Chapter II: Field Orders

_General Remarks._ The composition of field orders is so important a feature of nearly every problem that the student may well devote a considerable amount of study and _practice_ to the acquisition of facility in writing orders.

The forms given in F. S. R. are excellent guides, and instructions as to what should be placed in orders and what should be omitted therefrom are given in F. S. R. and in a number of pamphlets on the subject of orders. But the closest study of these forms and instructions will still leave the student very poorly prepared to write a crisp, intelligible order. The ability to do this must be acquired by practice in writing orders to cover concrete cases. The Army Service Schools (at Fort Leavenworth) have developed a certain crisp, epigrammatic verbiage which is the result of long practice by many individuals, and it is of the utmost importance that this verbiage be early acquired by the student officer. This is done by solving a great number of problems and selecting therefrom the best forms of expression. To illustrate what is meant by this one example will suffice: In giving orders for the occupation of a defensive position while on the march the order (Par. 2) may state: “The duties of the advance guard as such will now cease.” This is plain enough for the advance guard, but how about the rear guard, the flank guard and the main body? What inferences are they to draw as to when _their_ duties cease? Do the instructions to the advance guard apply also to them or are they purposely omitted, and if so what is to be done about it? Will the commander notify them later as to exactly when _they_ are relieved of their former duties? The commander might have left the situation less in doubt by saying: “The duties heretofore performed by the advance guard, the rear guard, the flank guard, etc., as such, will now be discontinued.” But such an expression, while grammatically correct, is too rambling and verbose for an order. Instead he might say: “March conditions now cease.” This sentence contains four words, as against 11 in the first case and 20 or more in the second. It covers the entire command and leaves no one in doubt for an instant. Many similar examples will be encountered in the study of problems. Clearness, of course, is even more important than brevity, but the two usually go hand in hand. A number of short sentences is usually preferable to one long one. The verbiage of orders should be brief, clear, concise, _sententious_ and succinct. (See examples of orders in the text.)

It is often said that the forms given are suggestions only and not to be blindly followed. You will seldom be wrong, however, if you stick to the form, whereas if you attempt to show your originality and freedom from constraint by devising forms of your own you will usually find them more cumbersome than an order on the regular form. A tactical decision so complicated that it cannot be clearly and concisely expressed in a standard 5-paragraph order should be looked upon with distrust. In an assembly order Par. 1 (information of the enemy, etc.,) may be omitted, and of course if there are no trains or sanitary troops Par. 4 would also naturally be omitted, and the other paragraphs numbered accordingly. Administrative and routine details (supply, internal economy, etc.), should generally be omitted from field orders unless they bear directly upon the tactical situation. In this case they may be placed in a paragraph or paragraphs by themselves. Otherwise they will be the subject of _orders_ as distinguished from _field orders_, which latter are understood to cover only the operations of the combatant troops or matters intimately connected therewith. The 5-paragraph form will always be an excellent model for all orders, both verbal and written, as its form is such as to insure consideration of all the essential tactical details. It will usually be well, then, to follow this form unless it is plainly apparent that it does not cover the case under consideration.

Considerable difficulty will be experienced in determining what to include in orders and what to omit. On this subject individuals will not always agree. Instructions in great detail are nearly always undesirable, but on the other hand nothing essential should be omitted. Individual and verbal orders will usually be somewhat more detailed than combined and written orders. The higher the commander the briefer and less detailed will be his orders. Detailed instructions to subordinates may often properly be made the subject of a personal interview between the commander and the subordinate in question, and omitted from the formal written, combined order. In making written solutions of problems for his own instruction it is suggested that the student add to his order certain explanatory notes as to why certain details are included in or omitted from the order. Such notes constitute a useful criticism of the student’s own work and tend to develop his judgment as to what matter should properly be included in orders of various kinds and to subordinates of various rank. They should not of course, take the form of an “estimate of the situation.” Only doubtful points need be covered, and these briefly. A number of examples of orders with explanatory notes of the kind referred to will be found throughout this volume.

_Kinds of Orders._ Orders may be verbal, dictated or written, individual or combined. A combined order is usually understood to mean one covering the entire command.

The orders for a command less than a brigade are almost invariably verbal. The march orders of a brigade are usually dictated, its combat orders are usually verbal. All division orders are habitually written, when practicable.

