AN INFANTRY BATTALION IN THE BRITISH ARMY

With a total strength of 625 officers and men, the battalion is the basic tactical unit in the infantry and is commanded by a lieutenant colonel, known as the Commanding Officer or CO. The battalion comprises the Battalion Headquarters (HQ) Company, a Support Company and three rifle companies. The CO commands from the HQ Company, which provides the battalion’s administration, command and logistic elements. The Support Company comprises the battalion’s fire support assets and is equipped with mortars, anti-tank weapons and machine guns.

Each rifle company is commanded by a major, known as the Officer Commanding or OC, and consists of a Company HQ and three rifle platoons. Platoons are numbered in sequence, for example A Company consists of 1, 2 and 3 Platoons and B Company comprises 4, 5 and 6 Platoons. Each platoon comprises a Platoon HQ and three sections. Each section has a strength of eight men and is divided into two fire teams known as Charlie and Delta. A fire team consists of an NCO and three soldiers.

During wartime or on any kind of operation, the Battalion is task-organised for a specific mission and becomes a battlegroup. The battlegroup is made up of the Battalion HQ Company, Support Company and one or more rifle companies plus attached elements from armour, engineer or aviation units. On operations, the battlegroup is assigned to a brigade, which is made up of three or four battlegroups, plus artillery, aviation and support elements. The brigade forms part of a division, which is made up of three or four brigades with a total strength of about 15, 000 soldiers.

 

NOTE:

 

UK	US
section	squad
battlegroup	battalion task force

 

In the US a section is a unit between a squad and a platoon.

3.	Put the units in order from the smallest to the largest.

battalion	brigade	company
division	section	platoon

4.	Complete the chart.

	organisation	strength	composition	commmander
formations	division	15, 000	3-4 brigades	major general
	brigade	5, 000	3-4 battlegroups	brigadier
UNIT			HQ Company and Support Company + 3 companies
sub-units	company		Company HQ + 3 platoons
			PI HQ + 3 sections	lieutenant
	section		2 fire teams	corporal
			1 NCO and 3 men	corporal / lance corporal

5.s	Answer the questions.

1. What is the difference between the terms OC and CO?

2. How many rifle platoons are there in the battalion?

3. What is the difference between a battlegroup and a battalion?

6.	Study the examples and then label them. Use the words from the box.

equipment

composition

strength

command

1. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel.

2. Each section has a strength of eight men.

3. A brigade is made up of / consists of / comprises three or four battlegroups. The Support Company comprises the battalion’s fire support assets. On operations, the battlegroup is assigned to a brigade.

4. The Support Company is equipped with mortars, anti-tank weapons and machine guns.

 

7.	Write a description of your unit.

 

 

8.	Study the examples and then complete the text.