Part 12

_The Director_: “All of that which we have just discussed is what we call the ‘Estimate of the Situation.’ It is simply a sizing up of the tactical situation in a logical and systematic manner. The commander of troops who fails to do this fails to do everything possible to promote the success of the military operation he is about to undertake—he does not take advantage of all the aids at his disposal. The commander who blunders into action without sizing up the situation as we have outlined here is doomed to failure and disaster. It may be an operation in which there is little to consider—where there is little choice of methods—but you should religiously go through the process, even if only a few minutes of time are available.

“At this point I want to invite your attention to the merits of the simple five paragraph field order provided for in our Field Service Regulations. The elements of it are:

“Paragraph 1. Information of the enemy and our own troops.

“Paragraph 2. The plan of the commander, stated in general terms.

“Paragraph 3. Orders for the several elements of the command.

“Paragraph 4. Administrative and communication arrangements.

“Paragraph 5. The place where messages are to be sent, or where the commander will march.

“This form of field order has stood the test of time and, what is more to the point, it has proved to be a suitable and effective method of issuing orders in time of war. When we went to France we found the long-winded, highly detailed orders that were the development of years of trench warfare. No one read them and, if they did, they did not understand them. We used them in order to conform with requirements from higher headquarters. When we really got down to the business of fighting and had to produce results we fell back on our own simple five paragraph order, and it met all the requirements. Get the elements of this order firmly fixed in your minds and follow them. They are applicable to any body of troops, large or small.

“The next point I want to bring out is the necessity for letting every man in the platoon know what the work for the day is to be. This information is imparted to them in the form of a verbal order by the platoon commander, which embraces the points brought out in the ‘Estimate of the Situation,’ which we have just discussed.”

Solution

_The Director_: “Captain Hall, based upon the decision reached in our ‘Estimate of the Situation’ and the discussion prior thereto, state your solution of the problem in detail.”

_Captain Hall_: “I give the command: 1. Platoon, 2. ATTENTION; then follow with: 1. With ball cartridges, 2. LOAD. After all pieces are loaded and locked, I give the command: 1. Order, 2. ARMS. I then give the command: AT EASE, and direct: ‘Give me your attention.’ I then issue my order as follows:

“Small Red forces are reported in the direction of (_c_) (indicating the direction). Our brigade marches towards (_b_), by the (_j_)—(_k_)—(_l_) road, which is —— miles to the —— of here. Our battalion continues its mission as a right (left) flank guard. Our company forms the advance guard. The company, less this platoon, is the support and follows us at a distance of about 400 yards.

“‘This platoon forms the advance party.

“‘Sergeant Roberts (section leader, first section) with the first squad will form the point. March by that road (indicating the road). I will signal the direction as we go along. Precede the advance party by about 200 yards.

“‘Private Allen (rifleman from front rank, second squad), act as connecting file between the point and advance party.

“‘The remainder of the platoon will march in column of twos, one file on each side of the road, at easy marching distances.

“‘Corporal Howard (section guide, second section), watch for signals from the rear.

“‘I will march at the head of the advance party.

“‘You have about five minutes before the advance begins. Move out with the point, Sergeant Roberts, get your distance and formation and await my signal to start.

“‘Remainder of the platoon REST.’

“When the time for starting arrives I will give the command: 1. Platoon, 2. ATTENTION; and then follow with: 1. Right, 2. FACE; then: 1. Forward, 2. MARCH, and direct: ‘A file on each side of the road.’ I will then signal the point: FORWARD MARCH.”

_The Director_: “That is very good. Now I want each member of the class to write out the order of the platoon commander on his pad.”

Procedure

Each member of the class writes out the order of the advance party commander. When all have completed this the Director collects the work and distributes it, making sure that no member of the class receives his own solution back again.

One or more of the solutions are read aloud, and a discussion of any errors or points of importance is conducted. At the conclusion of this the Director inquires if there are any questions. He endeavors to answer any questions that may be asked, after which the class is ready to go ahead with the next situation.

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=Advance Guard= =Card No. 1=

=Director’s Key=

1. Prepare copies of the problem and the situations, one for each member of the class.

2. Conduct the class to the point on the road where it is intended that the advance guard formation is to be taken up.

3. Make a short talk on the subject of advance guard duty: (_a_) Formation of a column of troops on the march. (_b_) Description of an advance guard. (_c_) Duties of advance guard: Security of main body; gain information; push back small parties of the enemy; check advance of enemy in force, clear road, etc. (_d_) Distances. (_e_) Communication.

