Sub-Machine Gun Platoons
Sub-Machine Gun Platoons
Of the Soviet Army of 1943
Recently, while checking some facts for Winter is Coming, I ran into a set of orders governing the introduction of submachine gun platoons into standard rifle companies of the Soviet Army. These documents, which date from May of 1943, describe three establishments for rifle companies that possessed such platoons: a full-strength organization of 141 men, a reduced-strength unit of 111 men, and a bare-bones outfit of 90 men.
The smallest of the companies consisted of:
a three-man company headquarters
a five-man medical section
a seven-man mortar section
three twenty-five man platoons
Two of the three platoons were equipped as rifle platoons. As such, each rated:
a platoon commander
a platoon sergeant
two snipers
three rifle squads
Each rifle squad was made up of:
a squad leader
an assistant squad leader
an automatic rifleman
an assistant automatic rifleman
three riflemen
In terms of structure, the remaining platoon might be described as a clone of one of the two rifle platoons. However, apart from the two snipers and the three automatic riflemen, all members of this third platoon carried submachine guns.
The reduced-strength (111-man) organization resembled the bare-bones (90-man) unit in all ways but one. Where the platoons of the larger company consisted of four component squads, those of the smaller company had but three squads. Thus, while the 111-man company possessed four submachine gun squads and eight rifle squads, the 90-man company had but three submachine gun squads and six rifle squads.
The full-strength (141-man) rifle company had the same number of squads (both submachine gun and rifle) as its reduced-strength (111-man) counterpart. However, each of the squads of the larger company weighed in at nine men. In addition to this, the full-strength company possessed a stand-alone machine gun squad, which operated a single Maxim gun.
In addition to its solitary heavy machine gun, the full-strength rifle company was issued with six additional automatic rifles. Thus, within each platoon (whether rifle or submachine gun) every second squad received a double-ration of such weapons. (The assistant to each automatic rifleman carried the definitive weapon of his platoon. Thus, while the assistant automatic riflemen of rifle platoons carried rifles, those of submachine gun platoons carried submachine guns.)
Source: Nakhodchanin (pseudonym), Order of STAVKA VGK â„– 46175 from May 22, 1943, Axis History Forum, 24 October 2018.
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The Finns also in 1939 during the Russo-Finnish war fielded submachine gun platoons to great effect on ski's terrorizing the Soviets at night.