Break down large units?

[wardog]

Playing a river crossing scenario. Can large infantry units be rbroken down into smaller units, so I can use the transport provided?

[K K Rossokolski]

Playing a river crossing scenario. Can large infantry units be rbroken down into smaller units, so I can use the transport provided?

Units are battalions and regiments
Formations are larger..brigades, divisions, corps, armies
Sub-units or elements are smaller-companies,platoons,squads/sections.

You should be able to break anything down to its smallest element. CS OOBs are based on the platoon, built up from there.

[Troll]

As far as I know you can only break down the units prior to playing the scenario by opening the the scenario editor and reducing them there on the scenario map but this will permanently change the scenario until you undo the changes. As an example, if you have a 6 strength inf unit and have a 2 strength raft you will have to reduce the inf unit until it fits in the raft, but the down side is you LOSE the strength points that you reduced to make the unit fit in the raft.

You could use the OB but you would have to locate the exact unit in the OB and delete it from the OB and remove it from the scenario and then replace that unit with the reduced unit(s) that you want. The problem is and depending on the size of the scenario, locating the exact unit may be like looking for a needle in a stack of hay stacks and if you do it wrong the scenario may not work at all and the game could freeze up on you.


Cheers

Joe

[K K Rossokolski]

A six strength platoon is not a unit, it is an element.

[Troll]

"A six strength platoon is not a unit, it is an element."

When I was in the Army, my platoon was a unit

Dictionary definition of the word "UNIT"
1. An individual, group, structure, or other entity regarded as an elementary structural or functional constituent of a whole.
2. A group regarded as a distinct entity within a larger group.

Dictionary definition of the word "Element"
10. A part of a military force, especially:
a. A ground unit in an air force comparable to a platoon.
b. A unit of an air force equal to two or three aircraft.

[K K Rossokolski]

"It is common, at least in the European and North American militaries, to refer to the building blocks of a military as commands, formations and units.

In a military context, a command is a collection of units and formations under the control of a single officer. Although during the Second World War a Command was also a name given to a battle group in the US Army, in general it is an administrative and executive strategic headquarters which is responsible to the national government or the national military headquarters. It is not uncommon for a nation's services to each consist of their own command (such as Land Force Command, Air Command, and Maritime Command in the Canadian Forces), but this does not preclude the existence of commands which are not service-based.

A formation is a composite military organization that includes a mixture of integrated and operationally attached sub-units, and is usually combat-capable. A formation is defined by the US Department of Defense as 'two or more aircraft, ships, or units proceeding together under a commander.'[1] The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary describes a formation as an 'arrangement or disposition of troops.' Formations include brigades, divisions, wings, etc.

A typical unit is a homogeneous military organization, either combat, combat support or non-combat in capability, that includes service personnel predominantly from a single Arm of Service, or a Branch of Service, and its administrative and command functions are integrated (self-contained). Anything smaller than a unit is considered a "sub-unit" or "minor unit".

Different armed forces, and even different branches of service of the armed forces may use the same name to denote different types of organizations. An example is the "squadron". In most navies a squadron is a formation of several ships; in most air forces it is a unit; in the U.S. Army it is a battalion-sized cavalry unit; and in Commonwealth armies a squadron is a company-sized sub-unit."

[Jason Petho]

According to the Department of Defence

unit
(DOD) 1. Any military element whose structure is prescribed by competent authority, such as a table of organization and equipment; specifically, part of an organization.

[K K Rossokolski]

Whose Department of Defence? That is a "definition" so loose as to be meaningless.

[Jason Petho]

Whose Department of Defence? That is a "definition" so loose as to be meaningless.

USA

Regardless, it does suggest that a platoon may be refered to as a unit.

Different meanings in different countries... and that's ok.

[K K Rossokolski]

I accept that "unit" became a colloquialism a long time ago for the company in particular...who would refer to one's CSM or Top in terms of "element" or "sub-unit". Just my anal retentiveness surfacing again.........
I dislike terminological inexactitude. Very few people here call a tank a "truck" or a "howitzer".