34 total personnel. TRANSPORTATION UNITS. A pack train. 1 pack master. 1 cargador. 1 farrier and blacksmith. 1 cook. 10 packers. 14 saddle mules. 50 pack mules. 1 bell mare. 14 total personnel. 26. Paragraph 26 rescinded by General Orders No. 146, War Department, 1907. ARTICLE II. ORDERS. GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 27. A military order is the expression of the will of a chief conveyed to subordinates. 28. The art of giving proper directions and orders to troops is one of the most important features in the exercise of command. 29. The higher the position of the commander, the more general in character will his orders be. At the beginning of operations, and from time to time thereafter, the plans and intentions of the supreme authority will probably be communicated in the form of letters of instructions. These regulate movements over a large area and for considerable periods of time. 30. As soon as it becomes necessary to prescribe matters of detail, orders are issued; for example, orders for a march or for the formation of a camp, bivouac, or cantonment; orders for attack or defense; orders for advance guard, rear guard, or outposts; or orders after a battle. 31. Orders are issued verbally or in writing. Verbal orders may be delivered in person, or they may be sent by staff officers. When the officers concerned can be assembled readily, orders may be given in person or by a staff officer, but even then orders of some importance or length should be dictated. For simple details or a single service a verbal order, or a command or signal will often be sufficient. For commands which are scattered, or larger than a division, the written or telegraphic order will be the rule. The sending of verbal orders conveyed by orderlies should be avoided, whether in garrison, in the field, or in campaign. In matters of importance it will be resorted to only in cases of necessity, bearing in mind that there is always a possibility of controversy as to the exact wording of the order. Such an order should therefore not contain more than one definite point; for example, "The regiment will halt for three hours at More latitude may be allowed in sending verbal orders by officers. The bearer of a verbal order or message should invariably repeat the same before starting off. Orderlies will be instructed to do so habitually. 27 28 ORDERS. 66 32. The written orders of commanders of regiments or larger units, 'special orders" according to and of posts, districts, territorial departments or divisions, are denominated "general orders" or character; orders of smaller units are simply called "orders." They are numbered in separate series, beginning with the year, or with the establishment or organization of a new command. 33. General orders publish information or instructions to the whole command; special orders relate to individuals or matters not of general application. Circulars are numbered in separate series; they have the force of orders when they convey mandates or instructions. An order may also be placed in the form of an official letter addressed to the individual concerned, or it may be simply a note. However informally the will of the commander may be expressed, it should be cheerfully and promptly complied with. 34. An order will state at its head the source from which it emanates, its number, date, and place of issue; in the field the hour of issue should generally be stated. Dates should be abbreviated in the manner employed in the Army Register; for example, 20 Nov. 95, 7 Feb. 99, 3 Mar. 03. In referring to a night, mention both days, thus, night 19/20 November. The words noon and midnight should be written out in full. 35. In campaign, orders relating to operations will, in addition to the prescribed heading, bear the caption "Field Orders," and will be numbered in a separate series; for example: FIELD ORDERS No. 173. * * HEADQUARTERS SECOND DIVISION, * * * * The originals of such orders will be carefully preserved for future reference and as a basis for formal reports of operations. THE COMPOSITION OF ORDERS. 36. In the deliberations leading up to a decision the commanding officer will be guided, in the first instance, by the orders or instructions he may have received from higher authority; then, information of various degrees of reliability as to the enemy and the theater of operations, supplemented by inferences or conjectures of more or less doubtful nature, will be taken into account. He should satisfy himself completely as to the kind of action required by the military situation, whether advance, retreat, attack, defense, or a state The enemy's situation should next of readiness is demanded. receive consideration, what he is doing, what his strength and condition are, what action he could take. When reliable information is lacking, it is safe to assume that the enemy will act with good judgment. Finally, the relation which the problem confronting the command bears to the general military situation, whether of an independent character or connected with operations on other theaters of war, must not be lost sight of. 37. Having arrived at a perfectly definite decision as to the course of action to be pursued, the commander will make a careful study of the maps available, especially with reference to roads, calculate the time necessary for his own and the enemy's troops to reach important points, and proceed to draw up the orders. 38. Orders should be divided into numbered paragraphs, corresponding matter being assembled under the same number. The wording of an order must be so clear and intelligible as to leave no opening for mistakes. Expressions depending for their signification upon the point of view of the observer, such as right, left, in front of, behind, on this side, beyond, are to be avoided, reference being made to the points of the compass instead. The terms right or left may, however, be applied to individuals or bodies of men, or to the banks of a flowing body of water; in the latter case the observer is supposed to be facing downstream. For the sake of precision the pronunciation of foreign or other proper names not conforming to the spelling may be shown phonetically in parenthesis; thus, Bicester (Bister), Gila (Heeʻ-lah). When two or more places or features on the map have the same name they must be connected with other points. A road is designated by connecting two or more names of places on the road with dashes, thus, "Lima-Spencerville road." The writing must be so distinct as to be legible even in bad light. 39. Orders should be brief; short sentences are easily understood. Conjectures, expectations, reasons for measures adopted and detailed prescriptions for a variety of possible events are little calculated to raise the confidence of troops, and should therefore be omitted. 40. Orders must not be couched in uncertain terms. The commander should accept the entire responsibility and shift none of it to the shoulders of his subordinates. Precise orders give confidence in dangerous undertakings. The more difficult the situation, the clearer and more definite must the order be. 41. An order should not trespass on the province of a subordinate. It should contain everything which is beyond the independent authority of the subordinate, but nothing more. When the transmission of orders requires a considerable period of time during which the situation may change, detailed instructions should be avoided. The same rule holds good when an order may have to be carried out under circumstances which the originator of the order can not completely forecast; in such cases a letter of guidance is more appropriate. It should lay stress upon the object to be attained, and leave open the means to be employed. 42. Orders should not attempt to arrange matters too far in advance, for counter measures of the enemy and unexpected contingencies will often make it necessary to recall the original orders and substitute others. Frequent changes weary the men, shake their confidence in their commander, and tend to make subordinates uncertain in their action. 43. The particulars of time and place must be stated so precisely that error will be inexcusable. It is important that an excellent timepiece be kept at headquarters and that commanders or staff officers of subordinate units set their watches by it. 44. The orders of a subordinate should not be a mere repetition of those from higher authority, with additions tacked on. It will be clearer, and serve the purpose better, to write an independent order. However, when large bodies of troops are working together, the orders of the smaller units will usually be based on the divisional orders. Arrangements for a possible retreat should be communicated only to the officer next in rank, and always confidentially. 45. While it is impossible to devise a general plan providing for all the contingencies likely to arise, it will be of advantage to follow certain general principles in regard to the form of orders. In orders prescribing operations the following sequence is recommended: 1. Information concerning the enemy and our own troops in the vicinity. 2. Intentious of the commanding officer. 3. Duties of the various fractions of the command. 4. Orders for baggage trains and ammunition columns. 5. Location of the commander at the beginning of the operations; also, when necessary, place for delivering messages. The distribution of troops is stated in the margin, when necessary, under the heading "Troops." The name of the commander of each fraction, and the units composing it, should be specified. No commander is detailed for the main body because the commander of the whole force generally assumes that duty. When the sequence of march of the main body is placed in the order, the heading is supplemented by the words "in order of march." The arrangement of troops in advance guards, flank guards, and rear guards would appear in the orders of the officers designated to command these fractions. |