Terrain ExercisesWaldron, William H. (William Henry)
History
Terrain Exercises
Waldron, William H. (William Henry)
Tactics
(_d_) The general location of the front lines of the assault battalion.
This line should in general, be perpendicular to the lines of advance of
the division and if practicable should lay along some well defined
topographical feature of the terrain so that it may be readily indicated
to the class.
(_e_) The location of the halting place of the 1st Battalion. This
should be at least 1500 to 1800 yards in rear of the line (_d_) above.
Procedure
The class is conducted to (_e_) where the Terrain Exercise is to begin.
The Director will distribute the sheets containing Special Situation
Blue and a few minutes are allowed the members of the class to read it
over.
The Director will then read the Situation aloud, point out the places
mentioned where practicable and make such explanations as may be
necessary.
_The Director_: “Lieutenant Williams, the situation states that the 10th
division is operating on a certain sector. What do you understand by
that?”
_Lieutenant Williams_: “It is the area lying between the two designated
boundaries which has been allotted to the division and to which, in
general, the division confines its operations. As I understand it there
is a division on our right and another on our left. If each were not
given a definite area to operate over I can readily see how there might
be great confusion over the question as to just who is responsible for a
certain area. By assigning definite boundaries this question is
eliminated. The division assigned to the particular sector is
responsible for everything in the sector.”
_The Director_: “Captain Hastings, what do you understand by the term
attacking brigade?”
_Captain Hastings_: “It is the term used to designate the Brigade that
is leading—the brigade that is making the attack against the enemy—as
distinguished from the brigade that is held in reserve.”
Explanation
_The Director_: “There are several ways of disposing the infantry of a
division for combat. I will outline them briefly in order that you may
see what the formations are and the relation that our battalion has to
them.
“The division may be deployed with the two brigades side by side, each
brigade being echeloned in a column of regiments. The leading regiment
of each brigade is in turn echeloned in a column of battalions, one as
assault, one as support and one as local reserve. The second regiment
(less 1 battalion) of each brigade forms the brigade reserve. The
remaining battalion from each of these regiments is held out by the
division commander as a division reserve. In this case the division
commander is driving a two unit team with the units abreast. Under
exceptional circumstances the division may be deployed with the brigades
side by side with all four regiments in line each echeloned in a column
of battalions. This formation uses up a division very rapidly and is
only employed where an exceptionally wide front has been assigned.
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