4. Distribute sheets bearing problem and Situation No. 1.

5. Read problem and question members of class on tactical situation.

6. Discuss flank guard.

7. Take up solution of problem: Inspection of platoon; when to load pieces; get platoon away from company.

8. Estimate of the Situation: Mission; enemy; own troops; plans of action; decision.

9. Discussion of Field Orders. Information of enemy and own troops; plan of commander; tactical dispositions; administrative arrangements; place of commander.

10. Final solution of problem: Commands of platoon commander; orders of platoon commander; getting the platoon in march.

11. Have members of class write out orders of the platoon commander. Collect solutions and redistribute them. Have several solutions read and discussed.

* * * * *

Explanation

_The Director_: “In our solution to Situation No. 1, Captain Hall, in giving the order of the platoon commander said: ‘Sergeant Roberts, with the first squad, will form the point, etc.’ That was an eminently proper order. It did not go into details. He assumes that Sergeant Roberts is familiar with the methods of forming the point of an advance guard and conducting its operations.

“It is a very simple matter for the platoon commander to pass the order along to the sergeant in this manner. But unless the platoon commander knows how the work should be done he has no means of checking up and seeing to it that it is done properly.

“While it is not contemplated that any member of this class will ever be called upon to conduct the operations of the point of an advance guard, all should be familiar with what happens when he gives someone else an order to do so.”

Procedure

The Director passes out the papers containing Situation No. 2, reads the situation aloud and calls upon one or more members of the class to give their understanding of it.

The Problem

=Situation No. 2=:

You, Sergeant Roberts, have been designated to command the point, consisting of the first squad. Your men have been turned over to you by the platoon commander. You have been ordered to move out and get your distance and formation.

_Required_:

What do you do?

Procedure

_The Director_: “Captain Sands, what is a point?”

_Captain Sands_: “A point is an element of an advance guard that precedes the advance party.”

_The Director_: “That is right, and it is no more or less than a fighting patrol that is assigned a definite line of march. Its operations are conducted on that basis. It can afford to be bold and aggressive because the advance party is close at hand to back it up. What factors govern the formation of the point, Lieutenant Wallace?”

_Lieutenant Wallace_: “The point must have a formation that renders it the least vulnerable to hostile fire. This means dispersion. On the other hand, the dispersion should not be so great that the commander is not able to control its operations. I should say that a patrol formation, where the men march in pairs on opposite sides of the road, would be suitable.”

_The Director_: “What should be the distances between the men?”

_Lieutenant Wallace_: “Twenty to 25 yards. That distance would provide the necessary dispersion, and at the same time there would be sufficient compactness to insure control.”

_The Director_: “Where will the point commander march, Lieutenant Ralston?”

_Lieutenant Ralston_: “He should march at the head of the point.”

_The Director_: “Do you agree with that statement, Captain Harvey?”

_Captain Harvey_: “No, sir; I do not. It seems to me that the commander should be free to go wherever he is needed. He should not be tied down to any one place.”

_The Director_: “I agree with you. There are other reasons why he should not habitually march at the head of the point. In the first place, the man at the head of the point must always be on the lookout for the enemy, and if the point commander is the man his whole attention will be devoted to that task and there will be very little leadership exercised in the point. Again, we do not want to take a chance on our point commander becoming a casualty unnecessarily. He has been placed in command, presumably because he is the best man fitted for the job. He knows the plans for the day’s work better than any of the other men. If he becomes a casualty on the first few shots, there may be no one to take his place without some confusion and delay. If the point commander marches a little distance back, say in the second or even third pair, he will be sufficiently close to the front to perform his duty. I prefer to have him in the second pair. Before leaving this subject of the formation of the point I would like your opinion, Captain Hughes, on the question of deploying the men in a line of skirmishers at extended intervals.”

_Captain Hughes_: “That might be all right after the enemy is encountered, but I would not do it on an ordinary march. In the first place, it would be rough going for the men off on the flanks of the road, and they could not keep up. If the rate of march is held down to keep abreast of them, the progress of the main body will be delayed. In the next place, if the intervals are too much extended, the point commander will not be able to control the operations and will not have his men where he wants them at the critical moment.”

_The Director_: “Your reasons seem to be logical and possess merit. Before going further I want to say a few words about the operations of a point.”

Explanation

_The Director_: “The main idea to be instilled into the minds of the members of a point is that it must keep moving. It positively must not stop until absolutely compelled to do so by the fire of the enemy.

“When the enemy is encountered the point commander will have to size up the situation quickly and take the necessary action which invariably includes getting information back to the advance party commander.

“The men must look to the leader for instructions and guidance and await his orders.”

Solution

_The Director_: “Lieutenant Hastings, what elements are included in the orders of a point commander to the members of his point?”

