Military Instructors Manual by James P. Cole and Oliver Schoonmaker

J >> James P. Cole and Oliver Schoonmaker >> Military Instructors Manual

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25

The general method of attack is to smother the defense with a torrent
of explosive shells, kept up incessantly for one or more days, and
shatter the defense so they will offer but slight resistance to the
infantry; then rush forward with the infantry and seize the positions
while the enemy is demoralized, and consolidate them before
reenforcements can be brought up.

The artillery bombardment is necessary to prepare the way for the
infantry advance. It has for its objects:
(1) To destroy the hostile artillery, wire entanglements and
infantry trenches.
(2) To produce curtains of fire and prevent bringing up
reenforcements.

_Light guns are assigned to_ EACH BATTALION OF INFANTRY, subject only
to orders of regimental and battalion commanders concerned.

Save under exceptional circumstances the light gun is always attached
to the Machine Gun Company for the attack.

The essential role of the light gun is to destroy with direct fire the
visible machine guns; they are employed separately and not grouped.

The infantry is divided into two classes: Holding troops--and
attacking or shock troops. Holding troops are those doing routine or
trench duty; shock troops are picked organizations of young and
vigorous men and are kept in camps well behind the battle front.
Holding troops are two weeks in and two weeks out of the trenches.

All specialist groups, _i.e._, Machine Gun Companies, etc., are
officered, allowing company and battalion commanders to concentrate
them, if the situation requires.

_They play the normal part in combat if they do not receive special
instructions._

Attack of a Defensive Position.

Unity of command in depth must be preserved everywhere, unless there
is an imperative reason for doing otherwise.

The front of each regiment should be divided between two or three
battalions.

_Each battalion commander having to look after a front of from 500 to
600 yards, can exercise efficient control of his command._

In preparing for an assault, seniors must take steps to organize it
and make all necessary preparations themselves, and not leave all the
responsibility with the juniors.

In the assault each unit must know its special task beforehand, and it
should be rehearsed in rear of the line of trenches. Each commander
must know the exact time he is to start and must start on time.

The first waves of men are placed at 4 or 5 pace interval. Chief of
section can command only a front of 80 to 100 paces and it is
necessary to form the section in two (2) waves. The first containing
the grenadiers and automatic riflemen, the latter in the center. The
second wave contains the riflemen and rifle grenadiers, the latter in
the center.

If the terrain is cut up by woods, villages, etc., the proportion of
grenadiers may be increased by taking them from the sections in
support and the automatic riflemen sent back to the second wave.

If the distance to cross exceeds 300 or 400 yards, the number of
automatic riflemen should be increased.

_Two or three sections are usually placed abreast on the company
front, which thus covers two to three hundred yards._

The support sections follow the leading sections of their company at
about 50 yards, marching in two lines, if possible in two lines of
squad columns at 20 yard intervals.

The first wave of the support is usually formed of the one-half
section of specialists.

The echeloning of the specialists in front is also the most favorable
formation to progress by rushes in a terrain cut up by shell holes.

The chief of section is between the two (2) waves of his section.

The captain is usually in front of the support sections.

The support sections are closely followed by a powerful line of
machine guns, which are thrown into the fight when needed to reenforce
the leading units.

"Trench Cleaners" usually march immediately after the leading sections
and may be taken from the support sections. They are armed with
pistols, knives and hand grenades.

The captain can use his section complete, or take out the specialists
and use them for a particular purpose.

The specialists carry only the weapons of their specialty and have
their loads lightened. The ordinary riflemen carry the usual packs and
equipment.

Officers no longer lead the assault, but direct it. They are equipped
with the rifle and bayonet, the same as the enlisted man.

Each unit of the first wave of the attack is given a definite
objective. Different waves must not break upon the first wave.

Fire is opened by the assaulting troops only at short ranges, the
advance being protected by a curtain of artillery fire. The advancing
line makes use of shell holes and all other available cover.

When the first section reaches its objective it is joined by the half
section of riflemen; it immediately organizes the captured ground.

