The Division
Of course, our case study will be the 4th Marine Division. Much of this information is coming from Mark Flowers' excellent site, World War Two Gyrene.
The basic Divisional structure of the Marine Corps has remained the same from its inception in March, 1941. Prior to this, the Marines had been organized into units the size of brigades or smaller, but as the 1920s progressed and the lessons of the First World War were digested (and projected over the Pacific with a cautious eye on Japan), it was decided that the brigade level was simply too small a unit to conduct independent operations. The Fleet Marine Force, created in 1933 by Secretary of the Navy Claude Swanson, provided the building blocks for the 1st and 2nd Marine Divisions. Under this new structure, two new brigades were created; one posted to the East Coast and one to the West.
Each Division was composed of three infantry regiments, with one artillery regiment and one tank battalion providing fire support. Further components included headquarters, motor transport, service, pioneer, and medical units, which ensured that each Division was fully capable of operating as a separate entity.
(A quick note on medical support: during World War 2, the USMC did not have its own medical branch. The wounded Marine counted on the aid of a Navy Corpsman who would be attached to his unit, which is why Ryan Philippe's character in "Flags Of Our Fathers" wears Navy dress whites instead of a Marine uniform. On the battlefield, any exchange of fire would usually be followed by cries for "Sailor!" as Japanese soldiers were fond of calling "Corpsman!" in an attempt to lure a luckless American into exposing himself.)
As the Marines gained experience in 1942 and 1943, the divisional structure changed. When the 4th Marine Division was activated on 16th August, 1943, they became part of the third structure, T/O E-100.
(Complete organizational table USMC Operations in WWII, Vol. 2: Isolation of Rabaul)
The 4th Marine Division was composed of the following elements:
23rd Marines (Infantry)
24th Marines (Infantry)
25th Marines (Infantry)
14th Marines (Artillery)
20th Marines (Engineers - from June 1943 to August 1944)
Headquarters Battalion
4th Tank Battalion
4th Engineer Battalion
4th Pioneer Battalion
4th Service Battalion
4th Medical Battalion
4th Motor Transport Battalion
In May, 1944, as the Division rested after the campaign for the Marshall Islands, they were again reorganized and expanded, this time into the F-100 series.
(Complete organizational table USMC Operations in WWII, Vol. 4: Western Pacific Operations)
The 4th Marine Division remained in this configuration through Saipan, Tinian, and Iwo Jima. Other Marine divisions would be reorganized into a further G-series, but fortunately the 4th was out of combat by that time.
Happy Marines aboard CVE Attu, bound for the States at last.
The 4th Marine Division was under the command of Major General Harry Schmidt.
The Regiment
The 24th Marines, as a typical Marine Infantry regiment, was composed of three separate Battalions and Headquarters staff. Their commanding officer was Colonel Franklin A. "Rusty" Hart, until his promotion to Brigadier General (thus becoming the Assistant Division Commander).
Colonel Hart was succeeded by Colonel Walter Jordan, who commanded the regiment at Iwo Jima.
The Battalion
A Marine Corps Battalion was composed of three rifle companies, one Weapons company, and a Headquarters/Staff section. It fell under the command of Lieutenant Colonel. First Battalion, 24th Marines went through several commanders during the War.
- Lt. Colonel Aquilla "Red" Dyess, the Medal of Honor recipient noted below, was killed February 2, 1944.
- Lt. Colonel Maynard "Heinie" Schultz died of wounds received on June 15, 1944 as the Battalion landed on Saipan. Captain Schechter of A Company recalled:
Sometime that first afternoon I received word that we had once again lost a battalion commander. His name was Lieutenant Colonel Nayard Schultz [sic], but we called him Heinie. He was a big guy, from Detroit, I believe. He took a piece of shrapnel in his head. It was a small sliver so it had to hit him in just the right spot to kill him.- Major Robert Fricke, the Battalion Executive Officer, served as Battalion Commander for a brief two days (June 16-18).
