FORMS FOR FIELD MESSAGES
The Infantry Drill Regulations state that “the authorized message book should be used and the form therein adhered to.” This book, issued by the Signal Corps, contains fifty message blanks with fifty duplicating sheets, so that fifty messages may be sent and a copy of each retained. The front of the blank appears as on next page.
The back of the blank is divided into squares. By means of a ratio between the size of these squares and certain scales for maps, a fairly accurate sketch is possible.
Caution.
Remember that a message may not always go direct from sender to receiver, but may be relayed by several methods of communications—buzzer, helio, or flag. Think how errors may creep in at each change of method, and guard against them by making your message one of telegraphic brevity and unmistakable clearness.
| U. S. ARMY FIELD MESSAGE. | No. | Sent by | Time | Rec’d by | Time | Check |
| (These spaces for Signal Operators only.) | ||||||
| Communicated by | (Name of sending detachment.) | |||||
| Buzzer, Phone, Telegraph, Wireless, Lantern, Helio, Flag, Cyclist,Foot Messenger, Mounted Messenger, Motor Car, Flying Machine. Underscore means used. | ||||||
| From . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | ||||||
| (Location of sending detachment) | ||||||
| At . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | ||||||
| Date . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hour . . . . . . . . No . . . . . . . . | ||||||
| To . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | ||||||
| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | ||||||
| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | ||||||
| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | ||||||
| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | ||||||
| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | ||||||
| Received . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | ||||||
By means of this sketch, the message may often be shortened, for the sender can refer by letter or number to various points on the sketch, whereas he would otherwise be compelled to describe positions or to go into detail at length. When he does draw a sketch, he should refer to it somewhere on the bottom of the face of the message thus: (See sketch over) or (See sketch reverse side).
The sketch is not usually duplicated.
The reverse side of the message blank appears thus:
Scale of Sketch ... ins. = 1 mile.
When scale is 6 ins. = 1 mile, each small square is 50 yards.
When 3 ins. = 1 mile, each one is 100 yards.
When 6 ins. = 1 mile, V.I. = 10 ft. When 3 ins. = 1 mile, V.I. = 20 ft.
The form of address of the regulation envelope for this message appears below. It is probably best explained by an extract from paragraph 36, Field Service Regulations, which reads as follows: “Messages carried by a messenger are usually enclosed in envelopes properly addressed. The envelope when not marked ‘confidential’ is left unsealed, so that commanders along the line of march may read the contents. Upon the envelope is written the name of the messenger, his time of departure, and rate of speed. The last is indicated as follows: Ordinary, rapid, or urgent. Ordinary means five miles an hour for a mounted man; rapid, about 7 or 8 miles an hour; and urgent, the highest speed consistent with certainty of arrival at destination. The recipient notes the time of receipt upon the envelope and returns the latter to bearer.”
UNITED STATES ARMY FIELD MESSAGE
To . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(For signal operator only.)
When sent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Rate of speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Name of Messenger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
When and by whom rec’d . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
This Envelope Will Be Returned to Bearer
We should certainly be armed with a Field Message Book when the crucial moment for writing a message arrives. But it so happens, especially in open warfare, that that article of equipment may have been left in the saddlebags, or have been borrowed by a friend. At any rate it is not present for duty when we want it. However, we are always able to produce a piece of paper or clothing—something upon which to write—from someone of the party present. It behooves us, then, to learn to compose a message without the aid of a blank. Indeed, this idea is contained in the latter part of the quotation from the Infantry Drill Regulations—“and the form therein adhered to.”
We are not compelled to memorize the form of the Field Message Blank. We can, however, analyse it so that it will fix itself in our memory and will be a part of what we must know in regard to the field order. And we can gain a knowledge of this form rather by adhering to the field message blank than by departing from it. Yet we need not know its entire form but simply what contents are necessary and what order they must have.
In the first place the field message may be divided into three parts:
The Heading,
The Body,
The Ending.
The Heading should contain:
The Name of Sending Detachment,
The Location of Sending Detachment (Place),
The Date,
The Hour of Issue,
The Number of the Message.
For example, the whole heading would appear something like this:
Combat Patrol, 318th Infantry,
Cross Roads 500 yds. south of CLINTON SCHOOL HOUSE.
No. 3. 9 Jan. 18. 9-45 p. m.
Location of sending detachment means the exact spot upon which sender is located at time of writing.
The date should be given always as above in the sequence, day, month, year. This combination prevents the numerals from being confused. In naming a night both days should be mentioned thus: Night 4/5 Feb. 18.
The time should always have the dash between the hour and minutes.
Messages sent on the same day from the same sending detachment are numbered consecutively. Each day or each mission starts a new series.
If a map referred to is not the one on the reverse side of the message, the sender should designate the name or number of the map used, immediately below the number of the message.
The Body of the message contains the following:
To Whom Sent,
The Body Proper.
