"M5 Stuarts at company level?" Topic

My guess is that Stuarts in Normandy did not deploy as entire companies, but were instead broken up by platoons and spread around.

Am I right?

Even in the US employment, Stuarts could be found on various organisations.

For the regular hedgerow slugfests, there are the independent tank battalions found supporting infantry divisions, and by my understanding these could end up being split into quite small units – there typically being a single battalion to support a whole division.

Then for the outbreaks there are the armoured divisions, with multiple tank battalions. There is somewhere a decent armoured battalion field manual from circa 1942 showing how the light tanks were supposed to screen the battalion while on the move.

Then there are the cavalry squadrons, which also had their own light tank company to provide some more armoured firepower.

In the British armoured organisations, a troop of Stuarts (around 11 tanks strong) was typically found as a recce asset at the regimental HQ.

Then there are the Canadian and Polish organisations, which are primarily based on the British model, and the French organisation based on the US model…

My recall is that the Light Tank Co. was often kept in reserve with the Tank Bn HQ while the more useful Sherman tanks were portioned out by company or platoon.

I thought the M5s were in D.Co, the Light Tank Co. of a US Armored Bn. With M4s being in A, B & C Cos., at least in 1944.

Yes and no. The so called "Light" armored divisions were organized in three tank battalions each of which were made up as you indicate. However the 2nd and 3rd Armored Divisions (along with the 1st in Italy), maintained the old "heavy" tank division organization. The 2nd and 3rd had 2 armored regiments. Each regiment was made up of 2 medium and 1 light tank battalion.

The separate tank battalions were organized as you indicate however there were also separate light tank battalions with the battalion organized with 3 light tank companies.

And each Cavalry Group (Mechanized) had two Cavalry Recce Squadrons (Mechanized) with each having a troop (company) of light tanks.

One of the "General Board" studies, compiled by ETO commands after experience in Europe, shows typical allocations of units and subunits to Combat Commands in Armd Divs (ETO Study No.48).

An example for 5th Armd Div shows two of the three Lt Tk Coys in the Div in reserve with CCA and CCB respectively, and one remaining with its parent Bn. 10th Armd Div does seem to favour a Lt Tk Pl attached to each Med Tk Coy.

There's a brief note in Study No.50 on Separate Tk Bns, which mentions the Lt Tk Coy of a Tk Bn attached to an Inf Div could be used to reinforce the Div's Cav Recn Tp (effectively a Coy sized unit), or parcelled out to the Med Coys, which themselves were split out to Inf Regts/Bns. The 37-mm armed light tank would appear to have been relegated due to its firepower capability when supporting infantry (possibly as much about HE as AT effectiveness).

Gary

Maybe worth noting that while the heavies retained the paper structure, after North Africa it seems to have been common practice to swap out companies to avoid pure light tank battalions.

As a general rule, I would not expect in 1944 to see US light tanks above company strength. But I've never seen anything which says that as a regular thing the light tank company commander had no tanks and no job.

My general impression, though it is by no mean definitive, merely anecdotal, is that they were generally kept together as a company, and used to provide screening for the flanks, or support for recon units.

I've been reading up about the Battle of the Bulge, and have run across a number of reports there where companies, including those of light tanks, were broken up, and individual platoons parceled out on an ad hoc basis to fill holes in the line, or to block roads.

The light tank company of the 14th Tank Battalion did fight mostly as a company ("D" Co.), during that battle, but there is at least one point where a platoon was assigned a separate mission. The company seems to have been used like the other tank companies, but obviously would be less successful going toe-to-toe with German tanks. Seems it did quite well against German infantry though.

Like is mentioned above, I have the impression when not doing screening or recon work, generally the light tank company would be kept in reserve, with the battalion HQ.

I imagine Patton's units in 1944 in France, and at the very end of the war in 1945, these light units might be cut loose to do a lot of free-wheeling, deep penetrations and raids, since they were faster, and were up against less opposition, deep in enemy territory. They'd be paired up with the M-8 armored cars, jeeps, and M-8 Scott SPGs on these missions.

I have read (can't remember source) that in the bocage M-5's were the first to go through a gap in the hedgerow. Stopping immediately with the turret rotated 90º. The 37mm gun had a beehive round. It would clear the hedgerow.

I have heard the US 37mm did have a useful APERs round, too.

yes, it was a canister round, that turned the gun into a rather large shotgun.

I have heard/read it was effective in the PTO too. Breaking up massed IJF Infantry attacks. This was the towed version as well.