Attacking From Trenches.--The commanders of brigades and battalions,
with the commander of the artillery detailed to support them, study on
the ground the artillery plan so far as it affects them. Immediately
after the advance of the infantry begins, the artillery supporting it
commences an intense bombardment with the object of forcing the enemy
to take cover. At the moment laid down in the table of artillery fire
the barrage lifts clear of the trench and the infantry rush in and
capture it. The infantry must be taught that their success depends
upon their getting within 75 yards of the barrage before it lifts, in
order that they may reach the trenches before the enemy can man them.
The secret of a successful assault is exact synchronization of the
movements of the infantry with those of the barrage.

The pace of a barrage depends, to a certain extent, on the pace of the
infantry, which varies with the condition of the ground, the length of
the advance, the number of enemy trenches to be crossed, etc. It may
be from 15 to 75 yards per minute. The pace of the barrage should be
quicker at first, and should gradually slow down as the men become
exhausted, in order to give them time to get close to the barrage and
pull themselves together for the final rush.

In an attack each unit must have sufficient driving power in itself to
carry it through to its objective and enable it to hold its ground
when it gets there. When a number of trenches have to be carried,
considerable depth will be required, and the frontage must be reduced.
A brigade usually has a front in attack of 250 to 350 yards, but this
may be increased to 1,000 or 1,200 yards.

A battalion should have a front of 250 to 350 yards. The battalion
must be organized in depth in a series of waves. Two companies are
usually put abreast in the first line and the others in the second
line. Each company in both lines attacks in column of platoons at
about 50 yards' distance, with intervals of three to five paces
between men, so there would be eight lines of waves, of two platoons
each. The 8th and 16th platoons, the two in rear forming the eighth
wave, are usually not employed in the attack, but are left behind as a
nucleus to form on in case of heavy casualties.

The front line must not be less than 200 yards from the enemy's front
line.

The leading two or three waves are likely to meet machine gun fire,
and generally move in extended order. Not more than two waves can be
accommodated in one trench. Subsequent waves will move in line or in
line of section columns in single file. Russian saps must be run out
as far as possible across "No Man's Land" to be opened up immediately
after the assault, as approach trenches. Ladders or steps are
necessary to assist the leading waves in leaving the trenches, as they
must move in lines. Provision must be made for bridges over the first
line trenches for the rear waves. In the original assault line will be
more suitable for both leading and rear waves. In later stages it is
better for the rear waves to move in small and handy columns. In the
original assault the distance between waves may be 75 to 100 yards; in
later stages they may follow each other at 50 yards.

In the original assault, zero, or the time for the assault to begin,
may be fixed for the moment at which our barrage lifts from the enemy
front trench, the infantry timing their advance so as to be close
under our barrage before it lifts. In the later stages zero must be
the moment at which our barrage commences, and this commencement will
be the signal for the infantry to leave their trenches. Each wave is
assigned its own objective. All watches must be synchronized in order
that all units may start off at the appointed time.

The first wave is composed of bombers and rifle grenade men, and
attacks the enemy's first line of trenches. It must go straight
through to its objective, following the artillery barrage as closely
as possible. The second and third waves, composed of riflemen with
bayonets and Lewis guns, re-enforce the first wave after the latter
has occupied the enemy's first line trench, and attack the second line
trench. The fourth wave takes up tools, ammunition and sand bags and
assists in consolidating the line. The fifth wave is a mopping-up
party to clear the enemy's dugouts. The sixth wave comprises
battalion headquarters and has two Lewis guns, kept for a special
purpose. The seventh and eighth waves, if used, seize and consolidate
the enemy's third line trench.

Bombing squads (1 non-commissioned officer and 8 men) are on the flank
of each attacking wave. Battalion bombers are assigned a special task.

All movements must be over the top of the ground. The pace throughout
should be a steady walk, except for the last 30 or 40 yards, when the
line should break into a steady double time, finishing up the last 10
yards with a rush.

Barrage is continued 20 or 30 minutes after the objective has been
reached.

