March Column Length
Regular Infantry
A regular infantry battalion had a march column length of 750 meters. A reinforced infantry battalion, consisting of an infantry battalion, an infantry gun platoon, an artillery battery, and an engineer company, had a march length of 1300 meters.
The time it took for a unit to move one column length was significant when the movement of units intersected each other. The following data is the column length and time needed to pass for a march group, consisting of one reinforced infantry regiment with two artillery battalions. If only one artillery battalion was included, the column length was 1400 meters shorter.
| Unit |
Column Length |
Time Needed |
| Without safety distance |
6 000 m |
1.5 h |
| With safety distance |
9 000-10 000 m |
2.5 h |
| Distance, first company and vanguard battalion |
1 000-1 500 m |
- |
| Distance, vanguard battalion and main unit |
1 500-2 000 m |
- |
| Distance, march groups |
4 000 m |
1 h |
Motorized Infantry
| Unit |
When Stationary |
At 15 km/h |
At 25 km/h |
| Motorized infantry battalion |
2 150 m |
5 280 m |
7 600 m |
Reinforced motorized infantry regiment
- Infantry regiment
- Light artillery battalion
- Engineer company
- Anti-tank company
|
11 600 m |
27 000 m |
29 000 m |
| Tank Battalion |
2 250 m |
5 500 m |
8 000 m |
| Motorcycle Battalion |
4 000 m |
10 000 m |
14 000 m |
| Heavy artillery battalion |
1 900 m |
4 600 m |
6 700 m |
| Motorized infantry division without supply train |
48 600 m |
120 000 m |
170 000 m |
March Speed
These numbers were general guidelines, and were heavily influenced by road conditions.
| Type |
By Day |
By Night |
| Mixed units, all weapon types |
4 km/h |
3 km/h |
| Mounted |
6-7 km/h |
5 km/h |
| Bicycle |
12 km/h |
- |
| Bicycle, short distances1Much less against the wind. |
20 km/h |
- |
Motorized Units
| Type |
By Day |
By Night |
| Fully tracked |
20 km/h |
12 km/h |
| Half-tracked |
25-30 km/h |
15 km/h |
| Wheeled |
30-40 km/h |
20 km/h |
| Motorcycles |
40 km/h |
20 km/h |
Daily March Distances
| Type |
Distance |
| Mixed units, all weapon types |
30-50 km |
| Mounted |
50-60 km |
| Tracked |
150-200 km |
| Wheeled |
250-300 km |
Notes
- Much less against the wind. Back
Sources
- Anhaltspunkte für Marsch. Berlin : Kriegsakademie Hörsaal B, 1943. 2 p. NARA T314 R1574.