Do you mean Battalion?
If so then you are correct, they were very rarely at full strength. And at least for the British two Battalions usually formed a regiment, (the exception being the Guards Regiments who had considerably more Battalions in each regiment). The usual operating status, at least towards the end of the 18th Century was for one Battalion to be on campaign and the other back in England recruiting and training men to replenish the other Battalion. However even with this most Battalions during, for example, the Peninsular war rarely managed to muster more than 600 fit men, and often it was far lower.
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