_Lieutenant Hastings_: “They are the elements included in every field order. The point commander must be sure that every man has all the available information of the enemy and our own supporting troops. In this case they were given all of this by the platoon commander, and it is not necessary for Sergeant Roberts to repeat it. That is paragraph 1 of the order. The point commander must then announce his plans, in general terms, and that constitutes paragraph 2. Then comes the formation of the point and giving each man his instructions as to where he is to march in the formation—paragraph 3. He must now arrange for communication and follow with the place where he, himself, is to march. That completes the order.”

_The Director_: “Now, Captain Harvey, let us assume that you are Sergeant Roberts. Your squad is standing here on the road ready to move out. Let us hear the exact orders that you would give them.”

_Captain Harvey_: “I will take post in front of the squad and command: 1. Squad, 2. ATTENTION.

“I will then address the men as follows:

“‘You heard what the lieutenant said about the enemy and our supporting troops.

“‘We are going out as the point.

“‘Crane and Hanson (both riflemen), march on the right and left of the road, respectively. Keep about abreast of each other.

“‘Pendleton (rifle grenadier), follow Crane and Hanson at a distance of about 25 yards. March on the right side of the road.

“‘Alley (rifleman) and Stone (carrier for the automatic rifleman), follow Pendleton at 25 yards distance—Stone on left, Alley on right of road. Stone, watch the country to the east and Alley, watch the country to the west.

“‘Patrick (automatic rifleman) and Corporal Smith follow Alley and Stone at a distance of about 25 yards—Patrick on the right, Corporal Smith on the left of road.

“‘Bailey (rifleman), follow Patrick and Corporal Smith at a distance of about 25 yards and watch for signals from the advance party.

“‘I will march with Pendleton on the left side of the road.

“‘Move out.’”

Procedure

_The Director_: “Are there any questions?”

_Lieutenant Williams_: “Yes, sir. I would like to ask why Captain Harvey places the automatic rifleman so far back in the formation?”

_The Director_: “Captain Harvey, will you please explain your reasons?”

_Captain Harvey_: “If the point encounters the enemy, we would want to conduct a little reconnaissance before committing the automatic rifleman to action. If he is any farther to the front, he is most likely to get involved early in the encounter and perhaps in a position hastily chosen, where his weapon could not produce his maximum effect. The automatic rifle has the fire power of several rifles, and we want to take advantage of this fact. We must therefore get the weapon into the position where it can be done, and this cannot usually be determined with the first few shots of an advance guard meeting engagement.”

_The Director_: “Those are very good reasons—ones which I believe all the members of this class will remember when it comes to training their own non-commissioned officers. Are there any other questions?”

_Lieutenant Williams_: “Why did Captain Harvey omit to designate a second in command?”

_The Director_: “The succession in military command is determined by seniority. Corporal Smith is the next senior and will automatically assume command. If there were no non-commissioned officer with the squad, Sergeant Roberts would have designated one of the privates as second in command. Any other questions? (_Pause._) There appear to be none. I wish you would ask questions to bring out points that are not fully understood. It is by a discussion of these points that we arrive at a reasonable solution of these problems. Now, a few remarks before we pass on to the next situation.”

Explanation

_The Director_: “When you come to the training of your own men you cannot be too particular about insisting upon their learning the form of tactical orders and the language to be used in expressing their contents. It takes long practice to be able to do this without getting confused and omitting essentials.

“When a non-commissioned officer takes charge of a detachment for any tactical duty and gives his instructions in a clear and concise manner, leaving nothing to be guessed at, he inspires the confidence of his men. They realize immediately that there is someone at the helm who knows his business and they cheerfully respond. Noncommissioned officers should be practiced in stating the instructions that they would have to give under the various tactical situations that they may be called upon to handle. There is no surer way to gain that confidence so necessary to military efficiency.[6]

“If there are no further questions we will proceed with the problem.”

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=Advance Guard= =Card No. 2=

=Director’s Key=

1. Explain necessity for learning the details of tactics.

2. Hand out Situation No. 2. Have members of class explain their understanding of it.

3. The Point. What it is. Formation. Distances. Dispersion.

4. Where commander marches.

5. Deployment of point as skirmishers.

6. Operations of point.

7. Elements of the order for the point.

8. Solution. Issue of orders.

9. Position of automatic rifleman in formation.

10. Second in command.

11. Training of men.

* * * * *

Procedure

The class is now conducted forward along the route of march of the advance guard for a distance of several hundred yards. The distance should be such that the class will at least be beyond the sight of the starting point in the Terrain Exercise, so that entirely new terrain will be available. There should be a considerable stretch of road ahead in sight so that the various elements of the advance guard could be seen if they were actually on the road.

