I'm aware of Wikipedia but I want something more in depth. Is there anything that has what clothing items, kits, weapons, rations, the amount of spare ammunition they carried, the difference in equipment issued between a ranker and a NCO, unit composition from bottom to top, the kind of can opener they had....etc.
In short what is the definitive guide?
Before trying to provide anything, I've got to ask:
Which army?
Which theatre?
Which years?
Answer those - and myself and others may be able to respond better!
Right - the majority of my sourcing comes from books owned by my great-grandfather, who had fought in the first world war as a member of the South Wales Borderers and later went on to be a military historian. I have a few pieces of his equipment lying around, though most of it is from the first world war period rather than the 2nd.
The British army of WW2 was made up of the British Expeditionary Force (the standing army) and the conscripted army (built up following 1939). During the war, the British were helped by the armies which BWFF refer to as "the armies of the Dominions" - Australia, South Africa, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa. As well as this, the Colonial forces were involved in the war effort and sustained massive losses fighting alongside them - those from India, Gibraltar and Singapore are also mentioned here, though not in much detail. Each army administered it's own equipment and acted like the army of a sovereign nation.
I will focus on the equipment given to British troops during the 1940s Mediterranean and North African campaigns.
To start with, it's important to understand how a Battalion/Platoon system is set out:
The structure of a typical infantry group is based on the platoon system. A platoon is part of a company, a company part of battalion and a battalion part of a regiment.
A battalion HQ commanded the operation, with 5 officers and around 50 men.
This command structure controlled the rest of the Battalion:
Company HQ (1 officer 7 men)
Signals (1 officer ~30-40 men)
Anti-Aircraft (~20 men)
Mortar (1 officer ~45 men)
Carrier (2 officers ~60-70 men) - 3 sections w/bren gun cars
Pioneer (1 officer ~20-25 men)
Administrative (2 Officers ~50-60 men)
As well as this, there were then the 4 rifle companies:
Company HQ (2 officers ~10-12 men)
3 Rifle platoons, which were made up of:
Platoon HQ (1 officer 6 men~)
3 Rifle sections (10 men):
1 Corporal, 6 Privates, 1 Lance-corporal, 1 gunner, 1 loader.
In action, every infantry platoon was self-sufficient, with it's own truck for transport purposes.
The development of the truck was key in terms of changing the way that British Battalions operated, to quote BWFF "The infantry battalion has now become, in effect, a light machine gun battalion". During WW2, soldiers became increasingly reliant on machinery rather than on horse or man-power. Trucks would usually carry weapons, whilst troops marched on foot, with trucks usually carrying armament supplies, ammunition, hand grenades, flares and personal equipment.
Each platoon also has access to one Anti-tank weapon- originally being a QF 2-pounder and moving to a QF 6-pounder, as well as the possibility of a Boys anti-tank rifle (with these being widely used in north Africa) or a No. 68 AT rifle grenade - with these being replaced in 1943 by the PIAT weapon (which was first used during Operation Husky - The Sicilian Campaign) . Each platoon also had access to 3 Bren guns - so that each section would have 1 Bren gunner. It is stated in BWFF that "each battalion carries some 50 automatic weapons"
Each soldier would be expected to carry their own standard issue rifle - being the Pattern 1914 Lee Enfield rifle during WW1 and WW2 - though other rifles became available towards the later years of the war. In terms of carrying ammunition, troops would be expected to carry roughly 10lbs of Bren Gun or rifle ammunition in their front pack, as well as the possibility of extra grenades or explosives being carried - these ranged from Phosphorus grenades (No.76 Special Incendiary grenades) to so called sticky-bombs (Anti-Tank No.74 grenades - used 1940-43).
In each section, a gunner and a loader were also present, these men were expected to carry extra barrels for their weapon and at times, the weapon itself, which could be packed into a sack.
More domestic equipment would be carried by soldiers (You are going to wish you didn't mention can openers manufacturing)... They would also be equipped with a water canteen (the only one of these I have seen was one for the cavalry made from cotton supposedly because this wore better), a set of binoculars ^(I'm ^unsure ^of ^the ^manufacturer ^for ^these) and case produced by Zephyr Loom and Textile Ltd., a standard issue military compass ^(I've ^got ^one ^to ^these ^in ^my ^house ^somewhere!) and a map (not explicitly related to the infantry, but an interesting fact was that, these were often made of silk so that they could be easily concealed). As well as this, considering cleanliness was considered key, troops were provided with Bristle Brushes, produced by H.B & Co., soap holders manufactured by in canada as well as soap itself, which was manufactured by WvW & Co.
Troops were supposedly also given folding canvas chairs and basins if they were moving quickly, although this is anecdotal evidence, so I wouldn't take be so sure about it!
Each section was also provided with a field medical kit, with doctors being provided with cutting edge medical equipment to treat the wounded. (See image archive for more detail: http://www.spanglefish.com/16parachutefieldambulance/index.asp?pageid=105902 - I'm not well enough read up to talk about doctors during the war!)
Troops were equipped with Pattern 37 Gaiters made from leather and produced by the Tennant Bond Company. Thier belts were made from leather with Brass hooks and also designed with small pockets to allow for the attachment of straps or holsters, being manufactured by the company M. Wright and Sons. As well as this, a soldier would wear a steel helmet- with many of these being adapted from the MK I-III helmets also used in France throughout the conflict (though there are reports of these being subbed out for turbans and used as frying pans by British troops fighting in north Africa!) as well as carrying a gas cape and gas mask.
I'd love to try and find information about Officer's equipment- however I have no sources to base of with enough information, I may get back to you on that! -- I can also go into more depth about the mechanization of warfare if requested?
In terms of supplies, the Royal Army Service Corps were key in terms of moving ammunition, rations and other equipment to troops. I've got more relating to this, but I feel as if I'm drifting away!
Sources:
Tim Moreman (10 Mar 2006), Battle Orders, British Commandos 1940-46
Macrae, Stuart (1971), Winston Churchill's Toyshop. Roundwood Press
Mollo, Andrew (1981), The Armed forces of World War II. Crown Publishers Inc.
Brayley, Martin & Ingram, Richard (1998), The World War II Tommy: British Army Uniforms European Theatre 1939-45 in colour photograhps. The Crowood Press Ltd.
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/
http://www.museumoftechnology.org.uk/militaria.php?cab=soldiers_equip
http://www.epicmilitaria.com/british-ww2/british-equipment.html
Captain Ellison Hawks (1940), Britain's wonderful fighting forces
c1945, The Victory Book