U.S. Airborne 3rd Squad and BAR

[Pak40]

I know this topic may give Steve some headaches, just as this old thread did, but I'm wondering if there has been any new evidence into ever evolving TOE of the U.S. Airborne Divisions? Will the new MG module reflect this evidence.

I am currently reading the recently published September Hope: The American Side of a Bridge Too Far. It is littered with references to airborne troops using the BAR, and many of these come from soldiers' quotes, so it's not just conjecture by the author.

As for the debate of whether Airborne platoons had 2 or 3 squads, I have found little evidence so far. The only tidbit I've read so far mentioned a case where 2nd platoon and the attached engineers were ordered to go capture the Best bridge. 2nd Platoon at this point had 18 men according to the quote in the book. Since this account is early on in the fighting of the 1st day of OMG, I seriously doubt that the platoon took over 50% casualties. I think it's more likely that 6 may have been wounded or killed and the remaining 18 were ordered off to capture the bridge.

[JonS]

It is littered with references to airborne troops using the BAR, and many of these come from soldiers' quotes, so it's not just conjecture by the author.

On a methodological note: participant quotes need to be used with a high degree of caution (see, for example, participant quotes about the prevalence of 88mm guns in the German armoury, or the British use of belt-fed artillery).

[YankeeDog]

Well, the BAR was already part of the TOE of U.S. Airborne formations in June 1944 -- by official TOE, the rifle squads of the Glider Infantry Regiments have one BAR per squad, and CM's TOEs reflect this.

So the question is not whether Airborne Divisions had BARs, but whether any significant number of BARs made it into the hands of the Parachute Infantry, which are, after all, only one component of the Airborne Divisions. This is a much harder question to answer.

Certainly, given the sheer number BARs present in the G.I.Rs, and the fact that the P.I.R.s and G.I.R.s often became commingled on the ground, it's easy to imagine that at least a few BARs made it into the hands of paratroopers -- weapons could have been traded, picked up off of casualties, etc. Paratroopers were also notorious for adjusting their own kit as they saw fit, and indeed had a degree of official license to do so. So I would actually be very surprised if there weren't at least a few BARs scattered here and there amongst the Parachute Infantry, especially once they had been on the ground for a few days.

But I think that for CM purposes, it's more important to determine whether any significant number PIR actually jumped into combat with BARs, as this would represent a de facto change to TOE, and therefore something that should be reflected in CM's TOEs.

AFAIK, the BAR was not officially added on paper to the U.S. PI rifle squad until the very end of 1944, definitely not in time for Market Garden. However, unofficial TOE changes did sometimes precede the official paper changes, so it's not impossible to believe that at least some of the PIRs might have made this change by Sept. 1944. I've yet to read any hard evidence to this effect, though.

ISTR that the original reason why the BAR was not distributed to paratroopers was that it was thought to be too long and heavy to jump with safely. In comparision, the the M1919A6 is actually heavier as a whole, but unlike the BAR, it can easily be broken down into receiver and barrel units, creating a more compact package that is easier to pack into a for jumping.

Obviously, at some point this logic was abandoned as by 1945 the PIR were officially using BARs.

[JonS]

Obviously, at some point this logic was abandoned as by 1945 the PIR were officially using BARs.

This is off topic, but do you know if 17th A/B Div jumped with them during VARISTY? Or was the official issuing of BARs a recognition that the PIRs in 82nd and 101st were being used basically as infantry regts.

[YankeeDog]

This is off topic, but do you know if 17th A/B Div jumped with them during VARISTY? Or was the official issuing of BARs a recognition that the PIRs in 82nd and 101st were being used basically as infantry regts.

I don't know, but I think it's highly likely the 17th had BARs in the PI formations when they dropped in Varsity -- the official TOE changes published at the very end of 1944 list 1 BAR/rifle squad "for optional use as directed." Not sure what this is supposed to mean, but I should think they at least had them in their weapons lockers. The 17th was pulled off the line in late January after being deployed during the Battle of the Bulge, and didn't see action again until Varsity, so they had plenty of time to implement the new TOEs.

