Like many bemused viewers, I am taken aback by how much attention this video has received in the past week. This has meant a dramatic increase in comments. In the past, I have tried to respond to everyone who left a sincere comment or inquiry on my channel, but until things settle down that will no longer be possible. To those who go responseless: If you liked my video - Thank you very much for the support. I genuinely appreciate it. If you disliked my video - Hey, I tried my best and I'm sorry it wasn't to your liking. Either way, RU-vid wants the "engagement," so I thank you all for your time.
My Dad was a staff sergeant in December 1945 and took over his platoon when his lieutenant platoon leader was killed. He received a Battlefield Commission to 2nd Lt and continued to lead the platoon till the end of the war. He was 24 at the time with no college or OCS. He had been drafted in 1942 and he returned to civilian life after the War. He was recalled for Korea and ended up staying in the Army till 1969 after a 13 month tour in Vietnam. He was promoted in Korea to Captain and in Vietnam to Major. Every promotion he received in 22 years active duty occurred during overseas combat tours. The Army bumped him to LT Col right before he retired as a little bonus towards his retirement pay.
Greg Kerr I’ve Heard roomers of officers who rose from the ranks facing friction from their fellow officers. Not sure how true this is, but if indeed true, all credit to your dad for working with colleagues who may have not wanted him there.
@@robin_5099 Yes, he did face some friction from fellow officers and commanders during his career. Some officers who were graduates of one military academy or other likely thought he had no business commanding anyone. Dad had a low bullshit threshold and little tolerance to what he referred to as "chicken shit". His career was probably saved in 1964 by a Colonel who was like minded. The Colonel was his regimental commander and gave Dad command of a battalion. Dad was a Captain at that time and had been one since 1952. Dad had had a commander who who had written him several bad evals that had caused him to be passed over for major. Army evals cannot be untruthful in regards actual physical aspects of job performance, but a commander can ruin a man's career through nuanced words indicating that although the officer performed his duties flawlessly, that he may have reached his maximum level of capability . If you can't rise in rank after x number of years the Army let's you got. The Colonel who gave Dad command of the battalion did so over the heads of several majors and one LTCol and managed to push a promotion through to Major once they hit Vietnam. During the nine months before Vietnam, my Dad was the lowest ranking officer to command a battalion in the entire U.S. Army. The finest accolade I ever heard concerning my Dad, came from the Sergeant Major of the battalion he commanded. The Sgt Major was also a vet of WW2 AND kOREA AND vIETNAM with an impressive amount of fruit salad on his chest. He got me aside in 1966 and told me I should always be proud of my Dad as he was the finest officer the Sgt Major had ever served with. In many ways...I think especially in today's world...the best officers don't necessarily rise to the top, but many of those that do, just play the political game better. Sad but true. As far as I know, the military no longer issues battlefield promotions and all officers must be college graduates at minimum. Imagine a 2nd lt grad of some academy like West Point shipping over to Afghanistan or somewhere like that, and being in command of an SFC or some other senior NCO who has six combat tours under his belt. I think in very rare cases the Army will send an enlisted man through OCS and then station him somewhere where he attends a four year college degree program before being placed back into regular duty. Heck, maybe they don't even do that anymore!
Greg Kerr I mean, some jobs within the military definitely need higher education. Namely the medical and law fields. However when it comes to combat commands, i’m more inclined to believe the old adage of experience being a better teacher than classroom training. That’s not to say that academies don’t produce exceptional officers in their own right, as history can attest to, but the military’s insistence on following a prescribed path to officer status definitely loses them good leaders. However, acting as my own devils advocate here, I can definitely see their point of view in needing every officer to have a common denominator in their education. It allows them a degree of control and responsibility for ensuring there is a basic level of ability for every officer. Which makes your dad‘s story even more remarkable. If you’re interested on a story of a soldier rising to the very top of the military, look up field Marshall Robertson of the British Army. In an era of even more stratification in class, (1877-1920) his meteoric rise from Private to Field Marshal is incredible. Politics was undoubtedly involved, but nevertheless his rise to the very top when being of a certain class (gentleman) was required in order to be an officer is remarkable.
i guess political game in the army is kinda universal thing , in 1964 there are 3 commie side the nationalist ,hcm and le duan. chose the right one you will sent behide chose the wrong one you will be sent to the tet offensive , and we all know how those guys sent to tet offensive end up shorly after that hcm die
Given that the Germans went 'all ze machineguns' in WW1 (I'm serious, by the end of the 1st World War, the Germans had 288 MGs per division or 56 men per MG) and being on the receiving end, it was natural that there would be a replication on the US side. This is especially true when the US encountered the world's first GMGs (MG-34s and MG-42s).
