I've recently got the WW2 bug and find the North African Campaign quite interesting. I love the look of the 8th Army and since I play a few wargames I decided that I want to attempt to make and paint a model company using miniatures from the wargame Bolt Action and other sources
I want to know the structure and organisation of a British/Commonwealth army Infantry Rifle Company fighting in the North African Campaign around the time of the 2nd Battle of El Alamein (late 1942). Any books that can tell me about the British Army's organisation during WW2 (specifically the 8th Army in North Africa) that goes into detail about the larger units, such as army units or corps, or smaller units, such as companies or platoons, would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance!
So this is the standard but there was always a lot of variation in this kind of thing on the ground with things like juggling ant-tank weapons.
Company HQ
1xMajor 1xCaptain as 2IC
1xCompany Serjeant Major
1xCompany Quartermaster Serjeant
1xStoremaster
3xOrderlies
1xBatman
2xDriver driving 15-CWT trucks
3x Rifle platoons
Platoon HQ
1xPlatoon commander (2nd or full Lieutenant)
1xPlatoon Serjeant
1x Radioman
1xRunner
Driver (15 CWT truck generally)
3xRifle sections
Rifle section is 1xCorporal with Thompson or sten (42 onwards) SMG
1x Lancer Coporal, 2IC and gungroup commander with SMLE MKIII* or No. 4 Lee-Enfield (more commonly the former)
6xRiflemen with SMLE MKIII* or No. 4 Lee-Enfield
1x Bren gunner, no prizes for guessing his weapon
1xassistant bren gunner with SMLE MKIII* or No. 4 Lee-Enfield
plus spare barrel(s? not sure how many spare barrels were generally carried at a section level) and ammo
Catching the tail end of the North Africa campign PAIT launchers were added at the company level but as far as i can tell generally Majors just handed one out to each platoon. Before that anti-tank duty was done at a battalion level with a platoon of 2 pounders and before that at the regimental although i think it was common for AT platoons to get attached to smaller units or even split into 3 gun half platoons. Simlarly mortars are organised at the battalion level for most of the north african campagin, the morter per platoon thing you see as standard in a lot of bolt action set ups is a more of a later war development although again detching morter sections to smaller units wasn't uncommon.