Captain Irving Schechter, 1982, quoted in Henry Berry's "Semper Fi, Mac."
- Lt. Colonel Austin Brunelli, the Regimental Executive Officer, replaced Fricke (reason unknown) and served until July 4, 1944, when he ceded command and returned to his position as XO.
- Lt. Colonel Otto Lessing, previously commanding 3rd Battalion, moved to 1st Battalion on July 4. Lessing was a Marine's officer, and had the safety and best interests of his men at heart, as he demonstrated at his own expense on Tinian. Again, Captain Schechter's account:
- Major Paul Treitel succeeded Lessing. He was a career Marine and had held a commission before the War. Irving Schechter, by now a Major and the battalion's Operations Officer, remembered Treitel as well:
Lessing was not only a top officer but he also had an interesting background.
His parents had separated when he was a kid. His mother was an American and his father was a German and an ardent Nazi. As a matter of fact, the senior Lessing was one of Hitler's top censors in Berlin. Maybe this was why Otto tried to be such an outstanding Marine.
At any rate, we had been on the go for seven days, always facing some resistance. We hadn't had any food other than our regular combat rations. I should also point out that we had run into some heavy rain. In short, things were pretty miserable.
Then I received a call from headquarters. I don't want to mention any names, but it was from a pretty high source who claimed he was interested in finding out how my men were.
"Just about done," I told him. "Perhaps it's time to pull them out."
"Oh, we're all shot," he answered. "Why, I have a slight touch of dysentery myself."
Oh, my God, I thought, he's back there on the beach with hot rations, coffee, the whole works and he has a slight case of the runs. Tough.
"Schechter," the ranking officer continued, "I have a bet with someone over in the 2nd Division that we will take Tinian before they do."
Now I was thunderstruck. How the hell could anyone make a bet like that, playing with other people's lives? But our orders were to keep going and we did.
I won't go into details, but a little later I received orders to go into an area that meant certain disaster. I complained to Colonel Lessing, who sympathized with me, and even tried to get a hold put on the orders but was unsuccessful.
I started to execute these orders, but the first three Marines in line were immediately killed. That was enough for me. I had the three bodies put in ponchos and sent word back that I just didn't have the clout to go any further.
Shortly after this Colonel Lessing showed up. He spotted the ponchos.
"Buck," he said, "what's this?"
"Colonel," I answered, "that's the bodies of the first three men who tried to move into the area I told you about. We just don't have to end up putting what's left of my company into ponchos because someone back on the beach is a nut."
So Colonel Lessing picked up the phone and called back to the beach. He was obviously asked how things were going where we were.
"Not so good," he said. "I'm staring at three Marines who are covered with ponchos because of that stupid order I tried to get changed. I hate waste."
That was it. In the movies Colonel Lessing would be a big hero, as he was to me, but in the real world he was relieved of his command. I don't know if he's still alive, but if he is, I'd like him to know I salute him.
Anyway, things like that happened.
Captain Irving Schechter, 1982, quoted in Henry Berry's "Semper Fi, Mac."
The battalion's commander was an Annapolis graduate named Major Paul Treitel. He was a career man and naturally resented the fact that he hadn't been made lieutenant colonel, the rank his job called for. Regular officers were always more concerned about their rank than reserve officers. After all, they meant to wear the green uniforms when the rest of us became civilians.
As the horrific casualties on Iwo Jima chewed the regiment to pieces, Major Schechter went back to combat command (of his old Company A, though losses reduced the battalion to two ragged companies instead of the usual four). That was not the only change in command structure on March 8, 1945:
It was then that Lieutenant Colonel Brunelli took over command of our battalion; he had been the regiment's executive officer. I can't remember if Paul Treitel was wounded or just used up. Treitel had been in command for sixteen days and very few battalion commanders lasted through the whole campaign.- Lt. Colonel Austin Brunelli would win the Navy Cross for his actions as Battalion C/O. He had been recently wounded, and just returned to active duty when he assumed command of the battalion. Brunelli saw out the war with 1st Battalion, and went on to become a Brigadier General.
