_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?”
_Captain Burt_: “He would send the buglers to have the platoon leaders
report to him in advance of their platoons and would direct the
reconnaissance officer to select the firing positions for the two
platoons and obtain the ranges.”
_The Director_: “The captain has a company headquarters to assist him in
commanding the company and the use that the captain makes of this
headquarters is a sure indication of the efficiency of the company. It
is impossible for the captain to command the company by himself and
attend to all details. Part of this headquarters detail is mounted. The
buglers and reconnaissance officer have horses. By having the platoon
leaders precede their platoons they can receive their orders before the
platoons arrive and be ready to move into position without delay. When
the buglers reach the platoons they would turn over their horses to the
platoon leaders and would remain with the platoons to guide them to
their firing positions. The reconnaissance sergeant would assist the
reconnaissance officer by taking the ranges as soon as the positions had
been selected.
“Captain Smith, where would you select the positions and what frontage
would you assign to a platoon?”
_Captain Smith_: “I would assign positions at the crest so that the guns
could use direct overhead fire. The position should be such that the
muzzles of the guns would be just over the crest. In that way the
gunners will have the maximum amount of protection consistent with
direct fire. The distance between guns should be not less than 20 yards,
and preferably more. I would assign the right half of the position to
the right platoon and the left half to the left platoon. This will allow
a little distance between platoons so that the guns will not make such a
conspicuous target.”
_The Director_: “I wish to emphasize the fact that you must select a
position where the guns can employ _direct fire_. Indirect fire is
thoroughly practicable in the beginning of a prepared attack or on the
resumption of an attack that has been stopped for several hours. Often
it is the only kind of fire that can be employed. However, considerable
time is necessary to prepare for indirect fire, and this situation does
not permit of the delay necessary to prepare for indirect fire. Direct
fire is also more effective and should be employed whenever possible. It
seldom will be advisable for a machine gun company of an assault
battalion to use indirect fire. There is a distinct advantage in having
an elevated firing position as the guns are able to give support to the
rifle companies until they approach more closely to the target.
“Captain Jones, what assignment of targets would you make?”
_Captain Jones_: “I would assign a portion of the target to each
platoon. The whole target could be assigned to each platoon which would
permit an entire platoon to advance to a new firing position, while the
other covered the entire target. However, any advance before the
resistance is overcome would probably be by section and not by platoon;
so there is no advantage in giving each platoon the whole target. A
gunner can fire more effectively on a narrow target where it is not
necessary to traverse so much.”
_The Director_: “Captain Howe, would you make any provision for lifting
your fire as the infantry approaches the target?”
_Captain Howe_: “I would leave that to the platoon commanders. The rate
of advance may be different at different parts of the line so that some
guns may continue firing safely after others are forced to stop. I would
want every gun to fire as long as the safety of the infantry would
permit.”
_The Director_: “Captain Burt, what provision would you make for opening
fire?”
_Captain Burt_: “I would have the platoon leaders signal me when they
were ready and open fire on my signal. The positions of the platoons are
plainly visible from my position. Since it has been ordered that fire
will open at a definite time I think it better to depend on one watch
than to take a chance of the platoons opening a few seconds apart.”
_The Director_: “All of the doubtful points have been cleared up.
Assuming that you would do what it has been decided that Captain M
should do, I want each of you to write out the complete fire order of
Captain M. It is understood, of course, that Captain M would give his
order verbally, but it is desired to have you write out this order, so
that the form of the order can be examined more carefully.”