@@MatthewBaileyBeAfraid it's mentioned in the video that a particular platoon had 14 B.A.Rs, he then goes on to mention that another platoon had 0 B.A.Rs (having given them away).
When by National Guard unit deployed to Iraq in March 2003 we had two M1A4 sniper rifles in our arms room. As they were not part of our TOE and were not expected to be needed, they were turned in. It is interesting that these weapons, which were about 60 years old at the time, were still in the inventory so many years later. We also had 10 M1200 Winchester 12 gauge trench guns (yes, trench guns - they had the ventilated rib) along with the 18 inch "pig sticker" bayonets. These were turned in and replaced by Mossberg 500s.
Ironic, since that’s around the time that the US military began implementing its Squad Designated Marksman program due to troop experience in Iraq an Afghanistan…..
According to one Pacific Theater Army vet I knew, the M1 carbine and the Thompson were by far the most effective and sought after weapons. Engagements were close and being able to put down fire was more important than penetration. At less than 50 yards the carbine was more than sufficient.
My great uncle was a scout with G Company, 85th of the 10th Mountain division. He was called on to recon deep into minefields and German positions at night, sketch maps, narrowly avoided capture and got a bronze star for his bravery.
My father was a rifle platoon leader in the 82nd during Market Garden. There was no way in hell he was going to carry the M1 Carbine. All three of his sons (myself included) subsequently became infantry officers where our first job was rifle platoon leader. I never knew how my father's platoon organization differed from mine. Now I do. Thanks for the video.
I would like to take a moment to praise your rate of speech. I usually have to 1.25x or 1.5x a video. I did not feel the need to do that while listening to you. I appreciate that. Thank you for uploading.
Thank you. And...That figures... The most consistent complaint the channel gets is: "You talk way too fast! Slow down!" So, I tried to slow down a bit in my latest video. You win some, you lose some.
I would love to see you continue this series! Company, Battalion, Brigade, Division, Corps, Army, Army Group, and Theatre. Your videos are starting to get some RU-vid algorithmic love, I think for anybody who loved band of brothers, learning more about the organizational structure of European and Pacific theatre infantry forces would be much loved! Thanks for the awesome content :)
I'm irritated that I attempt to approach military history from the company level (and looking all the way to squad and team tactics) because they fascinate me almost as much as weapons design, only to be stifled by the intellectual "establishment" around the subject(s): endless chattering about massive divisions and the rear-area-dwelling politicians (flag officers) who are most focused on by historians/scholars.
While normally, I'm not one to "Advertise," I've been telling my friends who are interested in this stuff about your videos; they're just TOO good to not do so.
VERY well-documented and complete! Both my dad and I were infantry platoon leaders; I in the 70’s (Mech) and he in ‘43-‘45. However, he earned his CIB as the Ammunition and Pioneer platoon leader of his battalion in the 406th Inf Reg, 102nd Inf Div. I would ask that this relatively unheralded unit benefit from your exemplary examination! The A & P platoon delivered ammunition to the line units as well as acting as “engineers” for their battalions: clearing and laying mines, obstacles, etc. They were awarded Combat Infantry Badges just as other infantry. Every soldier in my dad’s platoon was either wounded or killed in 6 months of combat from Aachen to the Elbe. Keep up the great work!
Thank you very much! I really appreciate it. You can bet whenever I finally get around to the infantry battalion's headquarters company, I will cover the A&P platoon. Quite a few videos to get through before then...
fun facts, when i went through Benning in 2009 certain individuals in training would be put in charge by the drills. the person overall in charge who reported to the drills was called the Platoon Guide. while its not in our active platoons it still sort of exists. also the platoon sergeant is still the backbone, the guy we look to for our orders and guidance. The platoon leader is still respected but he more or less lays out the big picture orders and is our link to our sister platoons, but that sergeant is the one who feeds us immediate orders and controls the fight.
