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66-672: Order Police battalions were battalion -sized militarised units of Nazi Germany 's Ordnungspolizei which existed during World War II from 1939 to 1945. They were subordinated to the Schutzstaffel and deployed in areas of German-occupied Europe , specifically the Army Group Rear Area Commands and territories under civilian administration. Alongside the Einsatzgruppen , Waffen-SS and Wehrmacht , these units were involved in perpetrating

132-590: A captain . The typical battalion is built from three operational companies, one weapons company and one headquarters company. In some countries, battalions are exclusively infantry , while in others battalions are unit-level organizations. The word "battalion" came into the English language in the 16th century from the French bataillon , meaning "battle squadron" (similar to the Italian battaglione meaning

198-506: A battalion headquarters mounted in a command tank and a headquarters and service platoon, for a total of 165 personnel and 40 tanks; battalions using the older T-54 , T-55 or T-62s tanks had 31 or 40 additional enlisted personnel. However, forces in Eastern Europe began to standardise to a smaller formation with 135 personnel and 31 tanks total, with each tank company consisting of 10 tanks total. A Soviet artillery battalion in

264-419: A combat logistics element (a Marine combat logistics regiment, which includes naval construction forces [Seabees] and naval medical elements). In the U.S. Marine Corps, an infantry or "rifle" battalion typically consists of a headquarters and service company, three rifle or "line" companies (designated alphabetically A through M depending upon which battalion of the parent regiment to which they are attached) and

330-420: A headquarters company, two mechanized infantry companies, two tank companies and a forward support company attached from the battalion's parent brigade support battalion. This new structure eliminated the need to task-organize companies between battalions; each combined arms battalion was organically composed of the requisite companies. At a higher level, each armored brigade (formerly designated 'heavy brigade')

396-684: A headquarters staff with representatives from almost every branch of the SS and the police. This typically included the Ordnungspolizei (Orpo; regular police ), SiPo (security police) including the Gestapo ( secret police ), Totenkopfverbände (SS-TV; Nazi concentration camps ), SD ( intelligence service ), and certain units of the Waffen-SS ( combat units). Most of the HSSPF normally held

462-545: A headquarters." The standard NATO symbol for a battalion represented by a pair of vertical lines above a framed unit icon. Member nations have specified the various names they will use for organisations of this size. The term battalion is used in the British Army Infantry and some corps including the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers and Intelligence Corps . It was formerly used in

528-422: A heavy weapons company. That is, rifle companies A, B, C along with heavy weapons Company D were part of the 1st battalion, rifle companies E, F, G and heavy weapons Company H constituted the 2nd battalion, and rifle companies I, K, L and heavy weapons Company M were in the 3rd. There was no J Company: the letter J was traditionally not used because in 18th- and 19th-century old-style type,

594-412: A limited capability to plan and conduct independent operations and are normally organic components of brigades, groups, or regiments. A U.S. Army battalion includes the battalion commander ( lieutenant colonel ), executive officer ( major ), command sergeant major (CSM), headquarters staff and usually three to five companies, with a total of 300 to 1,000 (but typically 500 to 600) soldiers. During

660-646: A major), the sergeant major and the executive staff (S-1 through S-4 and S-6). The battalion headquarters is supported by a headquarters and service company (battery). A battalion usually contains two to five organic companies (batteries in the artillery), with a total of 500 to 1,200 Marines in the battalion. A regiment consists of a regimental headquarters, a headquarters company (or battery) and two to five organic battalions (Marine infantry regiments – three battalions of infantry; Marine artillery regiments – three to five battalions of artillery; Marine combat logistics regiments – one to three combat logistics battalions). In

726-513: A mechanised infantry battalion usually consists of one command- and medical company, three mechanised infantry companies and one support company, which has three platoons with heavy mortars and three platoons with anti-tank missiles ( TOW ). With the Dutch artillery units, the equivalent of a battalion is called an afdeling (which translates to "section"). Combat companies consist of (usually mechanised) infantry, combat engineers , or tanks . In

