WesWorld

I have been working on a TO&E for Brazil for awhile, and here is what I have come up with. It is more or less a direct copy of the French 1940 TO&E, with some small modifications made. Perhaps I should also clarify that this is what Brazil wants to build too, not what Brazil currently has.

Infantry Squad
1 sergeant 1 rifle
1 corporal 1 rifle
1 LMG gunner 1 LMG
1 LMG assistant 1 SMG
3 ammo carriers 3 carbines
5 privates 5 rifles
Total: 12 men, 1 LMG, 1 SMG, 7 rifles, 3 carbines.

Infantry Platoon
3 Rifle Squads 12 men each
1 Command Squad 1 lieutenant (1 rifle) 1 corporal (rifle grenade launcher) 2 runners (rifles) 1 transmission agent (rifle) 1 observer (rifle)
Total: 42 men, 3 LMG’s, 3 SMG’s.

Infantry Company
4 infantry Platoons 36 men each
1 Command Platoon composed of:
1 Captain Squad (12 men, 12 rifles)
1 Supply Squad (13 men, 13 rifles)
1 Mortar Squad ( 6 men, 4 rifles, 1 60 mm mortar)
Total: 175 Men, 13 LMG’s, 12 SMG’s 1 60mm mortar.

Infantry Battalion
3 Infantry Companies 175 men each
1 BHQ 1 battalion commander, 10 support staff.
1 Command Platoon composed of:
1 Transmission Squad (21 men)
1 Medical Squad (21 men)
1 Supply Squad (12 men, 12 rifles)
1 Heavy Weapons Company composed of:
1 Command Platoon composed of:
1 Supply Squad (9 men, 9 rifles)
1 Captain Squad (12 men, 12 rifles)

4 MG Platoons composed of:
2 MG Squads ( 14 men, 2 MMG’s, 12 rifles)

1 Heavy Weapons Platoon composed of:
1 Mortar Squad (22 men, 17 rifles, 2 81mm mortars)
1 Gun Squad (20 men, 18 rifles, 2 AT guns)
Total: 765 men, 52 LMG’s, 36 SMG’s, 16 MMG’s, 3 60mm mortars, 2 81mm mortars, 2 AT guns.

Infantry Regiment
3 Infantry Battalions 765 men each
1 Regimental HQ (11 men)
1 Command Company (224 men, 4 LMG‘s) (Includes Transmission, Engineer, Service, and Motorcyclists Platoons)
1 Supply Company (144 men, 6 tracked vehicles)
1 Heavy Weapons Company (75 men, 2 81mm mortars, 3 AT guns)
Total: 2,749 men, 156 LMG’s, 108 SMG’s, 52 MMG’s, 9 60mm mortars, 8 81mm mortars, 9 AT guns.

Infantry Division
3 Infantry Regiments: 2,749 men each
1 Cavalry Reconnaissance Battalion: 460 men, 24 LMG’s, 12 MMG’s, 4 AT guns, 2 60mm mortars.
1 AT Company: 108 men, 12 AT guns
1 Light Artillery Regiment: 1,416 men, 36 75mm guns, 8 AT guns, 6 AA guns.
1 Heavy Artillery Regiment: 1,506 men, 12 155mm, 24 122mm.
2 Engineer Companies: 250 men each
2 Signals Companies: 144 men each
1 Ammunition Company: 250 men each
1 Medical Group: 250 men each
Total: 12,631 men, 492 LMG’s, 324 SMG’s, 168 MMG’s, 29 60mm mortars, 24 81mm mortars, 47 AT guns, 6 AA guns, 36 75mm, 24 122mm, 12 155mm.

I doubt Brazil needs two artillery regiments per division. Without a breakdown of the artillery regiments, I'm not sure what's going on there, but they seem big in manpower for the number of tubes as well. Why the 122mm howitzers (I assume they're howitzers)? As far as I know, the only country that use 122mm at this period is Russia..... If you have 122mms, you probably don't need the 155mms, especially not at division.

What LMG is Brazil using? The number of ammo carriers seems high.

No AT rifles?

Considering Bulgaria, the King of Artillery, only has 1 per regiment, I think you can do with just one.

Quoted

Originally posted by TexanCowboy
Considering Bulgaria, the King of Artillery, only has 1 per regiment, I think you can do with just one.

Bulgaria is not the king of artillery. They're artillery-centric, but not kings of artillery.

Maybe the kings of Balkan artillery...

Quoted

Originally posted by Hrolf Hakonson
I doubt Brazil needs two artillery regiments per division. Without a breakdown of the artillery regiments, I'm not sure what's going on there, but they seem big in manpower for the number of tubes as well. Why the 122mm howitzers (I assume they're howitzers)? As far as I know, the only country that use 122mm at this period is Russia..... If you have 122mms, you probably don't need the 155mms, especially not at division.

