THE VERBAL FIELD ORDER
“The initial combat orders of a division are almost invariably
written; those of the brigade are generally so. The written order is
preferable and is used wherever time permits. Subsequent orders are
likewise written either as field orders or messages.”[14] In chapters
VII and VIII we actually practiced the expression of the field orders
for the higher units. We illustrated to ourselves how difficult it
was to express disordered and straggling thoughts in the most direct
way. We did this work for two purposes: first, to gain facility in
dealing with language, and second, to go through with a part of the
mental process demanded of commanders in the field. We should have
found out how perplexing it is to put the new-born decision into form.
We now progress in our development to a more difficult performance.
We are going to discard our pencil. Just as we took up the practice
of speaking a field message after we had been drilled in writing it,
so here we are going to learn to dictate the field order after we
have been schooled in composing it.
“The initial combat orders of regiments and smaller units are given
verbally. For this purpose the subordinates for whom the orders are
intended are assembled, if practicable, at a place from which the
situation and plan can be explained. Subsequent orders are verbal or
are in the form of verbal or written messages.”[15] The verbal field
order, then, may be divided into two classes:
(1) The initial combat order.
(2) The subsequent order, in the form of a field message.
Number 1 follows implicitly the sequence of the body of the written
field order. Number 2 follows the form of the written or verbal
message.
What really happens in action is this. A regiment or battalion
commander, after he has arrived at a decision by way of his estimate
of a situation, assembles his subordinate officers. He recites
to them his order. He points out on the map and on the ground
the various places to which he refers in his order. He gives an
opportunity, when he has finished, for his officers to ask questions.
He then dismisses them.
The asking of questions is delaying. It mars efficiency; and it
points either to faulty expression on the part of the commander or to
inattention on the part of his audience.
After the subordinates have returned to their commands and have
set out upon the accomplishment of the mission, it is of course
impossible to reassemble them during the progress of the engagement.
Often, too, the colonel or major desires to issue instructions to but
one or two officers of the command at a time. Number 2, therefore,
becomes the natural means of communication until the conflict is over
or the situation is passed. When a new situation arises the commander
assembles his officers as before, and the procedure throughout is
repeated.
Let us suppose, now, that a colonel, faced with a new or changed
situation, wishes to make his will known to his subordinates. When
his officers are assembled he speaks as follows:
“It is reliably reported that two battalions of the enemy are
entrenching on that hill (he points out the hill) one mile to the
southeast of here. Their position extends from the Jordan River to
the Wellington Road, both inclusive. Our main body is at Tarrytown.
(He points toward Tarrytown both on the ground and map.) We will
attack at once enveloping the enemy’s left.
The First Battalion will attack the hostile trenches from the Jordan
River, exclusive, to the Darlington House, exclusive. The Second
Battalion will attack the hostile trenches from the Darlington House,
inclusive, to the west, and will envelop the enemy’s right. The Third
Battalion and machine gun companies, in reserve, will follow the
Second Battalion. Ambulances and combat wagons will assemble at Main
Station. Battalions will maintain semaphore communications with the
reserve where I shall be.”
The Regimental Adjutant writes down this order immediately after its
issue, gives it its proper heading and ending, and files it away. It
thus becomes a written field order and a part of the records of the
regiment. Copies of it are sent to higher commanders.
Let us imagine that the attack is well under way, and that the
regiment is holding its own, but is not progressing as it should.
The colonel decides to increase the size of the enveloping body. He
therefore calls a staff officer to him and says:
“Go over to Major Swift, in command of the third battalion, and tell
him to send K and L Companies to extend our right. Repeat.”
The staff officer replies,—“I am to go to Major Swift, in command
of the third battalion and am to say to him that the Regimental
Commander directs him to have K and L Companies extend the right of
our line.”
We must notice that the initial field order, when spoken, has exactly
the same arrangement and brevity of expression as when written. Of
course, the heading and ending are omitted. But the distribution of
troops, if necessary for small units, would follow what would be
paragraph 2 in a written order. The relation which exists between
the verbal and written message holds true in principle for the field
order.
In the following problems read over the matter several times. Put it
in orderly arrangement in your mind before you speak. Then utter it
in the most brief and unmistakable form.
Cautions.—(1) _Only oral solutions will prove valuable in working
these problems. The student should make only such notes as will
enable him to carry the problem in his mind. Proper notes would
include the organizations, their present situations, etc.—things
which an actual commander would know as a matter of course._
(2) _Once begun on the order, the student should pay no heed to a
false start, but should continue to the end. It is better to remake
the entire order, than to patch the faults. He should not permit
himself to change a previous statement, begin a new sentence in the
midst of an unfinished one, or hesitate unreasonably. He must take
care not only to express the matter in proper form, but also to
enunciate so distinctly that any one within hearing may understand
him._
Intentional rhetorical errors will be found in the problems which
follow. Watch for them.
