Whats in your platoon?

Hmm.. let's see!

6 guys with Assult Rifles

2 light machine guns

A new Multipurpose shoulder fired missile launcher (for both anti-armor and anti-aircraft defense)

A information warfare pack containing: a secure radio, a laptop, GPS, and a SATCOM link.

2 Explosive Techs- trained to defuse mines and IED (Improvised Explosive Devices).

1 medic

How's that?

Tim

Ok tim, any particular method of deployment, movement, or combat? Sounds pretty well rounded. So Im guessing your going for traditional ideas.

My ideal platoon would have
3 mech infantry squads:
-Patria AMV IFV
-Driver
-vehicle commander/gunner
-LMG Gunner (PKM with optics)
-4 riflemen (RK95 with optics)
-Sniper (Sako TRG42 .380 Lapua Mag.)
additionally all riflemen should have light AT-weapons like APILAS etc.

Support squad with Patria AMV, 40mm Grenade MG and Euro Spike ATGM

Comppany should have 3 of these platoons
and a support platoon:
- a mortar squad with 81mm mortars
- AT Squad with recoilles' and ATGMs
- scout team (3 mens with rifles) using Bikes or light vehicles.
- Fire Control/FO team

Battalion should have 3 inf comppanies
and a mortar platoon with 3 Patria AMOS systems
and a engineerin platoon with Xa203 apcs
and a AT platoon with ATGMs
and a Recon platoon with AMV ifvs (only rifles and weapons mounted on vehicles)
and a signal/command platoon
and supply comppany with medical squad, food supply squads, ammo supply squads and Re-fuel unit.
and a SR SAM detachment.

This Battalion desing is based on Finnish army '05 Jaeger battallion
entirely capable of indebendet ops. It has limited protection, good firepower and very high mobility (all vehicles wheeled and cabaple of road speeds ~100 Km/h)

for more info on Finnish army www.mil.fi...

This is the British method of army segregation right??

3 platoons=company-->4/5 companies=battalion-->3 battalions=brigade-->
3 brigades=division --> 3 divisions=core-->(?)cores=command/army

Cause thats how it is in the Indian Army..

The division into 3 sub units is common in many armies, i suppose Finns go that either from Russia or Germany (We were autonomous part of russian empire till 1918 and most of our early officers were trained in German Jäger battalion 27) (russians use the 3/3/3 system today too)

The chain in Finnish army at present goes 3 Infantry comppanies per battalion (+support and command coys) 3 battallion per brigade (+ again some supply, fire support and MP/engineering units). Larger units (armies) to be built when needed using jäger brigades, armoured brigs, and artillery brigades.. so no regiments or divisions used, very flexible way to organize the army since all brigades (or even battallions) can operate independenty if needed

ps. the Finn Army has 4 kinds of brigades, infantry (older men, low mobility, slightly outdated gear), jäger brigades (mostly wheelmechanizes with Xa180/185 apcs), Readines brigades with (IFVs or ATVs) and armour brigades with Leopards, BMBs and T-72s) and some regional troops and Guerilla battallions and a coastal brigade ("marines")

Originally posted by northwolf


ps. the Finn Army has 4 kinds of brigades, infantry (older men, low mobility, slightly outdated gear)

?? I find that extremely queer and amusing

conscript army you know... all men aging 18-55 are in reserve,
but you can't expect a lot from reservists aging from 40-55, with 30+ years from their basic training, can you
Useful only in defense (no offense to the ppl in the age group here, i'm sure all 55 year old ATSrs can keep up with 20 year old Rangers)
But when given a foxhole to defend they do just fine... even with little outdated helmets and camosuits. They do look funny tough

[edit on 4-8-2005 by northwolf]

Thats exactly the thinking of the French High Command at the outbreak of WWI. "The germans dont have the kind of manpower needed to break through Belgium or overwhelm our armies in such quick notice."

The french didnt believe the reservists over the age of 25 were fit for anything but rear duties and simply not called up.

Germany used its reservist divisions with older men in the initial push and performed just as well as fresh young divisions, meaning they could simply overwhelm the french boys.

WIth modern weapons, age matters less.

But back to the topic, what tactics would you folks consider best for your platoons, slow and steady advancing with support, infiltration and then ambushes, or simply blitz them with speed and firepower.

Tactics in attack by northwolf
1) use well trained recon teams execessively to scout out enemy positions
2)Unleash an initial artillery strike against enemy ATGMs and frontline infantry (and their vehicles)
3)infitrate the recon units past enemy frontline
4)use recons to direct artillery fire at enemy "frontline", while manouvering your infantry in position to attack
5)Attack with Infantry and armor while moving the artillery barrage into the targets at enemys rear area (command/communication posts, artillery, reinforcements) spotted by recon (if no extensive artillery support is available use recon units as commando teams and start dealing with the said threats up-close-and-personal )


And in defence the key is to use guerilla type units (Finnish border battallions for example) to harass enemys fuel and ammo supplly, while continously trying to avoid direct fighting with their spearhead (ie. heavies units) and concentrate your attacks on enemy flanks, when the MBT units lose their command, support and supply, they are easy to take out (tanks with no fuel are sitting ducks)

old thread, but who cares?

I like your platoon (and espacially the company) northwolf.

