes and 53 seconds into that video.)
Also, "If the flank of the company was very exposed, and a larger squad-sized flank combat patrol was required, it was to be supplied by a support platoon."
@@G.I.HistoryHandbook No, you didn't discuss it out right. You just happened to mention it. I'm going to go back through and check again. I know I saw it just got to find it. I believe it was in regards to a full platoon moving. But like I said, I'll have another look.
why did they drop the diamond formation .. I mean they can use the diamond formation for holding or securing an LZ or a VIP ?
When I say "dropped," I mean removed from printed doctrine, not necessarily from existence. (Naturally, deployed units trained in a certain technique continued to use it in the field.) It's also important to remember that these things were constantly in flux, with certain formations continually gaining or losing emphasis. The squad wedge formation was at the forefront before the war began, but gone by an early 1943 training bulletin. The squad diamond formation is still around to be featured prominently for the 1944 edition of FM 7-10, but that's gone per an early 1945 training circular. Neither wedge nor diamond are in the January 1946 version of FM 22-5, but a variation of the wedge returns the following year when the rifle squad was reduced to nine soldiers. An article in the April 1947 Infantry School Mailing List (published by the Infantry School at Fort Benning) contains an illustration if this squad wedge, but an August 1949 ROTC training manual (printed by The Military Service Publishing Company) still uses only the squad diamond (and shows the arm and hand signal to be the same as the one for the old wedge). The October 1949 edition of FM 7-10 features a 9-man variation of the squad diamond as a primary formation.
The recent FM 3-21.8, "Infantry Rifle Platoon and Squad," from March 2007, has only the Line and Column/File as the primary squad formations. (These formations are the modern equivalents of the skirmish line, opened squad column, and closed squad column.) The wedge and diamond live-on as smaller four-element fire team formations.
During WWII, a rough circle formation was used for static all-around defense. This formation can be seen briefly in a 1942 training film covering squad and platoon formations, and is illustrated in printed material pertaining to patrolling. The Mailing List article (mentioned above) names this formation "perimeter."
Iko Artiaga the British still use it today
Special tactics with some soldiers that survived extreme battle are buried with them .
Great video are you a reenacter
Thanks. No, I'm not a reenactor. I did collect WWII militaria for a while, so I've naturally put together some impressions, but that's as close as I ever came to the hobby.
Any correlation to the 12-man Squad of WW2 & the US Army's ODA?
Hmm...I don't think so. By the time the Special Forces were established, rifle squad size had changed. ODAs remained 12-men for years, even as infantry squad size fluctuated throughout the Cold War. Their WWII-era antecedents, the OSS Operational Groups, were much larger units. Each OG was 34-men, divided into two sections of two squads each...At least on paper. (The OG commander was a captain, and his second-in-command and two section leaders were lieutenants. ODAs have a captain in command of each 12-man unit.)
I know the Green Berets also trace their lineage back to the First Special Service Force (arrowhead sleeve insignia/crossed-arrows collar insignia), and they were organized into 12-man sections (squads), but those sections were led by staff-sergeants. The FSSF's mission was direct action. It was the OSS that was tasked with dropping behind enemy lines to train and advise resistance movements.
Wouldn't it be an incredibly more dangerous job to be a scout in the squad as opposed to a riflemen? Did these men receive more pay or was the role of scouts rotated in the squad?
Scouts were paid the same as ordinary riflemen. Privates and privates first class had a base pay of $50 and $54 a month respectively. Overseas service earned a soldier a whopping 20% increase to base pay. The Combat Infantryman Badge meant an additional $10 a month for an enlisted man. (There was also "longevity pay" which was a 5% increase in base pay for every 3 years of service. Plus, there was a multitude of family allowances which covered everything from grandchildren to elderly parents and even divorced wives.)
A 19-year-old infantry scout, single with no dependents, fighting in Northern France would be paid between $70.00 and $74.80 a month. But, if he earned a Medal of Honor he'd get an extra $2 a month!
Ordinarily, at least in theory, the same pair always served as scouts (until they became casualties). Scouts often volunteered to take point. They could be loners who thrived while separated from the squad, or just eager soldiers who felt they had the skills necessary to keep the squad out of an ambush (guys who trusted themselves more than anyone else). It was widely recognized as a hazardous duty but some scouts felt it was safer to lead, hoping a hidden MG would reserve the opening burst for juicier targets to follow. Whatever the case, the squad leader needed to select trusted men to be scouts. Putting replacements out front was tempting, but untested scouts could invite disaster for the whole squad. Having said that, there were units who, once in combat, cast doctrine aside and rotated the riflemen as scouts. The army actually dropped the scout position after the war in favor of this method.
Thanks!
Then mix in a large dose of F.O.W. 👍🏼
The squad wedge aka the Flying V
Squad Tactical Drill
+1 like 👍☺
👍
15 troops formation?
Do Vietnam
Diamond seems like a bad formation with overlapping fields of friendly fire...
It was intended to be the primary patrol formation. It was thought to provide better all-around protection than the squad wedge, but it obviously had downsides. After being dropped in 1945, it made a return (modified for a smaller squad) in the late 40's. A variation of the squad diamond remained doctrine on and off into the Alfa/Bravo era. It took the form of a hollow diamond, with one fire team on the left and one on the right. General DePuy's column of fire team wedges finally killed it after Vietnam.
same can be said about every single one of those formations. even the skirmish line has overlapping fields of fire IF the enemy engages from the side. Diamond is used when you are on the move and the direction of enemy is unknown. The benefit of diamond is that at minimum 50% of your squad is always able to engage the enemy immediately . Once the direction of the enemy is known - you can transition into skirmish line and bring 100% of your squads firepower to bare.
I would love to see you do a video on Infantry heavy weapons companies. During WWII Regiments were Triangular; A regiment consisted of three Battalions with each Battalion having three Rifle Companies. Additionally each Battalion had a heavy weapons company (machine guns and Mortars). The Heavy weapons companies were identified as D company, H company and M company respectively to each battalion. I would like to know how they were employed in combat by the Battalion Command.
It's on the to-do list. Once the rifle company videos are exhausted I plan to eventually move on to the rest of the battalion. The heavy weapons company will get a video...Someday...
@@G.I.HistoryHandbook Thanks so much!
Ads have tried to suck my data, many types, a little bit but very very intens.
Ads must pay for online, but sucking people's data for return? From billions viewer?
What the....
German army in WW2 seem to had a very much more simple and effective way they used their squads.
They lost.