Cheers everyone,
Based on my readings on WW2, Armies were organized as follows,
notwithstanding the many exceptions.
- XXXXXX Theater HQ ; for Germany, that would be OKW (High Command of the Wehrmacht), OKH (High Command of the Ground forces) (...)
- XXXX Front HQ (Soviet), Army Groups HQ (German, British...) (...)
- XXXX Armies
- XXX Corps - about 50.000 men
- XX Divisions - about 15.000 men
- X Brigades or III Regiments - about 4.000 men ; a brigade could be a slightly larger, for example 5.000 men
- II Battalions - 1.000 to 1.500 men
- I Companies - 400 to 500 men ; companies are not represented at this scale
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For most major countries (US, UK, Germany...), here is the most common structure :
- 1 Army = 3 Corps
- 1 Corps = 3 Divisions
- 1 Division = 3 combat Brigades or Regiments (infantry, mot infantry, mech infantry, armor...) + supporting units
- artillery (short range) : generally 1 regiment
- anti-tank : generally 1 battalion
- engineers : generally 1 battalion
- construction engineers : generally 1 battalion
- antiaircraft : generally 1 battalion
- sometimes 1 additional battalion (machinegun, mortar...)
- division headquarters, medical, police, signals...
- 1 Brigade or Regiment = 3 combat battalions
There were relatively few independant combat Brigades/Regiments (not under Divisions' command).
Italy and minor countries relied on the "binary" system, that is 2 combat Regiments (+ supporting units) per Division (instead of 3). Armies were generally composed of 4 or 5 divisions. 1 Italian/minor country Army was roughly equal in size to 1 US/UK/German Corps.
Note : binary Divisions may be transported by sea or air more easily. They are more suitable for theaters far away from the home country (Africa...).
Soviet Infantry Divisions ("Rifle Divisions") were also smaller than their western counterparts, about the same size as an Italian/minor country division. Soviet Armies were composed of 4 to 7 divisions.
Soviet tank and mechanized units were organized in Corps. As those Corps included about 4 combat brigades (for example 3 Tank Brigades and 1 Mot Infantry Brigade), they were similar to large Divisions (20.000 men instead of 15.000).
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In addition to the above, there were additional support Regiments and Battalions under Corps and Army HQs.
Those additional resources were temporary assigned to Divisions based the situation on the battlefield.
Exception : many German divisions were assigned additional battalions on a permanent basis. It was a substantial advantage as German commanders closer to the battlefields had more flexibility to form combat groups suited to their needs. Whereas Allied commanders had to call their higher HQ to ask.
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AOD's model might be structured along the following lines.
A division's "main body" would be composed of
2 to 4 combat regiments/brigades (in game terms, that's the same). The available types of combat Reg/Brig would be :
- Infantry
- Mountain Infantry
- Marine Infantry
- Parachute Infantry
- Motorized Infantry
- Mechanized Infantry
- Light Armor
- Medium Armor
- Heavy Armor ? (if it existed in the Red Army, I don't remember)
Countries using the binary system (Italy and minors) would be limited to 2 combat Reg Divisions. They would have to research the relevant doctrine in order to field larger Divisions. Adding the 4th combat Reg would also come with preconditions.
Of course, US/UK/Germany (...) would also be allowed to form Divisions with only 2 combat Brig/Reg.
Note : German Mountain, Motorized and Mechanized Divisions were indeed binary. In late 1944, Germany formed independent Panzer Brigades which had the size of a binary division (about 10.000 men).
In early war, it would be mandatory to include 2 armored Brig/Reg in each Armored Division. After the appropriate land doctrine, Germany would be able to form Panzer Divisions with only 1 Panzer Regiment (a better choice). After another doctrine, it would become possible to include Mech(PzG) Brig/Reg in Armored(Pz) Divisions.
Upon the Divisions' main body composed of 2 to 4 combat Brig/Reg, players would then attach Battalions/Reg/Brig to their Divisons based on their wishes. For example, due to being more advanced in land doctrines German units would be allowed to attach 2 (early war) to 3 (late war) Battalions to each Division. The US and the UK would be limited to 1 (early war) to 2 (late war) Battalions per Division. Countries lagging in the arms' race would be limited to 0 (early war) to 1 (late war).
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My knowledge of post-war orders of battle is limited. However, we should be cautious when looking as unit sizes.
In most cases, unit formats change after mobilization of reservists. For example, a brigade may be the nucleus of a division. A division may split to form two divisions.
Have a nice week. -)