My Platoon would probably look like this:

command and weapons section:
- platoon leader
- platoon seargent
- radio operator
- 2 machine gunner
- 2 Asst maschine gunner
-Driver
-vehicle commander/gunner

equipment:
1 Patria AMV
2 FN MAG
9 SIG SG551LB assault rifles, 1 9mm pistol

3 mech inf squads:
- driver
- vehicle commander
- gunner
(forming 2 fire teams)
- squad leader
- assistant squad leader with assault rifle with scope
- 2 grenadier with assault rifle and 40mm grenade launcher
- 2 machinegunner with FN Minimi
- 2 rifleman with assault rifle and Panzerfaust-launch-unit

equipment:
1 Patria AMV
2 FN Minimi, 2 M203P grenade launcher, 2 Panzerfaust-launch-units, 9 assault rifles, 3 9mm pistols

[edit on 4-3-2007 by Green Leader]

Um I thought this was supposed to be tactics? And the French did not believe Germans couldn't break through Belgium, they believed they could get their Armor there on time - and indeed could have had it not been for a blunder in where the fuel was shipped...so French armor was inactive in that campaign.

On to tactics.

Simple is best - diversity means you have a LOT of useless men during any GIVEN engagement.

For instance, you have a man armed with a rocket-launcher say a Stinger...great...he's lugging around a stinger...but you don't engage a helicopter you engage another platoon. That man with the Stinger is useless and has to ditch his primary equipment for secondary equipment...

Engineers? What the hell would your platoon have engineers for when you can simply have an attached unit? So a squad of engineers are being gunned down trying to deal with mines rather than worrying about the enemy.

The best platoons are homogenous. What do I mean by that? I mean they are all one function - guys with small arms and a few guys with maching guns (usually one gun crew per platoon) and a guy or two with some form of propelled artillery - be it a bazooka or a stinger...what have you.

The trick is getting the right platoons in the right fights. You do not want your indirect fire to come into contact with a light infantry.

You do not want your heavy infantry wasted on fighting engineers...

You want your platoons on the right targets.

In a company there's enough groupings that you can usually mix-match in a combat situation so that you are dealing with many tasks at once.

In a platoon setting you want to maximize the use of your men so we'll be saying a few squads of light arms and 2 heavy MG crews.

This gives you the ability to put down suppressive fire while positioning your MGs on a flank or down range to cover a squad going one way or another.

The idea is to establish a position that can be defended so you aren't pushed back enabling the enemy a route. You want to keep the enemy from easily escaping so you want squads of small arms to be mobile enough to block movement.

If you are confronted with armor you either deal with it with grenades and mobitlity or you withdraw.

If you are confronted with air - take appropriate cover until the air has to with draw for fuel//munitions.

If you're confronted with obstacles keep moving - no sense in being bogged down by mines if it's not absolutely necessary.

My platoon, if I had to create a all-use one, would be the following :

_Squad leader, equipped with NV goggles, a XM 5.56, and a few smoke grenades. He could carry IR designator sometimes.

_ 4 Soldiers, equipped with M4 and red point lens and grenades.

_ 2 Machine gunners, one with a M163, and one with a M60, providing different uses and fire rates.

_ 3 specialists : one with a LAW Anti-Tank launcher, and a XM.
another one with a M203 coupled with his M4.
the last one with a few mortar grenades to put on his rifle.
_A scout / sniper, locating enemy positions and coordinating the squad positionning before action, taking out key enemy soldiers with a good Dragunov and suppressor.

Of course i tried to create an "american" squad, even if I'm French. I wanted first to describe a French high-profile platoon, but except the FAMAS no one knows the weapons I'd talk about, and it'd loo like crap.
So, what do you think?

I read a lot of weird stuff in here. People want to create all-use squads, explain offensives, but the problem is that when they launch offensives they describe it as if the enemy was passive ! The enemy WILL react .

Funny that no one mentions long range conventional missiles, which would annihilate any tank column or large infantry groups before they even reach the frontline ! The war of today between two EQUIVALENT forces would be a war based on who has the best intel and who has the best hit-squads to perform specific works and paralyze the enemy communications and chain of command, don't you think?
However, no one is dumb enough to engage a valuable enemy. That's why we are still alive

Hrm. I like maneuverability and flexibility.

Let's say you have six basic slots:

A) command
B) weaponry
C) explosives and civil engineering
D) medical
E) communications and electronics
F) a catchall incorporating tactics, history, political analysis, intel and interrogation

Let's put two men per slot, one the senior and one junior, so that you have duplication of each role, but you are also breeding up the juniors as the next senior group. By duplicating each function, you can also split the group into two similarly competent smaller squads, one under the senior leader, probably a captain, and the exec, maybe a lieutenant or warrant officer.

Give them a flexible TO&E so that the weapons guys can equip with whatever they need for the job, but you'd want them able to run or maintain anything from a Barrett to light artillery. The explosives guys can also do most weapons stuff, and they can devise AP or contact breakers as needed.

If you had some guys able to cross specialize, you could carry on the job even if you lost some guys. Or you could split into four teams of three if you had to. The medical and comms guys would probably be the hardest to split, the function is so specialized, and would take a lot of training, but the other ones would probably be able to cross-train and assume each others' job slots. You're more likely to lose those guys anyway; you're probably going to keep the medical and comms guys out of direct conflict unless the situation demands it, because they're your way out alive.

Heck, you might even want to add one more guy back at the base, call him a team manager, just to help keep track of equipment and paper work, and sub him in if you had a guy out on leave, sick, off for training or what not.