Back to Bataan! U.S. Forces in the Far East, 1941-1942 (Part 3)

 In my last post, I looked at the higher echelons of  the American-Philippine ground forces prior to the outbreak of war in December 1941. In this part, I am going to look at the small unit organization of the troops in question. To do that properly, however, will require some speculation. Since 1940, the U.S. and Philippine Commonwealth had been more or less preparing for a conflict they hoped to avoid, but expected nonetheless. The Philippine Archipelago is primarily agricultural. Unlike the oil and metal rich Dutch and British colonies/possessions to the south, it was seen by the Japanese as primarily a block to the United States and its inevitable retaliation after December 7.

For the American armed forces, mobilizing since late 1940, the results of a parsimonious Congress in terms of military outlays after the Great Depression of the thirties was uneven. Industry was just gearing up and while the institution of a peacetime draft/conscription was producing numbers, the equipment and training had a ways to go.  Almost all were leftovers from World War 1. The Army, my primary focus, was undergoing significant changes.

In 1938, the American Arsenal in Springfield, Massachusetts, had developed and started producing the iconic M1 Garand semi-automatic rifle. As units were equipped, organization of low-level units were experimenting with adaptations to this new technology. It was now thought by military writers and commanders that the old Great War organization of the platoons and squads would need to be rethought. With such new levels of individual firepower, perhaps the venerable M1918 BAR automatic rifle could be eliminated. This led to the first of several re-organizations. The one below made official in October, 1940 (T/O 7-17). 

As stated in Part 1 of this series, these organizations will be modeled for Chain of Command v.2 by Too Fat Lardies. 

Under this organization the rifle platoon was organized as follows. This is the "wartime" organization. The "peace" establishment was considerably smaller.

Rifle Platoon:

    Headquarters

1 Platoon Leader, rifle, Senior Leader

1 Platoon Sergeant, rifle/SMG, Senior Leader

1 Platoon Guide, rifle, Superior Junior Leader

5-7 Basics (messengers, replacements), all rifle armed

    Rifle Squad (3 per platoon)

1 Squad Leader, rifle, Junior Leader

1 Assistant Squad Leader, armed with an M1903 Springfield for rifle grenades.

6-10 Riflemen, rifles 

    Automatic Rifle (AR) Squad

1 Squad Leader, rifle, Junior Leader

2 BAR gunners, pistol

2 Loaders, rifle

2 Ammo Bearers, rifle

Now, here's the speculation. The Army had both a peacetime organization and a wartime organization. In the first, the platoon headquarters was stripped of its 5-7 basics, and these were replaced by 2 messengers. The Platoon Guide, by the way, was primarily responsible for the platoon logistics. The role was later dropped. 

In peacetime, the squads were led by corporals (CPL) and had 7 riflemen. The AR squad was also led by a CPL did not change, although a third BAR could be made available in "defensive" situations.

The wartime models had squads led by Sergeants (SGT) with the CPL becoming the Assistant Squad Leader. Ten riflemen completed the squad. 

A legitimate question then would be how were the US Regulars (31st Regt.), and Philippine Scouts (1-43rd, 45th, and 57th Regts.) organized under the peace time model or war model? That's a question I can't answer, but I suspect the peacetime model. I would note, that several sources have confirmed that these units were all issued the M1 in lieu of the M1903 Springfield or M1917 Enfield. I'll include a more comprehensive list of sources at the end of this series. 

That's it for now. Next time, I'll look at the 26th Cavalry (PS). I will also take a look at the Commonwealth Forces, the Philippine Army (PA), both regulars and reserves. 

   

Back to Bataan! US Forces in the Far East, 1941-1942 (Part 2)

In Part 1, I tried to explain my interest (inspiration?)for this series of articles looking at the early years of US involvement in World War 2. Some months ago, the two books came across my path, both on the Bataan Campaign. Heretofore, the classic study of this remarkable campaign was the US Army's Official History of World War Two, which came out in the early 1950's and edited by Louis Morton, specifically, The Fall of the Philippines (1953). While long out of print, I suspect that most public libraries, at least here in the US, have one or more volumes in their stacks, or can obtain them through an inter-library loan. But as official histories, while long on facts, figures, and tables lack to a great extent the human element who witnessed or participated in the campaign. The  other two are: Whitman: Bataan: Our Last Ditch (1990), and, Young: The Battle of Bataan, A Complete History (2009). 

 In this edition, I am going to take a look at the organization of the Philippine Division which provided the backbone for the defense of the archipelago. Originally organized along the Great War model of a "square division", in 1940 General MacArthur requested and received permission to reorganize it along the then current triangular division model, ultimately allowing it to field three Regimental Combat Teams (RCT's). As this went on just prior to the outbreak of hostilities, some anomalies were bound to occur. However, my goal here is to look at the small unit level -- the level of many war game's rules, including my current favorite, Chain of Command 2 and its associated The Far East. 1941-45.

 The heart of the Philippine Division were the Philippine Scouts (PS), long-service and highly trained local forces, commanded by both American (mainly) and Philippine officers and NCO's. They were in many ways an elite, often having multiple generations of troops within the units, and all being required to have a high school diploma (a requirement that was absent in the Regular American Army). Highly disciplined, the troops had the fewest instances of disciplinary issues in the American establishment. Their emphasis on marksmanship rivaled that of the much smaller US Marines. Oddly enough, they along with the 26th Cavalry (PS), were all equipped with the M1 Garand, something the Marines did not yet have!