PROBLEMS IN THE VERBAL FIELD ORDER
1.—You are Colonel Foote, halted with your regiment in Goldenville.
You have previously sent out Lieutenant Lasker toward Gettysburg for
information. He has just sent you a message. You have made up your
mind from the facts in his message that you will march south at once
and that you will march in the direction of Gettysburg. You desire
the first battalion and the Machine Gun Company to be the Advance
Guard for your regiment. The remainder of the regiment will follow
the first battalion in order as follows: second battalion, third
battalion, band, and ambulances. The field trains are not to move
out but are to stay behind until they get orders from you. They are
to remain at Texas. The message from Lieutenant Lasker stated that
about a regiment of the enemy was throwing up intrenchments north of
Penn College. The message also stated that about half of the regiment
of the enemy consisted of recruits. You want the main body of your
regiment to follow the tail of the Advance Guard so that there will
be a distance of a half mile between the tail of the Advance Guard
and the head of the main body. You want to notify your troops where
the Regimental Headquarters will march so that the troops will know
where to send messages. You decide to have the Headquarters march
between the Advance Guard and the main body. The Advance Guard is to
march at once and it is to proceed south by way of the Hamilton Farm
and the Boyd School House. You assemble your majors, their staffs and
your staff, and you issue verbally the decision which you have just
made. You issue it in the shape of a verbal order.
2.—You are Major Black in command of the Advance Guard mentioned in
the preceding problem. It is now your mission, of course, to form the
advance guard and to tell your captains that you are going to do so,
and that you are going to be reinforced by the machine gun company.
You ought also to tell them just where your regiment is going to
march. You want Companies C and D and the machine gun company to
march in the order mentioned, and they are to follow Company B as
soon as that company has got its distance. Company C will be the
company which is to regulate the pace. Company A is to go out and act
as a left flank guard. It is to move by way of the eastern branch of
the Carlisle Road while it is on this duty. You ought also to let
your captains know all the information about the enemy which has been
given to you by your colonel. You want Company B to be the advance
party; you want it to go ahead of the remainder of the battalion so
that there will be four hundred yards distance between it and the
main body. You want to attach Lieutenant Kay, the Battalion Adjutant,
and his orderly, to Company B. You want to direct the march of the
advance party so that it will know where it is to go. You decide that
it shall go by the railroad to the Carlisle Road, and then by the
Stock Farm, and on down to the Boyd School House. You are going to be
right behind the advance on the march. You want the combat wagons to
move out right away, and you want them to go by the cross-roads which
is one-quarter of a mile west of Goldenville, and then south on the
Carlisle Road, and finally, to join the tail of Company D where the
railroad crosses the road.
3.—You are the Company Commander of Company A of the preceding
problem. You call your officers and non-commissioned officers
together and you give them a verbal order. You tell them that your
company is to march as the flank guard of the battalion to which
you belong, and you tell them that the enemy possibly has about
a regiment in Gettysburg; at least, that is the belief of the
Regimental Commander. Your regiment is on its way to Gettysburg. The
First Battalion and the machine gun company is going as the advance
guard. You want to let your command know that all of the battalion,
except yourselves is leaving on the road to the west. You want
Lieutenant Johnson, the Second Lieutenant of your company, and the
Fourth Platoon, to act as the advance guard to the flank guard, which
is the duty on which the company is acting. You want this platoon
to march by the country road east of the knoll marked 651, and then
you want it to march along the east branch of the Carlisle Road. The
distance you decide upon for the advance guard to be in front of the
main body is 500 yards.
4.—You are Major Simpson, and you are halted with your battalion
at the cross-roads 621, near Goldenville. Your mission is, with
your battalion, to act as outpost during the coming night for your
regiment; you have the machine gun company attached to you. You
are operating toward the south. You want company C and one of the
platoons of the machine gun company to take station on the ridge
north of the point where you are. This ridge has the figure 707 on
it. It shall be the duty of this detachment to secure that sector
between Goldenville and Five Forks, just a little off the map,
about 1,500 yards west of the Carlisle Road. You want Company C to
establish communication with Texas by signals on this hill, where
they are to be located. If you are going to be attacked on that hill,
instead of falling back, you want them to hold the ridge. You want
a platoon of Company C to be sent over to Hamilton Farm to act as a
picket there. You have received reports from Lieutenant Finley of
your command that there are no detachments of the enemy or patrols
which have come north of the Stock Farm at any time. You want to tell
your captains that the remainder of the outpost is going into camp at
Texas, and that the regiment itself is moving into camp just north
of the Conewago. You want the rations and baggage of Company C to
be sent up to the company, but you want the wagons to be returned
immediately after they have been there, to Texas for the night.
