Editing Battalion (section)

== Soviet Armed Forces ==

=== Motorised rifle battalion ===
[[File:Soviet Motor Rifle Battalion 1980s.png|thumb|400px|Organisation of Soviet Motor Rifle Battalion late 1980s<ref>{{cite book|title=FM 100-2-3|date=June 1991|publisher=United States Army|page=4-4 (35)|url=http://cgsc.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p4013coll9/id/335|access-date=2016-01-15|archive-date=2015-12-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151205175658/http://cgsc.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p4013coll9/id/335|url-status=live}}</ref>]]
In the [[Soviet Armed Forces]], a motorised rifle battalion could be mounted in either [[BTR (vehicle)|BTR]] [[armoured personnel carrier]]s or [[Boyevaya Mashina Pekhoty|BMP]] [[infantry fighting vehicle]]s, with the former being more numerous into the late 1980s. Both consisted of a battalion headquarters of 12 personnel and three motorised rifle companies of 110 personnel each, along with a number of combat support units: a mortar battery consisting of eight 120&nbsp;mm [[120-PM-43 mortar]]s or automatic 82&nbsp;mm [[2B9 Vasilek]]s, an air defence platoon with nine [[MANPAD]]s, either the [[SA-7 Grail]], [[SA-14 Gremlin]] or [[SA-16 Gimlet]] and an automatic grenade launcher platoon with six 30&nbsp;mm [[AGS-17]] launchers. The BTR battalion also featured an anti-tank platoon with four [[AT-3 Sagger]] or [[AT-4 Spigot]] launchers and two 73&nbsp;mm [[SPG-9]] [[recoilless gun]]s; BTR units on high-readiness status sometimes had six missile launchers and three recoilless guns. Both featured the same support units as well, with a signal platoon, supply platoon, repair workshop and medical aid station. The addition of the antitank platoon meant that a BTR battalion at full strength was 525 personnel and 60 BTRs, including three command variants, while a BMP battalion consisted of 497 personnel and 45 BMPs, including three command variants.<ref>US Army, ''FM 100-2-3 The Soviet Army: Troops, Organization and Equipment'', 4–3</ref>

=== Tank battalion ===
[[File:Soviet Tank BN-CO 1980s.jpg|thumb|left|1980s Soviet tank battalion and company]]
Prior to the late 1980s, Soviet tank battalions consisted of three tank companies of 13 [[T-64]], [[T-72]] or [[T-80]] tanks each, along with a battalion headquarters mounted in a command tank and a headquarters and service platoon, for a total of 165 personnel and 40 tanks; battalions using the older [[T-54]], [[T-55]] or [[T-62]]s tanks had 31 or 40 additional enlisted personnel. However, forces in Eastern Europe began to standardise to a smaller formation with 135 personnel and 31 tanks total, with each tank company consisting of 10 tanks total.<ref>US Army, ''FM 100-2-3 The Soviet Army: Troops, Organization and Equipment'', Paragraph 4-15</ref><ref>US Army, ''FM 100-2-3 The Soviet Army: Troops, Organization and Equipment'', Paragraph 4-108</ref>

=== Artillery battalion ===
[[File:Soviet Artillery Battalion 1980s.jpg|thumb|1980s Soviet 122 mm artillery battalion]]
A Soviet artillery battalion in the late 1980s consisted of a battalion headquarters, a headquarters platoon, a maintenance and supply platoon and three firing batteries, each with six artillery pieces, whether the self-propelled [[2S1 Gvozdika]]s or the towed [[122 mm howitzer 2A18 (D-30)|D-30]] [[howitzer]]s, and numbering 260 personnel or 240 personnel respectively. Rocket launcher artillery battalions consisted of a headquarters and headquarters platoon, a service battery and three firing batteries equipped with [[BM-21 Grad]]s for a total of 255 personnel.<ref>US Army, ''FM 100-2-3 The Soviet Army: Troops, Organization and Equipment'', Paragraph 4-3</ref><ref>US Army, ''FM 100-2-3 The Soviet Army: Troops, Organization and Equipment'', 4–50</ref>