Organization of the British Infantry Battalion 1938 to 1945

1

Organization of the

British Infantry Battalion

1938 to 1945

A bayonetstrength.uk PDF

1st draft uploaded 4th August 2018

2nd draft uploaded 2nd June 2019

Amendments include;

1.

2.

3.

4.

Updates to Signal Platoon wireless and line equipment (1943 to 1945).

Clarification on 6-pdr Anti-tank gun ammunition allocation.

Added Annex D on the Assault Pioneer Platoon (1943 to 1945).

Correction of a number of lamentable typos¡­

3rd draft uploaded 13th January 2022

Amendments include;

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

Correction to officer ranks.

Corrections to Carrier Platoon detail (re Bren carrier layout).

Update on Sten gun issue to Rifle Platoon commanders.

Update to Signal Communication re 1941-42 wireless issue (Annex A).

General updates to mortar and grenade info (Annex B).

Update to carriage of the Lorried Infantry Battalion (Annex C).

Update to Pioneer Platoon equipment (Annex D).

bayonetstrength.uk

Gary Kennedy

August 2018

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Contents

Page

i.

ii.

iii.

Introduction

British Army Ranks

British Infantry Battalion structure and terminology

3

4

6

Overview

7

Evolution of the British Infantry Battalion (chart)

9

The elements of the Battalion

10

Annex A - Signal communication

32

Annex B - Weapons and ammunition

41

Annex C - The Lorried Infantry Battalion

53

Annex D - Assault Pioneer Platoon

56

Sources and acknowledgements

57

Still searching for¡­

60

bayonetstrength.uk

Gary Kennedy

August 2018

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Introduction

This is my attempt at analysing the evolving organization, equipment and weapons

of the British Infantry Battalion during the Second World War.

It covers three distinct periods in the development of the Infantry Battalion structure;

the pre-war reorganization utilised in France in 1940, the campaign in North Africa

that expanded into the Mediterranean and the return to Northwest Europe in 1944.

What is not included is the British Infantry Battalion in the Far East, as sadly I have

never been able to track down the relevant documents for the British Indian Army.

As far as possible, the information included here is obtained from contemporary

documents, with a list of sources and acknowledgements given at the end. There

will doubtless be omissions and it has already required some update.

A quick note on spelling; I have gone with the contemporary Serjeant rather than the

modern Sergeant, and organization rather than organisation, as that was how the

British Army spelled it in the 1930s and 1940s (which likewise extended to

mechanized and motorized).

This document gives an outline of the development of the Battalion, before looking at

its component subunits in more detail. Complete descriptions of the various British

Infantry Battalions discussed here are available in PDF files accessible from the

below linked area of the site.

British Army organization during the Second World War

This is the first step in replacing my defunct bayonetstrength. site,

which had wandered around the internet since about 2000. This new attempt

represents the content and detail I would have very much liked to have been able to

include from the outset, but has taken a great deal more time, effort and of course

expense to pull together than I ever imagined.

Even then there are always gaps in my understanding, so just after sources and

acknowledgements is a list of topics I am still seeking information on. If anyone

reading them can give me a pointer on where to look, or more direct assistance, I

would be very interested to hear from you. See the Home page for contact info.

I hope this proves of use to anyone interested in the subject.

Gary Kennedy

August 2018 (updated June 2019)

bayonetstrength.uk

Gary Kennedy

August 2018

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British Army Ranks

The British Army rank system is effectively divided into two parts; Officers and Other

Ranks (ORs). Officers include all commissioned officers. Other Ranks include all

Warrant Officers (WOs), all Serjeants and Staff-serjeants, and all Rank and File.

Rank and File includes Corporals and Privates

The full rank structure for commissioned officers in the British Army in the Second

World War (from most senior to most junior) is given below.

Field Marshall

General

Lieutenant-general

Major-general

Brigadier

Colonel

Lieutenant-colonel

Major

Captain

Lieutenant *

2nd Lieutenant

For the purposes of this piece the most senior rank to be found in an Infantry

Battalion was a Lieutenant-colonel. British Army Officers below the rank of Captain

were normally referred to as Subalterns. *I had incorrectly stated in previous

versions of this piece that the two most junior officer ranks were 1st Lieutenant and

2nd Lieutenant. In fact they were referred to as Lieutenant and 2nd Lieutenant

respectively, with no ¡®1st¡¯ appended to the senior of the two ranks.

The full rank structure for Other Ranks in the British Army in the Second World War

(from most senior to most junior) is given below.

Warrant Officer, Class I

Warrant Officer, Class II

Warrant Officer, Class III

Staff-serjeant

Serjeant

Corporal

Private

All of these ranks would be found within an Infantry Battalion and some require a

little more explanation.

Warrant Officer - within the Infantry Battalion the post of Regimental serjeant-major

(RSM) was held by a Warrant Officer, Class I, and those of Regimental quartermaster serjeant (RQMS) and Company serjeant-major (CSM) by Warrant Officers,

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Gary Kennedy

August 2018

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Class II. From the late 1930s there also existed the post of Platoon serjeant-major,

which ranked as Warrant Officer, Class III. This rank was abolished by 1941, when

all Platoons became an officer¡¯s command.

Staff-serjeant and Serjeant - within the Infantry Battalion the post of Company

quarter-master serjeant (CQMS) was held by a Staff-serjeant. A Serjeant could

append his particular specialism to his rank, as in for example Provost Serjeant or

Intelligence Serjeant, but his rank was still Serjeant.

Corporal - a Corporal could be appointed a Lance-serjeant, indicating he held rank

over fellow Corporals, but he was not an actual Serjeant and remained a member of

the Rank and File. Within a Battalion a set number of Corporals could be appointed

as Lance-serjeants; it tended to be used where a Section included several Corporals

and their seniority needed to be defined.

Private - similarly, a Private could be appointed a Lance-corporal, indicating he held

rank over fellow Privates, but again he was not an actual Corporal. Within a

Battalion a set number of Privates could be appointed as Lance-corporals.

In the British Army Private was the lowest rank a soldier could hold. Not all arms of

service used the term Private, and not all Regiments of the Infantry did either.

Exceptions to the term of Private within the Infantry are given below.

Regiments of Foot Guards

Guardsman

Regiments including the title Fusiliers

Fusilier

Regiments including the title Rifle

Rifleman

bayonetstrength.uk

Gary Kennedy

August 2018

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