Battlegroup (army)

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A battlegroup (British/Commonwealth term), or task force (U.S. term) in modern military theory, is the basic building block of an army's fighting force. A battlegroup is an infantry battalion or armoured regiment, which is usually commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel. The battalion or regiment also provides the command and staff element of a battlegroup, which is complemented with an appropriate mix of armour, infantry and support personnel and weaponry, relevant to the task it is expected to perform.

The organisation of a battlegroup is flexible, and can be restructured quickly to cope with any changes in the situation. Typically, an offensive battlegroup may be structured around an armoured regiment, with two squadrons of main battle tanks supported by an infantry company; conversely, a more defensive battlegroup may be structured around an infantry battalion, with two companies and an armoured squadron. In support would be a reconnaissance troop, a low-level air defence detachment, an anti-tank section and engineering detachment, plus artillery support.

Battlegroups are often subdivided into company groups based around a single infantry company supported by a tank troop and various other support units.

In the British Army, an armoured or mechanised division could expect to have as many as twelve separate battlegroups at its disposal, with three or four in each brigade.

The make-up of an armoured battlegroup built around an infantry battalion