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792-647: A number of combat support units: a mortar battery consisting of eight 120 mm 120-PM-43 mortars or automatic 82 mm 2B9 Vasileks , an air defence platoon with nine MANPADs , either the SA-7 Grail , SA-14 Gremlin or SA-16 Gimlet and an automatic grenade launcher platoon with six 30 mm AGS-17 launchers. The BTR battalion also featured an anti-tank platoon with four AT-3 Sagger or AT-4 Spigot launchers and two 73 mm SPG-9 recoilless guns ; BTR units on high-readiness status sometimes had six missile launchers and three recoilless guns. Both featured

858-529: A source of resupply to enable it to sustain operations for more than a few days. This is because a battalion's complement of ammunition, expendable weapons (e.g., hand grenades and disposable rocket launchers ), water, rations, fuel, lubricants, replacement parts, batteries, and medical supplies normally consists of only what the battalion's soldiers and the battalion's vehicles can carry. The commander's staff coordinates and plans operations. A battalion's subordinate companies and their platoons are dependent upon

924-441: A total of 255 personnel. A Swedish battalion during the mid 17th century up to the mid 18th century was the smallest tactical unit in combat. The 600 man unit was formed, temporarily, at the inception of a battle by joining four foot companies from a foot regiment of eight companies. The commander of the regiment, an överste ( colonel ), led the first battalion and his deputy, an överstelöjtnant ( lieutenant colonel ),

990-437: A weapons company. Weapons companies do not receive a letter designation. Marine infantry regiments use battalion and company designations as described above under World War II, with company letters D, H and M not normally used but rather held in reserve for use in augmenting a fourth rifle company into each battalion as needed. United States Marine Corps infantry battalions are task organised into Battalion Landing Teams (BLTs) as

1056-457: Is commanded by a major , the officer commanding (OC), with a captain or senior lieutenant as second-in-command (2IC). The HQ company contains signals , quartermaster , catering, intelligence , administration, pay, training, operations and medical elements. The support company usually contains anti-tank , machine gun , mortar , pioneer and reconnaissance platoons. Mechanised units usually have an attached light aid detachment (LAD) of

1122-501: Is for command elements. According to some observers, the average manpower of the battalions has substantially declined: from 670 plus in 1988, 350 plus in 1998, and 250 plus in 2008. A leaked document reported in the international media revealed that in late 2006, the Tatmadaw had 284 battalions with fewer than 200 personnel, and 220 battalions with between 200 and 300 personnel. As of January 2024 , most battalions/regiments of

1188-435: Is now composed of three CABs (versus the two CABs of a former heavy brigade), one reconnaissance squadron, one artillery battalion, one brigade engineer battalion (BEB) and one brigade support battalion (BSB). A United States Marine Corps battalion includes the battalion headquarters, consisting of the commanding officer (usually a lieutenant colonel, sometimes a colonel), an executive officer (the second-in-command, usually

1254-466: The Einsatzgruppen , the mobile death squads of the SS, and the Organisation Todt , the military construction group. Twelve were formed into regiments, three battalions each, and designated as Police Regiments Centre , North , South , and Police Regiment Special Purpose . The goals of the police battalions were to secure the rear by eliminating the remnants of the enemy forces, guarding

1320-806: The American Civil War , an infantry or cavalry battalion was an ad hoc grouping of companies from the parent regiment (which had ten companies, A through K, minus J as described below), except for certain regular infantry regiments, which were formally organized into three battalions of six companies each (numbered 1–6 per battalion vice sequential letter designations). After 1882, cavalry battalions were renamed squadrons and cavalry companies were renamed troops. Artillery battalions typically comprised four or more batteries, although this number fluctuated considerably. During World War II, most infantry regiments consisted of three battalions (1st, 2nd and 3rd) with each battalion consisting of three rifle companies and

1386-553: The Hague Convention rules of warfare. The SS and Police Leaders were key figures in many of the war crimes committed by SS personnel. The HSSPF served as commanding SS generals for any Einsatzgruppen ( death squads ) operating in their area. This entailed ordering the deaths of tens of thousands of persons. In addition, they launched anti- partisan operations and directed police units to acquire forced labor for war-related projects. The SS and Police Leaders were

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1452-606: The Netherlands Marine Corps all have a battalion structure. Each battalion usually consists of the following: In the Soviet Armed Forces , a motorised rifle battalion could be mounted in either BTR armoured personnel carriers or BMP infantry fighting vehicles , with the former being more numerous into the late 1980s. Both consisted of a battalion headquarters of 12 personnel and three motorised rifle companies of 110 personnel each, along with

