Pentropic organisation
The Pentropic organisation was a
History
The decision to adopt the Pentropic organisation was driven by a desire to modernise the Army and ensure that Australian units were able to integrate with those of the United States Army. While the US Pentomic organisation had been implemented in 1957 to improve the Army's ability to operate during a
The key element of the Pentropic organisation was the reorganisation of divisions into five combined arms battle groups. These battle groups consisted of an infantry battalion, field artillery regiment, engineer field squadron and other combat and logistic elements, including armoured, aviation and armoured personnel carrier units as required. These battle groups would be commanded by the commanding officer of their infantry battalion and report directly to the headquarters of the division as brigade headquarters were abolished as part of the reorganisation.[3]
When the Pentropic organisation was implemented in 1960 the Australian Army was reorganised from three divisions organised on what was called the Tropical establishment (the
The Pentropic organisation was trialled during exercises in 1962 and 1963. These exercises revealed that the battle groups' command and control arrangements were unsatisfactory, as battalion headquarters were too small to command such large units in combat situations. While the large Pentropic infantry battalions were found to have some operational advantages over the old tropical establishment battalions, the divisions' large number of vehicles resulted in traffic jams when operating in tropical conditions.[3]
The experience gained from exercises and changes in Australia's strategic environment led to the decision to move away from the Pentropic organisation in 1964. During the early 1960s a number of small
Structure
The main elements of the Pentropic divisions were:[9]
- Divisional Headquarters
- Reconnaissance Squadron
- Administration Troop
- Survey Troop
- Five reconnaissance troops
- Armoured Regiment
- Three tank squadrons
- Artillery Headquarters
- Five field artillery regiments
- Field engineer regiment
- Five field squadrons
- Five infantry battalions
- Administration Company
- Support Company
- Five rifle companies
- Four rifle platoons
- Weapons platoon
- Reconnaissance Squadron
- Light aviation company
- Signals Regiment
- Supply, transport, ordnance and other services
Notes
- ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
- ^ Kuring 2004, pp. 261–262.
- ^ a b Kuring 2004, pp. 263–264.
- ^ a b c d Horner (1997). From Korea to Pentropic: The Army in the 1950s and early 1960s.
- ^ Kuring 2004, p. 265.
- ^ Blaxland 1989, p.83.
- ^ Grey, The Australian Army, p. 209
- ^ Australian Army History Unit (2004). "The Pentropic Organisation 1960–65". Army History Unit website. Australian Department of Defence. Archived from the original on August 30, 2007. Retrieved 2008-06-30.
- ^ Blaxland 1989, p. 119.
References
- Australian Army History Unit (2004). "The Pentropic Organisation 1960–65". Army History Unit website. Australian Department of Defence. Archived from the original on August 30, 2007. Retrieved 2008-06-30.
- Blaxland, John (1989). Organising an Army: The Australian Experience 1957–1965. Canberra Papers on Strategy and Defence. Vol. No. 50. Canberra: Australian National University. )
- ISBN 0-19-554114-6.
- Horner, David (1997). "From Korea to Pentropic: The Army in the 1950s and early 1960s". In Dennis, Peter; Grey, Jeffrey (eds.). The Second Fifty Years: The Australian Army 1947–97. Canberra: School of History, University College, UNSW, ADFA.
- Kuring, Ian (2004). Red Coats to Cams. A History of Australian Infantry 1788 to 2001. Sydney: Australian Military History Publications. ISBN 1-876439-99-8.
- Palazzo, Albert (2001). The Australian Army: A History of its Organisation 1901–2001. Melbourne: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-551507-2.
- Ryan, Alan (2003). 'Putting Your Young Men in the Mud'. Change, Continuity and the Australian Infantry Battalion (PDF). Canberra: Land Warfare Studies Centre. ISBN 0-642-29595-6. Retrieved 2008-08-23.
Further reading
- "The Pentropic Division". Australian Army Journal (129). February 1960. – special edition setting out the Pentropic organisation in detail
- "Equipment for the Pentropic Division". Australian Army Journal (134). July 1960. – special edition focused on the equipment issued to Pentropic units
- Chadwick, Justin (2021). "The Atomic Division: The Australian Army Pentropic Experiment, 1959–1965". Australian Army Journal. XVII (1): 45–60.