What LMG is Brazil using? The number of ammo carriers seems high.

No AT rifles?

The reason for the two artillery regiments, was mainly because I wanted 36 light artillery pieces and 36 medium/heavy artillery pieces per divison. I could combine them into one super-regiment I suppose.

The Artillery regiments are composed of 3 Artillery battalions, which have 1/4 of the men (144) devoted to a supplies company. I could trim that down a bit i suppose. There are also 40 men for battalion HQ/communication.

The 122 is from Atlantis actually, Brazil is planning on sending out a shopping list to them and other nations in 1939 to equip three divisions. The 155 is from them too.

The LMG is the Benet-Mercie M1909, presumeably. The site I was using mentioned the French had 3 ammo carriers, so I went with 3 ammo carriers as well. AT rifles weren't mentioned, so I didn't add them. The Light Divisions, and Mountain Divisions will have them though. One of the Ammo carriers could probably have one.

So 12-gun battalions? 4-gun batteries?

Given Brazil's logistical issues (limited road/rail net, often difficult terrain), I'd be wary of the heavy artillery regiment, it's likely to be difficult to move and keep supplied, especially as you go to larger and larger guns. Myself, I'd probably replace the 155mms and maybe some of the 122s with a number of large (100mm+) mortars at regimental level: they're more portable, less expensive, and very responsive to the regiment's needs.

AT rifles wouldn't be added at squad level, perhaps at company given your battalion-level AT guns.

The number of LMGs in your organization seems off: I count 12 per company, you list 13. At battalion, you list 52, but I only see 36. Etc.

Number of light mortars seems low, though the dedicated grenade launchers perhaps make up for this a bit.

In real life, Brazil used triangular divisions up to after WWI, then they went to the square divisions other armies were abandoning. I don't know when they returned to the three-regiment division arrangement, but I think it was after they joined the Allies in WWII.

I've seen the composition for a typical squad in the Brazilian Army(as of 1940), I'll see if I can find it again and post it here this weekend.

Edit: Also, the standard LMG in the Brazilian Army was the Madsen, firing the then-standard 7x57mm Mauser caliber. The Brazilian Army changed calibers to the .30-06, but I think this was a WWII change.

@ Hrolf

Yes

True, these divisions are not to be sent in any case into the Amazon river delta, nor into Bolivia. These divisions are to be the ones stationed on the border with Gran Uruguay, hence the requirement for heavy artillery to go up against the SAE's no doubt more mobile and modern force. Nevertheless, I could substitue out the 155s with 105mm field guns.

Here's the site im pulling the stuff for this off of, by the way. I have more or less copied the TO&E from there.

http://enpointe.perso.infonie.fr/di.html

Against the SAE, you'll want to be fairly mobile and able to react, heavy guns that are hard to move will be prone to being either captured or out of position when you need them. Either 105s or 122s would qualify, but 155s are pretty heavy.. A possible 105mm would be the Canon de 105 mle 1913 Schneider (or the Polish wz.29 split-trailed mounting). There's no problem with having some bigger guns (155mm C 17 S howitzers, 155mm M1917 or GPF guns if you're going French), but I'd keep them at corps level so they can be allocated to divisions as needed and so the divisions can move.

Given experience in the South American war, I'd definitely think about some AT rifles at company level, and I'd ponder whether 4 platoons is too many for a captain to command.

What AT guns are you planning on using?

Madsens would certainly make sense for the LMG, other alternatives (though later) would be things like the ZB-26, the BAR etc, chambered in 7x57.

I know its probably silly nitpicks but still, why do the ammo carriers have carbines? Give them either standard rifles or SMGs and designate if the guns in the TOE either as Howitzers or Fieldguns.

And finally a general note on WW land forces (including the TOE I made for Persia), I cant shake the feeling that we are Infantry heavy when looking at OTL organizations. As examples the Soviet 1939 Rifle Division had a manpower of 18,841 of which 8000 was infantry and the German 1941 Infantry division also had a total of 8,000 infantry out of a total manpower of 17,200

OK, here's the composition for a typical squad in the Brazilian Army in OTL, as of 1941:

-Commander: 3rd Sergeant, rifle(60 rounds), saw, wire cutter

- First fire team:

Leader: Corporal - long rifle(60 rounds), hatchet;
Machine gunner: Soldier - LMG(180 rounds), pistol(27 rounds), spade;
Ammo carriers: 2 soldiers - pistol(27 rounds), 540 rounds(total) for LMG, spade and pick;
Riflemen: 2 soldiers - short rifle(60 rounds), spade and pick;

- Second fire team:

Leader: Corporal - long rifle(90 rounds), long knife(for opening trails - don't know what would be the name in English), wire cutter;
Riflemen: 4 soldiers - long rifle(90 rounds), 3 hand grenades, spade and pick(one of the soldiers only has the spade);
Grenadier: Soldier - long rifle(60 rounds, 6 rifle grenades), long knife.

