The Marine Rifle Squad: The begginings of the modern fireteam.

[GIrene]

Information taken from www.ww2gyrene.org, the "GI Intelligence Department" (www.hardscrabblefarm.com/ww2) and Osprey's Battle Orders 1: US Marine Corps Pacific Theater of Operations 1941-1943.

The Marine Corps has always kept a legacy about being a very "light" force in readiness and who even now have a reputation for having a Rifle Platoon that is heavier on numbers of Infantrymen but lighter in terms of the amount of heavy weapons carried. In World War Two this was actually the reverse.

D-100 Division and D-1 Squad Organization
Before the war began the Marine Corps was fighting underneath the "C" versions of organization. Only the very early battles of the PTO were fought in the C organization and it is not much different from the next evolution. On January 10, 1942 the D-100 series of TO was approved, simply upgrading the engineer battalion to a regiment and adding a pioneer battalion and a Naval construction battalion (SEABEEs). Also added were a special weapons battalion to bolster the AA and AT units all ready organic to a division, and they added a Military Police battalion to the existing MP's in the HQ battalion. On paper it was a total strength of 19,154 Marines and Sailors. The 1st and 2nd MarDivs would go fight Guadalcanal under this TO.

The D-1 Squad and platoon is of interest because of its 9 men number, and the platoon was assigned an "Automatic Rifle Squad".

Fig 1. A Marine Rifle Squad in a D-1 organization.

The Platoon consisted of a Headquarters Element with:
1x Platoon Commander (A 1st or 2nd Lt)
1x Platoon Sergeant (Platoon Sergeant)
1x Guide (Sergeant)
1x Demolition Corporal (Corporal)
3x Messengers (Pfc/Pvt)

It had three Rifle Squads each with:
1x Squad Leader (Sergeant)
1x Assistant Squad Leader (Corporal)
1x Automatic Rifleman (Pfc/Pvt)
1x Assistant Automatic Rifleman (Pfc/Pvt)
1x Rifle Grenadier (Pfc/Pvt)
2x Riflemen (Pfc/Pvt)
2x Scouts (Pfc/Pvt)

There was also an Automatic Rifle Squad with:
1x Squad Leader (Sergeant carrying an SMG)
2x Automatic Riflemen (Pfc/Pvt)
2x Assistant Automatic Rifleman (Pfc/Pvt)
3x Riflemen (Pfc/Pvt)

There was a planned organization to have a thirteen man Rifle Squad with:
1x Squad Leader (Sergeant)
1x Assistant Squad Leader (Corporal)
2x Scouts (Pfc/Pvt)
1x Automatic Rifleman (Pfc/Pvt)
1x Assistant Automatic Rifleman (Pfc/Pvt)
6x Riflemen (Pfc/Pvt)

Fig 2. The unused D-1 (revised) organization.

This organization never came to fruition. Speculation would say that the small number of the Marine Corps in the pre-war stages would be the cause. The Marine Corps started out with little more than two divisions and a collective of provision brigades and battalions and ended the war with six active divisions, higher command regiments/battalions in TWO amphibious Corps as well as a network of battalions and brigades.

There was also a weapons platoon in every Company that had a machinegun section and a mortar section.

It consisted of a Headquarters Element with:
1x Platoon Commander (1Lt/2Lt)
1x Platoon Sergeant (Platoon Sergeant)
1x Ammunition Corporal (Corporal)
1x Messenger

It had one Machinegun Section (with a section leader either a Platoon Sergeant or Gunnery Sergeant) that had two Machinegun Squads each with:

1x Squad Leader (Corporal)
1x Gunner (Pfc/Pvt)
1x Assistant Gunner (Pfc/Pvt)
3x Ammunition Bearers (Pfc/Pvt)
1x Machinegun*
1x M4A1 Hand Cart (for ammunition)
*They most likely were equipped with the earlier M1917A1 water cooled .30 machinegun until later equipped with the M1919A4 air-cooled machinegun.

There was also a Mortar Section (with another section leader) which contained two Mortar Squads each with:

1x Squad Leader (Corporal)
1x Gunner (Pfc/Pvt)
1x Assistant Gunner (Pfc/Pvt)
3x Ammunition Bearers (Pfc/Pvt)
1x M2 60mm Mortar
In the E-series TO there would be another machinegun and another mortar squad attached for a total of three light machinguns and 60mm M2 mortars.

By this organization a Rifle Company was 183 Marines strong. They would be sporting 15 M1918A2 Browning Automatic Rifles, 2 60mm M2 Mortars, and 2 M1917A1 or M1919A4 Light Machineguns for heavy weapons, while the rifleman were equipped with M1903A3 Springfield or Enfield P1917 Rifles. The rifle squad was meant to fight in two seperate elements. The Fire Element (The Autorifle and some riflemen) and the Manuever Element (Scouts/Riflemen). Usually the Squad Leader would lead the Maneuver Element and his Assistant the Fire Element. This was eventually found to be very inflexible for modern warfare especially in the simulataneous confines and isolation of jungle warfare.

