[center][h2][b]Technology Defines Tactics[/b][/h2][/center] [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5087526]Pre-19th Century Organizations[/url] [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5087529]Early 20th Century Organizations[/url] [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5087531]Late 20th Century Organization[/url] [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5087534]21st Century Organization[/url] [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5087535]Fire and Maneuver[/url] [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5087537]Command Relationships[/url] [b]Pre-19th Century Organizations [/b] How nations organize their armies and how those armies fight are defined by technology, innovative thinking and lessons learned from experience. This essay intends to illuminate the evolution of military organizations throughout history. From the time of the Roman Legions through the late 18th Century armies were organized into Corps-sized formations. The three primary corps are the Infantry, the Cavalry and the Artillery corps. In ancient days, the "Artillery" corps may have been more accurately referred to as the "Siege" Corps, as crude siege weapons were employed for high impact ranged weapons. The Infantry and Cavalry corps may have been organized into subordinate echelons. The Roman legion, a subordinate command of the Roman Infantry Corps was further organized into six cohorts. A cohort is similar in size to what we would call a battalion or regiment today. The cohort was divided into ten centuries; which is where the term Centurion is derived. A Roman Century was composed of 70-100 soldiers depending on which author you read and which period of Roman history you read. Various authors have defined the organizational structure differently. Genghis Khan organized his army into 10-man squads; 10 squads into 10 companies; and 10 companies into 10 "regiments". Genghis Khan also conducted After Actions Reviews (AAR) of all military actions. This was a lessons learned review for the leader and his subordinate commanders. All advanced armies in the world today conduct an AAR at every level from squad to echelons above reality. 17th - 18th Century British Infantry Regiments began life with ~1000 men. The regiment was organized into 10 Companies; similar to Genghis Khan and the Roman Legions. The Regiment had 8 Companies of the Line or Line Companies. These were the units that met the enemy hand to hand and attempted to kill them. The other companies were a Grenadier Company and a Light Company. The Grenadier Company was composed of large men who were 70" or taller. They were armed with a crude grenade which was lobbed en masse at the enemy. The Grenadier Company was considered an elite unit due to the members' size, they often intimidated their opponents. Later, when the "grenade" went out of style, the units retained their Grenadier status. In some cases, the Grenadier companies were joined together from various regiments and called Grenadier Battalions or Grenadier Regiments. The Light Company was composed of small men who were 70" or shorter. These men were agile on their feet and could run fast and far. Due to their agility and size, the Light company was often used for picket duty; a means of informing the unit that the enemy was about to attack. Light Companies could be used for long range reconnaissance missions as well. Similar to the Grenadiers, the Light Companies were pooled from various regiments to form Light Battalions or Light Regiments. Eventually Line Regiments removed the Light and Grenadier companies completely and used an 8 Company formation of 800 soldiers. As regiments incurred losses in the 19th Century and earlier, Armies did not replace them. Therefore, if a unit initially mustered in with 800 soldiers it would be quite possible for them to muster out with two or three hundred