Chapter X: The Operation Order, Orders, Letters of Instruction

Before August, 1914, the _Operation order_ was the English term for our _Field order_. Both orders had the same functions and about the same form. At times, the term _operation order_ was used by us to include only battle orders, but on the whole, the terms _Operation orders_ and _Field orders_ practically amounted to American and English designations of the same thing.

In the beginning of the present war, after a few weeks of open conflict, this kind of fighting in France gave way to a vast siege. The English found themselves, after some cross-country fighting, in the trenches. There the operation order which had provided for situations of march, halt, bivouac, and battle, was gradually made over to suit the peculiar needs of defenses, raids, and frontal attacks. The barrage fire, bombs, mortars, machine guns, and intricate lines of communication added to the number of details to be considered. Little by little the will of the commander expressed itself in such completeness that the former size of his operation order passed all bounds. It was natural, then, that although the scope and character of the English order steadily changed, its name remained the same.

When the Americans came to take part in the war, the operation order had during the previous years of struggle developed out of all resemblance to its former self. It was no longer a field order as we know the term. It was fully grown to meet the tremendous progress of English experience in the trenches. The consequence was that the American, finding both the state of siege and the order to cover it beyond his experience, associated the English name with the novel warfare. Thus, today, the operation order is a term used in connection with the disposition of troops on the battle fronts of Europe.

We should bear in mind, then, that the operation order is nothing more than a field order fitted to trench conditions. We must not gain the idea that it has supplanted the order which goes with mobile exercises on open ground. Open warfare began this conflict, and will, provided it be ended by martial victory, bring it to a close. Open warfare has been the rule on the long Russian, Italian, Serbian, Turkish, and Roumanian fronts. We must not be led astray in our estimate of the proportions because the front in France and Belgium is the most vital one to us from a strategic standpoint. Field orders, which are the accompaniments of open warfare, should still form the larger part of our study.

Nevertheless, the operation order is the order next in importance to the field order. It must be framed with mathematical precision under fire.

It has the greatest conciseness, but is not brief. It goes into the minutest details, but its details are tersely put. In certain parts it is telegraphic like the field message; in others it has completed sentences like those of the field order. It has an orderly arrangement of paragraphs and brief and unmistakable language. If we are able to compose a good field message and order, we should find, after we have familiarized ourselves with the technique of the trenches, that the construction of the operation order will fall naturally into place in our minds.

Unfortunately, we are forbidden to place an example of one of our own operation orders upon these pages. But we may have the opportunity of viewing a German one, which contains the principles of our own. The example given was issued by a regimental commander for a raid. The action actually took place near La Boisselle, April 11, 1916.

110th Reserve Infantry Regiment. In the field, 6th April, 1916.

REGIMENTAL ORDERS FOR A RAID ON THE SPION

1. The raid will probably take place at dusk the 11th of
April.

2. _Organization of the raiding party_—

_In command._—Captain Wagener, assisted by Lieutenant
Boening, Assistant-Surgeon Wisser, one bugler and six
stretcher bearers.

_Patrol commanders._—Lieutenants Stradtmann, Freund,
Dumas, and Böhlefeld.

_Raiding party._—50 men of the 110th Reserve Infantry
Regiment and four Pioneers of the 1st Reserve Company,
13th Pioneer Battalion.

3. Upon the day fixed, _the raiding party_ will be
assembled in Dug-outs Nos. 1-10, on the right wing of
the left-hand battalion. Dug-out No. 9 will be used as
advanced regimental command post.

The assaulting party must not exceed three officers and
30 men. The remaining officers and men will be at Captain
Wagener’s disposal for use as supports.

_Captain Shortly after dusk the assaulting party will leave the
Wagener’s Blaue Stellung by Sap No. 3 with the object of breaking
Orders— into the enemy’s position in the neighborhood of the
Appendix Süd Spion, from which point the enemy’s trenches will
1._ be cleared northwards, if possible, as far as the Spion.
Unless prevented by the enemy’s fire, the raiding party
will return to our Blaue Stellung by the same way.

_Table of 4. For 25 minutes before the commencement of the
distrib- raid, _the artillery_ will prepare for the assault by
ution of shelling the enemy’s trenches between Besenhecke and
artillery the Windmühle, and also the Weisse Steinmauer. During
fire— the raid the artillery will control by its fire all the
Appendix enemy’s trenches likely to prove a source of danger to
2._ the enterprise.

