The infantry battalion was also further divided into Echelons.

F (for "fighting") Echelon consisted of the rifle companies and support companies, and were located in the front line with, fighting transport and supplies and battalion headquarters.

A Echelon, 3 to 5  miles behind and under brigade control, held quartermaster stores, repair equipment, spare transport and supplies, the rear battalion HQ (with records; the paymaster, etc.).    

B Echelon, under divisional control, held the Headquarters Company headquarters, dental staff, personnel Left Out of Battle and personal kit storage.

In the early years of the war, trained snipers were allocated to the rifle companies, but by 1944 were organized into a seperate Scout and Sniper Platoon, under the Scout Officer.

While the static conditions of World War One allowed many Canadian marksmen to ply their trade with great success, battalions on the move in the Second World War provided fewer such opportunities for their snipers.  The scouts were often kept busy with dangerous reconaissance missions, and during periods in static positions (such as the Arielli in the winter of 1943-44, or the Nijmegen salient in the winter of 1944-45) snipers could be employed with good effect.

Snipers were generally by nature very individualistic men, who had to not only possess above average skill with their weapon (not to mention eyesight) but also great patience.

Each infantry battalion in the Canadian Army in World War Two had its own artillery to draw on; by 1944 six 3-inch mortars made up the Number Three Platoon of the battalion.  The mortar had certain advantages over conventional artillery; it was small and easily transported (usually by Carrier but it could be manpacked in an emergency), it did not give off a visible muzzle flash when it fired, and as it belonged directly to the battalion it was always on call.

The weapon was fired indirectly, and as such, was only good against infantry or other "soft" targets.  It was also an effective weapon for laying smoke or firing illumination rounds at night.  Mortar bombs exploding in woods could also be a nightmare for enemy infantry, as the trees themselves would be converted into deadly fragments which would rain straight down into enemy entrenchments. 

The mortar was a rather "stealthy" weapon in that it could be dug in underground, making it invisible to enemy troops.  Also, the mortar bomb made no noise while in flight, giving no warning to enemy troops, as was sometimes the case with artillery shells.

The standard 3-inch mortar bomb (measuring 76mm by the metric scale) would not penetrate heavy enemy fortifications, nor was the mortar platoon a real subsitute for having gun and howitzer support both on the attack and the defence.   The Canadian infantry battalion also equipped each rifle platoon with a 2-in (51 mm) mortar which was effective against infantry and for laying smoke.  Each infantry division also had 4.2 inch mortars included in the arsenal of the divisional machine gun battalion.

The Anti-Tank Platoon
By 1944, the Anti-Tank Platoon of an infantry battalion fielded 6 guns and was the Number Five Platoon of the battalion. 

The fighting strength of the infantry battalion lay in its four rifle companies, called A, B, C, and D.  At the start of the war, they were also referred to phonetically as Ack, Beer, Cork and Don, until the British phonetic alphabet was replaced with the American alphabet midway through the war, after which they were referred to as Able, Baker, Charlie and Dog companies.

Each of the four companies were identical in composition (on paper).

Listed at right is a typical company establishment. 

Infantrymen in the Second World War had to know more than just firing a rifle and using the bayonet (in the end, few casualties were infilicted with either weapon, the majority of casualties being inflicted with artillery and machine guns).  There were also five types of hand grenade, the PIAT, the Bren light machine gun, the pistol, and the submachine gun to learn how to use.  Beyond that was first aid, hygiene, map and compass work, fieldcraft, military law, identification of enemy aircraft and tanks, co-operation with friendly armour, patrolling, battle drills, cooking for one's self in the field, and a plethora of subjects he had to familiarize himself with - in order to both survive, and help him kill his enemies.

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.

The rifle platoons 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."

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.

The three rifle sections that made up the platoon were led by a Corporal, with a Lance Corporal acting as second-in-command.  In action, the sections were rarely at full strength, but on paper the section was divided into two groups.  The Rifle Group was led by the section commander and contained five riflemen.  The Bren Group was led by the second-in-command and had a Bren Gunner, his Number Two, and a third rifleman.  The Section Commander was usually armed with a Sten gun, while the remainder of the section (excepting the Bren Gunner) carried Lee Enfield rifles.

Infantry Battalion

Battalion Headquarters
Scout and Sniper Section
Intelligence Section
Provost Section
Medical Section
Orderly Room

Headquarters Company

Rifle Companies

Rifle squads will make up the bulk of a Combat Mission player's infantry forces, as was the case of course in real life.

A Canadian rifle company was composed, as shown above, of a headquarters and three platoons, each platoon having three sections.  In Combat Mission, the rifle company is represented as at right.

Canadian squads (called "sections") consisted of ten men; as in the game, they were equipped with a Bren Gun, eight Lee Enfield rifles, and a submachine gun (in Northwest Europe, the Sten, and in Italy, the .45 calibre Thompson).

Real-life sections were usually divided into two groups; the Bren Group, led by the section 2 i/c (second in command) with a Bren Gunner, Number Two on the Bren (assistant Bren Gunner), and a rifleman.  The Rifle Group consisted of the Section Commander and five riflemen.

In Combat Mission, the squad does have a "split" command, which nicely simulates the tactical decision to use the Rifle Group for flanking missions or other battle drills that were learned in training.  The game splits an undamaged squad nicely in half, however, with four riflemen and a Bren in one group, and four riflemen and a Sten in the other.

Combat Mission squads are led by sergeants when in real life they were led by corporals (the difference this makes in game terms appears to be nil, however).

The platoon consisted of one officer and thirty-six men, all told.  Outside the thirty men from the rifle sections, there was a platoon headquarters which included two weapons teams; one for the two-inch mortar and another for the PIAT.  The weapons were handled in real life by two man teams; these teams shared other functions in the platoon headquarters as well.  The officer was the Platoon Commander; his second in command was the Platoon Sergeant. 

The members of the platoon headquarters were armed with rifles in addition to the special weapons, with the exception of the platoon sergeant who likely carried an SMG, and the platoon commander.  Officially, the platoon commander carried a pistol (either .38 revolver, or, beginning in November 1944, a 9mm Browning Hi-Power automatic).  It was common for platoon commanders to carry rifles or SMGs, though, as much to disguise their status from enemy snipers as for their added range and lethality.

Combat Mission has modelled the two man weapons teams correctly, though they do not appear to be also armed with rifles.  Platoon headquarters has gained an extra man and rifle, however, so this would appear to be offset.  Combat Mission does not allow players or scenario designers to alter the weapons types in order to upgrade the commander's personal weapon, though the mix of weapons in the three headquarters units is "officially" correct.

Unlike other armies, the Canadian battalion had neither heavy weapons platoons in its rifle companies, nor a heavy weapons company in its rifle battalion.  The Company was a rather lean organization, with 120 men and five officers at full strength.  The historical Company Headquarters is listed above, but bear in mind that certain members would be LOB (see below) and others would have duties away from the firing line.  For example, the Company Sergeant Major was usually tasked with providing ammunition to the platoons, and often helped with the prisoner collection or evacuation of the wounded.  The Company Quartermaster Sergeant and his storeman were tasked with ensuring adequate supplies made it to the fighting men, be it fuel, food, water, or ammunition.  The clerk was charged with administrative duties, though he might have also been tasked as a runner.