Rifle Platoon

The American Rifle Platoon was an organizational unit used during WWII, and is a unit available in Flames of War. American Rifle Platoons typically had anywhere from 16-50 men, inluding a Lieutenant.

IRL

The Platoon as an organizational unit can trace its roots back to the early era of gunpowder, and derives from the French word "peleton" which meant a small detachment of soldiers. Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden organized his the firing unit Platoon in the early 1600s, and by the latter part of the Century the French had adopted the system as well.

In WWII, the American Rifle Platoon consisted of the aforementioned number of men, mostly armed with M1 Garands, due to the American infantry philosophy built around Rifle Doctrine. In the early war, officers, sergeants, and messengers would be equipped with the Thompson Submachinegun, but post 1942 this weapon was phased out by the more accurate but controversial M1 Carbine. A single B.A.R was present for each platoon, as well as a single M1903A Sniper rifle to be given to a man at the unit leader's discretion. M7 Rifle Grenade Launchers were intermittenly passed through the unit to add long range indirect fire against fortified positions or to get shots over obstacles such as walls or hills.

As for a brief rundown of every weapon:

• The Garand was the best rifle in the whole damn war.

• The B.A.R was probably the worst LMG outside the Type 99 or Breda.

• The Thompson was heavy, but a reliable weapon provided it wasn't equipped with a drum magazine

• The M1903 was a solid bolt action rifle.

• The M1 Carbine was not terrible, but the marines often complained it had insufficient stopping power.

In the Modern day, the US Rifle platoon officialy consists of 42 men, including the Lieutenant in charge of the unit.