First an answer to some of the questions of LoupVert
Edit:AAAARGGH sorry for the army composition, it killed the spaces
So much work to type all this info. grrrr
Edit 2: putting the text as code keeps the identation but not that easy to read, you need to scroll.
If you guys now another way to better display the text, shoot...
Edit 3: HTML code looks decent...
Can you please confirm that brigade also had engineers elements?
That's correct. The summary of the forces on page 35 says:
An armydivision consisted of 3 to 3 mixed brigades, each with 2 infantry regiments, 1 artillery group
(with 12 guns 7,5 cm tir rapide or rapidfire) and a engineers bataljon (engineers). An army division also
had divisional troops: a cavalryregiment of 500, artillery (with 12 or 24 7,5cm guns), engineer troops and services.
Per bataljon, this meant there were about 3 gun available.
Would you have a figure for each brigade so we draw a realistic average?
On page 527 I found a more detailed outlay of the Belgian forces in august 1914.
The summary was correct in regards to the fact that later on the army divisions had engineering troops in the mixed
brigades and at a divisional level. But not at the start of the war. It's nice to see this book making a distinction
between the start and how it evolved.
As for the numbers, we can deduce those from my first post.
It says on page 588, only the Belgians used the term army division. In the future they were supposed to be between
20.000 to 25.000 men. This wasn't the case in 1914.
[HTML]
1st army division (Gent)
2nd mixed brigade (Gent)
2nd linie regiment (Gent)
22st linie regiment (Gent)
2nd compagnie machineguns (Gent)
Artillerygroup
3nd mixed brigade (Ostend)
3rd linie regiment (Ostend, Ypres)
23rd linie regiment (Ostend, Ypres)
3rd compagnie machineguns (Ostend)
Artillerygroup
4th mixed brigade (Bruges)
4th linie regiment (Bruges)
24th linie regiment (Bruges)
4th compagnie machineguns (Bruges)
Artillerygroup
3rd regiment lancers (Bruges)
1st Artillery regiment (Gent, Bruges, Brasschaat)
1st Bataljon Genie (engineers) (Antwerp)
Transportation corps (logistics) (Gent)
Section Telegraphie
2nd army division (Antwerp)
5th mixed brigade (Antwerp)
5th linie regiment (Antwerp)
25th linie regiment (Antwerp)
5th compagnie machineguns (Antwerp)
Artillerygroup
6th mixed brigade (Antwerp)
6th linie regiment (Antwerp)
26th linie regiment (Antwerp)
6th compagnie machineguns (Antwerp)
Artillerygroup
7th mixed brigade (Antwerp)
7th linie regiment (Antwerp)
27th linie regiment (Antwerp)
7th compagnie machineguns (Antwerp)
Artillerygroup
4th regiment "Jagers te paard" (cav) (Leuven)
2nd Artillery regiment (Antwerp, Lier, Leuven)
2nd Bataljon Genie (engineers) (Antwerp)
Transportation corps (logistics) (Mechelen, Antwerp)
Section Telegraphie
3rd army division (Liege)
9th mixed brigade (Liege)
9th linie regiment (Bruxelles)
29th linie regiment (Bruxelles)
9th compagnie machineguns (Bruxelles)
Artillerygroup
11th mixed brigade (Hasselt)
11th linie regiment (Hasselt)
31th linie regiment (Hasselt)
11th compagnie machineguns (Hasselt)
Artillerygroup
12th mixed brigade (Liege)
12th linie regiment (Liege, Verviers)
32th linie regiment (Liege, Verviers)
12th compagnie machineguns (Liege)
Artillerygroup
14th mixed brigade (Liege)
14th linie regiment (Liege)
34th linie regiment (Liege)
14th compagnie machineguns (Liege)
Artillerygroup
2nd regiment Lancers (Liege)
3rd Artillery regiment (Liege, Laken, Beverlo)
3rd Bataljon Genie (engineers) (Antwerp)
Transportation corps (logistics) (Liege)
Section Telegraphie
4rd army division (Namur)
8th mixed brigade (Vilvoorde)
8th linie regiment (Antwerpen, Vilvoorde)
28th linie regiment (Antwerpen, Vilvoorde)
8th compagnie machineguns (Antwerpen)
Artillerygroup
10th mixed brigade (Namur)
10th linie regiment (Arlon, Namur)
30th linie regiment (Arlon, Namur)
10th compagnie machineguns (Arlon)
Artillerygroup
13th mixed brigade (Namur)
13th linie regiment (Namur)
33rd linie regiment (Namur)
13th compagnie machineguns (Namur)
