Aaron Posted December 31, 2002 Share Posted December 31, 2002 Everyone is familiar with Easy Company and the US's habit of lettering the companies within a battalion. Did the Germans and the Soviets do the same thing or did they number them (first, second etc)? Aaron 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Dorosh Posted January 1, 2003 Share Posted January 1, 2003 German Companies were numbered. A regiment with three battalions was numbered as follows: I Battalion (Roman numerals) 1 Company (Arabic numerals) 2 Company 3 Company 4 (Schwere) Company - heavy weapons company II Battalion 5 Company 6 Company 7 Company 8 (Schwere) Company III Battalion 9 Company 10 Company 11 Company 12 (Schwere) Company The support elements of the regiment were numbered also, so you might have 13 FlaK Company, 14 Pioneer Company, 15 PaK (anti-tank) Company, etc. I can't recall if these companies also had a IV Battalion headquarters or not. The GD Division did it this way, but they were special - their battalions actually had 5 companies for a time, with 5, 10, and 15 being the Heavy companies. The extra companies were organized into a IV and V Battalion. Regimental structure changed a lot during the war, but the general system of numbering was the same. Unlike the British Army, where for example the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders do not have a "C" Company, due to tradition, or the Scots Guards, who do not letter their companies, but instead call them "Right Flank Company", "Left Flank Company", etc. The Germans had a little more sanity than that, apparently. Witness the Canadian RCR officer who had to relieve the Scots Guards in place, and being briefed that "Right Flank Company is here on the left, and Left Flank Company is over here on the right..." :confused: :confused: [ December 31, 2002, 05:59 PM: Message edited by: Michael Dorosh ] 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waycool Posted January 1, 2003 Share Posted January 1, 2003 Michael I have been reading Delaforce's book titled Monty's Ironsides about the British 3rd Division and some Regiments use the traditional A,B,C and D in naming their companies but some do use W X Y Z ? Is that what you are refering to regarding not using C company naming? I cannot recall what unit used the W,X,Y,Z company naming but it could have been the KSLI(Kings Shropshire Light Infantry)? Mike [ January 01, 2003, 02:37 PM: Message edited by: Waycool ] 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Dorosh Posted January 1, 2003 Share Posted January 1, 2003 Seems like many regiments had their own idiosyncracies. The Argylls have A, B and D Companies - no C Company. Would be an interesting study in itself, as evidenced by the other example you gave. I think some of the Guards foot regiments actually have company colours in addition to regimental and Soveriegn's colours. Lots of weird stuff that only a superGrog like John Salt would be able to tell us about... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hans Posted January 1, 2003 Share Posted January 1, 2003 The American did to, the 1-2 FA artillery, "half assed arty" being its nickname had an A, B and D battery. Legend had it that the C battery was destroyed in battle in less than a glorious manner but the truth was they wanted the D battery to exist as it had a direct lineage to Alexander Hamilton's revolutionary war battery. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hans Posted January 1, 2003 Share Posted January 1, 2003 The American did to, the 1-2 FA artillery, "half assed arty" being its nickname had an A, B and D battery. Legend had it that the C battery was destroyed in battle in less than a glorious manner but the truth was they wanted the D battery to exist as it had a direct lineage to Alexander Hamilton's revolutionary war battery. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hans Posted January 1, 2003 Share Posted January 1, 2003 Big ooops, that should be the 1-5th FA, Hamiltons Own! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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