Thanks. Yes, platoon formations and tactics is next. The weapons platoon will either be covered in the video right before, or the video right after, platoon tactics.
Wow, fantastic explanation of something I’ve beat my brains out trying to understand after a lifetime of my fathers stories from his army days in the European Theater WWII. I am guilty of misquotes while sharing many of those stories. As deciphered here: My dad was was a Platoon Guide 28th Infantry Division, 112th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Battalion, I-Company, 3rdPlatoon. I always believed him to be a squad leader & I also referred to him as a platoon leader (using platoon & squad leaders interchangeably) Awesome video! Glad to finally have all that sorted out.
Per dad’s notes: 28th Infantry Division 112th Infantry Regiment 1st Battalion 2nd Battalion 3rd Battalion (Three Rifle Companies (I,K,L Companies) & One Heavy Weapons Company M-Company). I-Company (Four Platoons, three rifle platoons & one weapons platoon) Platoon Support Personnel: Mess (Master Sgt. & two Buck-Sgts.) Company Master Sgt. Company Bugler Supply Sgt. Mess Officer (Lieutenant) 1st Platoon (Rifle) (48 men total, Headquarters Platoon (5-men), 3 squads of 12 men each + 7-support) 2nd Platoon (Rifle) 3rd Platoon (Rifle) (Dad was the Platoon Guide but Platoon Leader LT. Pendleton got wounded & T/Sgt. Carl Smith either wounded or killed so dad was in line for a field promotion to T/Sgt. when he got shot on August 11th, 1944 near St. Lo, France. Consisted of the following: Platoon Leader Lt. Pendleton Platoon Sgt. T/Sgt. Carl Smith Platoon Guide S/Sgt. Lewis Brady Seneca Falls, NY Platoon Messengers/Runners: Anthony (Tiny) Imburgia, Company to Platoon Runner ROCHESTER, NY Gerald Wipfli, Platoon to Company Runner Nekoosa, WI 1st Squad (12 men, 1-S.Sgt (Squad Leader), 2-3 Buck-Sgts. (Assistant Squad Leaders), the rest were Privates) 2nd Squad 3rd Squad 4th Platoon (Weapons) S/Sgt. Louis Mizak K - Company (Rifle) L - Company (Rifle) M - Company (Heavy Weapons) Three Squad Leaders in the Platoon were: Sgt. Larry Glanz. Sgt. Ross, Sgt. Alex Horishini. Some of the Assistant Squad Leader were: Casey Wojack, Earl Smith. Lt. Col. Houghton was the Company Commander.
@@Manvillebrady Broadly speaking, why do popular culture (think about Wikipedia articles on the subject) and military historians act as though the operational level (massive regiments and divisions) and generals is/are all that matters? They ignore weapons and equipment designs, combat unit tactics, the supply situation, etc. in favor of terminology like "Rommel took Africa, and was the greatest German general..."? I find it silly.
@@reidparker1848 Wondering why you're asking me this question? I have no idea. I do know this video filled in the blanks to some question that have hung over my head since my dad is no longer around to answer those questions. This video and the graphics depicting the rifle platoon hierarchy have proved priceless to me. It's filled in a lot of blanks for me after failing to find answers elsewhere online, for a long time.
You are correct, in the '70's the unit sniper was normally someone who scored repeatedly high on rifle qualification. However, there was a basic sniper course, one week long, at the Army Marksmanship Training Unit at Ft. Benning, GA. I attended that course in 1974. It was focused more on sniper operations than marksmanship. Things like ingress, optimal firing positions. target acquisition, and egress. Oddly enough, we were also trained on antenna construction and configurations. We thought it was someone in the signal corps playing some kind of a sick joke on us.
Decent video. I am a little disappointed this series does not go on to discuss infantry companies and battalions. A discussion of alternate U.S. platoons, such as paratroops, glider infantry, armored infantry, and marines would also be welcome. My particular interest is armored infantry.
