Combat Instructions

8/8/2019 Combat Instructions

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No.1348----~-_______

Not to be Taken Into Front Lifie Tjlenches

Issued down to include Company Conrrnnuder~

General Headquar~te~~s

Ame r i c a n Expeditionary Forces



COMBAT INSTRUCTlOt

Sept ember 5, 19L S.

1. The principles enu nciated in Uulletin No. 30, May 23.

1918; Aiemora ndu m for Corps and Division Comm an ders, August

44, 1918, an d Notes on Recent Opera tions, No. 1, August 7.

1918, ar e not yet receiving due application. Att ack form at ions

of platoons, compa nies, an d batt alions ar e everywhe re too

dense an d follow too rigidly th e illust ra tions cont ain ed in th e

Offensive Comba t of Sma ll Units. Waves ar e too close togeth er;

mdividuals th erein h ave too little inter val. Lines ar e frc-quent ly seen with t he men almost elbow to elbow, an d seldom

with intervals greater th an two or thr ee paces. Columns, when

used, ar e too long; in first line compa nies th ey should ra rel)

ha ve a greater depth t han ten files. All form ations are habit-

ua lly lacking in elasticity ; ther e is almost never a ny att empt

to ma neuver, tha t is, to thr ow supports an d reserves to the

flanks for envelopment. Scout s, if used, are frequent ly only a

few yards in front of th e leading waves. wher e th e only pur-

pose they can ser ve is to blanket or to receive th e fire of th e

men behind them . Subordina te officers display litt le appr ecia-

tion of the assumed situation and how best to meet its re-

quirements. It is necessary, th erefore, to repeat once more afew fundament al principles which must be impressed upon all

roncerned.

2. The esscutial ditl’eren ce hetwceu opcu au d tr ench wa rfar e.

so far as effect upon forma tions is concern &, is char acter ized

by th e pres ence or absen ce of th e rolling bar ra ge ah ead of th e

infant ry. Fr om R ta ctical point of view, th e met hod of comba t

in tr ench wa rfare presents a ma rked contr ast to that em ployed

in open warfare, nnd the att empt by assaulting infant ry to

use tr ench warfare meth ods in an open warfare combat willI’

be successful only at great cost. Tren ch wa rfar e is ma rked by

un iform form at ions, th e regula tion of space an d time by

higher comma nd down to th e sma llest details, a bsence offixed distan ces an d ihter valscout s preceding th e first wave,

between unit s au d individua ls, volumin ous orders, careful re-

hea rsa l, little initiative upon th e par t of th e individua l soldier.

Open warfare is ma rked by scouts who precede t he first wave,

Irr egular ity of form at ions, compa ra tively litt le regula tion of

vpace and time by the higher comm and, the greatest possible

use of th e infant ry’s own fire power to ena ble it to get for%vardZ

variable distances an d intervals between units and individual% ‘1

use of every form of cover and accident -of th e ground dur ing

th e adva nce, brief orders, an d th e great est possll#+~;nf:, ln$J - ,‘.

vidua l In itia tive 1,~ all tr oops en gaged in th : ,?,@jpu: _:.,e-t ‘,.: ’



J COMBAT INSTRUCTIONS...- ___ _ __._-_ ^ - .- -~ ___--_-.----~

2. The following principles deal chiefly with warfare in the

~Jp~ll. 111 a trench-to-trench attack, where a moving barrageis to be followed closely, uniform formations are generallyexpedient until the enemy’s first line trenches have been en-

tered. ‘I’hcrcafter, the principles outlined below should be

applied.

4. scouts. ‘l\‘hen closely following a moving barrage, there

IS seldom room for scouts. When the barrage has been lost

or does not exist, as is ordinarily the case in the open field,scouts should precede the first line companies. They should

deploy at wide and irregular intervals, 10 to 50 paces, to pre-sent a poor target to hostile machine guns. They should take

every possible advantage of the ground to obtain cover, pro-

vided their advance is not thereby unduly delayed. Exposedground should be crossed at a run. Their distance in front

of the main bodies of their platoons should follow no set rule,but should cohstantly vary with the ground and with theanticipated position of the enemy. One moment they may be

; 500 meters ahead of their platoons, a few minutes later theyI

may be absorbed therein. Their purpose is to compel theenemy machine guns to open fire and so disclose their location

I or 1~ run over by the scouts. When the hostile machine gunshave been located, the scouts should at once open fire.

