The Problem
Situation No. 5:
The patrol has arrived at this point. You, Sergeant B, are here. The leading man halts, crouches down, points down the road, and holds his rifle horizontally above his head.
Required:
What action do you, Sergeant B, take?
Solution
The Director: “Lieutenant Ralston, just what would you do under the circumstances?”
Lieutenant Ralston: “I would interpret the actions of the leading man to indicate that he has observed the enemy and that they are in small numbers. I would signal the patrol to halt and then signal ‘DOWN,’ which would indicate to the men that they are to take cover. I would then join the leading man to see for myself what is happening out in front.”
The Director: “I think we may all agree that your solution up to this point is correct. Now, let us assume that the leading man is at —— (indicate exact location) and you are here. I want you to show the class exactly how you would join him.
(Note.—Lieutenant Ralston gives the practical demonstration and the class moves up to where the leading man is supposed to be.)
“Is there any member of the class that would do it differently?”
(Note.—If any member has any criticism of the solution, have him go back to the starting point and demonstrate how he would do it.)
Solution
The Director: “Captain Harvey, let us assume that you are Sergeant B. You have joined your leading man here and he points out to you what he has seen. You observe six enemy infantrymen marching down the road in a formation similar to the one your patrol is now in. The leading man is at ——. (The Director points out the exact location of the enemy’s leading man, which should be at least 500 yards distant.) Apparently they have not observed you. What is your reaction to this situation?”
Captain Harvey: “At this moment I would have no means of telling whether these men are an enemy patrol or the point of an advance guard. The formation would be about the same. Can the Director give us definite information on that point?”
The Director: “All right. Let us assume for the moment that it is an enemy patrol. What would you do?”
Captain Harvey: “Under those circumstances, I would have my patrol take cover and let the enemy patrol go on by.”
The Director: “That would be the logical thing to do. Now, let us assume that the enemy are the point of an advance guard. What would you do?”
Captain Harvey: “In that event I would open fire on them immediately.”
The Director: “What would be your object in doing that?”
Captain Harvey: “By opening fire I give warning to our outpost that the enemy is advancing and I delay him because he will have to stop and make more or less reconnaissance before proceeding.”
The Director: “Captain Hodges, do you agree with that solution?”
Captain Hodges: “No, sir. This is a reconnoitering patrol. Its mission is to get information of the enemy’s strength and composition. If we fire on the point of this advance guard, all hope of getting any information of what is behind it is gone. It will not take the advance party commander very long to discover that we are only a patrol and he will simply run over us. Sufficient patrols will be sent out to the flanks to keep us away and we will get no information of any value to our own commander. I most certainly would not fire on the enemy at this time.”
The Director: “What action would you take?”
Captain Hodges: “I would wait a few minutes to try and determine the strength of the enemy’s advance party. This would give me a general line on his strength. I would then send my leading man, who has seen the enemy himself, back to the support commander as fast as he could go with the information we have. This would be a verbal message. I would have no chance to write it out. I would then conduct the rest of my patrol off to the —— flank under cover with a view to working around abreast of the enemy’s main body to secure information of his strength and composition. I would keep in contact with him to try and discover the direction of his deployment and what his intentions are. I would make strenuous efforts to get all of this information back to my support commander.”
The Director: “Those are the points I wanted to bring out. I do not think our patrol would be justified in opening fire on the enemy under the circumstances. We will assume that the enemy troops are a patrol, and that we have decided to avoid them and let them go on by. Just how would you go about that task, Captain James?”
(Note.—Captain James’ solution will depend upon the Terrain and the cover available.)
Procedure
The Director will point out to the class and dwell upon the principle that, having decided to avoid the enemy’s patrol, the all-absorbing duty of the patrol leader is to conceal his patrol so that the enemy will have no information that it is anywhere in the vicinity. The measures to accomplish this will then be worked out in the minutest detail. It may be well to have members of the class take post to represent the members of the patrol and have other members of the class to go out and represent the enemy’s patrol and advance just as they would under service conditions. Then have Captain James solve the problem of getting his patrol under cover without being discovered by the enemy.
Explanation
The Director: “We must give the enemy’s patrol credit for being on the alert and for having such a knowledge of tactics that he will do the reasonably proper thing. If he sees one member of our patrol, the difficulty of avoiding him will be doubly increased. Our task, then, is to get to cover as quickly as possible. It is this seeming trivial action that sometimes calls for all the ingenuity that the patrol leader may possess. The road may be open for a considerable distance, so that if one of the members of our patrol crosses from one side to the other he will be seen and the position disclosed to the enemy. It may be necessary for the patrol to fall back a short distance in order to secure the necessary cover. It may be necessary, in order to avoid discovery, to direct all men on one side of the road to take cover on their side and the remainder to seek cover on the opposite side. This means a dispersion of the patrol and the consequent danger of getting lost and also the difficulties of assembling again. This points to the advisability of training the men to all take cover on the same side of the road when the enemy is encountered as in this case.”
Procedure
When members of the class are in place to represent the enemy and our own patrol, the Director will give a signal and the movement starts. The enemy patrol moves along as it would naturally and Captain James proceeds to get the members of his patrol under cover. His method should be discussed by the class and the defects of it pointed out. It may be necessary to enact the solution several times before a satisfactory one is found.
The demonstration completed and the class again assembled, the Director proceeds with the problem.