I think you did an excellent job. Many of my high school ROTC instructors were WWII and Korean combat infantry vets. They would have loved your attention to detail.
My father never discussed his experiences, he was in the National Guard on Dec 7, 1941, and was activated almost immediately. he was a Sgt. went to OCS , fought in the Pacific. He was a 1st Lt. looking at the picture of his platoon there are 43 men. One SFC, three S/Sgt. and two Cpl. He fought on Guam and the Philippines, was wounded on Luzon, then spent a year in a hospital before getting a medical retirement. After he died I put his medals and ribbons in a shadow box beside his pictures.
just found this video, I know you might not be producing content any more but appreciate the continued responses to questions/comments. This video was ahead of its time and outpaces even peer videos on the same subject- the addition of real accounts on how the platoon functioned in the field is excellent for a well rounded picture.
Thank you. I really appreciate it. I assure you this channel may be dormant but it is not dead. (I swore last time it would not be two years between videos, but here we are...) I promised a video on the organization of the weapons platoon next, and that is still the plan.
Random fact, in the Canadian army we still do this "stalker". However the exercise is a bit different. You crawl, as soon as you are spotted the spotter has to walk someone out to you, he has to place the "walker" within 1ft of you. When you're caught your sent back. This is important because if you just mark it. It allows the spotter to track where you are and you wouldn't really be in that position after being spotted.
Excellent work. A good balance of technical manual and battlefield memoirs encapsulating how the US Army created citizen soldiers during WW II. Looking forward to your next video!
Wow. Thank you very much for taking the time to comment. I really appreciate it. I don't get a ton of views, but I'm glad these videos are at least finding the right eyeballs.
Damn I love your videos! Literally this is the sort of videos I was thinking of making a while back for the Polish army of 1939. But that idea never went anywhere. So I'm glad here I found your channel! Good work mate - Carry on!
Thanx for the comments on the crosshair scopes. No less an authority than Col. Jeff Cooper hisself championed the post reticle as a superior type vs. crosshair reticles. Quicker to acquire, sturdier, and better under COMBAT ( low light, misty, rainy) conditions. A fixed, low power( 2.5 to 4X) with external adjustments allows precision fire by trained marksmen out to 300 yards. Past that, call for fires.
The only reason those post reticles even made it into the hands of the troops during WWII was a shortage of M73B1s. All milspec scopes were cross-haired, but early in the A4 program Ordnance cleaned out Weaver of anything close in a effort to keep Remington in production. (There were civilian 330s with a tapered-post.) I actually included that quote because there are those who proclaim strong skepticism that any A4s with post reticles ever made it into combat. Well, one comment from 1944 is not exactly iron-clad proof, but I certainly find it compelling.
@@G.I.HistoryHandbook well, the quote from Col.Cooper was from the article he wrote in Soldier of Fortune, his review of the SSG sniper rifle. This would've been the 1st model. Scope was a 10× Kahles, issued new with the rifle. 1978. or 79 I believe. Of course, now the red dot or chevron optics do about the same thing. Pick your poison. You do know who Cooper was I hope?
@@gulfrelay2249 Sorry, your reply was flagged as spam. That usually happens when someone posts a link, so I'm not sure what you did wrong to upset the RU-vid gods. Anyway, yeah, I didn't think you meant Cooper was discussing WWII rifles. I was just pointing out that, if the U.S. military had its way, not a single '03 with a post reticle would have been produced. They were initially seen as something to settle for in desperation. The Army obviously changed its tune my 1944 because the Lyman M82 became the primary scope for the newly adopted M1C.
I mean the following in the best possible way: This video is so filled with primary sources that it feels like a university course. I love it! Keep making videos!
"The best possible way" is the only way to take that. I know my videos can be wall-of-text heavy at times, but I make them for people who want to see what the primary sources have to say. I know how frustrating it can be when sources ARE cited...but have been out of print for 75 years. I'm aware not every interested viewer has copies of obscure contemporaneous professional journals handy.
Outstanding channel! It's been a while since I discovered something as well researched & professionally put together. RU-vid seems to have been in somewhat of a lull in the past year or two with a dearth of original new content (after the apocalypse) so it's really heartening to see a new crop of talent emerging. Bravo!
