Rifle Brigade; Oct 1941 - Mar 1942; TO 04/730-744
Rifle Brigade; Apr - Jun 1942; TO 04/230-241
Crossfire Orbat for the TO&E described on p. 36-41 in Zaloga & Ness (2003).
From Sep 1941 the Soviets started to raise Rifle Brigades in great numbers. From Sep 1941 to Apr 1942, when they stopped, the Soviets raised 250 Rifle Brigades in total; of these 37 were Naval Rifle Brigades (Brigada morskoi strelkovy; also see Naval Infantry Brigades below), and 19 were Student or Cadet Rifle Brigades. The rifle brigades approximated a third of a rifle division, comprising an infantry regiment plus supports.
Early formations were probably adhoc, but the first TO&E was issued 15 Oct 1941 (TO 04/730-744).
A new TO&E was issued on 17 Apr 1942 (TO 04/230-241). As the changes were minor I've used the base page for both TO&E. The changes were:
-
Add an AT-Rifle platoon to each infantry battalion.
-
Add a fourth infantry battalion.
See also Operations of Naval Infantry Brigades for where these units were used.
Naval Rifle Brigades
Brigade HQ
1 x BC (+1) - Brigade Commander
1 x NKVD Rifle Platoon: PC (+1/0), 4 x Rifle
1 x AA MG Platoon: 1 x Quad Maxim HMG
1 x Reconnaissance Company
1 x CC (+1)
2 x Reconnaissance Platoon: PC (+1/0), 2 x Rifles
1 x Light Mortar Battalion
3 x Mortar Company
2 x FO for off table 82mm Mortar (12 FM) [4 tubes each]
2 x on-table 50mm Mortar (12 FM) [4 tubes each]
1 x Heavy Mortar Battalion
3 x Mortar Companies
2 x FO for off table 120mm Mortar (12 FM) [4 tubes each]
1 x Artillery Battalion
2 x FO for off table 76mm field guns (12 FM) [4 guns each]
1 x FO for off table 76mm Infantry gun (12 FM) [4 guns each]
1 x Anti-tank battalion
3 x 45mm ATG and tow [12 guns in total divided between either 2 or 3 companies]
16 x Anti-tank Rifles which can be attached to any Rifle Squad. [48 AT-Rifles in total]
1 x SMG Company
1 x CC (+1)
3 x SMG Platoons: PC (+1/0), 3 x SMG
1 x Pioneer Company
1 x CC (+1)
3 x Pioneer Platoons: PC (+1/0), 4 x Engineer Rifles
3 - 4 x Infantry Battalions
1 x BC (+1)
1 x Infantry Reconnaissance Platoon: PC (+1/0), 4 x Rifles
1 x SMG Platoon: PC (+1/0), 3 x SMG
1 x Anti-tank Mortar Platoon: ???? [7 anti-tank mortars; presumably this is the "Ampulomet" which fired a globe shaped molotove cocktail]
0-1 x Anti-tank Rifle Platoon: 3 x Anti-tank Rifles which can be attached to any Rifle Squad. [8 AT-Rifles in total]
1 x Machine Gun Company: 3 x HMG [4 guns each]3 x Rifle Companies
1 x CC (+1)
3 x Rifle Platoons: PC (+1/0), 4 x Rifle *
* The men in the rifle companies of the brigade actually had a higher proportion of SMG than their divisional counterparts, but this probably doesn't translate to SMG squads. The Platoon had 51 men with 10 SMG and 2 LMG, and presumably the rest with Rifles.
Naval Infantry Brigade Organisation
The Naval Infantry Brigades (Brigada morskoi pekhoty) had a different organisation from the Naval Rifle Brigades (Brigada morskoi strelkovy) covered by the TO&E above. This is due to their adhoc formation and the fact they were navy formations rather than army like their comrades in the Rifle Brigades.
Naval Infantry Brigades were organised as collections of separate battalions with different brigades having between two and seven battalions apiece with little or no brigade troops. As per the TO&E, each battalion was meant to have three rifle companies, a machine-gun company, a mortar company, a scout platoon, a very small flame-thrower platoon, and an artillery battery. In practice most brigades were formed rather hastily and may have had quite different equipment.
2 - 7 x Infantry Battalions
1 x BC (+1)
1 x Infantry Reconnaissance Platoon: PC (+1/0), 4 x Rifles
1 x Flamethrower Platoon: PC (+1/0), 4 x Assault Engineer Rifles
1 x Machine Gun Company: 3 x HMG [4 guns each]
1 x Artillery Battery : 1 x FO for off table 76mm field guns (12 FM) [4 guns each]1 x Mortar Company
2 x FO for off table 82mm Mortar (12 FM) [4 tubes each]
2 x on-table 50mm Mortar (12 FM) [4 tubes each]3 x Rifle Companies
1 x CC (+1)
3 x Rifle Platoons: PC (+1/0), 4 x Rifle
One of the interesting features of the Leningrad naval infantry brigades is the preponderance of KV heavy tank support they received as the main pre-war KV factory was in Leningrad.
Sources
BattleFront: Brigada Morskoi Pekhoty
Zaloga, S. J., and Ness, L. S. (2003). Red Army Handbook 1939-1945. Sutton.