Mopping parties must be trained with great care under selected
officers. They should always wear a distinguishing mark. They must at
once dispose of any occupants who may have emerged from their dugouts,
and picket the dugout entrances.

The ultimate unit in the assault is the platoon. It must be organized
and trained as a self-contained unit, capable of producing the
required proportion of riflemen, bombers, rifle bombers, Lewis
gunners, and carriers, all trained to work in combination.

Assaulting troops should have twelve hours of daylight in the trenches
before the assault begins, to enable them to get acquainted with the
ground and get some rest. All ranks must be given a hot meal,
including hot tea or coffee, before the assault.

Take every precaution to prevent the enemy from realizing that the
assault is about to take place. Bayonets must not be allowed to show.
No increase in rate of artillery fire. No unusual movements must be
made in the trenches, and there must be no indication of the impending
assault until the barrage is dropped.

When the trench has been taken, it should be consolidated at once to
prevent counterattack. To protect this consolidation, throw out an
outpost line, the posts consisting of one non-commissioned officer and
6 riflemen with a Lewis gun, about 150 to 200 yards apart and 100 to
300 yards beyond the line. These posts should be established in
shellholes, which are to be converted into fire trenches, protected by
wire entanglements, as soon as possible.

Approach trenches toward the enemy should be blockaded and hand and
rifle grenadiers posted to guard them. The main captured trench should
be converted at once into a fire trench facing the enemy. If it is
badly knocked to pieces, a new trench may be constructed 40 or 50
yards in front of the captured line. The commander must reorganize in
depth to provide supports and reserves for counterattacks. Situation
reports should be sent back frequently. Rough sketches are better than
messages.

Tanks follow infantry as closely as possible to deal with strong
points. They are employed in sections of four.

Machine guns may be used to provide covering fire for attacking
infantry, cover its withdrawal if the attack fails, fill gaps in the
assaulting lines, assist in the consolidation of positions and repel
counterattacks.

Lewis guns are of great value in knocking out hostile machine guns.
They usually move on the flanks of the second wave of assault. Later
they are used to back up patrols and to hold the outpost line while
the garrison line is being consolidated.

As soon as consolidation begins, wire entanglements should be
constructed. Every effort should be made to secure the objective
against recapture. Any men available should be used to continue the
offensive.

All commanders down to and including company commanders must keep some
portion of their command as a reserve. The company commander needs his
reserve to work around points which are holding against the leading
lines, to protect his flanks in case the companies on his right and
left are delayed in their advance and to exploit his success and gain
ground to the front. He must keep it well in hand behind the company.

Battalion reserves must start with the assaulting column and get
across "No Man's Land" as soon as possible; they must not get out of
hand. Such a reserve is usually checked in the vicinity of the enemy's
front line trench, where it can be thrown in to assist the advance or
extend a flank as needed.

The brigade reserve is kept well in hand just clear of the friendly
front line and support trenches. Reserves of companies and battalions
must start moving over the top of the ground with the rest of the
assaulting troops.

Defense Of Trenches.--The latest methods consist in constructing,
supporting and strong points at the most favorable points to be held,
such as villages, woods, etc. These are separated by intervals not too
great for mutual support. They are of such resisting power that they
must be taken before the attack can progress. In the intervals between
them fire and communicating trenches are constructed, but these are
only held lightly. Dummy trenches may be placed in these intervals.
Lines of the various works are so traced that they bring enfilading
fire on troops attacking adjacent positions. The lines need not be
continuously occupied, but the obstacles extend in an unbroken line
along the whole front. Wire entanglements are set in front of
important positions in belts 20 feet wide, in two or three rows, each
20 yards apart.

Each supporting point usually is occupied by a battalion, and consists
of a series of trenches formed into strong points, each held by a
garrison of one or more platoons or a company. The supporting points
are from 600 to 800 yards in depth and have a front of 600 to 1,000
yards. The first line of strong points is occupied by one or two
companies in firing and cover trenches, while the remainder of the
battalion occupies the support and reserve trenches. Bomb-proofs are
built along the cover trenches and are connected with the firing
trenches. Approach trenches are protected on both flanks by wire
entanglements. Strong points in support and reserve trenches are
prepared for an all-around defense and divided into two or more
separate strong points by wire entanglements.

