Regimental reconnaissance company

Ian and Victor, thank you very much.
Yes, I have seen the website page with the 1941 Infantry Company organization, and the organization of the other units too, they are indeed very informative. Probably I should say the most informative on the Internet concerning the Romanian Army in WWII.
The website's 1941 Infantry Company organization is the one with the larger Infantry Sections (17 people, 1 LMG), 3 Sections in a Platoon, 3 Platoons in a Company. That makes 9 LMG in a company, which is different from the book "Third Axis, Fourth Ally" and Dr. Leo Niehorster's web site. Both of them say 12 LMG in a Company. Also, in adition to the 12 LMG, "Third Axis, Fourth Ally" has 2 60 mm mortars in the 1941 Infantry Company, and Dr. Leo Niehorster has 1 Antitank Rifle in the Company HQ (but no mortars, they are in the Heavy Weapons Company) in addition to the 12 LMG. All that is very confusing...
Also, Ian, nice work again. In your TO&E of the 1941 Infantry Company there are 4 Sections (1 LMG) in a Platoon, 3 Platoons in a Company, which makes 12 LMG in a Company. Have you got the source of this TO&E?
And I think I know where you got the other information from. Try this link. That website is actually referring to www.worldwar2.ro, so the Infantry Platoon organization you see there is the same as the one in Victor's link.

This post has been edited by Frozenlake on October 22, 2012 03:24 pm

Hi Frozenlake, you are spot on with your link, I now know where I got my data from, I think Victors site is where I got my other info from (thanks Victor, I noticed in your profile you enjoy Rugby, I suppose you mean Rugby Union, well I enjoy Rugby League, my home town is famous for its League team).

Good luck.

Ian.

The sources for 1941 and 1942 infantry company from the website are:

Regulament provizoriu aupra instructiei tehnice a infanteriei, Vol. I-II, Inspectoratul General al Infanteriei, 1940.

Regulament provizor al infanteriei. Partea I. Volumul II. Compania, Marele Stat Major al Armatei, 1942.

which were the official regulations in effect.

Infantry was reorganized after the 1941 campaign, so that in 1942 the company had higher firepower, with 12 LMGs compared to 9, and with the addition of 3 60mm mortars (one per platoon)

Dragos, thank you very much. Obviously, the regulations of the Inspectorate and the General Staff of the Army are probably the best source for unit organization.
I might be drifting away from the topic but there is another thing that attracted my attention. It is the webpage here that I have been quoting in this thread, about a report on the Battle of Odessa. It is a sort of resume of the report which allegedly can be found in the Romanian Archives:

Resultatul anchetei referitor la cauzele pentru care Armata Romana n-a putut sa aiba o victorie rapida si stralucita la Odessa (rezumat).
Arh. M.Ap.N., fond Microfilme, rola P II !.1104, c 332-348.

I am not sure whether the exclamation mark after "P II" is part of the source or a mistake. Anyway, here is a quote from that report (in Romanian):

"II. Organizare – Dotare

1. Influenta schimbarilor prea dese in constituirea unitatilor, asupra valorii organice.

Imposibilitatea de a dota de la inceput unitatile cu armamentul, oamenii (mai ales specialistii), caii si vehiculele prevazute in tabelele de dotare, a dat nastere la dificultati, care s-au agravat pe masura ce razboiul s-a prelungit si s-au produs pierderi.

De asemenea, diferitele modificari facute in organizarea unitatilor, in preajma razboiului, au avut consecinte daunatoare atat asupra instructiei, cat si asupra coeziunii unitatilor.

Astfel:

In iarna 1939 – 1940:

• grupa de lupta trece de la 13 oameni, la 17 oameni;

• compania de la 4 plutoane a 3 grupe, la 3 plutoane a 3 grupe;

• batalionul isi modifica organica companiei de mitraliere, trasformand-o in companie de armament greu batalionar, prin reducerea unui pluton de infanterie si primirea in schimb a unui pluton brandt 60mm, a 3 grupe a 2 piese;

• regimentul trece de la organizarea pe 3 batalioane, la 4 batalioane, iar compania armament de insotire se trasforma in companie armament greu regimentar, cu un pluton anticar, un pluton brandt 81 mm si un pluton tunuri insotitoare. Regimentului i se adauga compania de comanda.

Acesta organizare s-a realizat in februarie 1940, pentru ca in toamna aceluiasi an sa se revina la organizarea regimentului pe 3 batalioane.

In iarna 1940/1941:

• grupa de lupta se reorganizeaza pe 10 oameni;

• plutonul de puscasi pe 4 grupe;

• compania ramane pe 3 plutoane, insa primeste o grupa brandt 60 mm;

• compania armament greu batalionar devine companie de mitraliere a 4 plutoane si nu mai poseda brandt-uri;

• la regiment apare in plus compania de pionieri.

Concomitent cu aceste schimbari, a aparut si modificarea cu care s-a intrat in campanie.

La marile unitati:

S-a resimtit foarte mult lipsa comandantului brigazii de artilerie, care sa coordoneze si sa conduca focul artileriei divizionare. Substituirea unui comandant de regiment de artilerie in acesta functie nu a dat rezultate fericite din cauza lipsei grupului de comanda corespunzator. In acelasi timp, unul din regimente ramanea fara commandant titular.

