The Director: “Now let us go into details a little. Lieutenant Wallace, what do you understand to be the purpose of the ‘Directing line’ assigned to the company by the Major?”
Lieutenant Wallace: “The directing line was assigned in addition to the compass bearing to make doubly sure that the company would keep the right direction and that there would be little chance for getting lost. It is a well defined topographical feature and will serve the purpose very well.”
The Director: “You note that the company has been designated as ‘base company.’ What do you understand by that?”
Lieutenant Wallace: “It is the company on which all the units of the battalion will guide during the approach march.”
Explanation
The Director: “This places an additional responsibility on the company. If Company B loses its direction the whole battalion will do the same and it is probable that the troops will not be in position ready to ‘jump off’ tomorrow morning. You have no idea of the confusion that can take place in an outfit that loses its direction and gets lost in an operation of this kind. Every possible precaution must be taken to prevent it. In this case the Captain must charge the platoon that is to march nearest to the directing line to guide on that line throughout the march and for the other platoons to guide on it. In this case the right (left) assault platoon will be designated ‘base platoon’ and will take every precaution to keep the right (left) element of the platoon absolutely on the directing line. You can see that this places the responsibility for the march direction of the whole battalion on the squad that is nearest the directing line. I want you to keep this in mind throughout the problem.”
Solution
The Director: “Lieutenant Ralston, what preliminary arrangements would Captain B make for issuing his orders to the company?”
Lieutenant Ralston: “The company command post is supposed to be located here.
(Note.—In framing up the problem the Director should locate the Company C. P. where there is cover. If it is impracticable to do so, it may be assumed that there is a shell hole available.)