A body of infantry attacked is to oppose to the assailant its high
powered weapons, machine guns, automatic rifles, rifle grenades and
hand grenades and to reserve for the counter attack the grenadiers and
riflemen. There is always one line upon which the resistance must be
made with the greatest energy; for its defense the following methods
have been found successful. Machine guns should be placed where they
can secure the best flanking fire, and every one put out of action
should immediately be replaced by an automatic rifle. If machine gun
barrage fire is to play its role successfully at the moment of
assault, the guns must survive the bombardment. Their protection is
secured by placing them under shelter during the bombardment and
making their emplacements as nearly invisible as possible. They should
be echeloned in depth as far as practicable. They are generally placed
in re-entrants of the firing trenches and cover the intervals between
the adjoining supporting and strong points. Where the ground will
permit they are often placed in concealed positions 20 to 30 yards in
front of the trenches, to break up attacks made by hostile infantry.
Not too many should be placed in the front line, and they should be
echeloned in depth so as to confuse their disposition. The value of
machine guns depends on the possibility of using them suddenly for
brief periods, and in using them as long as they are effective.
Machine guns disposed for flanking fire must be well covered by
grenadiers; this is also true of automatic rifles.

Automatic rifles, rifle grenades and hand grenades are used to
constitute a barrage to keep back the enemy. The entire front should
be defended by a barrage of hand grenades, while the barrage of
automatic rifles and rifle grenades is superposed farther to the
front, up to 400 yards.

All riflemen and those grenadiers not employed in forming barrages are
reserved to make a counterattack.

Companies on the second line operate on similar principles; machine
guns, automatic rifles and rifle grenades are arranged so as to cover
every portion of the first line that might be invaded. After a short
preparation by fire from these, the grenadiers and riflemen make the
counterattack.

The captains in charge of the two lines are responsible for the
arrangement of the machine guns, automatic rifles and rifle grenades,
the distribution of barrages and the distribution of groups for the
counterattack. The real strength of the defense consists, not in
holding the fire and cover trenches, nor even the support trenches,
but in holding the supporting and strong points until the
counterattack can be launched.

Liaison.--The question of liaison in battle is of the utmost
importance, and complete co-ordination of the different arms is
absolutely necessary. Each battalion sends an officer or
non-commissioned officer and a cyclist to the colonel, and each
colonel sends a soldier to the battalion commander.

The principal means of communication are the telephone, telegraph,
wireless, aeroplane, mounted messengers, autos and motorcycles; and at
the front runners, visual signals, rockets and carrier pigeons.

Each battalion commander is connected by telephone with each company
commander, with the artillery observers, with the artillery commander,
with his own colonel and with the adjacent battalions on either side.

The signallers of assaulting companies move with the company
commander. All signallers should be given a special training in
repeating a message several times to a known back station which may
not be able to reply forward.

At the commencement of the assault the pigeons and pigeon carriers
must be kept back at battalion headquarters, and sent forward as soon
as the position has been gained.

Runners can be relied upon when all other means fail. They must be
trained with their companies. Runners should be lightly equipped and
wear a distinctive mark. They must be familiar with all the principal
routes to all the principal centers within their battalion sector. The
quicker they go the safer they are. Company and platoon runners must
go forward with their respective commanders. Messages to be carried
long distances will be relayed. Never send a verbal message by a
runner; ignore any received; all messages must be written.

Company and battalion commanders must be prepared to assist artillery
liaison officers in getting their messages back. Liaison officers must
be exchanged by all the assaulting battalions with the battalion on
either flank.

Trench Orders.--(Battalion): Trenches are usually divided into a
certain number of bays; the number of men to defend these bays depends
upon the length of trench allotted to each company. Each section is
detailed to guard a certain number of bays.