Captain Irving Schechter, 1982, quoted in Henry Berry's "Semper Fi, Mac."
The Company
Company A was one of twelve in the Regiment, and one of four in 1st Battalion. Companies were named Able, Baker, Charlie, Dog, Fox, Easy, Golf, How, Item, King, Love, and Mike. (I've never seen reference to "Jig" company, and believe this to be a carryover from the days when orders were handwritten - American Civil War regiments, for example, never had a "Company J" due to possible confusion with "Company I"). Each Company was commanded by a Captain.
Company A was commanded by Captain Irving Schechter until his promotion to Major and his reassignment to battalion staff. His successor, "a graduate of the Citadel" lasted only a few days on Iwo Jima. Major Schechter resumed command of his mauled Company on March 8, and remained with them for the remainder of the battle.
Rifle companies were composed of three Rifle Platoons and one Weapons Platoon; the Weapons Company would feature detachments of heavy weapons (the 81mm mortar, 37mm anti-tank gun, .50 cal M2 machine gun, etc).
The Platoon
Each Platoon was commanded by a Lieutenant; each contained a series of Squads. At the Platoon level, the reorganization of the E-series (remember that?) was most noticeable.
We have a new organization – I have six squads now instead of four, and three mortars and three machine guns, and forty men instead of 28.
Phil Wood letter, February 1943 (New River, NC)
In company formation we were the fourth platoon, the other three being rifle platoons, all with a Lieutenant as a Platoon Leader. Phil was our Platoon Leader, in fact he was the only one we ever had until he was killed. Prior to coming west we had four squads, three with two machines guns each and a mortar squad of two tubes. While at Pendleton they change [sic] the organization and gave us six squads, we added a gun squad with two more guns and a mortar squad with two additional tubes. Unlike the rifle platoons who worked as a unit, weapons were broken down with a gun squad assigned to each rifle platoon, this was each rifle platoon had it's own automatic weapons in a firefight right there rather than having to call them up. The extra two guns stayed with the Lt. and the tubes at the command center. No matter how we were deployed, Phil was our Lieutenant.
George Smith, personal recollection.
Apparently, the notion of a dedicated Weapons Platoon was abandoned after the F-1 reorganization; machine gun and mortar crews were split and became separate entities. Machine guns would be under the command of another Lieutenant, while mortars joined Company HQ.
There have been many changes made in our outfit – most of them caused, not by casualties, but by Col. Hart’s belief that we have been too long in our present jobs, and need a change – new faces. Also the fact that Headquarters Washington has changed the organizational setup of a company. What used to be a separate heavy weapons company – heavy machine guns – is now a part of our rifle company – to that new platoon is added my section (3 squads) of light machine guns. And my mortar section has been slightly increased – my command now consists of the mortars, and Company Headquarters personnel. Which suits me fine.
Phil Wood letter, March 3, 1944 (Maui)
The Squad
The basic tactical unit of the Marine Corps, the squad consisted of a tightly knit group of warriors. The riflemen of A Company would have trained with the D-1 structure, which called for a 13 man unit, commanded by a Sergeant and assisted by a Corporal. The unrated Marines consisted of two scouts, one rifle grenadier, six riflemen, and one automatic rifleman. However, as combat experience made the need for more firepower all the more evident, the squad was restructured. The E-1 squad consisted of 12 Marines; while they lost a man they gained a second automatic rifle. Riflemen in A Company would have followed this configuration while in combat in the Marshall Islands.
Additional command problems led to the F-1 squad, which proved so effective that it is still in use today.
Official USMC Photo, linked from WW2 Gyrene.
A sergeant leads the squad, equipped with the M1 Rifle. Below him are three corporals, each commanding a fire team of three non-rated Marines. The corporals and two of the three Marines would be armed with the M1; one man per fire team would be allocated a BAR.
Squads could also be augmented at the decision of the company commander to include bazookas, flamethrowers, or demolition teams; often the Marines selected to carry the specialized equipment toted it in addition to their own.