5. Pta loons. Under cover of the firk of the scouts, enoughmen from the platoon behind work forward individually or in

small groups to this thin and very irregular line of scouts inorder to give it sufficient fire power to pin the machine guncrew to the ground. Or, if the scouts are in low ground, it

will sometimes be advisable for the platoon to open fire overtheir heads from commanding ground behind. But the firingline, however formed, must remain a thin one, with no two

q men ever less than five meters apart, and in the usual casepreferably at much greater interval. The first reinforcementsfor the scouts should contain one or more automatic rifle teams.At the same time: riflemen and bombers, and, if the groundfavors it, automatics also, begin to work from the second wavearound one or both flanks of the firing line to get at the flanhs

of the machine gun and thus close on its crew. All detach-ments or units attempting such an attack must take propert measures to secure their own flanks. If the hostile gun is

shifted to meet the new attack, a whole or part of the firingline should take prompt advantage of that change in position

i pr direction of fire to rdsh directly forward. As soon as the

scouts have located the machine gun, the rifle grenadiers assistthe advance of everyone by heavy fire from suitable positionsbehind the first line. T&e ability of the platoon leader is dis-played by prompt reconnaissance of the. ground, by a rapidestimate of what it offers toward facil itating the advance ofhis ni,cn, and by irnmcdistc decision upon a s?InplC plan

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COMNAT ISSTKCCTIONS.- --.__. --__.-_ _ _ -- . . -

the use of his combined weapons and of the qxt1~1~J to c~rabk’ him to close with the enemy. His plan shou lrl I~~~f~ituall:; in-

clude pinning the enemy to the ground by froil(:!l al?d flaarkirlgfire, under cover of which some portions of the piaiocm. usuallythose sent against the hostile flanks, can close try short r~~sh~\

with the enemy. The training and discipline 11t 1 he platoon

are shown by the skill with which the meI1 C;rrr!/ ollt the plar~of the leader. :I platoon should bv itself I,( :I:>IL: to captureone, or even a pair, of hostile macliine guns.

6. Corn an y. The capture of a nesf of rnar:ilnrte guns wiliprobably be beyond the capacity of a platoon, :rncit xvi11 requirethe company to send its support platoons t(~ tll,b flanks TVenvelop or encircle.

7. Jicwhine G:cns. Every first line battnlifi,ll ~hl:ultL habit-Ually be reinforced by a machine gun cOmpailJ’, Ulr Ich WpcJrti

to and is under the orders of the battalion con\:lr:>nticr. J3e

should not in turn pass the company on bJ I_J~ ~ i~J)OlS to hisrifle companies, but should command it as ;1 fifth company.

This does not mean that the company should JIG as~cmblcd atone place for massed fire. In fact, the contrary is usuallyadvisable. The company should ordinarily work by jJkitOOn$

on e supporting each first line company, while on~h, if two riflecompanies only are iu first line, is charged with tlefeansc> against

+ hostile aircraft, with replacements for the first line platoonsand with securing the flanks of the battalion. When initiatingan attack, the machine gun platoons will at first usually followIn rear of the first line companies, provided the character otthe terrain renders their early use probable. When such iinot the case, they should follow in rear of the support corn--panies. After the enemy has been located, the guns of each ,

platoon habituallv work in pairs, one pair remaining in posi-tion on commanding ground to cover the advance of the otherpair to a suitable firing position in advance, All changes cttposition are, as a rule, made by hounds of half platoons. Es-cept in the early stages of an attack, as noted abo\,e, a stead!advance of machine guns will seldom be advisable. A platoonsupporting the advance of an infantry comy:my ordinari1.vfires from commanding positions oGer the heads of the troop<.The company commander remains near the battalion con-mander. He takes full advantage of every opportunity to COII-centrate the tire of his platoons, usually without changing theirposit ion, on those hostile nests or strong points which arc

making most trouble. He shifts the fire of his platoon, when-ever practicable, to give flanking instead of direct fire. HCmust take every opportunity to bring forward his gun and am-munition carts.

