British Infantry Battalion, June 1944
Sources
Compiled from the War Establishment for an Infantry Battalion, reference II/233/2, effective 30th April 1943. This organisation was superseded by II/233/3 from 12th November 1944, which incorporated nine amendments made since the Spring of 1943.
Comments
The British tables have one notable omission, in that nowhere is there any detail of individual weapons, i.e. pistols, rifles and Sten guns. Only light machine guns, mortars and projectors, plus any towed ordnance are catalogued. A War Office letter of July 1943 outlined the scale of issue of individual weapons to all arms of service, and this has been used in compiling the following pages.
Amendments
As mentioned there were nine separate amendments made to the WE which were incorporated in a revised table effective from November 1944. The changes from II/233/2 to II/233/3 are detailed below.
Weapons
The only amendment to support weapons was the addition of a PIAT to the Signal Platoon, not shown on the 1943 table but certainly present by January 1944.
Personnel
The amendments to personnel were mostly administrative. The Rifle Companies lost their snipers to form a Section of eight men which was added to Battalion HQ. It comprised a Sergeant, Corporal, two Lance-Corporals and four Privates.
One of the orderlies from Support Company HQ was transferred to the Administrative Platoon to act as a driver for an additional 3 ton lorry. At Rifle Company HQ, the two batmen-drivers swapped places with two of the bicycle orderlies, the latter of whom became drivers.
Transport
It was here the most changes took place. The three 2-seater cars were replaced by Jeeps. The Administrative Platoon received two extra vehicles, a 15-cwt water truck and an additional 3-ton lorry, while the motor mechanic's lorry was fitted with a winch. The water dutyman drove the water truck, the orderly the extra lorry, as mentioned above.
HQ of Headquarter Company received a 15-cwt truck and lost its Jeep to the Signal Platoon, which used it to replace a motorcycle. One 15-cwt truck in both Battalion Headquarters and the Signal Platoon was upgraded to four wheel drive, personnel, standard. Six 10-cwt trailers were added, one to Signal Platoon, towed by the Jeep, two to the Administrative Platoon, towed by the Jeep and the single 15-cwt truck, and finally three to the Pioneer Platoon, towed by the Jeeps.
It is quite possible the 2-seater cars were gone before D-Day, likewise that the water truck had come back by then. The changes regarding snipers I think were made in light of the experience in Normandy. The remaining changes no doubt occurred during the campaign in the West.
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