Machine Gun Platoons
The Volksgrenadier Division of 1944
A machine gun platoon of the heavy company [schwere Kompanie] of the Grenadier battalion of a Volksgrenadier division of the 32nd Wave rated few men, fewer horses, and fewer horse-drawn vehicles than either of the other types of platoons. Indeed, the largest of the four platoons, the 4th (medium mortar) platoon possessed nearly as many men, and far more in the way of transport, than both of machine gun platoons.
Each machine gun platoon consisted of a six-man headquarters, and four eleven-man squads, and four one-horse carts.
The headquarters rated a platoon commander, two messengers, a medic, a teamster, an armorer, and a two-horse wagon. (In addition to carrying items, such as medical supplies and the armorer’s tools, that belonged to the headquarters, the cart also bore a supply of machine gun ammunition.)
Each of the four machine gun squads consisted of a squad leader and two five-man crews, each of which operated a single heavy machine gun. (Whether the new MG42 or the older MG34, the ‘heavy’ machine gun was a light machine gun that had been provided with a tripod, long-range sights, and a great deal of extra ammunition.)
Each machine gun squad enjoyed the services of a single one-horse cart, which carried ammunition, tripods, sights, and such. (I presume that, unless located at some distance from the enemy, the men of a machine gun squad on the march carried their two machine guns in ‘bipod mode’.)
Sources:
The figures used in this post come from General der Infanterie beim Chef Generalstabs des Heeres, Nr. 3160/ 44g vom 5.9.44, microfilmed at the U.S. National Archives, Captured German Records , Series T-78, Reel 763. (The link will take you to a PDF of this document on file at the Military Learning Library.)
Organizations Abteilung/Generalstab des Heeres Nr. I./44 g. K dated 1 September 1944, Bundesarchiv, RH 2 1295 provides figures that differ slightly from those found in the previous source. (The link will take you to a page on the website of the Bundesarchiv.)
For a guide to the symbols used in the diagram:
For more about the other elements of the heavy company:
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Was the intent of OKH in the design of grenadier battalions in Volksgrenadier Division to create a mini regiment? The different types of equipment and firepower in the battalion Schwere Kompanie is the same as 3 different companies in the regular division’s regimental structure. What additional support did the Volksgrenadier Regiment have or was it all in the battalions?