So, 13 men in total.

Quoted

Originally posted by gral
long knife(for opening trails - don't know what would be the name in English)

A machete?

Surprised to see them using fire-teams. That's definitely a concept you could benefit from employing, especially as most armies of the period don't use it. (I think the USMC adopted many aspects of it during the Little Wars, but nobody else I'm familiar with did.)

Hmm, I might use that for composition for the Light Divisions, they are going to be the ones posted in the Amazon rainforest.

Quoted

A machete?

Surprised to see them using fire-teams. That's definitely a concept you could benefit from employing, especially as most armies of the period don't use it. (I think the USMC adopted many aspects of it during the Little Wars, but nobody else I'm familiar with did.)

Not exactly a machete(its a little smaller and it looks like a big knife instead of the rectangular-like look the machete blade has), but it does the same things a machete does.

Use of fire teams isn't surprising; the infantry squad TOE is closely related to the French one seen on that French site - the Brazilian squad has one more man on the second fire team, and equipment carried is different, but organization is the same(they even use the same terms to designate the fire teams - fusiliers and voltigueurs in French, fuzileiros e volteadores in Portuguese). Considering a French military mission was sent to Brazil after WWI, that is to be expected. Also, the Germans also used fire teams in their squads at the end of WWI( a LMG team and a riflemen one, IIRC).

I think that Germans were first real army that used the concept.

Fire teams is one of the most revolutionary concept in tactical thinking.

Okay, after some work here is the revised TO&E for the Brazilian infantry divisions in 1939.

Infantry Squad
1 sergeant 1 rifle
1 corporal 1 rifle
1 LMG gunner 1 LMG
1 LMG assistant 1 SMG
8 privates 8 rifles
Total: 12 men, 1 LMG, 1 SMG, 10 rifles.

Infantry Platoon
3 Rifle Squads 12 men each
1 Command Squad 1 lieutenant (1 pistol) 1 corporal (rifle grenade launcher) 2 runners (rifles) 1 transmission agent (rifle) 1 observer (rifle)
Total: 42 men, 3 LMG’s, 3 SMG’, 1 rifle grenade launcher, 33 rifles, 1 pistol.

Infantry Company
4 infantry Platoons 42 men each
1 Command Platoon composed of:
1 Captain Squad (12 men, 9 rifles, 1 pistol, 1 AT Rifle)
1 Supply Squad (13 men, 13 rifles)
1 Mortar Squad ( 6 men, 4 rifles, 1 60 mm mortar)
Total: 199 Men, 12 LMG’s, 12 SMG’s, 4 rifle grenade launchers, 158 rifles, 5 pistols, 1 60mm mortar, 1 AT Rifle.

Infantry Battalion
3 Infantry Companies 199 men each
1 BHQ 1 battalion commander, 10 support staff.
1 Command Platoon composed of:
1 Transmission Squad (21 men)
1 Medical Squad (21 men)
1 Supply Squad (12 men, 12 rifles)
1 Heavy Weapons Company composed of:
1 Command Platoon composed of:
1 Supply Squad (9 men, 9 rifles)
1 Captain Squad (12 men, 10 rifles, 1 AT Rifle)

4 MG Platoons composed of:
2 MG Squads ( 14 men, 2 MMG’s, 12 rifles)

1 Heavy Weapons Platoon composed of:
1 Mortar Squad (22 men, 17 rifles, 2 81mm mortars)
1 Gun Squad (20 men, 18 rifles, 2 57mm AT guns)
Total: 837 men, 36 LMG’s, 36 SMG’s, 16 MMG’s, 12 rifle grenade launchers, 636 rifles, 3 60mm mortars, 2 81mm mortars, 2 57mm AT guns, 4 AT Rifles.

Infantry Regiment
3 Infantry Battalions 837 men each
1 Regimental HQ (11 men)
1 Command Company (224 men, 4 LMG‘s) (Includes Transmission, Engineer, Service, and Motorcyclists Platoons)
1 Supply Company (144 men, 6 tracked vehicles)
1 Heavy Weapons Company (75 men, 2 81mm mortars, 3 57mm AT guns)
Total: 2,965 men, 112 LMG’s, 108 SMG’s, 48 MMG’s, 36 grenade launchers, 2,337 rifles, 9 60mm mortars, 8 81mm mortars, 9 57mm AT guns, 12 AT Rifles.

