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.”
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.