Lieutenant Ralston: “He must size up the situation, arrive at a decision as to what he is going to do and then put this decision in the form of an order.”
The Director: “What is the first part of his Estimate of this Situation?”
Lieutenant Ralston: “He will determine upon his mission. I would say that the immediate mission is to relieve the 2nd battalion and that the next phase of it is to prepare to continue the attack tomorrow morning.”
The Director: “Very good. What is the next point he will consider, Captain Harvey?”
Captain Harvey: “He must consider the enemy. The enemy has been retreating before our attack for the past two days. This shows that he is inferior in strength and morale. His defense arrangements must be very much impaired and the confusion that exists behind his lines may readily be imagined. The fact that he is doggedly contesting our advance and that his retreat has nowhere broken down to the extent that we have been able to break through his lines with a deep penetration shows that he still has a lot of fight in him. As soon as it is sufficiently dark to preclude the possibility of aerial observation the enemy will begin shifting his defense elements with a view to preparations to resist our advance again tomorrow. He will be effecting a relief of his worn-out troops, shifting his machine guns to more advantageous positions, changing his artillery so as to more effectively cover the ground which we will have to pass over tomorrow if our attack is a success. All of this will consume several hours. During the period of readjustment and redistribution of troops the hostile activity and fire will naturally be very much diminished. During this same period from dusk until several hours later these same things will be happening in our lines, as you can see. Our artillery will have to be brought up to new positions for the destructive bombardment and the barrage. Our machine guns have to be placed in position to better support the riflemen. Our tanks have to be gotten up ready for the ‘jump off’ tomorrow morning and our worn-out troops on the front lines have to be relieved. It will be a period of lessened activity on both sides. During this period we will take advantage of the opportunity to effect the relief of the 2nd battalion on the line.”
(Note.—The terrain over which the approach march and the relief should now be discussed.)
The Director: “That is a very good discussion of the consideration of the enemy and our troops. Captain Hodges, what other factors enter into the estimate of the situation?”
Captain Hodges: “Our plans, I should say, the Major would want to determine on the formation that he will adopt for the approach march. He wants to arrive on the front line with his assault elements in the best possible formation to go into action. It will be more and more difficult to make changes in the formation as he approaches the location of the front lines. He will therefore start his approach march in as nearly the formation that he wants to be in when he arrives on the line.”
The Director: “You are right. In making a relief of this kind you cannot march a battalion up within the zone of rifle and machine gun fire in a column of files and then expect to get into combat formation and effect a relief properly. It simply cannot be done. You must get into your formation sufficiently far back to make sure of it and then take advantage of the various invulnerable formations to cross dangerous ground to the best advantage and with a minimum of losses. Now, Captain James, what would be your decision?”
Captain James: “To march to the front and effect the relief of the 2nd battalion as soon as possible after dusk.”