Apr 3

Post-WWII U.S. Army Division Graphics

Updated: Apr 8

Graphics > American Orders of Battle > Post-WWII U.S. Army (1948-1959)

This is a gallery of organizational graphics for Post-WWII U.S. Army Divisions of the late 1940s and most of the 1950s, ending with the introduction of the Pentomic concept (delayed until 1959 in the Army National Guard and Army Reserve). This era begins with the issuing new new divisional organizations in 1948, essentially modified versions of what was used during World War II. This page will include any Korean War-era organizations and the minor updates made in 1952 and 1955 (the R-series tables).

At the macro-level, Infantry Divisions consisted primarily of 3 Infantry Regiments and Armored Divisions of 3 Combat Commands like they did during World War II. Prior to 1954, the Armored Division's Combat Commands (roughly brigade-sized task force HQs) were called Combat Command "A", Combat Command "B", and the Reserve Command. From 1954, the Reserve Command was renamed as Combat Command "C". Combat battalions weren't organic to Combat Commands, they were attached from the division-level to allow for flexibility. However, during peacetime battalions were under specific Combat Commands to facilitate training and administration. Battalions would often conduct their annual training with one Combat Command and not with units from other ones, for example. Where possible I depict those affiliations.

Probably the most notable caveat was in the 1948 structure Armored Divisions gained a 4th tank battalion. A heavy tank battalion, re-designated as Tank Battalion (120-mm Gun) in the early 1950s which replaced the Tank Destroyer Battalion that usually fought with the Armored Division during World War II. Initially these were intended to have 90mm-gunned M26 Pershings as a stand-in for a future system (the T43). This was during a time when 76mm-gunned Shermans were still a common substitute standard in Medium Tank Battalions. These battalions were redesignated as "120-mm Gun" in the 1950s in anticipation for the T43/M103. However, in most unit yearbooks I've seen from the mid-1950s that depict the 120-mm Gun battalion separately, they have M47 Pattons like any of the Medium Tank Battalions. During the Pentomic ROCAD reorganization, this 120-mm battalion was just redesignated as a Medium Tank Battalion.

I've marked the Heavy Tank Battalions with an "H" to depict that they're different organizationally, though. 120-mm Gun battalions on the TO&E 17-35 tables were meant to have 3 Tank Companies with 4 Tank Platoons each (even if armed with 90-mm Gun tanks), while 90-mm Gun battalions on TO&E 17-25 tables were meant to have 4 Tank Companies with 3 Tank Platoons. This allowed for balanced battalion task forces with 2 tank and 2 armored infantry companies. In the California ARNG 40th Armored Division's case, this was the 133d Tank Battalion, which only had H&S, A, B, and C Companies. In the New Jersey ARNG 50th Armored Division this was the 114th Tank Battalion and in the 1st Armored Division it was the 100th Tank Battalion.