THE FORM OF THE FIELD ORDER
“To enable the will of the commander to be quickly understood, to secure prompt cooperation among his subordinates, and for ready reference, field orders are required to follow a general form. This form divides an order into sections or parts and assigns to each a particular class of information.
The parts of the field order are:
The Heading.
The Distribution of Troops (in certain orders).
The Body.
The Ending.”[9]
The only difference between the divisions of the field message and the field order, then, is that the latter contains in certain orders The Distribution of Troops.
The Heading.—The heading contains:
The Title or Name of Issuing Officer’s Command.
The Place.
The Date.
The Hour of Issue.
The Number of the Order.
The Reference to Map Used.
The Title or Name corresponds to the Name of Sending Detachment in the field message. But a title is the name applied to the temporary duty of a command, such as, “Advance Guard, Det. 21st Div.,” whereas the name itself might be “162d Inf., Det. 21st Div.” The Place does not need to be given so specifically as in the field message, because the command issuing a field order takes up much more space than a reconnaissance party. The Date and Hour of Issue are written as in the field message. Field Orders are numbered in sequence usually annually. The Reference to Map Used is placed immediately below the number. The Heading of a field order would appear thus:
Field Orders: Det. 21st Div., 12th Corps,
No. 22 Leavenworth, Kansas,
(Geological Survey Sheet)
9 Dec. 28, 8-15 p. m.
The Distribution of Troops.—“The distribution of troops shows the tactical components into which a command is divided (advance guard, main body, etc.) and the troops assigned to each. It is generally used in march orders and in the first field order applying to a command newly created or organized. In other cases it is usually more convenient to name the troops in the body of the order, where their duties are prescribed.
When a ‘distribution’ is used, it is headed ‘Troops,’ and in written or printed orders is placed on the left of The Body, occupying about one-third of the page. The tactical components are marked with lettered subheads (a), (b), etc., the troops listed under each performing the task prescribed in the similarly marked paragraph of the body of the order.
When orders are dictated or sent by wire or signals, the distribution of troops (if used) is given immediately after paragraph 2, without number.”[10] In orders for a regiment and smaller bodies the Distribution of Troops is usually omitted.
The Distribution of Troops in a field order would appear thus:
Troops.
(a) Independent Cavalry:
Col. Adams.
1st & 2d Sqs. 1st Cav.
(less one troop)
(b) Advance Guard:
Col. Byron.
1st Inf., 1st Cav.,
Btry. B, 5th F. A.
Det. Co. A, Engrs.
Det. Amb. Co. No. 1.
(c) Main Body, in order of march:
1st Bn, 2d Inf.
1st Bn, 5th F. A.
(less 1 btry).
1st Brig. (less 1st Inf. and
1st Bn. 2d Inf.).
4th Inf.
Co. A, Engrs. (less det.).
Amb. Co. No. 1 (less det.).
1st F. Hosp.
(d) Signal Troops:
Lieut. Dash.
1 plat., Co. A.
The Body.—The Body, of course, is the main part of the order. It contains the information and instructions for the command. It is to this part that Buddecke refers when he says: “The order, which is to transform decision into action, is of the utmost importance.”
The Sentence and the Paragraph, then, should be perfectly constructed. Each one of those elements should be tested to see that it is unified, coherent, and emphatic. The examples herein given, or any set phrasing, should never be imitated. Every leader must compose his own words, his own decision. He must give to his subordinates the language that best suits the particular occasion. Otherwise there will be no unity of structure and little likelihood of unity of action. Every military situation is a a law unto itself, and the language of the field order should fit that law.
Nevertheless there are certain aids, as we shall see, in composing the Body. The topic of each paragraph is to be found in our Regulations. We must see that nothing enters the paragraph or sub-paragraph but that which belongs in the topic assigned. We must see, also, that all of the matter belonging in a paragraph is placed there, and that every sentence in the paragraph is free from violations of Unity, Coherence, and Emphasis.
“Paragraph 1 contains such information of the enemy and of our supporting troops as it is desirable that subordinates should know.”
“Paragraph 2 contains the general plan of the commander, or so much thereof as will insure cooperation of all parts of the command.”
“Paragraph 3 contains the detailed tactical dispositions adopted by the commander to carry out the plan outlined in paragraph 2, including the tasks assigned to each of the several combatant fractions of the command. These tasks are given under lettered subheads (a), (b), etc., the leading fraction, or the one having the most important duty to perform, being generally considered first. For instance: In an attack order it is customary to consider the artillery first; in a march order troops are considered according to their position in column.”
“Instructions applicable to all of these fractions may be embodied in a sub-paragraph, letter (X), at the end of paragraph 3.”
“Paragraph 4 contains instructions for the trains, and may designate the position of ammunition distributing stations, dressing stations, and stations for slightly wounded.”