Under the old Brigade organization (square division), The Scouts were organized as follows: 23rd Infantry Brigade (PS) 45th Infantry Regiment (PS) 57th Infantry Regiment (PS) 

24th Infantry Brigade (PS) 1/43rd Infantry Regiment (PS) 

These Brigades were supported by the 23rd (2.95" QF mountain guns, left) and 24th (75mm M1917 guns, right) Field Artillery Regiments (PS) They are shown below:

The American 31st Infantry Regiment was assigned officially to the Philippine Division in December of 1941. Unfortunately, the paper organization was undergoing a drastic change when the War struck so too much was still undone. 

The Division had been reinforced, reorganized, and mostly equipped. There even was another US Infantry Regiment (34th Infantry) sailing to reinforce them (it left the West Coast on 1 December 1941. Ultimately, it was diverted to Australia). Next time, I'll discuss the small unit (company/platoon/squad) organization of the infantry. Until then...

Back to Bataan! US Forces in the Far East, 1941-1942 (Part 1)

I am a "Boomer", an aging breed of American born in the post-war era and brought up on TV shows like Combat! and The Gallant Men. Our comic books featured Sgt Rock of Easy Company, haunted tanks, and assorted other publications now long gone. Yet despite being the son and nephew of veterans (one in the Pacific, one in Europe), neither my father nor uncle talked about the war, and would only occasionally releate some story or experience. My Dad was in the Southwest Pacific assigned as a gun director for a 40mm BOFORs battery. His war began in 1942 at Guadalcanal, as one of the units replacing the Marines. From there it was New Guinea, New Georgia, and finally ending up on Leyte in the Philippines. The one relic he kept of these experiences was a knife made by a Filipino blacksmith from an old file. I inherited it, and despite its age, it still holds an edge as sharp as any knife I've ever owned. None of this, of course, is relevant to this blog, except these were the family experiences that first brought me to look at those early battles, campaigns, and defeats. Like so many events in war, small changes could have altered the course and outcome. The defeat of the US and Philippine forces on Luzon, the Bataan Penninsula, and Corregidor was in some ways a "monkey wrench" into Japan's timetable. For nearly six months, American and Filipino forces fought against steep odds, rapidly dwindling supplies, and empty promises. In the eyes of the Japanese, the Philippines were a necessary sideshow. It had few strategic resources, being primarily agricultural. The real prizes were in the south where abundant rubber and petroleum were to be had from the the British and Dutch colonies. Singapore was a rich prize and much coveted -- a Gibraltar of the East. Over the next couple of blog entries, I will be looking at the American and Philippine forces, their organizations, weaponry, and potential. I will do it in the context of the Chain of Command rules, version 2, and their various handbooks on the Far East and even Blitzkrieg 1940.

The top photo represents the American or Philippine Scouts (PS) infantry squad -- at least a variation since there were at least three organizations between 1938 and 1942. The second photo (above) is of an early M3 Light Tank. Two battalions were stationed there in 1941. The last photo (right) is of an M1916 37mm Infantry Gun -- a WW1 relic, but still effective if used properly.

 Well, we're back!

  A friend once told me, shortly after he retired, that he was busier now than when he was working. The difference, he continued, is that now he was busy with things he wanted to do, not things he had to do. Well, I have found that to be remarkably true and so it was that this blog of mine has been neglected over the last few months (well, more than a few). So, with your indulgence, I will take a few moments to re-cap.

Living in New England means having a wide variety of weather and weather conditions. Towards the end of 2024 and into 2025, that was manifest with cold spells, rain, winds, more rain, and a bit of snow. Being not quite a spry as I used to be, and with eyesight that really doesn't like driving at night, I tended to hunker down, as they say, and spend my time painting figures and working on my model railroad. War games and war gaming were not a priority! So, what's new?

In my last post, I mentioned how I had discovered a new, at least for me, set of World War II rules from Great Britain called Rapid Fire Reloaded. I had envisioned them to be an alternative to the sets we use at my club namely Chain of Command and Command Decision. Well, I was able to schedule a couple of club games using RFR which, no doubt due to their unfamiliarity with the players, were met with polite...disinterest. A couple of games were played but... there was little groundswell of any enthusiasm. At the moment, I am pondering a "Plan B": perhaps using the RFR based figures for Command Decision? I have played the rules in 15mm and 1/285 micro-armor. Why not 20-23mm? The basing is pretty much the same as is the level, so perhaps this might become Plan B.

On still another level, the War of Franconian Succession (SYW) has entered "winter quarters". One can paint and play with only so many tricornered fellows. My AWI figures have been semi-retired and I am even thinking of selling off the lot.

My French-Allied Napoleonic 54's and Royal Spanish are complete at least as far as I am concerned. The About Bonaparte rules work well with this scale and they have even garnered some enthusiasm from the Club. But ever the one to return to my roots, and with the excellent figures produced in 54mm by Expeditionary Force, I am returning to my War of 1812 gaming. In a way, I have come full circle: the first metal war game figures I ever painted (and still have a few left) were 30mm figures from that war produced by the American pioneer, Jack Scruby. The paint jobs were crude, but every apprentice needs to hone his skill!

So, I will leave you here with this photo from my archives! Until next time...