Situation No. 2:
This consists of copies of the orders of Major X to the commanding officers of the machine gun company and howitzer platoon as given by Captain Scott, and of the message to the commanding officer of the right assault company as given by Captain Howe.
Required:
The orders actually issued by the commanding officer of the machine gun company.
Solution
The Director: “Captain Jones, what is the first decision that Captain M must make when he receives the order of Major X?”
Captain Jones: “He must decide whether he will employ the whole company to support the right assault company or only the platoon which had been directed to support this company at the beginning of the fight. Major X has not indicated whether the whole company will be employed, so Captain M must make this decision. The left assault company may encounter more stubborn resistance, so I should employ only the right platoon.”
The Director: “Captain Brown, what do you think about that?”
Captain Brown: “I think he should employ the whole company. Concentration of the fire of the platoons on points that are holding up the battalion is one of the duties of the captain. The left assault company is continuing to move forward and does not need the support of the left platoon so it should be used to help advance the right assault company. There is an excellent firing position directly in its line of advance and it can be switched to the support of the left assault company at any time that it becomes necessary. If the only firing position available were such that the platoon could not support the advance of the left assault company, if support were needed, and the position were so situated as to cause the left platoon to deviate greatly from its line of advance, the case would be different. In that situation I think the left platoon should continue its advance in rear of the left assault company with the purpose of bringing flanking fire on the enemy a little later.”
The Director: “Captain Burt, we shall assume that Captain M decides to employ both platoons to support the right assault company. What does he do next?”