1930s US Marine TO&E

[F.U.B.A.R]

 I am looking for an online resource for the Banana Wars Marines of the 20s and 30s. Mostly how they were organized.

[Arlequín]

Best I can offer is;

http://www.bayonetstrength.150m.com/UnitedStates/Marine/MarineInfantry/united_states_marine_infantry_battalion.htm

I suspect that the organisation of the first battalion type had been unchanged from the inter-war period, except four companies instead of three is more likely. Squad levels went up and down during the 1930's due to experimentation, so I guess that 9-14 men would be the range.

This might be helpful too, it's the manual derived from the USMC's experiences in the Banana Wars and was published in 1940.

http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/swm/index.htm

[F.U.B.A.R]

Thank you very much for your input; it is greatly appreciated. I know that around 1940 a USMC Rifle Company comprised of two 9-man rifle squads and an 8-man automatic rifle squad. I also know that during the Banana Wars that the Marines developed the forbearer of the modern USMC fire team called the Combat Action Platoon Concept that used a maneuvering element of 3 to 4 men centered around and automatic weapon, what has eluded me is who many men were in this platoon? Can I assume it was a B.A.R. that was the automatic weapon?  What of the 8 man automatic rifle squad? How many B.A.R.s were in that squad? 2, 3, 1? Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

[Arlequín]

In lieu of someone who knows what they are talking about, I'd guess the auto-rifle squad was four teams of two men under the direct command of the platoon leader. Each section could have up to two teams deployed with it (or not), giving two 'fire teams' (or whatever they chose to call them then) of 6 and a leader. The USMC seems to have a tradition of centralising its support weapons, even up to the present.

The manual appears to suggest what we would call 'task-orientated' units, with patrols being formed in response to the role required and the likely strength of the opposition. With this in mind I think the formal platoon and company structures would only exist in barracks.

[Cory]

From http://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Fireteam (a less than authorotative source)

Carlson and Merritt Edson are believed to have developed the fireteam concept in the Nicaraguan campaign. At that time the US Marine squad consisted of a Corporal and seven Marines all armed with a bolt-action M1903 Springfield rifle and an automatic rifleman armed with a Browning Automatic Rifle. With the introduction of weapons such as the Thompson submachine gun and shotguns and the thick vegetation that could provide cover for a quick overrun of a patrol, a team of four men armed with these weapons had more firepower and maneuverability than the standard nine-man squad.