or fewer. Most of the losses would have obviously come from death, but a percentage would also be due to loss of limbs or serious illnesses, prisoners of war, and desertions. Napoleon Bonaparte was the first military thinker to introduce a new formation, what I will call a Combined Arms Corps. Napoleon's Corps is essentially an Independent Command that integrates Infantry, Cavalry and Artillery units under one subordinate command. Napoleon used this new formation at the outset of his campaigns in 1797. Eventually his opponents learned how he operated and utilized these lessons learned for their own uses. Here is an example of a French Corps at Waterloo: [b]I Corps - Field Marshal Jean Baptiste d'Erlon[/b] (19,800 soldiers & 46 artillery pieces) [b]1st Division - Baron Quiot[/b] (4200 soldiers in 8 Bns & 8 artillery pieces) [b]1st Brigade[/b] - Quiot (2110 soldiers in 4 Bns) 1st & 2nd Bn, 54th Line Infantry (960) 1st & 2nd Bn, 55th Line Infantry (1150) [b]2nd Brigade[/b] - Bourgeois (1880 soldiers in 4 Bns) 1st & 2nd Bn, 28th Line Infantry (900) 1st & 2nd Bn, 105th Line Infantry (980) [b]Artillery Brigade[/b] - Hamelin 20th Battery, 6th Foot Artillery (Hamelin) 85 soldiers, 6x6 pdrs & 2x6" howitzers 5th Company, 1st Train Squadron (Paleprat) 99 soldiers [b]2nd Division - Francois Donzelot[/b] (5300 soldiers in 9 Bns & 8 artillery pieces) [b]1st Brigade[/b] - Schmitz (2915 soldiers in 5 Bns.) 1st, 2nd & 3rd Bns, 3th Light Infantry (1875) 1st & 2nd Bns, 17th Line Infantry (1050) [b]2nd Brigade[/b] - Aulard (2200 in 4 Bns) 1st & 2nd Bns, 19th Line Infantry (1030) 1st & 2nd Bns, 51st Line Infantry (1170) [b]Artillery Brigade[/b] - Cantin (185 soldiers & 8 artillery pieces) 10th Battery, 6th foot Artillery (Cantin) 90 soldiers, 6x6 pdrs & 2x6" howitzers 9th Company, 1st Train Squadron (Vaillant) 95 soldiers [b]3rd Division - Marcognet[/b] (4100 soldiers in 8 Bns & 8 artillery pieces) [b]1st Brigade[/b] - Nogues (1930 soldiers in 4 Bns) 1st & 2nd Bns, 21st Line Infantry (1040) 1st & 2nd Bns, 46th Line Infantry (890) [b]2nd Brigade[/b] - Grenier (1975 in 4 Bns) 1st & 2nd Bns, 25th Line Infantry (975) 1st & 2nd Bns, 45th Line Infantry (1,000) [b]Artillery Brigade[/b] - Emon (180 soldiers & 8 Artillery pieces) 19th battery, 6th Foot Artillery (Emon) 85 soldiers, 6x6 pdrs & 2x6" Howitzers 2nd Company, 1st Train Squadron (Cosqueterre) 95 soldiers [b]4th Division - Durutte[/b] (4,000 in 8 Bns & 8 Artillery pieces) [b]1st Brigade[/b] - Pegot (2135 soldiers in 4 Bns) 1st & 2nd Bns, 8th Line Infantry (985) 1st & 2nd Bns, 29th Line Infantry (1150) [b]2nd Brigade[/b] - Brue (1730 soldiers in 4 Bns) 1st & 2nd Bns, 85th Line Infantry (630) 1st & 2nd Bns, 95th Line Infantry (1100) [b]Artillery Brigade[/b] - Bourgeois (180 & 8 artillery pieces) 9th Battery, 6th Foot Artillery (Bourgeois) 90 soldiers, 6x6 pdrs & 2x6" howitzers 3rd Company, 1st Train Squadron (Drulin) 90 soldiers [b]1st Cavalry Division[/b] - Jacquinot (1700 in 11 Squadrons & 6 artillery pieces) [b]1st Brigade[/b] - Bruno (910 in 6 Sqdns) 7th Hussars (495) *There are 3 Squadrons in a Regiment 3rd Chasseurs (415) [b]2nd Brigade[/b] - Gobrecht (800 in 6 Sqdns) 3rd Lancers (460) 4th Lancers (340) [b]Artillery Brigade[/b] - Bourgeois (160 soldiers & 6 artillery pieces) 2nd Battery, 1st Horse Artillery (Charlet) 75 soldiers, 4x6 pdrs & 2x6" Howitzers 4th Company, 1st Train Squadron (Daux) 85 soldiers [b]Artillery Reserve - Dessalles[/b] (200 soldiers & 8 Artillery pieces) Corps Asset 11th Battery, 6th Foot Artillery (Charlet) 90 soldiers, 6x 12 pdrs & 2x6" howitzers 6th Company, 1st Train Squadron (Didier) 110 soldiers [b]Engineers - Garbe[/b] (355 soldiers) Corps Asset 2nd Company, 1st Engineers (350) The above organization utilizing Combined Arms Corps or Independent Corps Commands was used all throughout the 19th Century; including The Spanish American War. There are minor changes that occur throughout the century.