Terrain ExercisesWaldron, William H. (William Henry)
History
Terrain Exercises
Waldron, William H. (William Henry)
Tactics
_The Director_: “Before proceeding further with the problem it is
necessary for us to decide upon the formation of the advance guard at
this time. Just what do you think the formation would be, Captain
James?”
_Captain James_: “The support would be right here in column of squads on
the road. It would consist of the company (less one platoon and two
connecting files). About 400 yards farther down the road would be the
advance party, consisting of one platoon, from which there would be a
point of one squad, about 150 yards farther to the front.”[9]
_The Director_: “I think we can all agree on those dispositions and
proceed to the solution of our problem based on them. Now, let each
member of the class consider himself to be Captain E, commanding the
advance guard. You have attended the assembly of officers at the head of
the main body and received the major’s orders. You have now returned to
the company and are ready to go ahead with your part of the operation,
that of posting the outpost. Just how are you going about the task that
has been allotted to you? Captain Hodges, tell us what you would do.”
Solution
_Captain Hodges_: “I would first send a runner to Lieutenant M,
commanding the advance party, telling him to report to me here. While
waiting for Lieutenant M to come back I would size up the situation and
decide upon my tactical dispositions.”
_The Director_: “What would be your primary dispositions?”
_Captain Hodges_: “I would have a line of supports on which I would
employ one platoon and one section and a reserve consisting of the rest
of the company.”
_The Director_: “That would be a reasonable disposition. How many
supports would you have Captain Harvey?”
_Captain Harvey_: “I would have three supports—one on the main road and
one at a suitable interval on each side of the road. There would be a
section in each support.”
_The Director_: “Lieutenant Ralston, do you agree with that
disposition?”
_Lieutenant Ralston_: “No, sir. It seems to me that two supports would
meet the situation better. In the first place, this main road is the
route on which any considerable force of the enemy must advance after
dark, and I would want to cover it with a relatively strong force. I
would put one support on the road and have it extend over to the right
for a sufficient distance to cover the front and the immediate right
flank. It would extend its front to the left of the main road. I would
have support No. 2 off to the left to cover that flank.[10]
“Support No. 1 would consist of one platoon and No. 2 of one section.”
_The Director_: “Explain why you extend the front of your support No. 1
to the left of the road?”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account