1518-542: The Royal Anglian Regiment ). Important figures in a battalion headquarters include: Battalions of other corps are given separate cardinal numbers within their corps (e.g., 101 Battalion REME). A battle group consists of an infantry battalion or armoured regiment with sub-units detached from other military units acting under the command of the battalion commander. In the Canadian Army ,

1584-555: The Royal Engineers (before they switched to regiments), and was also used in the now defunct Royal Army Ordnance Corps and Royal Pioneer Corps . Other corps usually use the term "regiment" instead. An infantry battalion is numbered ordinarily within its regiment (e.g., 1st Battalion, The Rifles , usually referred to as 1 Rifles). It normally has a headquarters company, support company and three rifle companies (usually, but not always, A, B and C companies). Each company

1650-459: The Soviet Union . They were to be "armed industrialized agricultural complexes" to maintain order where they were established. This did not go beyond the planning stage. In 1944 and 1945, many HSSPF were promoted to their corresponding general's rank in the Waffen-SS by Himmler. This was apparently an attempt to provide potential protection for them, by giving them combatant status under

1716-578: The Wehrmacht in the invasion of Poland . The battalions guarded Polish prisoners of war and carried out expulsion of Poles from Reichsgau Wartheland under the banner of Lebensraum . They also committed atrocities against both the Catholic and the Jewish populations as part of those "resettlement actions". After hostilities had ceased, the battalions−such as Reserve Police Battalion 101 −took up

1782-497: The 1960s through the early 1980s, a typical maneuver (infantry or tank) battalion had five companies: headquarters and headquarters company (HHC) and A, B and C Companies, plus a combat support company (CSC), with a scout platoon, 107 mm (4.2 inch) heavy mortar platoon, along with other elements that varied between organisations. These included heavy anti-tank TOW missile platoons, ground surveillance radar sections and man-portable air-defense system sections. Beginning in

1848-507: The Allies, unlike the SS, and its members were able to reintegrate into society largely unmolested, with many returning to police careers in Austria and West Germany . Battalion A battalion is a military unit , typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. Commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several companies , each typically commanded by a major or

1914-459: The Canadian battalion forms the core of the infantry battle group, which also includes various supporting elements such as armour, artillery , combat engineers and combat service support . An infantry battle group will typically be commanded by the commander of the core infantry battalion around which it is formed and can range in size from 300 to 1,500 or more soldiers, depending on the nature of

1980-414: The HSSPF in administering the large areas under their jurisdiction. Finally, in the autumn of 1943, Himmler created two Höchster SS- und Polizeiführer (Supreme SS and Police Leader, HöSSPF) posts with jurisdiction over very large territories; these were Italien (1943–1945) and Ukraine (1943–1944), each of which had both HSSPF and SSPF reporting to them. The SS and Police Leaders directly commanded

2046-690: The Holocaust and were responsible for large-scale crimes against humanity against civilian populations under German occupation. The Ordnungspolizei (Order Police) was a key instrument of the security apparatus of Nazi Germany . In the prewar period, Heinrich Himmler , the head of the SS , and Kurt Daluege , chief of the Order Police, cooperated in transforming the police force of the Weimar Republic into militarised formations ready to serve

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2112-505: The Reich for rolling stock, supplies and provisions, rail schedules, and an array of other requirements necessary to keep the roundups and the death trains moving efficiently. And, in the satellite and client states, the HSSPF negotiated directly with the puppet or collaborationist governments to hand over their Jews for deportation to the East. Finally, the HSSPF were also directly involved in

2178-500: The Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) to perform field repairs on vehicles and equipment. A British battalion in theatre during World War II had around 845 men; as of 2012, a British battalion had around 650 soldiers. With successive rounds of cutbacks after the war, many infantry regiments were reduced to a single battalion (others were amalgamated to form large regiments that maintained multiple battalions, e.g.,

2244-581: The SS commands in each of the Wehrkreise . The purpose of the Higher SS and Police Leader was to be a direct command authority for every SS and police unit in these given geographical regions, answering only to Himmler and, through him, to Adolf Hitler . They were to act as Himmler's chief liaison to, and unifier of, all SS and police components in a region. After the March 1938 Anschluss when Austria