Another great video, keep up the good work! Very interesting I appreciate the time and effort you put into your videos. The thorough analysis and skillful use of first hand accounts and historic sources makes for a quality as well as unique viewing experience. The least I can do is say thank you.
Thank you very much. I really do appreciate it. I don't upload for praise, but if the work went entirely unnoticed it would be pretty demoralizing. Comments like yours keep this channel going.
Excellent production and filled some gaps in my knowledge. I have learned quite a lot (and importantly the rationale behind some decisions) Thank you. KEEP DOING these vids. I am now seeking out the others you have done.
If you think the Commando Kelly story of Pfc to T/Sgt is crazy I’ve got another one like it. Private Douglas Schaffer of Huntington, WVa went from Pvt to T/Sgt in four weeks with 2/116 29th ID in November 1944 in the Rhineland. That stuff happened and it always blows my mind to some degree
I love that people think the M1 Carbine was not powerful. It is the predecessor to the M16 type battle rifle. We wanted a shorter round to allow soldiers to carry more rounds. It was a great weapon, especially the M1A1 Carbine that was select fire, with the ability to fire fully automatic. That modification came late in the war. Though not as powerful as the 30-06 round fired by the M1 Rifle, it was accurate and deadly out to 300 meters, which was much, much further than the 50 meters a M1911 could hit if you were good with a handgun. What people fail to realize is the 30 cal round was supersonic at 1990 fps with almost 1000 pounds of muzzle energy. The round didn't have the bullet coefficient that the 30-06 had so it lost it's supersonic speed at about 200 meters, which equates to lower terminal ballistics and pretty significant bullet drop.
Even going back all the way to the first time I watched Saving Private Ryan, I thought how entirely useless the M1903A4 would be in a small unit action. I was pretty vindicated by a quote in Richard Stannard's "Infantry," which is an amazing read if you haven't already checked it out. I'm paraphrasing, but essentially the interviewee abandons his 03 in favor of an M1 at first opportunity, calling it "a useless weapon in a firefight." As you often say about "Uncle Frank," I know practices weren't universal. Just an interesting nugget given that you dealt quite a bit on the implementation of the 03. Great videos!
"small" unit. You mean a combat unit. The company is the largest formation relevant to combat, in my personal opinion. The battalion serves as something of a "depot" echelon to directly allocate armor, air, etc assets from the "regiment"/"division" to the combat companies on downwards. Oh boy, General Pershing had the bright idea to make infantrymen wear divisional insignia on their sleeve, that must make it the most important. The statement "X echelon is the basic unit of a military" is fundamentally wrong. You can "start" anywhere you want.
Thank you so much. I appreciate that. What's funny is the comment just before yours said my videos were, "kind of on the anal side," and an aspect of this video was long winded. Then, right after, you say you appreciate the detail and concise presentation. If I've learned one thing making these videos its that it's impossible to please everyone...
I was there in 66 and the one in charge was the Platoon Commander with the other two as D.I.There were also company and series commanders but we never saw them.
Fantastic video. My grandpa was a technician operating a scr-300 radio in New Guinea and the Philippines. Really cool to see how he operated on the platoon level.
My grandfather always hated phones one Christmas almost out of nowhere conversations started and he ended up saying that from Sept 43-jan 45.. his three purple hearts came after shorty being "appointed" a radio operator for a combat platoon .. he ended the war a tech sgt and fortunately missed Korea as he had just had three kids and apparently did a little dance out of the office when he was told to go home and discharged lol... Rest in peace William "Ben" Whitaker
Very interesting stuff. I like how you compare the different philosophies that the German and US armies had. The German one MG per squad really made the Allied troops bleed for every yard they gained. I would also like to hear more about the medics role in different theaters.
Handy talkie is still used in fire and EMS services for hand held radios. We referred to our hand held as HT’s (handy talkie) and used HT as a prefix to our unit number when using held held so dispatch would know we were out of the truck.
FYI, not sure where you hear that medic's were not allowed weapons, they are allowed a weapon, at least Corpsman wise. That weapon was a pistol. The use of said pistol was meant for the defense of themselves and their patient or patients they were tending to. One famous statue depicts a corpsman holding a bottle of plasma IV to a fallen marine while at the same time using his pistol to defend against Japanese soldiers.