Artillerygroup
15th mixed brigade (Charleroi)
1th regiment "jagers te voet" (chasseurs) (Charleroi, Diest)
4th regiment "jagers te voet" (Charleroi, Diest)
15th compagnie machineguns (Charleroi)
Artillerygroup
1st regiment Lancers (Namur)
4th Artillery regiment (Namur, Tienen, Charleroi)
4th Bataljon Genie (engineers) (Antwerp)
Transportation corps (logistics) (Namur)
Section Telegraphie
5th army division (Mons)
1th mixed brigade (Gent)
1th linie regiment (Gent, Dendermonde)
21th linie regiment (Gent, Dendermonde)
1th compagnie machineguns (Gent)
Artillerygroup
16th mixed brigade (Mons)
2nd regiment "jagers te voet" (Mons)
5th regiment "jagers te voet" (Mons)
16th compagnie machineguns (Mons)
Artillerygroup
17th mixed brigade (Tournai)
3th regiment "jagers te voet" (Tournai)
6th regiment "jagers te voet" (Tournai)
17th compagnie machineguns
Artillerygroup
2nd regiment "Jagers te paard" (cav) (Mons)
5th Artillery regiment (Leuven, Oudenaarde, Mons, Tournai)
5th Bataljon Genie (engineers) (Antwerp)
Transportation corps (logistics) (Dendermonde, Antwerp, Mons)
Section Telegraphie
6th army division (Bruxelles)
18th mixed brigade (Bruxelles)
1th regiment grenadiers (Bruxelles)
2nd regiment grenadiers (Bruxelles)
18th compagnie machineguns (Bruxelles)
Artillerygroup
19th mixed brigade (Bruxelles)
1st regiment "karabiniers" (Bruxelles)
3rd regiment "karabiniers" (Bruxelles)
19th compagnie machineguns (Bruxelles)
Artillerygroup
20th mixed brigade (Bruxelles)
2nd regiment "karabiniers" (Bruxelles, Laken)
4th regiment "karabiniers" (Bruxelles, Laken)
20th compagnie machineguns (Bruxelles)
Artillerygroup
1st regiment "Jagers te paard" (cav) (Tournai)
6th Artillery regiment (Bruxelles, Mechelen)
6th Bataljon Genie (engineers) (Antwerp)
Transportation corps (logistics) (Bruxelles)
Section Telegraphie
Cavalry division (Bruxelles)
1st brigade (Bruxelles)
1st Regiment Gidsen (Scout) (Bruxelles)
2nd Regiment Gidsen (Scout) (Bruxelles)
2nd brigade (Bruxelles)
4th regiment lancers (Gent)
5th regiment lancers (Mechelen)
Bataljon karbiniers-cyclists (Leuven)
Artillerygroup (moving artillery) (Tervuren)
Compagnie Pioneers-Pontooners-Cyclists (Antwerp)
Transportation corps (logistics)
[/HTML]
The composition of the army changed during the war.
- the name changed to infantry division instead of mixed brigade
- each infantry division contained 3 infantry regiment
- each infantry division contained it's own engineers and transportation
- A light group was added with cavalry, cyclists and cars with machine guns
To give an example, this is how the 1ste army division turned out:
[HTML]
1st army division
1st infantry division
2nd linie regiment
22st linie regiment
3rd linie regiment
1st artillery regiment
1st batalion engineers
1st transportation corps (logistics)
7th infantry division
4th linie regiment
24th linie regiment
23th linie regiment
7th artillery regiment
7th batalion engineers
7th transportation corps (logistics)
Light group
Batalion cavalry of the 3rd regiment lancers
Compagnie cyclists
3 auto machine guns (i suppose car with machine guns)
13th Artillery regiment
13th Bataljon Genie
Transportation corps (logistics)
[/HTML]
(interestingly, a "Balloon observation brigade" have six "planes" and 60 men in EAW), would you know how many there was in the whole army and where were they deployed?
I don't know, haven't found that info yet.
At the 1913 "Field Training eXercice" in NATO parlance, there also was two radio signal elements (wireless telegraphic, "T.S.F" in french)
See army layout, they had telegraphic sections in each army division.
Last but not least, how could be best simulated the reserve regiment each Belgian mixed brigades was made off while ingame the brigade are made of two regular regiments?
Match the numbers more closely, have correct field army and fortress army composition.
The regiments can be off, the numbers can't.
The divisions were meant to be max. 25.000 men. So you could start the troops with incomplete numbers and lower cohesion.