Non-commissioned officers and men must always wear their equipment by
day and night. Every company will "Stand To" arms daily one-half hour
before dusk and one-half hour before dawn, and will remain until
dismissed by the company commander.

The enemy's trenches are so close that it is very important for the
men to have their rifle sights always at battle sight, so that there
will be no necessity to alter their sights in case of alarm. By night
all bayonets are to be fixed and half of the men on duty in the
trenches are to be sitting on the firing platform with their rifles by
their side. In case of attack, especially at night, it should be
impressed upon the men that they fire low.

Section commanders are responsible that the men under their command
have sufficient standing room for the purpose of firing over the
parapet. They must have a clear field of fire, and not only be able to
see the enemy trenches but the ground in the immediate vicinity of
their trench. When making new trenches parapets should be at least
five feet thick at the top in order to be bullet proof.

Repairs or alterations of the parapet should be reported at once by
the section commander to the platoon commander, who will report it to
superior authority. Repairing of trenches, fatigue, etc., will be
carried on either by day or night according to company arrangement.
Certain hours will be allotted for these tasks and no man is to be
employed upon any kind of work out of these hours. No man should leave
his post in the trenches at any time without the permission of the
non-commissioned officer in charge of that post. At night there should
be at least one sentry post to each ten yards of parapet. At night,
double sentries should be posted if possible, and no sentry should be
kept on duty for longer than an hour at a time. The arrangement should
be such that when one sentry is doing his last half hour, his comrade
will be doing his first half hour.

Sentries at night should always have their rifles resting on the
parapet, ready to fire at a moment's notice. As few sentries as
possible should be posted by day, so as to give as much rest as
possible to the remainder of the men.

By day any existing loop-holes may be used by a sentry for observation
purposes, but this must be strictly prohibited at night, when the
sentry must look over the parapet. If a sentry is continually fired
at, the section commander will post him in another position, but not
too far from his original position. There is no excuse for a man going
to sleep on sentry duty; if he is sick he should report the fact to
the non-commissioned officer, who will report to superior authority.

An armed party of the enemy approaching the trench under a flag of
truce should be halted at a distance, ordered to lay down their arms,
and the matter at once reported to the company commander. If the party
fails to halt when ordered to do so, or does not convey a flag of
truce, they should be fired upon. An unarmed party should be halted in
the same way. It is not necessary to challenge at night; open fire at
once. This is modified only by special instructions.

Men especially picked for listening patrols and sharp-shooters will be
given special privileges. All loud talking must be checked at night by
officers and non-commissioned officers. All working parties must wear
their equipment and carry their rifles. All picks and shovels will be
returned after use to the company store room. Ration parties and
parties carrying materials for repairs, etc., need not wear their
equipment or carry rifles; they should be accompanied by a fully armed
non-commissioned officer as an escort. Not more than 20 men are to be
away from the company at one time; one non-commissioned officer and
four men per platoon.

Rifles must be kept clean and in good condition while in the trenches.
They will be cleaned every morning during an hour appointed by the
company commander for the purpose. Platoon commanders will be
responsible that section commanders superintend this work. All rifles
except those used by sentries are to be kept in racks during the day.

Trenches must be kept in sanitary condition. Platoon commanders will
be responsible for the latrines in their sections of the trenches. All
water for drinking and cooking is to be taken from a water cart or
tank provided for this purpose.

Stretcher bearers will be stationed at a place designated by the
commanding officer. No soldier will be buried nearer than 300 yards
from the trenches.

In every platoon a non-commissioned officer will be detailed for duty
by day; he will do no night duty. He will post the day sentries and
see that they are on the alert and carry out their orders correctly.
He will be responsible for the cleanliness of his lines and will
frequently visit the latrines. He will see that all loose ammunition
is collected.

The platoon commander will always send a non-commissioned officer to
draw rations and he will be responsible for their delivery.

The passing along of messages by word of mouth will not be used. All
messages should be written.

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25