Question re: Assignment of Antitank Guns

[Armchair Private]

I am wondering how antitank guns were assigned to defensive infantry formations in actual practice. Most (all?) WWII infantry divisions that I have read about included an antitank battalion, and I am not aware of any smaller infantry formations that included organic antitank guns (other than the late-war German Sturm company modeled in CMBB).

Did the antitank battalion commander parcel out his guns to infantry regiments, battalions, or companies? And would such guns then be under the direct operational control of the infantry formation commander?

Or did the AT battalion commander site all of his guns across the division's frontage with an eye to the most likely points of attack that were passable to armor?

If command of the guns was divided, it would seem that there would be tremendous conflicts of interest about positioning, target selection, and engagement ranges. If these conflicts did occur, how would they typically be resolved?

[Kingfish]

Originally posted by Armchair Private:

Most (all?) WWII infantry divisions that I have read about included an antitank battalion, and I am not aware of any smaller infantry formations that included organic antitank guns (other than the late-war German Sturm company modeled in CMBB).

The TO&E of a standard infantry battalion usually included an AT platoon.

[JasonC]

The division made an AT defense plan to cover its sector.

In practice that included subordinating some elements of the divisional AT assets to component regiments and sometimes down to battalions.

Regimental groups typically had some AT assets as well. In Russian forces, a few 45mm ATGs and ATRs. In German forces late war, typically a single platoon of 3-4 PAK and some panzerschrecks. In the US and Brit forces, 57mm ATGs - battalion or regiment level. (2 pdrs for Brits earlier in the war).

A portion of the divisional AT battalion might be held in reserve by the division commander, to deploy against threats as they appeared. Particularly the SP elements - it was common for the 1st company in the German Pz Jgr battalion to have Marders or StuGs later in the war, for example.

In some cases, the AT defense scheme would also incorporate tube artillery normally meant to fire indirect. The Russians did this extensively, for example - the majority of their div arty was 76mm guns and considered "dual use". The Germans used 105mm howitzers in "gun lines" to deal with T-34s early in the war, and 105mm cannons (long barrel) were used for specialized AT vs. KVs etc. US cannon companies and field artillery battalions sometimes "backstopped" the infantry line with direct fire coverage. Of course, the Germans also famously used heavy Flak for this, sometimes.

The standard tactical unit was the battery, occasionally the gun section (half-battery).

In tactical deployment, AT defense nests were "checkerboarded" with normal infantry fighting positions and infantry heavy weapons positions (HMGs, mortars, infantry guns I mean). They could be 400 to 800 meters behind the forward infantry positions. Sometimes they would have a modest infantry force for close defense, and the batteries typically had a few organic MGs regardless.

Occasionally a larger strongpoint would be constructed around a combination of multiple gun batteries and a larger infantry force, e.g. a reserve battalion in a 2 up, 1 back scheme, co-located with a field artillery battalion, or a battery of field guns plus PAK and IGs.

Those schemes were designed to defend the guns, while they reached out in "fire base" fashion to hold surrounding areas without physical infantry presence. This was especially common in wooded terrain, when the defending infantry could not expect to cover the whole frontage with any thickness, if spread across all of it.

As for fights over AT assets, the whole point of using a division level formation is to put the decision where to put most of the AT effort above the "pay grade" of the battalion and regimental commanders. They simply have to play the hand they are dealt. A major general makes the actual allocation.

FWIW...