i have been trying to sort this out for some time now is how big ww2 military units were. I think i read that there was a platoon in the 506th, 101st that had 34 men, now by assuming that theres 3 platoons in a company and 3 companies in a battalion and 3 battalions in a regiment and 4 combat regiments in a division (at least this is what i’m pretty sure the numbers for the 101st were) the number should look something like this
506th(regiment)-918
101st(division)-3672
Now i’m not sure of these figures also what im not sure of is whether or not there was any type of standardization with thing like, how many regiments in a division and how many battalions in a regiment. can somebody please help me get these numbers straight. also try and keep in mind that when i was trying to figure out how many men were in the 101st i was thinking about four of the main combat regiments, the 501st,02nd,06th, and 327 glider regiment.
Here is the breakdown
http://usmilitary.about.com/od/army/l/blchancommand.htm
Im a bit confused too. Not sure if they had taken the regimental level out or not. Which would bump the number. While they are referred to as regiments does not mean that they have the level. From wiki is says ~2000 ppl from the 506th jumped into Normandy. This would put the whole division about ~8500 men im guessing. Not far off the numbers listed above. Hope that helps.
yeah, from what i can tell there wasn’t any definite number that the army put as to how many men would be in an infantry division so i guess guesses are all we have. Although i guess it doesen’t matter too much anyway since i can’t imagine divisions or regiments were at full strength very often, especially airborne infantry which would probably have lower numbers anyway since its an all volunteer unit
Overlord 644
A division was nearly five times bigger than your estimate.
Here’s the 101st OOB, without numbers in units.
http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/documents/eto-ob/101ABN-ETO.htm
Divisional development in WWII
The quick success of the German Blitzkrieg into Poland in 1939 had a profound effect on the adoption of a new type of division. Testing of mechanized cavalry and tanks had been ongoing throughout the interwar years on a limited level, but German successes and the U.S. Army maneuvers of 1939-40 resulted in the adoption of true armored divisions. The division was designed as a powerful striking force to be used in rapid offensive action, and its ability for sustained action was an important feature. The first concept saw the division divided into five elements: command, reconnaissance, striking, support, and service. Based upon combat experiences, it was reorganized in 1942 with two armored regiments under two combat commands, with a division artillery similar to that in the infantry division. Another reorganization in 1943 eliminated the two armored regiments, leaving it with three tank battalions and three infantry battalions. A third command was added to control the division reserve on the march, but eventually came to be a third combat command. The heavy division of 1942 was capable of more sustained action, but weak in infantry. The lighter division of 1943 was more balanced in infantry, but needed an additional rifle company to form balanced tank-infantry teams.
http://fas.org/man/dod-101/army/unit/docs/influncs.htm
Organisation and size of division.
The core combat arm of the Army Ground Forces was orginized around the division formation. The division was created to be the smallest Army organization capable of performing independent operations. Ninety-one divisions were formed by the U.S. Army in World War II. In general, a division contained about 15,000 troops. See below for a complete breakdown of a division.
Non-divisional forces included service units and some additional combat troops not initially assigned to a division.
Note: most service units were allocated across all U.S. Army organizations. For example, both the Army Service Forces and Army Ground Forces had engineer units. In addition, engineer units were part of divisions while other engineer units were part of non-divisional personnel.
Division
Combat troops of the U.S. Army are classified by the weapons and methods used in combat.Divisional facts:
There were 5 types of divisions: infantry, mountain, armored, airborne, and cavalry.
91 divisions were mobilized during the war: 68 infantry divisions, 1 mountain division, 16 armored divisions, 5 airborne divisions, and 2 cavalry divisions.
All divisions were activated in the United States except for the following divisions: Philippine (activated in the Philippines), Hawaiian (activated in Hawaii and renamed the 24th division), 25th (activated in Hawaii from troops of the Hawaiian division), and Americal (activated in New Caledonia.)
There were three major theaters of operation during the war: Pacific (22 divisions were deployed to the Pacific), Mediterranean (15 divisions), and Europe (61 divisions). Seven divisions served in both the Mediterranean and European Theaters (1st, 3rd, 9th, 36th, 45th infantry divisions; 82nd airborne; and 2nd armored.)
Two divisions were disbanded or deactivated before the end of the war: the Philippine division was destroyed and disbanded on 10 April 1942; and the 2nd Cavalary division was activated and inactivated twice: 15 Apr 41 to 15 Jul 42 and 23 Feb 43 to 10 May 44.
Three divisions did not enter combat: 98th Infantry division, 13th Airborne division, and the 2nd Cavalary division.
By June 1946, 74 divisions were inactivated or disbanded leaving 17 divisions on active duty.
Division Components
All divisions of the U.S. Army originated from the following four sources:Regular Army
National Guard
Organized Reserves
Army of the United States
I should have included in my last post that it referred to general divisional organisation.
Airborne divisions were about 8,000 to 9,000 I think, but I can’t find a reference.
thanks for all the help, but keep in mind the numbers i listed above was just for combat troops in the 501st,02nd,06th and the 327th this was not including medical companies, engineers op MP’s and stuff like that.
More info on US Army organization during WWII from some of my posts:
US Army, USAAF and US Marine Corps Units in the Pacific - WWII
http://www.ww2incolor.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3333&page=3
http://www.ww2incolor.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3333&page=4