Even when orders are actually issued verbally and individually it is the custom to subsequently prepare a _written combined_ order for the organization records. It is the written form of orders that is usually called for in problems. But in order to afford practice in troop leading, problems in this subject often call for the orders _exactly as they would be given at the time_ by the commander in the field.

_Structure of Orders._ The standard field order contains 5 paragraphs. It is fully explained and illustrated by examples in the F. S. R.

Par. 3 contains in detail the duties for the various fractions of the command each under a sub-heading, a, b, c. Instructions which refer collectively to two or more of the fractions mentioned in the a, b, c, paragraphs, or to a portion of a fraction mentioned in an a, b, c, paragraph, are lettered x, y, and z.

The marginal distribution is habitually used for march and outpost orders but not for combat orders. Instead of the marginal distribution it is preferable in dictated orders (on account of the narrow pad on which they are written) and _permissible in all orders_, to place the distribution of troops in the center of the page between Pars. 2 and 3.

An order should show clearly the map or maps on which it is drawn or to which references are made in the order. These map references may be placed between the heading and Par. 1. (See examples of orders in the text.)

All operation orders should preferably be signed A, Colonel, or A, Brigadier General, only--not “By order of, etc.”

At the foot of the order should be a complete list of all persons to whom it is to be delivered. Thus “verbally to assembled officers” does not cover the case if the cavalry commander is ten miles to the front and the quartermaster with the trains ten miles to the rear. The written record of a verbal order should include a list of the individuals to whom delivered. Officers to whom written orders are delivered should generally be required to sign for them, often their initials opposite their names at the foot of the retained copy will be sufficient. This matter is one of extreme importance, as it is necessary to insure the delivery of an important order to every commander who is directly affected thereby and usually to others who are only indirectly affected. The best of orders will be useless unless they are promptly and surely communicated to all who are charged with their execution. Copies or synopses of important orders should be sent to superior commanders and, when necessary, to those who are co-operating with the officer who issues the order.

The nature of the orders to cover various different classes of operations must be learned by study and practice and there can be no hard and fast rules laid down. A few general precautions may, however, well be observed. Among these are the following:

Follow the forms given in the F. S. R. departing therefrom only when the application of the form results in a clumsy order, which will seldom or never be the case.

Use simple English and short, clear sentences. Omit arguments and discussions. Avoid the excessive use of participles and infinitives. Ambiguity is a fatal mistake.

Ordinarily all words should be spelled out in full. Certain abbreviations are authorized, however--as follows:

The abbreviations for military organizations and titles,
as given in F. S. R.

The abbreviations for months of the year, a. m. and p. m.,
names of states.

The name of a locality abbreviated on the map may be
abbreviated in the same form in the order, as WOODSIDE
S. H. (Woodside School House). Names of localities in
an order or message should be in CAPITALS.

In referring to points, describe them so that they can be located _on the ground_ as well as on the map. The description of a locality should, when practicable, be independent of any map. Do not use the expressions “in front of,” or “to the right of,” but “south of,” or “northeast of.” Do not order anything done at “dusk” or “sunrise,” but give standard times. “Dusk” is an indefinite time, and it is not possible by inspecting the sky to predict the time until sunrise, especially if it is cloudy. Do not assume that your subordinates can see on the ground all the points that you can see on the map.

The amount of information contained in an order should be sufficient to secure the intelligent co-operation of all subordinates and _no more_. It is not wise to tell them all your plans, but they must sufficiently understand the _mission_ of the command to enable them to act intelligently in an emergency. Orders without knowledge of the commander’s desire _may_ leave the subordinate totally at sea when facing a situation in which the orders must be modified or disregarded. Prominence should be given to good news, and bad news should be touched upon lightly or omitted entirely unless it is necessary to warn subordinates of impending danger. Thus, if the commander knows that reinforcements are on their way to the enemy he will take the necessary steps to provide against the danger, but it would not always be wise to dishearten his command by gratuitously giving them the bad news. Provisions for a _possible_ retreat should be considered in advance by the commander, but should not be _ordered_ until the necessity arises, and similarly for other contingencies of the future. In order to provide against the possibility of his being killed, seriously wounded or captured the commander should communicate to the next in rank, or to a trusted staff officer, information of impending danger, etc., and so much of his plans for the future as may seem to be necessary.

