Military Unit Sizes

[Whiterook]

As game designers and enthusiasts, one of the main challenges is to determine what era and nationality you are modeling, and then quantifying what the numbers look like for fighting soldiers and command. Take Napoleonics, where you might see something descriptive such as the following…

The scale of the game fluctuates, which allows players to effectively portray epic Napoleonic battles, as well as smaller historical actions. In some scenarios, an infantry unit may represent an entire division, while in others a unit may represent a single regiment or battalion.

At it’s most basic levels, a good rule of thumb makes the following a pretty decent litmus to go by:

• FIELD ARMY - a military formation in many armed forces, composed of two or more corps. It may be subordinate to an army group. Air armies are the equivalent formations in air forces, and fleets in navies. A field army is composed of 80,000 to 300,000 soldiers.

• CORPS - a corps varies greatly, but two to five divisions and anywhere from 40,000 to 80,000 are the numbers stated by the US Department of Defense.

• DIVISION - a large military unit or formation, usually consisting of between 6,000 and 25,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades; in turn, several divisions typically make up a corps.

• BRIGADE (REGIMENT) - typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division.

• BATTALION - typically consisting of 300 to 1,000 soldiers. The typical battalion is built from three operational companies, one weapons company and one HQ company. In some countries, battalions are exclusively infantry, while in others battalions are unit-level organizations.

• COMPANY/BATTERY/TROOP - typically consisting of 100–250 soldiers and usually commanded by a major or a captain. Most companies are formed of three to seven platoons, although the exact number may vary by country, unit type, and structure.

• PLATOON - typically composed of two to four squads, sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the branch, but a platoon can be composed of 20–50 troops, although specific platoons may range from 10 to 100 people. A platoon is typically the smallest military unit led by a commissioned officer. The platoon leader is usually a junior officer—a second or first lieutenant or an equivalent rank. The officer is usually assisted by a platoon sergeant.

• SQUAD - among the smallest of military organizations and is led by a non-commissioned officer. NATO and U.S. doctrine define a squad as an organization "larger than a team, but smaller than a section." while U.S. Army doctrine further defines a squad as a "small military unit typically containing two or more fire teams." In American usage, a squad consists of eight to fourteen soldiers, and may be further subdivided into fireteams. 

A good visual que on this would be a typical United States Army example…



As you can see, there is no hard and fast definitive quantification, due to differences among nationalities.