SCW - International Brigade platoon organisation?

[Happy Wanderer]

Gents,

I've been scouring for info on the organisation of the International Brigades in the SCW.

I am happy the early International brigades shortly after rte war essentially followed th eline so f militia organisations, but what of the more formally organised units?

Were they formed along the lines of the Spanish army or an organisation of their own. The Osprey gives a breakdown of the British Battalion as;

3 Sections (platoons?)
each
x1 sergeant
x3 platoons (sections?) with 8 men each.

I have heard of a fourth squad formation instead of a three as well.

Dos anyone have info on the organisation and equipment of the Internationals at this level?

Kind regards

Happy Wanderer

[Arlequín]

The Osprey is totally unreliable... that looks very much like an approximation of a British Army Infantry Platoon of 1940... which even the British weren't using until after their 1938 organisation.

As the battalion had a 'Machine Gun Company' at Jarama, I'm inclined to say that it followed the same organisation as the rest of the EPR... which currently I have yet to research myself.

 

*Edit* - From what I can tell at first glance, the EPR largely used the same 'Platoon' structure from March 1937 as it had pre-War. What differences there were came higher up the organisation. The infantry guns were removed from the battalions and the 'Machinery Section' became a proper Mortar Platoon of four tubes. The Machine Gun Company was formalised at two platoons of 4 weapons each, plus the usual infantry complement within those units.

The battalion strengths appear to have been successively increased by small amounts over time however, but whether this meant that the original 6 man squads were eventually increased to 7 and subsequently 8 man squads is hard to tell. I've read elsewhere that rifle companies received their own mortar and mg sections, which may account for the increases in manpower and possibly a reduction to 5 men in the usual rifle squad.  

I'm not certain but I believe an anti-tank company was added at brigade level (i.e. 1 per four battalions) and the 3rd Brigade of each Division gained an 'armoured platoon', which if I am correct, means tanks in this context, as there was already a theoretical armoured car company attached to each brigade.

[Happy Wanderer]

...what a shame the two or three paragraphs in the Osprey weren't at least correct on that detail!

EPR seems reasonable given the existing formal organisations of that time and comply with one other source I have to that effect.

The other details are good - thanks.

...more digging!

Happy W

[Arlequín]

I forgot to add this... excellent resource! http://www.sbhac.net/Republica/Fuerzas/EPR/EPR.htm

Should keep you off the streets and out of trouble for a while. 

[Happy Wanderer]

...nice site.

...now to translate 

Happy W

[Mathyoo]

I have no accurate answer, but I'm just reading a book that mentiones SCW here and then (memories of a slovene partisan that was fighting in Spain). He mentioned he was in "Balkan company" that had 20 members. His company, Czech battalion and another company were defending a road - he says 80 people all together. Also mentions they were well armed, every 5th guy had a machine gun. He describes a firefight against fascist and italians and mentiones they were protecting the road from Barcelona to Figeras...he talks about it two times, both times mentiones he switched from artillery to infantry in 1939, but at one point, he mentions battle took place "around 10th of June 1939", which is quite interesting.

[S_P]

@Mathyoo- which book is that please?

Cheers,

Pete.