“Let us visualize this situation. Let us consider ourselves as being Sergeant K. He is the fellow that all the orders finally get down to and the one that has to do the real job out here on the line. You hear the claims of certain staff corps, from time to time, about the necessity for having high-class men for the key positions in their enlisted personnel. Can you show me in any branch of the Army where a high-class man is required any more than he is right here? Here is a doughboy sergeant face to face with a problem, the proper solution of which means more to the success of the operations than any so-called “highly technical” position in the back areas. Upon what he does and how he does it may depend the success or failure of this whole military operation. The lives of the men under him are absolutely in his hands. If he blunders he may lose all of them.
“With these few remarks let us proceed with the problem.”
Procedure
The Director will read the situation aloud, and make such explanations as may be necessary. He will call on one or more members of the class to state his understanding of the situation.
Solution
The Director: “Lieutenant Williams, how would you go about your task?”
Lieutenant Williams: “In the first place, I would look over the front and see what it affords in the way of a field of fire. I would next locate the section groups on the right and left and see where their fire could help to protect my front and how fire from my position could help to protect their fronts. I would see how the bands of fire from the machine guns in the area lay with relation to my front.”
(Note.—The Director will point out the location of the adjacent section groups on the right and left and the position of the machine guns. He will also indicate the direction of the bands of fire of the machine guns. All of this should be indicated by flags of distinctive color if it is possible to do so.)
The Director: “You have done all of the things you mention and the whole layout is clear to you. What is your next step?”
Lieutenant Williams: “I would search out the vacant spaces—the uncovered ground of the machine guns and so arrange my dispositions to cover them. I would first determine where my automatic rifles may be employed to the best advantage. I will want them for flanking fire to cover the adjacent combat groups and will expect the support of their automatic rifles to help cover my own front. I will want them to cover exposed places to the front that the enemy will have to pass over in making his attack. I will want them to cover certain lines along my wire entanglements. All of these things will have to be taken into consideration in locating them. I will next consider my other special weapons, the rifle grenade and the hand grenade. They are both valuable adjuncts to the defense, especially the rifle grenade. They will both serve well to cover dead spaces that are difficult to reach with machine gun and rifle fire. Such features as ravines, sunken roads and places where enemy troops may seek cover can be made untenable by the rifle grenade up to about 200 yards.”