Infantry Division
3 Infantry Regiments: 2,965 men each
1 Cavalry Reconnaissance Battalion: 478 men, 8 LMG’s, 12 MMG’s, 6 57mm AT guns, 2 60mm mortars, 435 rifles.
1 AT Company: 108 men, 12 57mm AT guns, 96 rifles
1 Light Artillery Regiment: 1,452 men, 36 75mm guns, 12 57mm AT guns, 6 37mm AA guns, 108 trucks or tractors.
1 Heavy Artillery Regiment: 1,578 men, 18 105mm, 18 122mm, 12 57mm, 6 37mm AA guns, 324 trucks or tractors.
2 Engineer Companies: 250 men each, 250 rifles, 25 tractors.
2 Signals Companies: 144 men each, 144 rifles, 12 trucks.
1 Ammunition Company: 250 men each, 250 rifles, 25 trucks.
1 Medical Group: 250 men each
Total: 13,155 men, 344 LMG’s, 324 SMG’s, 156 MMG’s, 29 60mm mortars, 24 81mm mortars, 57 57mm AT guns, 12 37mm AA guns, 36 75mm, 24 105mm, 12 122mm, 108 grenade launchers, 11,216 rifles, 36 AT rifles, 473 trucks, 25 tractors.

Light Artillery Battery
4 75mm gun sections: 6 men, 1 gun each
2 transport squads: 4 drivers, 4 tractors or trucks
1 Battery HQ: 10 men
1 Communications Squad: 10 men, 10 rifles
3 FO teams: 10 men, 10 rifles
Total: 82 men, 4 75mm, 82 rifles, 8 tractors or trucks

Heavy Artillery Battery
2 105mm gun sections: 8 men, 1 gun each
2 122mm howitzer sections: 8 men, 1 gun each
4 transport squads: 8 drivers, 8 tractors or trucks
1 Battery HQ:10 men
1 Communications Squad: 10 men, 10 rifles
3 FO teams: 10 men, 10 rifles
Total: 114 men, 2 105mm, 2 122mm, 114 rifles, 32 tractors or trucks

Light Artillery Battalion
3 Light Artillery Batteries: 82 men, 4 75mm guns each
1 Supplies Company: 144 men, 12 trucks or tractors
1 Battalion HQ/Communications: 40 men
Total: 430 men, 12 75mm guns, 430 rifles, 36 trucks or tractors

Heavy Artillery Battalion
3 Heavy Artillery Batteries: 342 men, 2 105mm, 2 122mm
1 Supplies Company: 144 men, 12 trucks or tractors
1 Battalion HQ/Communications: 40 men
Total: 526 men, 6 105mm guns, 6 122mm howitzers, 526 rifles, 108 trucks or tractors

Light Artillery Regiment
3 Light Artillery Battalions: 430 men, 12 75mm guns each
1 AT Company: 108 men, 12 57mm AT guns
1 AA Company: 54 men, 6 37mm AA guns
Total: 1,452 men, 36 75mm guns, 1,452 rifles, 12 57mm guns, 6 37mm guns, 108 trucks or tractors.

Heavy Artillery Regiment
3 Heavy Artillery Battalions: 526men, 6 105mm, 6 122mm
1 AT Company: 108 men, 12 57mm AT guns
1 AA Company: 54 men, 6 37mm AA guns
Total: 1,578 men, 18 105mm, 18 122mm, 1,578 rifles, 12 57mm AT guns, 6 37mm AA guns, 324 trucks or tractors.

Cavalry Reconnaissance Battalion
1 Cavalry Squadron:
1 Command Platoon: 54 men, 54 rifles, 1 60mm mortar
4 Combat Platoons: 140 men, 132 rifles, 8 LMG’s
1 MG Platoon: 28 men, 24 rifles, 4 MMG’s
1 AT Gun Battery: 36 men, 4 57mm AT guns, 32 rifles
Total: 258 men, 8 LMG’s, 4 MMG’s, 4 57mm AT guns, 1 60mm mortar, 242 rifles.
1 Motorcyclists Squadron:
4 Combat Platoons: 104 men, 88 rifles, 16 LMG’s
1 60mm Squad: 4 men, 1 60mm mortar
1 Command Platoon: 40 men, 40 rifles
Total: 148 men, 144 motorcycles, 131 rifles, 1 truck, 1 60mm mortar.
1 Support Company:
2 MG Platoons: 56 men, 8 MMG’s, 48 rifles
2 57mm AT Guns: 16 men, 14 rifles.
Total: 72 men, 8 MMG’s, 62 rifles, 2 57mm AT guns.
Total: 478 men, 8 LMG’s, 12 MMG’s, 6 57mm AT guns, 2 60mm mortars, 435 rifles.

On the heavy artillery battery, you probably don't want to have both 105s and 122s in the same battery: they have different ranges, gun tables, etc so I don't see why you'd want to line them up wheel to wheel. I'd just mark it as 105 or 122mm.

57mm AT guns all the way through the organization, eh? Seems a little heavy, BUT the Brazillians have had more experience fighting tanks than most anyone other than the Argentines so.......