Platoons in support of first line companies should sendagents, usually a non-commissioned office? and two privates,forward to the rifle companies. A rocket signal will, as a rule.most promptly secure fire from the supporting machine puns



COMBAT INSTRUCTIONS._--

H. One-Pounder Gun. The one-pound er guns will usu ally

be assigned to th e flrst line batta lions, an d will be placed un der

the command GT th e infantr y majors. When th ere is only one

batt alion in tl:e first Ilne, two guns should ordinarily be assigned

to it . The lemalning gun may be held under the order of the

colonel tet ween th e leading an d th e second ba tta lioc to replace

an y gun lost in th e first line and to secure th e flank s. The

one-pound er gun is inten ded for direct fire against ma chine guns,

in which it is of th e ut most possible value. In fact, th e one-

pound er is th e most effective single weap on in th e infantr y

regiment for use against machine guns. It is so effective th at

th e hostile ar tillery will not permit its appr oach within short

range 1~11less ts advance is so carefully screened tha t t he enemy

do?s not discover it unt il it opens fire. It should not be used

against other targets than machine guns or tanks. These guns

adva nce by boun ds from one firing position to an other along

defiladed routes, which should be reconn oiter ed in advan ce.

9. Light Moriurs. The light t ren ch. morta r should be assignedby pairs t o first line battalions, an d placed un der th e batt alion

commander. Its principal use is also against ma chine guu

nests, wher e its fire is both physically an d morally highly effec-

tive. Like the machine guns and the one-pounder, the advance

of th e morta r must be by boun ds from one position to an other

from wh ich it can support th e first line compa nies. In open

war fare its use is ha mper ed by th e difficulty of tr an sporting by

han d both the mortar and its bulky ammun ition. Economy in

th e use of am mu nition an d careful organization of th e system

of su pply will do mu ch towar d over comin g th ese difficult ies.

When t he Bran dt-Maurice shell can be obta ined 75 per cent . of’

th e am mun ition should be of this type.

10 . Becapitulation. To recapitulate, the German machiuc

guns constitut e th e chief weapon to be combat ted by our

infantry. The platoon comm an der must oppose th em by fire

from his rifles, his au tomatics an d his rifle grena des, an d must

close with th eir crews un dkr cover of this fire and of ground

beyond t heir flanks. The batt alion comm an der, in addition to

th e weapons of th e platoon, ha s his ma chine guns, oue-

pounder gun, light morta rs an d accompauying field piece. The

batt alion comm an der who mak es th e most int elligent use of th e

combined fire of th ese weapons an d of th e ground will lost th e

fewest men. The success of every u nit from th e platoon to th e

‘ivision must be exploited to th e fullest extent . Where str oug

, .~istance is encoun ter ed, reinforcement s must not be th rower

“1 to make a frontal attack at this point, but must be pushed

th rough gaps created by successful units, to att ack these str ong

point s in th e flan k or rear .

11. Artillery. The division ar tillery, for open warfare, is

divided int o two classes : (:I) that retained by t he divisi 011



COMBAT INSTKUCTIONS. 7___ _. ___-_ _-

comm an der under th e comm an d of the art illery brigade com-

ma nder, an d (b) that a ssigned to infant ry units under the

comm an d of the infant ry comm anders.

The proport ions to be assigned to th ese two classes depen d on

the following considerations :

Theret ent ion of a lar ge proportion un der the division com-ma nder perm its ra pid an d powerful concentr at ion on decisive

points a nywher e on th e division front . But unless commu ni-

cations ar e perfect and inform at ion complet e, it ren ders t he

close su pport of local a ctions difficult.

The assigum ent of ar tillery to infant ry unit !, binds such

ar tillery closely to th e infant ry it is support ing, an d gives the

infant ry comm an der a powerful combina tion of ar ms with

which t o ha ndle local situa tions without loss of time. On the

other ha nd, it ten ds t o lessen the power of ar tillery concen-

tra tion of the division as a whole, and may r ender the infant ry

un it clum sy an d immobile. Moreover it deman ds a high degree

of decision an d iuitiative on th e par t of both th e infant ry an d

ar tillery comm an ders immedia tely involved.