Weapon squads differed as their particular armament required specific crews. For machine guns, A Company would have gone into the Marshalls with three light machine guns (the Browning M1919A4); each was led by a corporal and consisted of a gunner, assistant gunner, and three ammunition carriers. As in the rifle squads, the overall command of the section is the responsibility of a sergeant.
Official USMC Photo, linked from WW2 Gyrene.
When the F-1 modifications rolled around, the number of machine gun squads was doubled, an additional two ammo carriers were added per squad, and the machine guns themselves were split off into a separate platoon, commanded by a Lieutenant.
The 60mm M2 mortar, the other main component of the Marine light weapons platoon, underwent a similar change. The E-1 variant of the squad called for three squads, each led by a corporal, and consisting of two gunners and two ammunition bearers. As with the MGs, a sergeant lead the mortar section.
Official USMC Photo, linked from WW2 Gyrene.
With F-1 changes in effect, the mortar section fell under direct command of a Lieutenant (in A Company's case, this was Phil Wood). Each squad received an additional Marine, bringing the section total to 20 Marines.
Squads were often designated as "First, Second, Third" but were colloquially known by the squad leader's name (IE: one would be in "Quinn's Squad" of X Platoon, Company A, 1st Battalion, 24th Marines, 4th Marine Division).
Below the squad level, individual fire teams and gun crews composed the smallest effective fighting units.
Coming soon: weapons.
The basic tactical unit of the Marine Corps, the squad consisted of a tightly knit group of warriors. The riflemen of A Company would have trained with the D-1 structure, which called for a 13 man unit, commanded by a Sergeant and assisted by a Corporal. The unrated Marines consisted of two scouts, one rifle grenadier, six riflemen, and one automatic rifleman. However, as combat experience made the need for more firepower all the more evident, the squad was restructured. The E-1 squad consisted of 12 Marines; while they lost a man they gained a second automatic rifle. Riflemen in A Company would have followed this configuration while in combat in the Marshall Islands.
Additional command problems led to the F-1 squad, which proved so effective that it is still in use today.
Official USMC Photo, linked from WW2 Gyrene.
A sergeant leads the squad, equipped with the M1 Rifle. Below him are three corporals, each commanding a fire team of three non-rated Marines. The corporals and two of the three Marines would be armed with the M1; one man per fire team would be allocated a BAR.
Squads could also be augmented at the decision of the company commander to include bazookas, flamethrowers, or demolition teams; often the Marines selected to carry the specialized equipment toted it in addition to their own.
Weapon squads differed as their particular armament required specific crews. For machine guns, A Company would have gone into the Marshalls with three light machine guns (the Browning M1919A4); each was led by a corporal and consisted of a gunner, assistant gunner, and three ammunition carriers. As in the rifle squads, the overall command of the section is the responsibility of a sergeant.
Official USMC Photo, linked from WW2 Gyrene.
When the F-1 modifications rolled around, the number of machine gun squads was doubled, an additional two ammo carriers were added per squad, and the machine guns themselves were split off into a separate platoon, commanded by a Lieutenant.
The 60mm M2 mortar, the other main component of the Marine light weapons platoon, underwent a similar change. The E-1 variant of the squad called for three squads, each led by a corporal, and consisting of two gunners and two ammunition bearers. As with the MGs, a sergeant lead the mortar section.
Official USMC Photo, linked from WW2 Gyrene.
With F-1 changes in effect, the mortar section fell under direct command of a Lieutenant (in A Company's case, this was Phil Wood). Each squad received an additional Marine, bringing the section total to 20 Marines.
Squads were often designated as "First, Second, Third" but were colloquially known by the squad leader's name (IE: one would be in "Quinn's Squad" of X Platoon, Company A, 1st Battalion, 24th Marines, 4th Marine Division).
Below the squad level, individual fire teams and gun crews composed the smallest effective fighting units.
Coming soon: weapons.
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