Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => The Great War => Topic started by: pyrrhicvictory on 26 April 2012, 06:39:56 AM
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Does anyone know the how the French and German armies formed a company of infantry on the Western Front from
1916-'18? I am looking to use this information to form units for the 'Price of Glory' rules and would greatly appreciate any assistance. Things such as number of platoons in a company, structure of platoons and info on machine gun units are things that I have been unable to find any info on. :'(
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check out the ospray publishing, French Poilu 1914–18 and german storm troopers 1914-1918.
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The best information on low-level platoon and company formations I've found so far is in the Appendices in the back of the TooFatLardies Through the Mud & the Blood WW1 rules. Sections for each of the German, British, French and American Western Front forces, with notes on how they changed during the war too.
There's an additional essay on German platoon & company organization in the scenario book for Mud & Blook, Stout Hearts & Iron Troopers.
I'm using Mud & Blood for Russian Civil War myself, so I've read through the various essays but not in great detail. German low-level organization seems especially ad-hoc, with different units having radically different structures and equipment loadouts down to the platoon level.
Mud & Blood are great rules, and the appendices are a very nice added bonus that's useful even if you don't run the rules!
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Thanks guys, much appreciated. I'll be sure to check out both osprey and mud and blood.
Cheers.
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In addition, for the Germans I would also recommend checking out Gudmundsson's "Stormtroop Tactics, Innovation in the German Army, 1914-1918" (first printing 1989, reprinted by Praeger Publishers 1995. It is often cited as one of the best studies of the subject). Gudmundsson notes how the Germans changed the structure over the years, particularly from 1916 on (for example, the first allotment of the MG08/15 "light" machine gun in 1916 was 2 per infantry company, increased to 3, and then 4.; by the end of 1918 some companies on the Western Front had 6, while some companies on the Eastern Front never had more than 2). And beware of using Stormtroop Btn. Table of Organization and Equipment (TO&E) as representative of regular Infantry Btns. The "Establishment" Stormtroop Btns were fairly rare (typically one per Army) and very generously equipped (for example, they had permanently assigned flamethrower detachments). There is a lot of variation; the regimental history of the Bavarian Life Guard Regiment in 1918 gives two different TO&Es for two companies (and that's in the same regiment!)