(7) Halt Order
6.—You are Brigadier General Short; you are in command of a detachment from the first division. You have just decided that your whole command should go into camp for the whole night. Your command is at Bonnyville. You want to let your troops know that your cavalry has come in contact with hostile cavalry, and that this attack was made near Whitehall. About an hour after the issue of your message your cavalry drove back the hostile cavalry toward Littlestown. You want the second infantry to camp in a field southwest of the town in which your division is now located. You want your first battalion of your fourth artillery to camp in a field northwest of the same town. You understand from a patrol which has just reported to you, that at noon a column of the enemy was on the march going west, and that at that time the advance guard of this column of the enemy was at Center School House. You decide to place the first infantry in a camp northwest of Sweet Home School House. There this first infantry is to establish an outpost. The outpost is to extend from Hill 627 on the north, along through St. Luke’s Church up into a place called Coshun. You want to notify the first infantry of your command, that in case it is attacked, the line which has just been designated will be the one to be held. Your third infantry you want to have camp in a field north of the town in which you are. You want your field trains to join their organizations; that is, the organization to which they ordinarily belong, and you want this done right away. You yourself at your own headquarters are going to camp where the main street comes out of the western end of this town at which you are located. At one o’clock in the afternoon of June 2, 1930, you deliver this order verbally to your advance guard commander, to all your columns of infantry, to your artillery commander, and all your staff; you send one of your aides with a copy of the order to Major Kline of the fifth cavalry, Captain Quigley who is in charge of the train, and to Captain Supple of the signal corps. This is the 7th field order you have written in this campaign. Signal Company A is to be camped west of the second infantry, and the first ambulance company is to be near the signal company. All the ammunition companies are to be camped near the farm house called Lawrence. The first squadron of the 5th cavalry ought, you figure, to camp somewhere near and west of the artillery.
7.—The enemy has been retreating; he is continuing his retreat. Your troops know that he has been retreating, but they do not know that he is continuing his retreat. In fact, he is retreating in great disorder. He is retreating in such great disorder that he is offering no show of resistance to any of your troops who are pursuing him. You are Major General Plight in command of the first division of the first army corps. You are on the Baltimore Turnpike near White Run. You decide to have your advance guard camp north of Two Taverns and to establish an outpost line. They are to have a line of observation and keep on the alert on that line of observation which will extend from Bonnyville through Germantown to the cross-roads at 568. The first brigade will come between the two branches of White Run, which are north of the road just mentioned. The artillery brigade, with one battalion gone, will camp along the road which runs through the western branch of White Run. The ambulance companies, you figure, should camp south on the road just mentioned and west of White Run. Your division headquarters you decide to have placed west of the farm house. This farm house is located west of where the road you are on crosses over Rock Creek. You wish to tell your command that orders will be issued from these headquarters at nine o’clock. Your whole command, you decide, should halt for the whole night. Your second brigade should camp just north of the road where you are located, and just west of a road known by the name of Low Dutch. This 2d brigade should have a detached post which it will detail for outpost duty. Such a post should be in observation of the cross-roads at 530. This cross-roads is just west of the Mt. Vernon School House. The engineer battalion should camp south of the road you are on and east of White Run. The signal company should camp at a spot where the road you are on goes across Rock Creek. You want the signal company to lay a wire from there to the outpost, and you want the signal company to have a station on this wire or line at a place indicated by 489. You want your outpost to know that if they are attacked they will be supported by you. You give copies of this order to the officers who are sent from the various commands to get the orders. You issue the order at a quarter after two in the afternoon of June 2, 1935. They are the 77th field orders you have issued in this campaign. Your field trains ought to join their commands right off. You want the remaining trains to go into park on the main battle-field of Gettysburg. You decide that issues of supplies will be best made from the supply column and that these issues should be made at half past five in the morning. The place you decide from which such issues should be made is 523. Your supply wagons, which have been emptied, ought to proceed to Ortanna for the night. There they should fill up with supplies and come back and join early the next day.
