The platoon was the smallest subunit in a battalion to be led by an officer.
In 1939, there was an experiment in the British and Canadian Armies regarding the
leading of platoons by NCOs; the rank Warrant Officer Third Class was created, and WO IIIs
in command of platoons were awarded the appointment of Platoon Sergeant Major. The
experiment was deemed a failure, and by the end of 1940, most PSMs in the Canadian Army
were commissioned as officers; Calgary Highlanders PSMs were no exception.The rifle platoon did the work of the infantry battalion. All other
subunits of the infantry, and indeed, all other units and formations of the entire Army
existed to support the rifle platoons in achieving their two goals:
a) to close with and destroy the enemy
b) to seize, occupy, and hold territory
In the final analysis, the armoured, artillery, engineers,
support troops - every man in the army did his job so that the infantryman could carry out
his job at "the sharp end."
All the rifle platoons in the infantry battalion were
organized identically; they were identified by their number and assigned to the companies
as follows:
| A COMPANY |
B COMPANY |
C COMPANY |
D COMPANY |
7 Platoon
8 Platoon
9 Platoon |
10 Platoon
11 Platoon
12 Platoon |
13 Platoon
14 Platoon
15 Platoon |
16 Platoon
17 Platoon
18 Platoon |
|
| The platoon headquarters contained
the support weapons of the platoon; the two-inch mortar was used either to fire high
explosive rounds, provide illumination at night, or to provide smoke cover to the
platoon. Platoon headquarters also had a radio (with the platoon commander's batman
often acting as the radioman) and an anti-tank weapon. The Boyes anti-tank rifle
was replaced in 1943 with the PIAT (Projector, Infantry, Anti-Tank). The Platoon Commander was officially armed only with a pistol (.38 calibre
revolver until November 1944 when they were replaced with Browning 9mm automatics) but in
action usually carried a Sten or even a rifle so as not to be singled out by enemy
snipers. The remainder of platoon headquarters were armed with rifles in addition to
their platoon weapons.
The platoon walked everywhere it went; it had one single 15-cwt truck to store its gear
on. This included the men's greatcoats, largepacks, digging tools, tripod and
anti-aircraft sight for the Brens, sleeping gear, etc. For prolonged moves, the
battalion would call on the Division to provide Troop Carrying Vehicles (TCVs) which would
be loaned to the unit (with drivers) to transport the men. |