Deplasarea comandamentelor, impusa de ritmul accelerat al operatiunilor, a intampinat dificultati din lipsa de mijloace de transport auto proprii. S-a recurs la utilizarea masinilor de la compania auto; din acesta cauza a influentat mult bunul mers al aprovizionarilor.

La trupe:

Grupurile de comanda au fost insuficient dotate cu personal specializat si mijloace de transmisiuni, mai ales la artilerie. In special s-a resimtit continuu lipsa motociclistilor.

Unitatile de infanterie

Compania de cercetare s-a dovedit a fi prea slab dotata cu armament automat. Nevoile operative au dus la intarirea ei cu un pluton de cercetasi calari si s-au dat pusti mitraliere.

Compania de puscasi a fost prea slab dotata cu armament brandt, atat ca numar cat si ca putere. In toate situatiile a avut nevoie de o masa de foc, pe care n-a putut sa o realizeze.

Plutonul de puscasi, organizat pe 4 grupe s-a dovedit greoi, din moment ce la comanda acestor grupe nu erau subofiteri.

Acest inconvenient s-a accentuat si mai mult in urma pierderilor mari in ofiteri, cand la comanda plutonului au intrat subofiterii. De asemenea, plutonul are nevoie de material curb (brandt 60 mm), de pusti semiautomate individuale si de material exploziv pentru distrugerea retelelor de sarma etc.

Compania de mitraliere nu dispunea de material antiaerian special pentru actiuni contra avioanelor zburand la mica inaltime.

Batalionul are nevoie de o companie de armament, a carei intrebuintare sa se faca in masa, realizand un foc puternic pe obiectivul interesat. De asemenea are nevoie in organica sa de material anticar.

Regimentul nu a avut la dispozitie un material curb de mare putere (aruncatoare superioare calibrului 100 mm)."

Now, there appears to be a change in the units organization in the winter of 1940/1941, and the gist of it is as follows (note that my translation may not be correct):

• The Infantry Section (referred to as a Combat Group) was reorganized into 10 people.

• The Infantry Platoon was reorganized into 4 Sections.

• The Infantry Company remained with 3 Platoons but received a section of 60 mm Brandt mortars.

• The Infantry Battalion's Heavy Weapons Company was reorganized into a MG Company with 4 Platoons and had no Brandt mortars.

• The Infantry Regiment received an Engineer Company.

Along (Simultaneously?, Concurrently?) with these changes, [the units] started the campaign.

The two Regulament... we know are from 1940 and 1942. Is it possible that such a reorganization happened in the winter of 1940/1941? Can there be a Regulament... from 1941 that reflects these alleged changes?

This post has been edited by Frozenlake on October 25, 2012 06:46 pm

I helped Dr. Niehorster with the Romanian unit organizations seen on his site. The references used were as follows:

SOURCES:
1) Arhivele Militare Romane, Fondul Divizia 1.Blindata, Dosar Nos. 7, 32, 95, 134, 176, 755.
2) Axworthy, Mark, “Third Axis Fourth Ally,” Arms and Armour Press, London, UK, 1995.
3) Dutu, Alesandru, et al, “Armata Romana in al Doilea Razboi Mondial (1941-1945) – Dictionar Enciclopedic,” Editura Enciclopedica, Bucharest, Rumania, 1999.
4) Dutu, Alesandru, et al, “Eliberarea Basarabiei si a Nordului Bucovinei 22 iunie – 26 iulie 1941,” Editura Fundatiei Culturale Romane, Bucharest, Rumania, 1999.
5) Dutu, Alesandru, et al, “Pe Tarmul Nord-Pontic 17 iulie – 4 iulie 1942,” Editura Fundatiei Culturale Romane, Bucharest, Rumania, 1999.
6) Emilian, Ion V., “Rumanische Kavallerieverbande und Aufklarungsabteilungen im II. Weltkrieg,” “Feldgrau, 1968/5,” Omnium-Druck und Verlag, Berlin, West Germany, 1968.
7) Emilian, Ion V., “Rumanische Kavallerieverbande und Aufklarungsabteilungen im II. Weltkrieg,” “Feldgrau, 1968/6,” Omnium-Druck und Verlag, Berlin, West Germany, 1968.
8) Nitu, Victor, “Divizia 1 Blindata in Lupta, Trecerea Prutului si Pimele Lupta,” MODELIST Magazine, Volume 3, Brasov, Rumania, 2009.
9) Nitu, Victor, “Batalia Pentru Chisinau,” MODELIST Magazine, Volume 4, Brasov, Rumania, 2010.
10) Pascu, Stefan, et al, “Romania in anii celui de-al doilea Razboi Mondial,” 3 Volumes, Editura Militara, Bucharest, Rumania, 1989.
11) Romanescu, Gheorghe, et al, “Istoria Infanteriei Romane,” 2 Volumes, Editura Stiintifica si Enciclopedica, Bucharest, 1985.
12) Scafes, Cornel, et al, “Armata Romana 1941-1945,” Editura RAI, Bucharest, Rumania, 1996.