In what ever ma nner the art illery is assigned, close and direct

liaison between the art illery and the infant ry which it is sup-

porting must be maint ained.

A suita ble pr oport ion of ar tillery for assignm ent un der

infant ry comm an ders is, as a ru le, one batt alion of light ar tillery

to each infant ry brigade. With respect to its mission an d em-

ployment , this ar tillery is divided into two classes: infantrg baf-

teries and accompanging guns. If a batt alion is assigned to

each infant ry brigade, a suita ble disposition will frequent ly be

to use two batteries as infant ry batteries, and to break up one

batt ery for USC as accompa nyiug guns. Infan tr y batt eries shouldbe fought as batt eries: accompa nying guns always by piece;

each un der an off&zer when pra cticable.

12. lnfatltrg Bdteries. With two infant ry batt eries p er

infant ry brigade, they may be either assigned one under each

infant ry regimental comm ander , or both held under the infant ry

brigade comm an der. The form er disposition is ordina rily prefer-

able when regiments are deployed abreast.

With both infant ry batteries held under the infant ry bri-

gade comm auder , the art illery batt alion comm ander comm ands

these batteries, ordinar ily rema ining with the infant ry brigade

comm an der or in close comm un icat ion with him. When the

infant ry batteries ar e assigned to infant ry regiments, the art il-

lery batt alion comm an der super vises th e employment of his

batt eries, as well as of th e repla cement of pers onn el, ma ter iel,

and ammunit ion.

The missions of iufant ry batt eries include th e at ta ck of th e

str onger points of resista nce; defense against local counter-att acks, an d firing on hostile reser ves.



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8 COMBAT INSTRUCTIONS.-___ ___ -_-.--- --

Fire is ha bitua ll’y by direct observat ion from n ear th e bat ter)

positions on specific objectives. The range finder should be at

han d a nd used when accura te ma p ra nges are not available

an d for moving objectives. Fr ee use mu st be ma de of scouts for

securing inform at ion an d for protection against surpr ise. \ ‘isual

comm unications are importa nt; Positions should be forwa rd.

well reconnoitered, but occupied with ra pidity an d boldness.

13. Accompanging Guns. These a re assigned first line in-

fant ry batta lions and placed under the comm an d of the infant r?

majors. The proport ion ma y he one or even two per batt :llion.

depend ing on th e front covered.

Accompa nying guns at ta ck hostile machine guns, ta nks ;~r~ct

,strong points.

_ Fir e is direct in th e case of clear ly visible or moving objec-

tives; otherwise indirect with flash defilade an d observat ion at

th e piece. The ra nge sh ould be from 500 to 1500 met ers. Ran ges

ar e ordina rily estima ted. A widenbra cket of say 400 met ers is

quickly obta ined a nd sear ched. Ineffective ra nges ar e elimi-

na ted dur ing fire for efiect. fThe pieces are ordinar ily mo\ .ed horsed, unlimbered under -

cover, an d run forwar d by han d. Caissons ar e brought as near

t h e pieces as conditions perm it. Accompa nying guns find th eir

protection principally in th e sma ll ta rget presen ted, in conceal-

men t by na tur al’ featur es, an d in th eir mobility. Two or more

caissons should be ass igned for th e am mu nition supply of each

piece.

Capta ins of batt eries broken u p for accompa nying guns m:tJ

devote their att ention to superintending am mun ition supply and

replacement of mat eriel mrl personn el, or th ey ma y assign

lieutenan ts to this duty and themselves comm and pieces.

Nea rby infant ry reser ves should bc called u pon to assist in,amm unition supply and in the movement of the piece when

necessary.

A portion of th e batt ery personn el for informa tion an d co111

mu nication should be assigned to each piece. This personn el i%

push ed forwar d to secure inform at ion an d locate objectives. tcS

reconnoiter positions, an d to secure liaison with Ihe inf:llltr \

comm an der an d the am mun ition supply.

