Editing Fireteam (section)

==History==
Fireteams have their origins in the early 20th century. From the [[Napoleonic Wars]] until [[World War I]], military tactics involved central control of large numbers of soldiers in mass formation where small units were given little initiative.

Groups of four soldiers were mainly employed for guard duty, or as bodyguards for VIPs. In the [[Roman Army]] they were referred to as ''quaternio'' (Greek τετράδιον).<ref>cf. [[Acts of the Apostles|Acts]] 12:4 "When he had captured him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four squads of four soldiers each [''quattuor quaternionibus militum''; τέσσαρσιν τετραδίοις στρατιωτῶν] to guard him"</ref>

[[Skirmisher#Napoleonic Wars|Skirmishers]] in the Napoleonic War would often work in teams of two, ranging ahead of the main group and providing covering fire for each other.

===World War I===
During World War I, [[trench warfare]] resulted in a [[Western Front (World War I)#1915—Stalemate|stalemate]] on the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]]. In order to combat this stalemate, the [[German Army (German Empire)|Germans]] developed a doctrinal innovation known as [[infiltration tactics]] (based on the Russian tactics used in the [[Brusilov Offensive]]), in which a brief intensive artillery preparation would be followed by small, autonomous teams of [[Stormtroopers (Imperial Germany)|stormtrooper]]s, who would covertly penetrate defensive lines. The Germans used their stormtroopers organized into squads at the lowest levels to provide a cohesive strike force in breaking through Allied lines. The British and Canadian troops on the Western Front started dividing platoons into sections after the [[Battle of the Somme]] in 1916. (This idea was later further developed in [[World War II]]). French Chasseur units in WWI were organized into fireteams, equipped with a light machine gun (Chauchat) team and grenades, to destroy German fire positions by fire (not assault) at up to 200 meters using rifle grenades. The light machine gun team would put [[suppressive fire]] on the enemy position, while the grenadier team moved to a position where the enemy embrasure could be attacked with grenades. The Chasseur tactics were proven during the Petain Offensive of 1917. Survivors of these French Chasseur units taught these tactics to American infantry, who used them with effectiveness at St. Mihiel and the Argonne. It was typical of a fireteam in this era to consist of four infantrymen: two assaulters with carbines, one grenadier, and one sapper.

===Interwar period===
In the inter-war years, [[United States Marine Corps]] Captain [[Evans F. Carlson]] and [[Merritt A. Edson]] are believed to have developed the fireteam concept during the [[United States occupation of Nicaragua]] (1912–1933). At that time the US Marine [[squad]] consisted of a Corporal and seven Marines all armed with a bolt-action [[M1903 Springfield rifle]] and an automatic rifleman armed with a [[Browning Automatic Rifle]]. The introduction of the [[Thompson submachine gun]] and [[Winchester Model 1912]] [[shotgun]] was popular with the Marines as a point-defense weapon for countering ambush by [[Nicaragua]]n [[guerrilla]]s within the thick vegetation that could provide cover for a quick overrun of a patrol. A team of four men armed with these weapons had proven more effective in terms of firepower and maneuverability than the standard nine-man rifle squad.

Carlson, who later went to [[China]] in 1937 and observed Communist [[8th Route Army]] units of the [[National Revolutionary Army]] in action against the [[Imperial Japanese Army]], brought these ideas back to the US when the country entered [[World War II]]. Under his command, the [[Marine Raiders|2nd Marine Raider battalion]] were issued with the semi-automatic [[M1 Garand]] rifle and were organized in the standard 4-man fireteam (although it was called firegroup) concept, 3 firegroups to a squad with a squad leader. A firegroup was composed of an [[M1 Garand rifle]]man, a [[M1918 BAR|BAR gun]]ner and a [[submachine gun]]ner. After sustaining severe wounds, Carlson was replaced and his battalion later disbanded and reorganized under conventional Marine doctrine of ten-man squads. Later, Carlson's fireteam concept was re-adopted.

===World War II===
WWII US Army rifle squads consisted of twelve soldiers<ref>Army Lineage Series ''Infantry Part I: Regular Army'', pp. 56 & 73 [https://archive.today/20150422171856/http://www.history.army.mil/html/books/060/60-3-1/index.html] . Retrieved 2 November 2016.</ref> divided into three teams: The A "Able" (contemporary [[spelling alphabet]]) team consisted of the squad leader and two scouts, the support B "Baker" team of the BAR gunner, assistant gunner, and ammunition bearer, and C "Charlie" team of the assistant squad leader, also serving as the anti-tank grenadier, and five riflemen, one of whom served as the alternate anti-tank grenadier).<ref>War Department ''The Rifle Platoon and Squad in Offensive Combat'' Part 1, Section 1: Organization of the Rifle Platoon, March 15, 1943 (see FM 7-10, para. 133). http://www.hardscrabblefarm.com/ww2/offensive_combat.htm Retrieved 28 October 2016.</ref> In an assault the A team would provide overwatch and security or assist the C team in the assault, as the squad leader directed, while the B team provided suppressive fire. Suppressive fire from the BAR would be supplemented by fire from the rifles of his team as he reloaded, and could be further supplemented by platoon medium machine guns.

The US Army Rangers and Special Service Force adopted an early fireteam concept when on campaign in Italy and France. Each squad sub-unit of four or five men was heavily armed, composed of a two-man BAR automatic rifleman and assistant, a scout (marksman/grenadier) armed with an M1903 Springfield with a rifle grenade discharger, and a team leader armed with an M1 carbine or M1 Thompson submachine gun. Their later misuse as conventional infantry negated their special training and fighting skill and their use as "fire brigades" against larger enemy forces negated their advantages in aggressiveness and firepower.

Meanwhile, the communist Chinese established the three-man fireteam concept as the three-man cell when they organized a regular army, and its organization seemed to have been disseminated throughout all of Asia's communist forces, perhaps the most famous of which are the PAVN/NVA ([[People's Army of Vietnam]]/North Vietnamese Army) and the [[Viet Cong]].{{citation needed|date=February 2010}}