battalion

/beuh tal"yeuhn/, n.

1. Mil. a ground force unit composed of a headquarters and two or more companies or similar units.

2. an army in battle array.

3. Often, battalions. a large number of persons or things; force: battalions of bureaucrats.

[1580-90; < MF bataillon < It battaglione large squadron of soldiers, equiv. to battagli(a) BATTAGLIA + -one aug. suffix]

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Tactical military organization composed of a headquarters and two or more companies, batteries, or similar units and usually commanded by a field-grade officer such as a lieutenant colonel.

The term has been used in nearly every Western army for centuries and has had many meanings. In the 16th–17th century, it denoted a unit of infantry used in a line of battle and was loosely applied to any large body of men. During the Napoleonic Wars, battalions were fighting units of the French army under the administrative unit of the regiment. In the armies of the British Commonwealth nations, infantry battalions are tactical units within regiments. The typical U.S. Army battalion is a unit of 800–900 soldiers, divided into a headquarters company and three rifle companies; two to five battalions form the combat elements of a tactical brigade. See also military unit.

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▪ military unit

      a tactical military organization composed basically of a headquarters and two or more companies, batteries, or similar organizations and usually commanded by a field-grade officer. The term has been used in nearly every Western army for centuries and has had a variety of meanings. In the 16th and 17th centuries it denoted a unit of infantry forming part of a line of battle and was loosely applied to any large body of men. During the Napoleonic Wars the French developed an army organization in which the regiment was a unit of administration for its battalions serving as fighting units in the field. In this connection, the terms regiment and battalion often were used interchangeably, but in most modern armies the regiment is a higher unit than the battalion.

      In the armies of the Commonwealth nations, infantry battalions, usually commanded by lieutenant colonels, are tactical units formed within regiments, the latter being not tactical but administrative parent organizations. The equivalent tactical artillery and armoured units, however, are called regiments. In most military forces the cavalry equivalent and aviation equivalent of the battalion is the squadron.

      In the U.S. Army of the early years of the 20th century, a battalion usually numbered from 500 to 1,000 men and was normally commanded by a lieutenant colonel. After World War I the “square” infantry battalion of four companies was superseded by the “triangular” battalion of World War II and the Korean War, usually composed of three rifle companies, a heavy-weapons company, and a headquarters company. By the late 20th century, the typical U.S. Army battalion was a unit of between 800 and 900 officers and men divided into a headquarters company and three rifle companies. Armoured battalions were organized along similar lines. From two to five battalions formed the combat elements of a tactical brigade, and about 10 battalions formed a division.

      In the Soviet army the battalion was smaller than its U.S. counterpart. A typical rifle battalion of a rifle division consisted of 370 officers and men organized into three 78-man rifle companies and machine-gun, artillery, mortar, and service units.

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