(8) The Outpost Order
8.—You are Colonel Fluke of the 99th infantry, and you are located near Bonnyville. You decide to establish an outpost, and you decide that your regiment should go into camp in the vicinity of Sweet Home School House. The outpost should extend from Hill 627 at the northern extremity, and then go on through St. Luke’s Church, and should extend to the right fork at 587 at its southern extremity. This road fork at 587 is south of the Coshun place. You want the line of support to be held if you are attacked. Your line of support will be at one, two, three, four, and five, in order. Your support No. 1 will take a position near the road fork at 587, about a mile southwest of Bonnyville. This support will cover the sector from the stream on the west to the first stream on its east both inclusive. Frequent patrols will be made to the Baltimore Turnpike. You issue this, your first field order, at half past one on the afternoon of June 2, 1950. You deliver this order in person by reading it after you have assembled all your field officers, your staff officers, and your company commanders. You decide that you will be at the Sweet Home School House during the continuation of the outpost. Your cavalry on this very day came in contact with some cavalry of the enemy. About noon at Whitehall this occurrence took place. There your cavalry drove back the enemy’s cavalry toward Littlestown. From reliable patrols you get a report that at noon, the very same time that this occurrence took place, a large column of the enemy was seen to be coming west. The head of the advance guard of this platoon of the enemy was then at Center School House. Your Support No. 1, in command of Captain Link, will consist of Company G and four mounted scouts. Support No. 3, you decide to go into a position near St. Luke’s Church. It ought to be responsible for the sector of ground which you designate to extend from the stream about 500 yards south of St. Luke’s Church, on to a farm house 1,000 yards northeast from a point 500 yards south of St. Luke’s Church. You wish to include both these extremities in the sector of Support No. 3. Support No. 3 ought to patrol the road which runs past Whitehall School House. The reserve ought to camp near the Sweet Home School House. Support No. 5 should take a position on the north slope Hill 627; the duty of Support No. 5 ought to consist of connecting with Support No. 3, and of covering by their observations the road forks of 601 and 598. Support No. 5 will consist of 2d Lieut. Prince and the first section of Company I. Support No. 4 should go and take a position at a point on the Hanover road. This point is the place where the Hanover road joins with the Bihl farm road. Support No. 4 will cover the ground around Support No. 3, and the road fork at 597. This road fork is north of Square Corners. Support No. 4 will include in its observations the points mentioned as the extremities of this section. Support No. 2 should take a position somewhere near the road fork of 617; this road fork is just about a mile and a quarter south of the camp where you are. Support No. 2 should cover the territory which is included in the ground around the stream, which is west on the road for 617, to a point 500 yards east of this road fork. The reserve should consist of the first infantry, of which five companies will already have been taken out, and also fourteen scouts. You want the wagons of the field trains to go ahead right away and join the organizations to which they ordinarily belong. Support No. 3 is to be under the command of Captain Nutt, and is to consist of Company H and six mounted scouts. Those wagons of the field trains, which belong to the companies in support, will join the wagons of the regimental headquarters; they will do this by eight o’clock in the evening. Support No. 3, under the command of Captain Nelson, will consist of Company I, excepting the first section, and two mounted orderlies. Support No. 2, under the command of Major King, will consist of the second battalion, all except Companies G and H and will also consist of four mounted scouts. You want to tell your troops that your brigade to which your regiment belongs is about to go into camp in the vicinity of Bonnyville.
March Orders with Advance and Rear Guard
9.—On the 4th of September, 1956, you are Major Britton. You are in command of the fourth division of the 19th army corps and you are about to issue an order which will keep your division on the march on the next morning; you have been marching. At 10 o’clock at night you issue your order near Abbottstown, stating that you yourself are going to be at the head of your main body. You feel that you should march in the general direction of York on the next day. Your main body in this order of march will consist of the first infantry, of the second battalion of the 8th field artillery, of the third brigade, of signal company “D,” and of the four ambulance companies. Your main body should move out so as to come along behind the advance guard, so that the tail of the advance guard will be 1,000 yards ahead of the head of the main body itself. Wagon trains should move out so that they in turn will come along behind the main body, so that the head of the lead horses will be 1,000 yards behind the tail of the main body. You are in such a position between two large forces of the enemy that you must have a rear guard. This rear guard will be in command of Major General Huff. It will consist of the first cavalry division, of the second brigade, of the 7th field artillery, of the 4th battalion of engineers, and of the 1st, 2d, and 3d ambulance companies. You hear that the enemy has probably been reenforced and that this reenforcement probably consists of a brigade of cavalry. You also hear, just when you issue this, your 7th field order of the campaign, that there are some hostile infantrymen near York, say, about a brigade. The rear guard, you figure, ought indeed to keep the enemy in check. A rear guard of this nature ought to resist any advancement on the part of the enemy until your advance guard can open a road through York. The first cavalry division, you have knowledge, is bivouacking near where you are. It has, indeed, reported for duty in connection with the work of the division.
The idea of the last two chapters has been to put a jumbled military decision into good working form. The object has not been to solve tactical problems, but rather to put the ideas correctly expressed into their logical places.