_Special 5. In order to draw the fire of the enemy’s artillery
Orders for away from the spot to be raided, a _feint attack_ against
feint the enemy’s position just north of La Boiselle Cemetery
attack— will start 15 minutes after the artillery opens fire.
Appendix
3._ 6. In order that the registration of the objective by the
heavy artillery and Minenwerfer shall not be apparent, on
_Special the morning of the day before the raid—probably the 10th
Orders for April—a feint bombardment of Target-sectors 76-79 will
this bom- be carried out, combined with a mine explosion, _with
bardment— the object of misleading the enemy_. The exact time will
Appendix be fixed beforehand by the artillery commander, Officer
4._ Commanding Ersatz Abteilung, 76th Artillery Regiment.

7. _The machine gun officer_ will arrange that, during
the whole time of the raid, the enemy’s rear trenches in
Target-sectors 76-81 are kept under a constant fire, with
a view to causing him all possible loss, and, at the same
time, to safeguarding our patrol against counter-attacks.

8. _The Officer Commanding 1st Reserve Company, 13th
Pioneer Battalion_, will arrange for a gallery of the
left-hand minefield to be ready charged by the morning
of the day before the raid, and for a gallery of the
right-hand minefield to be ready charged by the evening
of the raid. The former will be sprung at the conclusion
of the feint bombardment, the latter as an introduction
to the feint attack.

From today, the “earth mortars” (_Erdmörser_) will
systematically cut the enemy’s wire opposite the
Blinddarm. On the day before the raid, they will
coöperate with all other close-range weapons to assist
in the feint bombardment of Target-sectors 76-78. On the
evening of the raid, they will assist in the feint attack
by bombarding Target-sectors 76 and 77 (_see_ Appendices
3 and 4).

Throughout the raid, the “_Albrecht-Mörser_,” in position
on the Lehmgrubenhöhe, will heavily bombard the enemy’s
trenches in the Nordrondell. Particular care will be
taken that the enemy’s machine guns do not interfere with
the raid from that quarter (_see_ Appendix 1).

9. _The Officer Commanding 228th Minenwerfer Company_
will register the enemy’s wire at the point of entry
with one heavy and two medium Minenwerfer in the course
of the feint bombardment on the day before the raid.
He will also take part in this bombardment and fire
30 medium Minenwerfer shells at the Weisse Steinmauer
(_see_ Appendix 4). On the afternoon of the same day,
with both medium Minenwerfer mounted in the Minenwerfer
Weg, he will cut the enemy’s wire at 76y, and throughout
the whole night and the following day will keep up a
desultory fire.

On the evening of the raid, the wire in front of
the point of entry of the raiding party will be cut
on a width of 50 meters by the heavy and two medium
Minenwerfer (_see_ Appendix 1). Meanwhile, the two other
medium Minenwerfer will take part in the feint attack
against 76y (_see_ Appendix 3). The light Minenwerfer at
the disposal of the 228th Minenwerfer Company will take
part in the feint bombardment and in the feint attack,
in accordance with the orders (para. 8) issued for the
close-range weapons of the 1st Reserve Company, 13th
Pioneer Battalion (_see_ Appendices 3 and 4). The Officer
Commanding 228th Minenwerfer Company will receive further
detailed instructions from Captain Wagener.

10. On the evening of the raid, _battalions_ will
hold themselves in a state of readiness for an alarm.
Arrangements will be made that, in the event of the enemy
opening a barrage on our trenches, as may well happen,
the number of sentries will be reduced to a minimum. Gas
masks and other gas equipment must be held ready for use.

11. I shall be at the regimental command post from the
morning of the day before the raid. From 6 p. m. of
the evening of the raid, I shall be in the advanced
regimental command post in Dug-out No. 9 on the right
wing of the left-hand battalion. Captain Wagener will
maintain constant communication with me. The artillery
liaison officer will also be with me.

(Signed) FRHR. V. VIETINGHOFF.

_Distribution_

{ Headquarters 2
{ 3 Battalions 3
110th { 12 Companies 12
Reserve { Labor Company 1
Infantry { 1st Machine Gun Company 1
Regiment { 2nd Machine Gun Company 2
{ 55th Machine Gun Section 1
{ Captain Wagener 2

29th Reserve Field Artillery Regiment 1
Ersatz Abteilung, 176th Field Artillery Regiment 1
1st Abteilung, 29th Regiment Field Artillery 1
1st Reserve Company, 13th Pioneer Battalion 1
228th Minenwerfer Company 1
Division 1
Brigade 1
109th Reserve Infantry Regiment 1
111th Reserve Infantry Regiment 1
Spare copies 5
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