5.—You are in command of Company C which was to go to Hill 707 in
the preceding problem. You want to notify your company what you are
going to do; in other words, you want to deliver to them verbally
your field order. For this purpose you assemble your officers and
non-commissioned officers and the lieutenant who is in charge of
the machine gun. You state that the outguards will be posted as
follows: Corporal Browning, with his squad as No. 1, is to be posted
at the Five Forks 679, three-quarters of a mile west of where you
are; Corporal Martin, with his squad as No. 3, is to be posted at
the road-fork numbered 621, which is on the Carlisle Road; Corporal
Denton, with Privates Noonan, Ogden, and Prince will go as No. 4.
His post will be posted at the railroad crossing in Goldenville.
You, as Company Commander, deliver the information about the enemy
which has been received through your major. Corporal Calhoun, with
Johnson, Kelly, and Latham are to go as No. 2, and they are to be
posted at the cross-roads 648, which is 500 yards west of the point
where you are located—Goldenville. You state that this company and
that a platoon of machine guns is to take station on the ridge to the
north of the road on which you are located, and is to go as support
to the outpost. Lieutenant Haskins will take the 4th platoon and will
proceed as a picket down to the Hamilton Farm. This farm is a mile
and a quarter south of here on the Carlisle Road. Lieutenant Haskins
is to get some sort of flag communication with Hill 707. He is also
to send small patrols down as far south as Boyd’s School House.
Corporal Roberts will go to the top of Hill 707; he will take four
signalers with him. He will get in communication with Texas and keep
in communication. He will do the same for each one of the outguards
and he will also do the same for Lieutenant Haskins’ picket.
6.—You are Major Perkins and you are in command of a squadron of
cavalry. You are between Goldenville and the bottom of the map. You
receive word that the enemy is somewhere to the north, and you get
messages from your commanding officer stating that you are to go
as independent cavalry for your brigade. Reports also come in to
you that the enemy, which consists of about 1,000 men, is occupying
Carlisle. You have assembled your captains, and you state to them
that Troop A will make up the Advance Guard. You state also, that
it will keep a small patrol about two or three miles to the front
in the direction in which it is going. You tell Troop A, also, that
its average rate of speed should be about four miles per hour, and
that this rate includes halts. You know that your main body is going
to march at 6 o’clock the next morning in the direction of Carlisle
and you know that it is only going to advance 15 miles on that day.
You know, also, that it is going by the Gettysburg—Table Rock—Center
Mills—Carlisle Road. You want your main body to follow the advance
guard, which you have already mentioned, so that there will be a
distance between the advance guard and the main body of about a mile.
The main body is to march from front to rear—Troops B, C, and D. You
wish to inform everybody present that Lieutenant Butler and Sgt.
Clifford are out with patrols and that these patrols are very far out
to the flank of the line of march. You decide to ride in this march
of the independent cavalry near the head of the main body. You want
your officers to know that both of the patrols which you have just
mentioned are going to send reports to you, and that these reports
should arrive at the squadron when the main body is about two miles
north of the Conewago. You desire wheel transportation of all kinds
to join the advance of the main body of infantry back near Gettysburg.
7.—You are Captain Small in command of Troop A of the preceding
problem. You are to constitute, as you remember, the advance guard
of the squadron of independent cavalry. You wish to tell your
officers and non-commissioned officers, whom you have assembled, that
Lieutenant Butler and Sgt. Clifford are out with patrols, and you
want to give them the information you have got from your major in
regard to your own troops and the enemy. You want Corporal Dillingham
to take four men and to go ahead of the troop. He is to go at a rate
of about six miles per hour until Conewago Creek is crossed; after
that, he is to go about four miles an hour. When he gets about a mile
north of Gettysburg he is to take the right-hand road which goes
through Table Rock and Center Mills. He is to give quick and prompt
warning of the appearance of any of the enemy or hostile troops
which he encounters. He is also to report promptly any places in
the road which cannot be crossed by troops or vehicles. In fact, he
is to report any information which will interfere with the march of
the squadron. You, as the captain of the troop, are going to march
between the advance party and the support.
