Triangular division: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Type of military division organization}}

A '''triangular division''' is a designation given to the way military [[division (military)|divisions]] are organized. In a triangular organization, the division's main body is composed of three [[regiment]]al [[Maneuver warfare|maneuver]] elements. These regiments may be controlled by a [[brigade]] headquarters (more typical in [[World War I]]) or directly subordinated to the division commander. By contrast, in a [[square division]], there were typically two brigades of two regiments.<ref name=House>{{cite web |first=Jonathan M. |last=House |url=http://www-cgsc.army.mil/carl/resources/csi/House/House.asp |title=Toward Combined Arms Warfare: a Survey of 20th-Century Tactics, Doctrine, and Organization |date=30 December 2009 |publisher=U.S. Army Command and General Staff College |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091230072014/http://www-cgsc.army.mil/carl/resources/csi/House/House.asp |archive-date=30 December 2009 }}</ref> Other structures are possible, such as a [[pentomic]] division, where the division commander controls five maneuver elements, which was used in the [[United States Army]] in the late 1950s, with the regiments replaced by [[combined arms]] [[Battlegroup (army)|battlegroups]].<ref name=Maneuver>[https://web.archive.org/web/20140301211444/http://www.history.army.mil/html/books/060/60-14-1/cmhPub_60-14-1.pdf army.mil] ''Wilson, John B. Maneuver and Firepower: The Evolution of Divisions and Separate Brigades'' (CMH Pub 60-14-1). Army Lineage Series. Washington: Center of Military History: 272-276.</ref>

== Asia ==

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Most European armies reorganized their divisions as triangular divisions during World War I, and retained that structure since.<ref name="House" /> Many European armies now place greater emphasis on the brigade and in some cases, such as the [[Portuguese Army|Portuguese]] and the [[Belgian Army|Belgian]] armies, have eliminated the division entirely as a tactical unit.{{Citation needed|date=September 2021}}

[[File:United_States_World_War_II_Infantry_Division_1942_Structure.png|thumb|Triangular Division example: 1942 US Infantry Division. The Brigadesbrigades of the Squaresquare division have been removed, and there are three Regimentsregiments directly under Divisionaldivisional control|left]][[File:United_States_World_War_II_(Square)_Infantry_Division_1940_Structure.png|thumb|right|Square Division example: 1940 US Infantry Division. On the far left can be seen two Brigadesbrigades of two Regimentsregiments each]]

== United States ==