“The last paragraph, usually paragraph 5, shows where the commander can be found or messages may be sent. In orders of subordinate commanders, this paragraph also gives the location of lines of information, if any have been established.”
“If additional paragraphs are necessary, they are incorporated, properly numbered, after paragraph 4. Sometimes it is unnecessary to include instructions for the trains; but whatever the number of paragraphs the last always shows where the commander can be found, etc.”[11]
Briefly, then, the paragraphs may be epitomized as follows:
1. Enemy (sub-paragraph neither numbered nor lettered).
Your own troops (sub-paragraph neither numbered nor lettered).
2. Plan (single paragraph).
3. (a) Task of the leading, or the most important, fraction of command.
(b) Task of next, or next important, fraction of command. (X) Anything which applies to all fractions of command.
4. Trains.
5. Location of commander or place to which messages are to be sent (sub-paragraph neither numbered nor lettered).
Location of lines of information (sub-paragraph neither numbered nor lettered).
The Body of a field order would appear thus:
1. The enemy’s cavalry patrols have been seen north of KICKAPOO. His infantry and artillery are reported at ATCHISON.
Our division is 8 miles south of LEAVENWORTH.
2. This detachment will march tomorrow to KICKAPOO.
3. (a) The independent cavalry will start at 5-30 a. m., covering the movement.
(b) The advance guard will clear the northern exit of LEAVENWORTH at 6 a. m., marching by the ATCHISON CROSS-FRENCHMAN road.
(c) The main body will follow the advance guard at 1,200 yards.
(d) The signal troops will establish a line of information along the line of march between the independent cavalry and LEAVENWORTH, one of the stations being at FRENCHMAN.
4. The field train, escorted by one company 4th Inf., will follow the main body as far as FRENCHMAN.
5. The detachment commander will be with the main body until 7 a. m., and thereafter with the advance guard.
The Ending.—“The ending contains the authentication of the order and a statement of how it is communicated to the command. This statement is an important feature of a field order and is made by the officer signing the order, he being responsible that it is properly distributed.”[12]
The ending then would appear thus:
By order of Brig.-Gen. Forse:
J. G. HAMILTON,
Lt. Col. 1st Inf.,
Act. Chief of Staff.
Copies to Colonels Adams and Byron, commanders of artillery and engineers, and to staff; to division commander by wire.
The various parts of the field order, when assembled, appear as follows:
There are certain
Special Cautions
in regard to the writing of the field order.
1.—What is required in paragraph 3 of the Body is that the order be logical—coherent.[13]
2.—An order tells a subordinate what to do but not how to do it.
3.—Conjectures, expectations, reasons for measures adopted, and detailed instructions for a variety of possible events, do not inspire confidence, and should be avoided.
4.—As a rule, an affirmative form of expression is used. Such an order as: “The supply train will not accompany the division,” is defective, because the gist of the order depends upon the single word “not.” It is far better to say, “The supply train will remain at so-and-so until further orders.”
5.—Do not use such expressions as “attempt to capture,” “try to hold,” “as far as possible,” “as well as you can.” Besides being indefinite, they divide responsibility. You, for example, receive an order “to try to capture” a certain position. Immediately there pops into your mind the suspicion that the commanding officer did not believe that the place could be taken, or was not anxious about having it captured. The commanding officer by the very wording of his order has taken on himself a part of the responsibility in the event of a repulse. At least he has not placed all the burden of the undertaking upon you. In the latter case he has been guilty of improper subordination.
CHAPTER VII
PROBLEMS IN THE FIELD ORDER
After the plan of Trench of the English Service, we are going to take up the problems in the construction of the field order along the lines on which tactical situations naturally develop themselves during hostilities. We shall discover that the sequence will not only conform to actual conditions, but will lead from the more simple to the more complex. We shall, then, proceed with,—
(1) The March Order.
(2) The Attack Order.
(3) The Order for Position in Readiness.
(4) The Defense Order.
(5) The Retreat Order.
(6) The Pursuit Order.
(7) The Halt Order.
(8) The Outpost Order.
Emphasis will be laid upon the march and attack orders, because they are the most usual and the most critical.
In these problems all necessary data will be given. No attempt will be made to mislead in regard to fact. But every attempt will be made to mislead in regard to the expression of the fact. Crude violations and mixtures of rhetoric will therefore be found throughout.
In arranging his material the student should use his own style and should not attempt to copy phraseology from any military forms. That which is most brief and most unmistakable is best, no matter who writes the order.
Note.—The topographical data will not be found upon the map. The units for which a field order must be written require an area larger than that which our limited sheet provides. The student, by reading over the problem two or three times ought, with the aid of his imagination, to perceive the will of the commander.