Company (military unit)

A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 80–250 soldiers and usually commanded by a major or a captain. Most companies are formed of three to six platoons, although the exact number may vary by country, unit type, and structure. Several companies are grouped to form a battalion or regiment, the latter of which is sometimes formed by several battalions.

Certain sub-units were raised as independent companies that reported to no higher unit headquarters.

Historical background

The modern military company became popularized during the reorganization of the Swedish Army in 1631 under King Gustav II Adolph. For administrative purposes, the infantry was divided into companies consisting of 150 men, grouped into regiments of eight companies. Tactically, the infantry companies were organized into battalions and grouped with cavalry troops and artillery batteries to form brigades.

From ancient times, some armies have commonly used a base administrative and tactical unit of around 100 men. (Perhaps the most well-known is the Roman century, originally intended as a 100-man unit, but later ranging from about 60-80 men, depending on the time period.) An organization based on the decimal number system (i.e., by tens, hundreds, thousands, and ten-thousands) might seem intuitive to most, if not also highly logical, based on the common anatomical counting device created by using the ten digits of the human hands in numbering objects, animals, people, etc. Therefore, to the Romans, for example, a unit of 100 men seemed sufficiently large enough to efficiently facilitate organizing a large body of men numbering into the several thousands, yet small enough that one man could reasonably expect to command it as a cohesive unit by using his voice and physical presence, supplemented by musical notes (e.g., drum beats, bugle or trumpet blasts, etc.) and visual cues (e.g., colors, standards, guidons, etc.).