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The company was the command echelon below the battalion and above the platoon. It was commanded by a captain with a first lieutenant as executive officer and a first sergeant as assistant. A typical U.S. rifle company numbered 1902 men and consisted of three rifle platoons and a machine gun or heavy weapons platoon with three 60mm mortars, three bazookas, and two medium machine guns. Companies in other armies, which put less emphasis on firepower, omitted the heavy weapons platoon but sometimes included a fourth rifle platoon.
There were several categories of Japanese infantry companies. A "B"
type company consisted of about 181 men organized into three rifle
platoons, while an "A" type company numbered 205 men. Some "A" type
companies were reinforced with a heavy weapons and an ammunition platoon
and had a total strength of 262 men. A machine gun company consisted of 73 to 144 men equipped with 4 to 8 heavy machine guns.
References
"Handbook of Japanese Military Forces" (1944-9-15)
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