14. The functions of infant ry comm an ders ha ving tith er

infant ry batter y or accompan yinb f guns llnrlcr their co~llmnnd

genera lly consists in th e indicat ion of missions an d supplying:

inform at ion as to enem y an d friendly dispositions. Techn ical

deta ils an d met hods should be left a s far as possible to th e’ ‘I ar tillery comm an der. However, in th e absen ce of a specific olis- ,! 4i; sion, th e ar tillery comm an der should, on his own initiative, use

IIth e mea ns a t his disposal to locate an d att ack suita ble objectives.

‘: In general, th e art illery comm an der is responsible tha t the full: I

Ii-

power of his weapons is developed an d aggressively used. The

I /infant ry comm an der mu st apply this pow’rr where it will bestassist his infantry.



(.‘c)MlMT INSTRUCTIONS. 9. . I___-_ _ - --.

15. Zliuisiolt 7 rc~lc!l Mortars. The 6” Newton Trench Mortar,while developed. primarily for position warfare, is capable ofutil ization in ol)cn warfare. It5 motor tran_sport enables it tofollow the advauce , and assure5 ammunition supply. If condi-tions render it necessnr\-, a portion of the mortars may be leftbehind. This atfords a reserve of personnel and transport forammunition supply to hasten the occupation of a position and toreplace casualties promptly.

16. The mission of the division trench mortar battery in openwarfare is solely a close support of infantry in overcoming strongpoints which are holding up the advance. Except when theattack is at dawn of days succeeding the fi rst day of the advance,the posit ion warfare conception of elaborately prepared emplace-ments must be entirely abandoned. It requires too much time.For missions undertaken and executed by day, the rapid occupa-tion of a posi tioli and opening of fire i s essential to success.

17. When the nature of the action is such that the mission ofthe trench mortar battery can be anticipated, it should preferablybe attached to the infantry regiment or brigade which it will berequired to support. When ilc mission cannot be foreseen, itmust be held subj ect to orders of the division or brigade insuch a way that i ts prompt assignment to any mission arisingduring the action can be effected. Its assignment to the divisioninfantry reserve is feasible when this will not result in its beingheld too far to the rear for prompt entry into action. Whateverbe the Lactical assignment of the battery, the battery commander

must take all possible measures to push his unit forward in orderto hasten its entry into action when called for.

18. Infantry commanders assigning a mission to the batteryshould state definitely the locality to be fired upon, and the posi-tions of friendly troops. The selection qf positions should beleft within rather large limits to the battery commander. Thetime of attack should be arranged after consulting the batterycommander as to the time necessary for the latter to go intobattery.

19. Up to the time of the assignment of a mission, the batterycommander remains with, or in close liaison with, the infantry

commander to whom attached.When assigned a mission the

battery commander hastens to join the infantry commanderwhose unit he is to support. After obtaining the necessary infor-mation as to the operation contemplated, he makes a rapidreconnaissance of position, and meets the battery on arrivalin the vicinity or sends an agent to conduct it to the position.The position selected should be at as short a range as is pos-sible, consistent with propel concealment and ammunitionsupply.

20. Visual concealment in position must be had, but protec-tion must be limited ordinarily to that afforded by the naturalfeatures of the position sclectcd. The construction of emplace-



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?) COMBAT INSTRUCTIONS.-- --_____ __- I_

men ts is carr ied only as far as is absolutely necessar y to fire

Pr eviously prep ar ed san d bags ar e necessar y. Pr otection for tht

cann oneers mu st not be allowed to delay t he opening of fire.The deep defilade possible with this piece is am ple pr otection

against hostile fire un der open war fare conditions. The moral

an d ma teria l effect of a ra pid fire, prompt ly delivered, is greatBut if th e Are is delayed, th e enem y is allowed to perfect hi<

dispositions, all th e while inflicting losses on our infant ry.

21. When a mission has been accomplished, th e ma ter ietshould be at once withdrawn and loaded on the transport forfurther advance.

22. Division comm an der s will sccur c full comp li3utic’ with th r

principles herein enun ciated.

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23. Copies of all sta nding instr uctions upon ta ctical ma tt erswhich ha ve been, or ma y be, issued by division or higher hea d-

quart ers will be forwar ded thr ough channels to General H ekd-

quarters.

r\ PERSHING.

Combat Instructions

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