2310-402: The U.S. Army. In addition to the primary mission companies, a battalion typically includes a headquarters staff and combat service support , which may be combined into a headquarters and service company . A battalion may contain a combat support company . With all these components, a battalion is the smallest military unit capable of "limited independent operations". The battalion must have

2376-468: The U.S. Marine Corps, the brigade designation is used only in " Marine Expeditionary Brigade " (MEB). An MEB is one of the standard Marine Air-Ground Task Forces (MAGTF), is commanded by a brigadier general or major general , and consists of command element, a ground combat element (usually one reinforced Marine infantry regiment), an aviation combat element (a reinforced Marine aircraft group including rotary wing, fixed wing and tiltrotor aircraft) and

2442-430: The activities of the SS men within each respective district. The HSSPF could bypass the chain of command of the administrative offices for the SS, SD, SiPo, SS-TV and Orpo in their district under the "guise of an emergency situation", thereby gaining direct operational control of these groups. Himmler authorized SS and Police Bases ( SS- und Polizeistützpunkte ) to be established in occupied Poland and occupied areas of

2508-514: The army are reported to have less than 150 men. Within these battalions only around 80 men are fit for actual combat. Due to such manpower shortages, the army has been reportedly drawing out 30,000 men from combat support service battalions as of late 2023 (signal, supply and transport battalions for example). Higher SS and Police Leader Three levels of subordination were established for holders of this title: The office of Höherer SS- und Polizeiführer (Higher SS and Police Leader, HSSPF)

2574-413: The battalion headquarters for command, control, communications and intelligence, and the battalion's service and support structure. The battalion is usually part of a regiment , group , or brigade , depending on the branch of service. NATO defines a battalion as being "larger than a company, but smaller than a regiment" while "consisting of two or more company-, battery-, or troop-sized units along with

2640-765: The battalion is the standard unit organisation for infantry and combat service support and each battalion is divided into one or more sub-units referred to as companies. In the Canadian Forces , most battalions are reserve units of between 100 and 200 soldiers that include an operationally ready, field-deployable component of approximately a half-company apiece. The nine regular force infantry battalions each contain three or four rifle companies and one or two support companies. Canadian battalions are generally commanded by lieutenant-colonels , though smaller reserve battalions may be commanded by majors . Those regiments consisting of more than one battalion are: Tactically,

2706-411: The battalion, to coordinate naval gunfire support . The United States Navy has construction battalions and navy cargo handling battalions . They are structured roughly analogous to an Army or Marine Corps battalion with staff and commanding officers of similar grade and experience. In Myanmar (Army, People's Defence Force and various EAOs), battalions (or Regiments), called Tat Yinn (တပ်ရင်း), are

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2772-757: The capital letters I and J looked alike and were therefore easily confused with one another. It was common for a battalion to become temporarily attached to a different regiment. For example, during the confusion and high casualty rates of both the Normandy Landings and the Battle of the Bulge , in order to bolster the strength of a depleted infantry regiment, companies and even battalions were moved around as necessary. The U.S. Army also created independent tank battalions to attach to infantry divisions during World War II in order to give them fire support. From

2838-544: The construction and operation of the extermination camps. Following the end of the war, many SS and Police Leaders, particularly those who had served in Poland and the Soviet Union, either committed suicide or were charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity . There were two HöSSPF commands and 38 HSSPF commands, 19 in the Reich and 19 in the occupied lands. Most of these had several different commanders over

2904-458: The core of the battalion structure remains roughly the same with Battalion/Regimental HQ housing command elements (OC, 2IC, Adjutant, Quartermaster, RSM, RQMS, R.P Sergeant and etc.), HQ Company (Support Platoons like Engineer, Signal, Medical and etc.) and 4 Rifle Companies. 4 Rifle Companies (No. (1) Rifle Company, No. (2) Rifle Company, No. (3) Rifle Company and No. (4) Rifle Company) and HQ Company are combat troops whereas Battalion/Regimental HQ

