PzJaeger Company of Tank Battalion*
*
In WW2 Finnish tank battalion did not have any organic infantry. This was concidered a disadvantage, as tanks always needed some infantrymen for close protection against enemy infantry. From late 1940's onwards the tanks had Close Cover infantry ("Suojamiehet") to provide them with the needed support. The teams riding on the tank decks were vulnerable to any small arms fire the tank would draw, and they needed to dismount whenever under fire, slowing down the tank unit. Thus need for mechanization of the close cover infantry had a high priority. But this was not possible untill 1965 when BTR-50PKs were bought from USSR. These APCs were first all situated in the Tank Battalion.*
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Up till the mid-1960s a Tank Battalion had a Jaeger Company (called "Escort Company", "Saattokomppania" in Finnish), equiped with trucks for transportation. With the introduction of the first APCs, this company was transformed into a mechanized company, that had finally the mobility of the tank companies they were to support. First the new APC transported infantry sections were called Assault Sections ("Rynnakkoryhma" in Finnish), but later the name Panzerjaeger ("Panssarijaakari" in Finnish) was used. This name was used during WW2 by the anti-tank gunners in the Armoured Division (Panssaridivisioona), but from 1960's onwards it was used to describe first the infantry using BTR-50s or BTR-60s, and later any infantry using IFVs.*
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Having mechanized the Tank Battalion's infantry, it was the bicycle equiuped Jaeger Battalions that were left behind in mobility. This being so meant that the advantage of the armoured vehicles' mobility was always lost when the tank units were attached to the jaeger battalions that fought on foot. This started a debate about independent use of the Battalion, something that was considered unorthodox and "young lieutenants' foolery" by many of the older, more experienced armour commanders of the day. The increasingly crucial "question of mobility" also created a lot of pressure to finally motorize or mechanize the jaeger battalions with armoured vehicles, something that was financially impossible before 1970's.*