Worth noting that these BARs replace some of the M1919 MGs present in earlier TOEs -- In addition to one M1919/rifle squad in the PI formations, earlier TOEs also have two "unallocated" M1919s listed as part of the platoon-level allotment. Presumably, these were distributed as the Platoon CO saw fit. It is these unallocated M1919s that get eliminated in the 1945 TOEs.

So, in the 1945 PI TOE, you have a 3-squad platoon, 12 men per squad with 1xM1919 and 1xBAR per squad. It is interesting to speculate whether the squads typically carried both the M1919 and the BAR, or usually carried just one or the other, depending upon where and how they were being deployed. I don't have any information one way or the other on this.

[Pak40]

Yankee, thanks for the info. BTW, I was specifically asking about Parachute Infantry, not the Glider Infantry. Anyway, what are your sources?

These are my hunches based on what I've read so far for OMG. The BAR was carried in addition to the M1919 in each platoon, but it's possible that not every squad had a BAR - it may have been a preference for some squads. The PI platoons were still in 2 squads, but like I said, I have very little evidence of this. Hopefully I will discover some more info during further readings.

[JonS]

I will discover some more info during further readings.

A good area for this might be the blizzard of US paratrooper memoirs that've come out over the last decade or so. I've noticed that low-level memoirs tend to leak details about organisation, almost inadvertently, by - for example - referring to what section their buddy Earle was in, or how many corporals were in the platoon. I've found that you have to read quite closely though, because the info isn't laid out in tabular form (obviously ), and a lot of stuff can get glossed over, so you have to make some inferences.

[YankeeDog]

Anyway, what are your sources?

I'm pulling this stuff directly off of the actual period TOEs. Specifically, the set of Parachute Infantry TOEs dated 8/1/44, and then the Tentative set issued 12/16/1944. It is this latter set that describes an increase to 3-squad platoons, and addition of three BARs to the platoon weapons allotment.

So these descriptions are a primary source describing what the desk-drivers back in Washington thought the PIR formations *should* look like. To what degree field formations actually conformed to these bureaucratic ideals at any given point in time is another set of questions entirely.

[Pak40]

Thanks, I did a search on those dates and found this excellent write up

It pretty much confirms what you've said:

The big change in the Dec 1944 TOE was in the parachute infantry battalion. The battalion headquarters and headquarters company was somewhat smaller, but still had the mortar platoon (4 81mm mortars) and machine gun platoon (8 .30-caliber machine guns). However, many of the personnel of those platoons exchanged their carbines for rifles. There were still 9 bazookas. The rifle company gained a third rifle

squad, accounting for much of the increase in company strength. The tripod-mounted M1919A4 .30-caliber machine gun was replaced by the bipod-mounted M1919A6 version, and the “spare” .30-caliber machine guns were now replaced by “spare” BARs.17 As in the regiment, a number of personnel exchanged carbines for rifles. The heavy weapons for a parachute battalion were now 4 81mm and 9 60mm mortars, 35 .30-caliber machineguns, 9 “spare” BARS, and 21 bazooks.

It's quite obvious from my current readings that the BARs were unofficially adopted in time for Market Garden. Still, it would be nice to have some other sources confirm this.

Official TOE from 8-1-44

I also found the official TOE from Dec 16 1944

[Ts4EVER]

Doesn't this imply that the M1919A6 was not used in Normandy?

[YankeeDog]

Doesn't this imply that the M1919A6 was not used in Normandy?

Difficult to say. Prior to CMBN, I had been under the impression that the M1919A6 didn't actually see widespread use until Market Garden or so. But Steve has made some comments here on the forums stating that he felt the Parachute infantry formations probably had significant numbers of M1919A6s in time for the D-Day drops, which is why this is what is reflected in the game.

During WWII, far fewer of the M1919A6 variant were produced than the M1919A4 variant. However, the Parachute Infantry formations were only a small percentage of the overall U.S. Army infantry forces, so it wouldn't have taken all that many M19119A6s to equip just the PIRs with them, and it does seem likely that the Parachute Infantry formations would have gotten first priority for the M1919A6 when it became available.

[Michael Emrys]

The heavy weapons for a parachute battalion were now 4 81mm and 9 60mm mortars, 35 .30-caliber machineguns, 9 “spare” BARS, and 21 bazooks.

If that is correct, then it works out to one BAR/platoon instead of three, right?

Michael