E-100 Division and E-1 Squad Organization
After the initial and opening battles of the Pacific Theater, the Marine Corps quickly realized that they needed larger squads as well as a reorganization of the division itself. The main motivations were to enlarge the rifle squad AND provide the means for better command and control. The Marine Corps was adapting quickly to the tenets of jungle warfare. On 15 April 1943 the Marine Corps approved the E-series of TO. All three active divisions (1st-3rd) were reformed under this TO and would have a paper strength of 19,997 Marines and Sailors. Interesting because they had deleted the AA Battalions, placing them in a more centralized command with the Defense Battalions, and moved each division's Parachute Battalion to New Caledonia to form the 1st Parachute Regiment and the division numbers still grew. Marine Divisions would contain the highest strength in the United States Armed Forces for the rest of the war.

Under this new Division organization was a new squad organization to give Rifle Platoons the strength they needed to fight battles. The E-series Rifle Platoon consisted of one Headquarters Element and three twelve-man Rifle Squads. The Headquarters Element consisted of:

1x Platoon Commander (1Lt/2Lt)
1x Platoon Sergeant (Platoon Sergeant)
1x Guide (Sergeant)
1x Demolition Corporal (Corporal)
3x Messengers (Pfc/Pvt)

Three Rifle Squads each with:
1x Squad Leader (Sergeant)
1x Assistant Squad Leader (Corporal)
2x Automatic Riflemen (Pfc/Pvt)
2x Assistant Automatic Riflemen (Pfc/Pvt)
1x Grenadier (Pfc/Pvt)
5x Riflemen (Pfc/Pvt)

Fig 3. E-series Rifle Squad

During Guadalcanal the Marines eventually received the new M1 Rifle and under this organization they also were issued the M1 Carbine as well for Officers, NCO's, and Heavy Weapons crew. The Weapons Platoon remained the same with the addition of the extra Machinegun and Mortar Squads. This gave the rifle company the effective strength of 196 men as well as six M1918A2 Automatic Rifles, three M2 60mm Mortars, and three M1919A4 Light Machineguns. The E-squad was meant so that each NCO could have a small demi-squad that had its own autorifle. It gave much more firepower in combat but the Marine Corps felt there still wasn't enough command/control even within the Rifle Squad.

F-100 Division Organization and F-1 Squad Organization
As a history prior to World War Two the Marine Corps had experimented with "Fire Groups" during the Banana Wars in Nicuragua and Haiti. Small teams led by a Corporal in the 20's and 30's. Initially the Raiders and Paramarines would put this to use and get the idea back into the head of the honchos at HQMC. More fighting in the Pacific at places like Bougainville and New Britain would show that even the E-series didn't have quite the right punch for Squad Leaders to accomplish their missions efficiently. The Marines looked back for inspiration and with more deletions to higher headquartered units in the division the division strength fell to 17,465 Marines and Sailors, but the Rifle Squad would become by far the greatest weapon in the Marine Corps armory.

The Rifle Squad was realigned to something most readers may recognize. A thirteen-man group consisting of:

1x Squad Leader (Sergeant)

Three Fireteams each with:
1x Fireteam Leader (Corporal)
1x Automatic Rifleman* (Pfc/Pvt)
2x Rifleman (Pfc/Pvt)

*This alone gave a rifle platoon the power of nine automatic rifles with twenty-seven in the company! The M1918A2 was known for its effectiveness and the Marines quickly realized the need for automatic rifles/light machingeuns and their effectiveness in surpressing the enemy.

Fig 4. F-series Rifle Squad

Thus the modern Marine Rifle Squad was born. This organization would stay the same even after multpile division reorganizations through the end of World War Two and Korea. To this day the Marine Corps has remembered the need for the Marine NCO to be the backbone of the unit and in World War Two they were officially given the command and control to win battles more effectively and would go on in this manner to win battles like Saipan, Guam, Peleliu, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. The specificed the Marine Squad Leader's duties in 1945 as:

"He leads the squad. He carries out the orders issued to him by the platoon commander. [He] is responsible for the training, conditioning and conduct of his squad at all times. [He] is responsible for the condition of weapons and equipment of his squad. [He] is responsible for the fire control, fire discipline and movement of his squad. [He] takes position where he can best carry out the orders of the platoon commander and observe and control his squad. [He] participates in the fire fight only in critical situations, i.e., when enemy is over–running position, or when maximum firepower must be brought to bear against a counter–attack."

Fig 5. A Marine NCO on Iwo Jima.

The US Army Squad in World War Two
By comparison I will quickly detail the US Army squad of WW2 and how it sadly remained the same throughout the war even to its end. While the Pacific Theater was showing the Marine Corps that even in an amphibious environment the "old ways" of fighting needed to change, the Army stuck by what it found most effective.

The US Army Platoon consisted of a Headquarters Element:

Fig 6. Army Platoon Headquarters Element

And three rifle squads:

Fig 7. US Army Rifle Squad

For the most part this remained the same until the advent of the M7 Rifle Grenade Launcher for the M1 rifle. Thus the M1903 rifle and M1 Launcher were replaced with new M1 with a M7. It was battle tested from North Africa to Berlin though in the late stages of the war starting in late 1945, most Army units were figuring out the need for more firepower in the squad and began doing whatever they could to add an additional M1918A2 to their squad. By the end of the war many Army Rifle Squads would have 2 BARs in their organization but it was never officially recognized until after hostilities had ceased.

Once again a big thanks to www.ww2gyrene.org and Osprey Publishing and "The Hardscrabblefarm" for their great sources of information and photos!

[GIrene]

Beginnings is spelled wrong I know

[skipper72]

As a former Old Corps 0302, a much appreciated "walk down memory lane." Thank you!