The class is halted and the Director passes out the slips containing Situation No. 3.

The Problem

=Situation No. 3=:

It is assumed that the advance guard has been marching for a period of two hours.

You, Captain A, marching at the head of the support of the advance guard, have reached this point. Nothing has occurred to change the initial formation of the advance guard.

_Required_:

Point out the formation and location of the various elements of the advance guard at this moment.

Procedure

A few minutes are allowed the members of the class to look over the situation and get their new bearings. The Director reads the situation aloud and inquires whether there are any questions, which he endeavors to answer.

Explanation

_The Director_: “You will note that the situation indicates that the advance guard is assumed to have been marching for two hours. This would make the distance we have marched a little more than 5 miles. As a matter of fact, we have only come a few hundred yards from our starting point. You will have to draw on your imagination in this matter, disregard all things behind you, and consider only those to the front. It would consume too much time to actually go the distance assumed and it is not necessary to do so, for we are now on new terrain, which serves our purpose equally as well as if we were the full distance of 5 miles farther to the front.”

Procedure

_The Director_: “What are the several elements of the advance guard, Lieutenant Williams?”

_Lieutenant Williams_: “First, we have the point, which is the small body of men farthest to the front; next, we have a connecting file between the point and the advance party; next comes the advance party, then the connecting files between the advance party and the support, and finally the support, which is right here on the road.”

_The Director_: “Captain Hastings, what is the strength and disposition of these several elements of the advance guard?”

_Captain Hastings_: “The point is composed of one complete squad commanded by a sergeant. It is in patrol formation, marching on the road with a distance of about 20 to 25 yards between each pair of men. The point precedes the advance party by a distance of about 150 to 200 yards. The connecting file between that point and advance party marches so that he can keep both of these bodies in sight. He has no fixed place where he is to march—”

_Lieutenant Wallace_ (_interrupting_): “Right there is a point that I want to bring up. I can conceive of a situation where the connecting file could not keep both bodies in sight all the time—for example, on a winding road or in hilly country. What does he do in that case?”

_The Director_: “Under those circumstances the commander of the advance party would have to send out a sufficient number of men for this duty, so as to insure communication being kept up at all times. It is simply a problem to be solved by the advance party commander. Captain Hastings, proceed with your discussion.”

_Captain Hastings_: “Next comes the advance party composed of the first platoon, less one squad and connecting file, commanded by Lieutenant W. It is marching with a column of files on each side of the road at easy marching distances. The connecting files between the advance party and support march so that they can keep both bodies in communication with each other all the time. The distance between the advance party and support is about 400 yards. Now comes the support, composed of the company, less the first platoon and connecting files with the advance party, which marches in a column of squads on the road. Following is the main body of the battalion, at a distance of about 500 yards.”

_The Director_: “Lieutenant Ralston, what provisions are made for flank protection?”

_Lieutenant Ralston_: “I do not think that any flank protection is necessary at this time. No considerable body of the enemy will get between our column and the main body of our brigade. If they did they would be doomed to destruction. On the other flank the country is open, so that no patrols are needed in that direction. I do not believe in wearing men out on flank patrol duty when there is no necessity for it.”

Explanation

_The Director_: “That is exactly the point that I wanted to bring out. There is no necessity for wearing men out on flank patrol duty beating their way over rough country and climbing fences, when they accomplish no useful purpose. Never send out a flank patrol unless there is some sound tactical reason for it. Then when the time comes and there is necessity for patrols, your men will be found ready to put forth superhuman efforts, if need be, to help you accomplish your mission. If you are in contact with the enemy, or there is immediate danger of such contact, flank patrols may be necessary and a commander should not hesitate to send them out. On the solution of these small tactical problems, that confront a commander in actual service, will determine your success or failure as a leader. You must ever keep in mind that it is a combination of these small tactical situations that go to make up the big military operations on which the fate of a nation may depend.”

Procedure

_The Director_: “Now, I want each member of the class to make a rough sketch of the road occupied by the advance guard and show on it the dispositions of the advance guard.”

Some 10 or 15 minutes should be allowed for this. After the sketches are completed they should be collected and passed back to the members of the class—taking care to see that no man gets his own solution back again. The members of the class should be invited to make any criticism of the sketch he has in his possession and following this the next situation should be proceeded with.

* * * * *

=Advance Guard= =Card No. 3=

=Director’s Key=

1. Conduct the class to the place where the situation is to be taken up for solution.

2. Hand out Situation No. 3. Read Situation aloud.

3. Explain why Situation is taken up at this point instead of five miles farther on.