Page:John Banks Wilson - Maneuver and Firepower (1998).djvu/75

THE TEST—WORLD WAR I

prising one 155-mm. howitzer regiment, two 3-inch [approximately 75-mm.] gun regiments, and one trench mortar battery), an engineer regiment, a signal battalion, and trains. The trains included the division's headquarters troop and military police, ammunition, supply, ambulance, field hospital, and engineer supply units. The air squadron was omitted from the division.

During the course of their work, Pershing and Baker reversed the rationale for the division. Instead of an organization that could easily move in and out of the trenches, the division was to field enough men to fight prolonged battles. Both planning groups sensed that the French and British wanted that type of division but lacked the resources to field it because of the extensive losses after three years of warfare. To sustain itself in combat, the division needed more, not less, combat power. The infantry regiment reverted to its prewar structure of headquarters, machine gun, and supply companies and three battalions each with four rifle companies. The rifle companies were increased to 256 officers and enlisted men, and each company fielded sixteen automatic rifles. Because the law specified only one machine gun company per regiment, the General Organization Project recommended the organization of six brigade and five divisional machine gun companies. These were to be organized into two battalions of three companies each and one five-company battalion. Eight of these companies augmented the four in the infantry regiments, thus providing each divisional infantry battalion with a machine gun company. The three remaining companies were assigned as the divisional reserve; two were comparable to those in the infantry regiments, and the other was an armored motorcar machine gun company labeled "tank" company.