Well, that's just been my personal experience talking to veterans of that era. All the "Old Uncle Franks" living someplace else may have pronounced it differently. All I can tell you is that the ones I heard say it pronounced it "car-bean," yet all the training film narrators pronounced it "car-byne."
@@G.I.HistoryHandbook -- Thanks, again, for the clarification. As an infantry veteran (USA, 1980-1992) I very much admire your work, because you've done the full reading (pace Dr. Venkman), so your work always is faithful, true, and accurate to the facts of the matter. I look forward to your new videos, after I watch the videos you've already published. Keep up the good work.
Funny that the title of platoon guide lives on, at least it did when I was in basic training in 1995. Platoon guide was what we called our recruit private who was basically the acting platoon sergeant. Though the role of platoon guide is basically handled by the weapons squad leader today.
Thank you! This channel is very much alive. (I, too, wish there were more videos!) The bad news is I lost most of my latest video about a month ago. The good news is I'm hard at work remaking it, and making good progress. (The audio has all been re-recorded. It's just the tedious illustrations that need to be completed, but I'm knee deep in those now.)
I was a Marine infantryman in the mid 2000’s. We had a platoon guide who was a senior sergeant in the zone for staff sergeant but not yet promoted. He was also too fat and old to be a squad leader, but could help the platoon sergeant with administrative tasks like EDL’s (Equipment Density Lists-a roster of all serialized issued weapons and gear).
Enjoyed this video very much, especially the well-thought-out organization and brilliant graphics! The reference information presentation is especially noteworthy. Are you a professional documentary producer? If not, you should be!
The radio you referred to - the SCR-536 - was a five pound, five tube AM transceiver that operated on batteries usually lasting one day of normal use. It had one crystal controlled frequency of 50 channels in the 3-6 Mc HF band.
In the Army they are called Platoon Leaders because they lack command authority.The command authority is reserved at the Company/Troop/Battery level. Those commanders can reduce rank, confine to barracks, and more or less dole out any non-judicial punishment. Platoon leaders, at least in the Army, can only recommend such punishments; they lack the authority to enforce or authorize them.
Damn, i had no idea ny great grandfather had the same job as Audie Murphy. He was a foward artillery observer but for 155mm howitzers. No wonder he also had severe PTSD until the day he died
Well, Audie Murphy was a rifle platoon leader who did some forward observing on the side. In fact, a significant part of his MOH action pertains to his directing artillery fire.
Thanks. A rifle platoon tactics video will be next. After that I plan to cover the organization of the rifle company's weapons platoon in its own video, but it should shed more light on the company as a whole.
War,never again.But i must say this was the era where infantry troops were the special forces.Defence,offense,assault tacticts in every weather condition or battle terrain.Digging fox holes,mining in first line,defending an area with a compilation of weapons.Assault tactics from sea,air or assault on high ground or mechanized operations.Tense,fear and morale were high.Respect.
After watching reels of WW2 footage I get the impression that the M1 carbine is seen more frequently than 1 in 40 soldiers in Europe. It’s far lighter to carry, has greater capacity, lighter recoil and one can carry more ammunition than the M1 Garand.
He remarks on that in the video. What he says about the Garand also applies to the carbine, anyone that wonted one could get one. you also have to take into account that it wasn't just Infantry rifle platoons on the front lines, weapons platoons would have carbines. Airborne platoons could see a few carbines. one anti tank gun is served by up to ten men all with carbines, if something happens to that gun here's ten combat soldiers all armed with carbines now fighting.
Not every soldier was a rifleman at the tip of the spear- the rifle platoon. It takes 10 men in the rear to support one at front, and that's exactly the Carbine's purpose. While the M1 Rifles and B.A.R.s do the day-to-day fighting, Carbines arm the men running logistics, artillery, transportation, communication, anti-tank, and even cooking that keep the rifle platoons and companies in the fight. These guys are a lot of what you'll see in archival footage, as its much safer to film the mortar man in the rear than the rifleman getting shelled in a foxhole at the front!
