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Warpac and Nato Unit Frontages
Warpac and Nato Unit Frontages
When gaming periods from ancients to the horse and musket period many people want to make sure that
their cohorts or battalions have the correct frontage when basing figures. When it comes to World War 2
and modern warfare there is not as much information available or what is available is not often used.
There are a number of sources that provide information on post World War 2 formations. Some of them
are rather expensive, while others can be found on the internet for free, and some are out of print. Some
of the information that I found was actually from computer games that simulated modern
warfare. Comparing that information with other sources confirmed that the data used for the computer
games matched that data.
The following is a compilation of data that I have obtained from various sources along with a some
images from U. S. army tactical manuals. The first two images are platoon formations with the first one
possibly being an offensive formation and the second a U. S. defensive position.. The next two are
Soviet company and battalion offensive frontages.
According to the Battle Book (Center for Army Tactics) 86-(ST 100-3)-2202 dated
1 April 1986 Ft Leavenworth, KS the following are listed:
Page 4-5 Section III. Soviet Tactical Doctrine:
Defence:
Motorifle (tank) battalion: up to 5 km , depth up to 3 km
Motorifle (tank) company: up to 1500 m , depth up to 1000 m
Motorifle (tank) platoon: up to 400 m , depth up to 300 m
Isby & Kamps, Armies of NATO's Central Front states "...a (West German) brigade would attack on
12,000m frontage - the principle of being stronger at the decisive point - the Schwerepunkt - still applies.
A Panzer or Panzer Grenadier battalion woud usually have a 4,000m sector on the offensive, though for a
breakthrough operation it would concentrate on a 1,000-1,500m spearpoint, or 700-1,000m in a
Panzergrenadier battalion was attacking dismounted..."
Regarding the defense, "...The size of the defensive room s varies, depending on the terrain and mission.
Panzer and Panzergrenadier battalions would usually hold 5,000m frontage, light infantry battalions
4,000m. Battalion rooms would be 3,000-5,000m deep, those of brigades up to 25km...The Germans
would deploy 80% of their forces forward and the rest in reserve, in cotrast with the traditional US 'two up,
one back' deployment. Companies would fight together, and battalions would be deployed in defensive
positions, often without a reserve. If required, the battalion reserve would usually be two platoons but
could range from a single platoon to a full company."