2970-412: The early 1980s, some elements of the combat support companies (the mortar and scout platoons) were merged into the headquarters company with the staff and support elements, others were moved to their parent type organisation (ground surveillance radar and air defence), and in infantry battalions the heavy anti-tank missile platoon was organized as a separate company (E Company). In the late 1980s, there

3036-533: The ground combat element (GCE) of a Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU). A standard U.S. Marine infantry battalion is typically supported by an artillery battery and a platoon each of tanks, amphibious assault vehicles, light armoured reconnaissance vehicles, reconnaissance Marines and combat engineers. The battalion structure is designed to readily expand to include a fourth rifle company, if required, as described above under battalion organisation. Often Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company (ANGLICO) officers are assigned to

3102-520: The ideology of Nazism , driven by anti-semitism and anti-Bolshevism. The regiments and battalions were placed under the command of career policemen. When the units crossed the German-Soviet border, they came under the control of the Higher SS and Police Leader (HSS-PF) for the respective Army Group Centre Rear Areas. The Order Police as a whole had not been declared a criminal organisation by

3168-473: The late 1980s consisted of a battalion headquarters, a headquarters platoon, a maintenance and supply platoon and three firing batteries, each with six artillery pieces, whether the self-propelled 2S1 Gvozdikas or the towed D-30 howitzers , and numbering 260 personnel or 240 personnel respectively. Rocket launcher artillery battalions consisted of a headquarters and headquarters platoon, a service battery and three firing batteries equipped with BM-21 Grads for

3234-565: The latter case, the unit is called an eskadron , which translates roughly to "squadron". There are also support battalions in the Dutch Army, which specialise on a specific task: for example, supplies and transport or communications. The Netherlands have four battalions that are permanently reserved for the United Nations , for the purpose of peacekeeping duties. An infantry battalion, logistical battalion, combat battalion and

3300-440: The lifetime of the post. Similarly, there were 49 SSPF commands subordinated to those HSSPF leaders in the occupied territories, also with multiple commanders over the years. Some of these areas were renamed, merged, or dissolved during the duration of their existence, particularly as German military control over the eastern territories was relentlessly eroded later in the war. The tables below provide as complete an accounting of

3366-406: The main maneuver units. As for structure, an Infantry Battalion was structured with 27 Officers and 750 other ranks back in 1966 under a structure organisation named of ကဖ/၇၀(၈)/၆၆ . This was revised in 1988 to 814 men and then revised again in 2001 as 31 Officers and 826 other ranks under a structure organisation named ကဖ/၇၀-ဆ/၂၀၀၁ . Even though authorised strength of the structure changed,

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3432-597: The mission assigned. A battalion in the Indian Army consists of four rifle companies. In turn each rifle company consists three platoons . A battalion in the Indian Army is commanded by a colonel . Normally a battalion is attached to a regiment of infantry, which is organised, as a general rule, of a number of battalions and the regimental centre battalion. In the Royal Netherlands Army ,

3498-649: The old regimental system and adopted a combat team approach centred on battalions as the building blocks of mission-oriented task forces. Battalion sizes vary between branches. In the United States Army , a battalion is a unit composed of a headquarters and two to six batteries, companies, or troops. They are normally identified by ordinal numbers (1st Battalion, 2nd Squadron, etc.) and normally have subordinate units that are identified by single letters (Battery A, Company A, Troop A, etc.). Battalions are tactical and administrative organizations with

3564-477: The operations of his regiment and first battalion, command of his company was delegated to a kaptenlöjtnant . During battle, each officer, except the fänrikar , was in charge of a portion of his company. Underofficer (NCO) ranks consisted of furir , förare , fältväbel , sergeant and rustmästare . With the major reform of its armed forces in 2004, the Swiss Army abandoned

3630-415: The overseeing authority of the Jewish ghettos in Poland and directly coordinated deportations to Nazi extermination camps . They had direct command over Order Police battalions and SD regiments that were assigned to guard the ghettos. The HSSPF regularly provided SS and police guards and other support personnel for the transports to the death camps, and also negotiated with the agencies and ministries of

3696-404: The prisoners of war, and protecting the lines of communications and captured industrial facilities. Their instructions also included, as Daluege stated, the "combat of criminal elements, above all political elements". Comprising about 550 men each, the 300-numbered battalions were raised from recruits mobilised from the 1905–1915 year groups. They were led by career police professionals, steeped in

