At different times and in different countries, the number and purpose of platoons varied greatly. The concept of platoons, which has survived to this day, as an organizational combat unit, was not formed immediately.
The concept of platoon in history.
Historically, a platoon was not just an organizational unit, but had a specific purpose - firing at enemies. So, during the time of the Swedish king Gustav, the second platoons were three rifle teams that were divided into two types: those that fire, and those that reload weapons.
In Russia, the concept of platoon first arose in imperial times - at the end of 1915. Initially, they appeared in the grenadier and infantry troops, and later spread to other types of military units. They consisted of one officer, four non-commissioned officers and 48 ordinary soldiers who were in their command.
Platoons in the USSR and the Russian Federation.
The glorious military traditions begun in the Soviet army are preserved to this day. This primarily concerns the number of platoons depending on the type of troops, which is still considered optimal and has not changed for more than eighty years. The number of platoons of GRU special forces, which are considered one of the most elite troops in the army of the Russian Federation, totals from 9 to 18 people, depending on the number of special groups included in it.
In a tank force, a platoon is formed based on the number of people needed to control the tank and serve it during departures and at the time of downtime. So, for example, for the T-72 tank, a platoon is formed, which consists of 9 people.
A more complex structure of the formation of the number of platoon have artillery troops. Here it all depends on what type of weapon the given platoon uses and, as a result, how many units of such equipment according to the charter should belong to one organizational unit. In practice, it turns out that the number of artillery platoons can be from 10-12 people in mortar platoons, up to 20-25 people in cannon platoons.