8.—You are Major Adams and you are in command of a squadron of
cavalry which is mounted and ready for action at D-6. You see a
squadron of the enemy in an open field to the west, about 600 yards
west of the woods where you are located. You see the guidons mounted,
and you see that the remainder of the men are leading their horses
into line or are saddling up. You note, also, through your glasses,
that the guidons are facing in your direction. You note, also,
that the wagons have left the camp and have gone around the woods
just north. You call your captains together and you issue a verbal
order—you have decided to attack the hostile squadron at once, and
to attack that squadron while you are mounted. You want Troops D and
C, commanded by Captain Denton, who is senior to Captain Clifford,
to form the main attacking line. You want Captain Denton to take
advantage of an opening in the woods which is about 150 yards to
your front. He is to attack the enemy in close order, mounted, as
soon as he has cleared the woods in which you are all located. You
give to the captains the information which you have got through your
field glasses. You also state that Captain Billings with his troop,
Troop B, is to go in rear of Troops D and C and form the supporting
line, keeping a distance of about 150 yards, and at the same time he
is to look out for the right flank. You want Lieutenant Fink, who
is the squadron adjutant, and who has seen the same things through
his glasses as you have seen, to accompany Captain Denton with his
two troops to the edge of the woods, where he is to point out to
Captain Denton the enemy’s position. You yourself are going to be
with the reserve. Captain Andrews with his troop, Troop A, is to
constitute the reserve. Captain Andrews with his command is to follow
the attacking line at a distance of 400 yards. He is to echelon his
command with the left flank. You want the whole command to move out
at once.
9.—You are General Temple and you are 700 yards northwest of Hermans
with your brigade when you receive a message from Lieutenant Kline,
Aeroplane No. 7. The substance of this message states that the left
of the enemy has extended itself by a battalion from a regiment
which is northwest of 501 cross-roads. He also states that there is
another battalion from a regiment near 504, and that this battalion
is moving toward Varney. He states that there is a regiment of
artillery posted on Oak Ridge, and that there is another regiment of
artillery which has its right flank at the Stock Farm and its left
flank near 531 road fork. You assemble your regimental commanders
and your cavalry commander; also, your artillery commander. You
state that the artillery battalion which is with you is to go into
a position near where you are and that it is to operate against the
artillery of the enemy and the attacking infantry of the enemy. This
your artillery battalion is to do at first, but later it will support
your attack. The first battalion of the first infantry you want to
have assigned as a support to the artillery. You want the first
infantry, minus its first battalion which is going to go as support
to the artillery, to advance in the direction of Herman’s Farm House;
then it is to deploy and attack. It is to attack so that the right of
the regiment will pass through the J. Weaver Farm House. The third
infantry is to be the reserve; it will be under your command and it
will move out and go forward to the Good Intent School House. The
first platoon of Troop A and the first cavalry will take a position
on the hill which is designated by the figures 651. This platoon
will cover your right flank and report immediately any changes which
take place in the disposition of the enemy. Your station for the
slightly wounded will be at Table Rock. You are going to be at the
Good Intent School House, where messages are going to reach you. Of
course, you give your officers whom you have assembled, the contents
of the aeroplane message which you received. You want the infantry
combat wagons to assemble at Table Rock, and you want them to go
there after all the troops have cleared the road. You want the second
infantry to get under cover from the enemy and to go toward Hill 586;
this hill is northeast of Varney. When they are deployed they will
attack so that their left will pass through Hill 586.
10.—Major Quincy, in charge of the artillery battalion of the
preceding problem, assembles the captains of his batteries and issues
his instructions covered by the following data: he wishes Batteries
A and B to attack the hostile artillery, and he wishes them to take
up a position on the north end of the field near where the brigade
is halted. He wants Battery C to go to Hill 592. From that point
he wants that Battery to attack the hostile infantry. He gives to
his commanders the information which was contained in the aeroplane
message of the preceding problem. He also states that the enemy in
superior force is attacking from the west. He points out also that
between 3,000 and 4,000 yards to the southwest can be seen a long
line of artillery of the enemy and that this artillery is in action.
He also states that the first battalion of the first infantry, which
is now marching down the road, which is the support of the artillery,
will occupy Hill 592. Battery A’s target is to be the further half
of the line of the enemy’s guns, and Battery B’s target is to be the
nearer half. He states to his Battery Commanders that he has already
marked the position that they are to occupy with their commands,
and he tells them that they are to occupy this position at once and
prepare for immediate action. He tells Battery A that the adjutant
will give them the firing data and they are to range by volleys. They
are to report to him when ready, and they are to be on the alert and
await his order to commence firing. He also states that the advance
cavalry is on the Hill 651 south of Goldenville, and that they
are covering the right of the line. He wishes to tell his battery
commanders that the infantry is marching in a general direction
south, and that it is going from here to begin an attack against the
left of the enemy. He wishes to tell them also that he is to be,
during the action, on the left of Battery A.