3762-676: The purpose of coordinating and integrating all local and regional SS and police formations into the defense organization of the Reich. The first HSSPF activated were those appointed in the Wehrkreise bordering Austria during the Anschluss crisis in March 1938, and Czechoslovakia during the summer and autumn of the same year. Appointments to these posts came from the ranks of existing SS-Oberabschnitte Führer (SS Main District Leaders), and in nearly all instances they held both positions simultaneously. The Oberabschnitte were

3828-402: The rank of SS- Gruppenführer or above, and answered directly to Himmler in all matters pertaining to the SS within their area of responsibility. Most SSPF normally held the rank of SS- Oberführer or SS- Brigadeführer and reported to their HSSPF. The role of all SS and Police Leaders was to be part of the SS control mechanism within their jurisdiction, policing the population and overseeing

3894-554: The regime's aims of conquest and racial annihilation. In 1938, before the breakout of World War II, the police units participated in the annexation of Austria and the occupation of Czechoslovakia . Police troops were first formed into battalion-sized formations for the invasion of Poland , where they were deployed for security and policing purposes, also taking part in executions and mass deportations. The first 17 battalion formations were deployed by Orpo in September 1939 along with

3960-613: The role of security forces, patrolling the perimeters of the Jewish ghettos in German-occupied Poland (the internal ghetto security issues were managed by the SS, SD , and the Criminal Police, in conjunction with the Jewish ghetto administration ). Twenty-three Orpo battalions were slated to take part in the 1941 invasion of the Soviet Union, Operation Barbarossa . Nine were attached to the Wehrmacht security divisions . Two battalions were assigned to support

4026-492: The same support units as well, with a signal platoon, supply platoon, repair workshop and medical aid station. The addition of the antitank platoon meant that a BTR battalion at full strength was 525 personnel and 60 BTRs, including three command variants, while a BMP battalion consisted of 497 personnel and 45 BMPs, including three command variants. Prior to the late 1980s, Soviet tank battalions consisted of three tank companies of 13 T-64 , T-72 or T-80 tanks each, along with

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4092-651: The same thing) and the Spanish batallón , derived from the Vulgar Latin noun battalia ("battle") and ultimately from the Classical Latin verb battuere ("to beat" or "to strike"). The first use of the word in English is attested in the 1580s. A battalion is composed of two or more primary mission companies, which are often of a common type (e.g., infantry, tank, or maintenance), although there are exceptions, such as combined arms battalions in

4158-424: The second battalion. Battalion commanders and all other officers marched in front of the formation. Non-commissioned officers ( underofficers ) marched beside and behind to prevent desertion , and to replace officers who were killed. In addition to his principal duties, senior officers, such as majorer , the överstelöjtnant and överste , also commanded a company. So that the överste could focus on

4224-556: Was a fourth "line" company added (D Company) in most infantry and tank battalions. In this older structure, U.S. Army mechanised infantry battalions and tank battalions, for tactical purposes, task-organised companies to each other, forming a battalion-sized task force (TF). Starting in 2005–2006, the U.S. Army's mechanised and tank battalions were reorganised into combined arms battalions (CABs). Tank battalions and mechanised infantry battalions no longer exist. These new combined arms battalions are modular units, each consisting of

4290-758: Was absorbed into the German Reich, two new Wehrkreise and corresponding HSSPF were established there as well. Likewise, after the October 1939 conquest of Poland , two additional Wehrkreise and corresponding HSSPF were created for those Polish areas that were directly incorporated into the Reich. In all other occupied territories, no Wehrkreise were established, so the HSSPF were independent commands with several subordinate SS- und Polizeiführer (SS and Police Leader, SSPF) commands reporting to them. These positions were created beginning in November 1939 to assist

4356-540: Was authorized by a decree of 13 November 1937, signed by Reich Interior Minister Wilhelm Frick . This decree authorized the creation of HSSPF in each of the 13 German armed forces Wehrkreise (Military Districts) in the German Reich, but only in the event of mobilization . At that time, the HSSPF would serve as deputies to Heinrich Himmler , the Reichsführer-SS and Chief of the German Police, for

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