Infantry Batallion

The battalion is "the smallest infantry organization that can arrange for a concentration of support weapons of different kinds" (War Office training manual, 15 January 1944), and is usually grouped with other units such as armoured regiments or other infantry battalions into higher formations: brigades, divisions, corps, armies and army groups. The battalion itself was composed of various sub-units: companies, platoons, and sections. Three sections composed of 10 men made up a platoon, commanded by a lieutenant or subaltern (second-lieutenant), and three platoons in turn comprised a rifle company, under a major or captain. Infantry battalions typically counted four rifle companies as well as a headquarters company and a support company including carrier, mortar, anti-tank, and pioneer platoons. The carrier platoon used Universal carriers, also called Bren gun carriers, while the pioneer platoon members were explosives and mine-clearing specialists. Commanded by a Lieutenant-Colonel, total strength of such a battalion was established at 36 officers and 809 other ranks, including various headquarters personnel. Battle casualties meant that battalions often had to fight seriously under strength, however, so the established numerical strength should not be considered an absolute.

As noted above, three battalions were grouped into a brigade, commanded by a Brigadier, and three brigades into a division, commanded by a Major-General and complete with its own field artillery and divisional troops-reconnaissance, signals, engineers, anti-tank, medium machine-gun, and light anti-aircraft units. Armoured divisions were similarly organized, but by 1944 comprised one armoured brigade featuring three armoured regiments and one motorized infantry battalion as well as one standard infantry brigade plus divisional troops. Two or more divisions made up a corps (Lieutenant-General), two or more corps formed an army (Lieutenant-General or General), and two or more armies an army group (commanded by a General, or in the case of 21st Army Group from September 1944, by Field-Marshal B.L. Montgomery).

Order of battle of the First Canadian Army in 1945.

The numerical strength of a division's combat personnel varied widely during operations but on average, a full-strength division counted between 14,000 and 18,000 men. Many non-combat and service troops were needed to support them, however, and it was estimated before Operation Overlord that every division ashore in Northwest Europe would require an additional 25,000 personnel. The total was called the "divisional slice", sometimes referred to as the "tail-to-teeth" ratio. The divisional slice within 21st Army Group, therefore, totalled about 41,000 men and 8000 vehicles. By the end of the European war the Canadian divisional slice had grown to over 93,000, far higher than any of the other major combatants.