An order should not trespass upon the province of a subordinate by entering into details which might safely be left to his judgment. Ordinarily tell him what you wish him to do but not how he is to do it, as methods will be largely dependent upon circumstances which cannot be foreseen. If detailed instructions seem to be necessary they might well be made the subject of a personal interview with the subordinate, but omitted from the written orders. The higher the rank of the subordinate the less detailed should be the instructions given him. A private soldier must do exactly as he is told without always knowing the reason why. A general commanding a division often exercises his own judgment as to how best to co-operate in the general plan.

On the other hand a commander should never divide responsibility with a subordinate. Tell him in unequivocal terms what he is to do and avoid such expressions as “if you think best,” or “as far as possible,” etc.

An order should not discuss contingencies nor attempt to provide for same, and it should not look too far ahead.

Circumstances often make it necessary to issue individual orders, even in cases where a combined order would be preferable. In such cases it is usually necessary for co-operation that each subordinate should know the general plan, and what other subordinates are to do. The combined order is therefore, generally to be preferred, as it saves time and assures co-operation. In a combined order every fraction of the command should be accounted for, and receive the necessary instructions. Where orders are issued individually the adjutant, or other staff officer, makes notes of the individual orders for the purpose of later consolidating them in a combined order.

In the case of dictated orders the officers who take the dictation should make a number of carbon copies in order to provide a supply for distribution and to save the time required in copying.

The time for issuing orders is a matter requiring careful consideration. If issued too far in advance there is the danger that later information or developments may make it necessary to modify or rescind the order, something which it is very desirable to avoid, as besides the confusion thus created it tends to diminish the confidence of the troops in their commander. Also the information contained in the order may, either directly or indirectly, fall into the hands of unauthorized persons, and perhaps be communicated to the enemy. On the other hand the order should be issued sufficiently far in advance to allow time for its proper circulation, to allow subordinate commanders time to make their own estimates of the situation and issue their own orders, etc. Messing arrangements, supply, and other internal economies are also largely dependent upon the commander’s plans, and the troops can usually rest better if they know somewhat in advance when they must be ready to move. Accordingly it is sometimes advisable to issue preliminary orders in advance, the final order being reserved until later. An example of this would be the “assembly order” referred to in the chapter on “Advance Guards.” Another would be the “halt and outpost order” in which the troops for and general location of the outpost line would be designated, the detailed disposition of troops upon this line being arranged for later. Complicated orders should not, as a rule, be issued late at night, ordinarily not after 11 p. m. except in cases of emergency. On the other hand if late information which may affect the commander’s plans is expected it would not be wise for him to make his decision too far in advance, nor to communicate it to his command. Such a situation can often be met by the issue of a preliminary order.

Time must be allowed for making estimates, and for the issue and circulation of orders. To come to a decision after he is in possession of all available information the commander will require from 5 to 30 minutes, or even more if the situation be complicated. To issue a verbal or dictated order requires 5 to 15 minutes additional. A formal written order will usually require even more time. In a division action it will ordinarily require not less than 40 minutes for the commander to come to a decision and issue his written orders. (The time stated in an order is the instant of signature for a written order or the conclusion of a verbal or dictated order.)

It is necessary, in large commands, to make allowance for the time required for orders, subsequent to their issue, to reach all parts of the command. In a brigade, in some cases, as much as an hour may be required, in a division as much as one and a half to two hours. It is to be remembered that each subordinate must make an estimate of the situation so far as it concerns _his_ command, issue the necessary orders and circulate them amongst _his_ subordinates, and so on, all after the receipt of the supreme commander’s order. In important cases it may be well to calculate the actual time required for orders to reach and take effect upon all parts of the command.

Motor cars and cycles by their speed facilitate the distribution of orders.

An order must be consonant with the decision it is supposed to embody. A disagreement between the two might be fatal. In solving a problem then, the student should check and cross check the decision and order, to make certain that they agree. It is ordinarily unnecessary to enter into minor details in the decision, which will usually cover the main points alone, giving such detail only as is required to enable a competent staff officer to write the necessary orders to carry the decision into effect.

The supreme commander will estimate the situation and make his decision. The duty of translating this decision into action through the medium of appropriate orders will devolve upon a staff officer. The preparation of military orders is in no essential respect different from the preparation of orders and correspondence in civil affairs. The successful business man should have little difficulty in acquiring skill in the preparation of military orders. Such skill is best acquired by practice in preparing orders to carry out the decisions of others. The military student, therefore, may profitably devote considerable time to such practice.