WW2 Infantry Training

Discussion in 'General' started by Kellard, Apr 12, 2017.

  1. Kellard

    Kellard Active Member

    Can anyone provide me with information about the duration and content of infantry training in WW2?
     
  2. Ron Goldstein

    Ron Goldstein WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

    In my case it was 6 weeks at Bury St Edmund's at a Primary Training Wing (PTW) starting 1/10/42

    Ron
     
  3. Kellard

    Kellard Active Member

    Thanks Ron. I'm trying to find if the Royal Marines Infantry 6 weeks initial training followed by a period at the RM Infantry Battle School, was the same in duration and content as an infantry Bn in the Army.
     
  4. Ron Goldstein

    Ron Goldstein WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

    Kellard

    The PTWs performed two roles.

    Firstly they taught basic military skills such as how use weapons and how to march in unison.

    Secondly and just as importantly they used various tests to assess what skills you possessed in order to decide which branch of the services you should be sent to.

    In my case it resulted in my becoming a Wireless Operator, initially in the RA and later in the RAC

    Ron
     
  5. Kellard

    Kellard Active Member

    Thanks Ron, If anyone has info on the infantry course (what they now call the Combat Infantry Course) I'd appreciate it.
     
  6. idler

    idler GeneralList

    In the second half of the war, all recruits - like Ron - underwent 6 weeks of primary training and selection. If selected for the infantry, the recruits would go to an Infantry Training Centre to do their 'proper' infantry arm training for 10 weeks, though this would increase a bit if they became specialists, e.g. anti-tank gunners, signallers, etc. I'm afraid I haven't got anything on the syllabus of the basic infantry course.

    The 6 weeks primary plus 10 weeks infantry is a total of 16 weeks which tallies with another snippet I've seen that says that the 'old' infantry regimental depots ran a 4 month course for recruits. You'd expect the RM would need a similar sort of timescale to train their recruits to a similar level, but they may not have been carrying out the sorting/selection exercise that the Army did, though I suppose they had other niches to fill with gunners, landing craft crews etc.
     
  7. Tricky Dicky

    Tricky Dicky Don'tre member

    Last edited: Apr 20, 2017
    Kellard likes this.
  8. Kellard

    Kellard Active Member

    Thanks for this.
     

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