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Army Units |
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British Army Formations/Units |
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| Name |
Commander |
Description |
Men |
| Corps | General | A grouping of several divisions, typ. 2-4. Not in national UK use. | typ. 40,000 |
| Division | Major General | A grouping of 2-6 brigades plus additional specialist units. | typ. 13,000 |
| Brigade | Brigadier | A tactical grouping made up of 3-6 units. Composition varies for instance a Commando Brigade, Artillery Brigade, Air Assault Brigade. A Brigade is the smallest self-supporting formation in the British Army. | typ. 3,000 |
| Battalion/ Regiment/ Commando/ Field Ambulance | Lieutenant Colonel | The basic building block of a military force is the 'unit'. This comprises 500-600 soldiers under a Commanding Officer, CO. Infantry units are known as battalions. Most other units are called regiments. | 500-600 |
| Company/ Battery/ Squadron | Major |
A sub-division of a unit. Called company (infantry), battery (artillery), squadron (armour, aviation). Typically 2-4 sub-units per unit. 2ic is WO2 in the appropriate appointment (e.g. Company Sergeant Major). An Artillery Battery is armed with 6-8 eight guns, and while roughly the equivalent of an infantry company, tends to be far more independent. |
100-150 |
| Platoon/ Troop/ Flight |
Lieutenant | Further sub-division, companies into platoons; squadrons into troops. May also be commanded by a Second Lieutenant. 2ic is a Sergeant. | 30-50 |
| Section/ Detachment | Corporal | Platoons are sub-divided into Sections of 10 men. Armour/signals use the detachment of one or two vehicles crewed by 2-8 men. 2ic is a Lance Corporal. | 2-10 |
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Ad-Hoc Organisations |
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| Name | Commander | Description |
Men |
| Battlegroup | Lieutenant Colonel | Unit-sized organisation
based on either an Infantry or Armoured Regimental Headquarters.
Contains a mixture of sub-units, typically Armoured Squadrons
and Infantry Companies but may include Aviation and other specialist
capabilities task-organised to achieve a specific aim. |
500-600 |
| Company/ Squadron Group | Major | Sub-unit allocated tanks or armoured personnel carriers and support elements depending upon the needs of the mission. Supporting elements such as air defence, anti-tank missiles, fire support and engineer expertise ensure that the company/squadron group is a balanced all arms grouping, tailored specially for a certain task. | 100-200 |