The Body Proper has the following sequence for its information:
1. Enemy.
2. Your Own Troops.
3. Terrain.
4. Your Plan.
The body then would appear something like this:
“To Commanding Officer, Advance Guard, 71st Brigade:
Squadron of enemy’s cavalry encamped in meadow 600 yards southeast of here. Our officer’s patrol, which we met at ZION CHURCH at 8-10 a. m., reported two regiments enemy’s infantry intrenched at railroad one mile south of here. Tail of our second battalion at PARKSBURG steel bridge 7-20 a. m. Battalion was marching south. MARTIN’S CREEK unfordable at any point between SMITH’S CORNERS and GREENSBURG. Will move southeast from here along creek bed in order to complete mission.”
On account of lack of space, paragraphing is impossible: but if this sequence is followed the thought is easily gained. If some one of our own troops tells us concerning the enemy, this information should come between 1 and 2, and should be definitely shown to be hearsay and not our own observation.
Of course, all of the parts, 1, 2, 3, and 4, do not always occur. The order is nevertheless followed.
The Ending consists of
The Signature
which, in turn, consists of the sender’s surname and his rank, thus,
FLETCHER,
SGT.
The outline of the whole message construction, then, would be as follows:—
| { | 1. Name of sending detachment. | |||
| { | 2. Location of sending detachment (place). | |||
| The Heading | { | 3. The Date. | ||
| { | 4. The Hour of Issue. | |||
| { | 5. The Number of the Message. | |||
| { | 1. Enemy. | |||
| The Body | { | 1. To whom sent. | { | 2. Your own troops. |
| { | 2. The body proper. | { | 3. Terrain. | |
| { | 4. Your plan. | |||
| The Ending—The Signature | { | 1. Surname. | ||
| { | 2. Rank. | |||
The message we have composed, when assembled, would appear as follows:
Combat Patrol, 318th Infantry,
Cross Roads 500 yds. south of CLINTON SCHOOL HOUSE.
No. 3. 9 Jan. 18. 9-45 a. m.
To Commanding Officer Advance Guard, 71st Brigade:
Squadron of enemy’s cavalry encamped in meadow 600 yards southeast of here. Our officer’s patrol, which we met at ZION CHURCH at 8-10 a. m., reported two regiments enemy’s infantry intrenched at railroad one mile south of here. Tail of our second battalion at PARKSBURG steel bridge 7-20 a. m. Battalion was marching south. MARTIN’S CREEK unfordable at any point between SMITH’S CORNERS and GREENSBURG. Will move southeast from here along creek bed in order to complete mission.
FLETCHER,
SGT.
(See sketch reverse side.)
Caution.—Remember that “your own troops” means friendly supporting troops and not the troops of which you are in immediate command.
CHAPTER III
PROBLEMS IN THE COMPOSITION OF THE FIELD MESSAGE
“An intrinsically good tactical exercise,” says Griepenkerl,[2] “loses by faulty composition and careless or illegible handwriting.... A rambling mode of expression, a long-winded, elaborate style, is unmilitary. Therefore, test your order to see whether you cannot cross out some superfluous word, or whether you cannot think of some shorter and more suitable mode of expression; grudge every word.”
But he goes on to say in another place that clearness takes precedence over brevity; “therefore, rather use a long expression where a shorter one might be misunderstood. Brevity must never lead to superficiality.”
Griepenkerl was speaking of orders. Yet our Field Service Regulations state that “most of the rules adopted to secure clearness in orders apply equally to messages.”
In the following problems which are designed for practice in framing field messages, we should adhere not only to Griepenkerl’s advice, but also to the hints, forms, and cautions of Chapters I and II. Remember that each time a faulty form or expression is used, some commanding officer is halted or hindered, retarded or confused. The highest premium should be placed upon correct form and expression.
With the selection of material from the purposely misleading and sometimes ill-stated problems below, you may, however, have difficulty. Certainly all of the long narrative, often in soldier jargon, cannot be placed in the message. Some facts must be eliminated as unessential. What you should let your commanding officer know can be determined sometimes only by technical experience. However, Major General Morrison’s[3] caution along this line should be repeated here for your help: “We all recognize the fact that, as a rule, the sooner information reaches headquarters, the more valuable it is. But this applies only to information which really has value. If you are in doubt as to whether or not information would be valuable, give headquarters the benefit of the doubt and send it in.” So you see that if you are not quite decided about stating a detail, it is better to give the information than to withhold it. Therefore, exclude only those items which would on the ground of common sense be pointless.
In extracting and writing your messages from the problems given, it will be assumed that you do not know whether or not the recipient is provided with a map similar to your own. It may be taken for granted, however, that he is acquainted with the names which appear on your map.
It may also be assumed that you have drawn a sketch on the reverse side of your message sheet.
In reading your map the signs and abbreviations, explained in Appendix 4, Field Service Regulations, will aid you.
A scale of yards is at the bottom (the south) of your map. By the use of a slip of paper, distances in yards may be measured off from place to place.
Wherever it is stated in these problems that a person writes a message, the student should construct that same message. In so doing:
(1) Assemble your information in proper sequence,
(2) Give it proper and unmistakable expression, and
(3) Inspect it thoroughly in order to be positive that you have given it proper sequence, and proper and unmistakable expression.
Hold yourself strictly accountable for every expression which could be put into better form.
Caution.—The hour in the heading of message is the time of signature.