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What is their morale? etc. 4th. Consider the terrain in so far as it affects the situation. 5th. Consider the various plans of action open to you and decide upon the one that will best enable you to accomplish your mission (carry out your task); that is to say, come to a decision. It is now necessary to express that decision in the form of an order as the quarterback did in giving the signal, 44--11--17--5. To enable the will of the commander to be quickly understood, and to secure prompt cooeperation among his subordinates, field orders are required to follow a general form. Under the stress and strain of an engagement there are many causes of excitement. Unless we have trained ourselves to act along certain lines in issuing orders, we may forget some important considerations. We have known people of superb intelligence to do poorly before a large audience simply from lack of training and experience. CORRECT PROCEDURE IN GIVING THE MAIN PART OF A FIELD ORDER 1st. Give the information of the enemy and of our own supporting troops (i.e., those who may come to our assistance in case of need) to your subordinates that will give them a clear understanding of the problem and enable them intelligently to cooperate with you. 2d. Now state what you are going to do. That is to say, give your plan. 3d. Next, how you are going to put that plan into effect. That is, the assignment of duties to each subordinate. 4th. Give instructions for the ammunition trains, stations for the slightly wounded, etc. 5th. State where you can be found or where messages may be sent. SOME GENERAL HINTS Clear and decisive orders are the logical result of definite and sure decisions. To guage[B] a man's caliber read his orders. You must not be hazy and indefinite in your order. You must be clear and definite. Be careful about your phrasing and expressions. An order should be like a cablegram: convey every idea but contain no unnecessary words. Don't break up the squads or platoons or the companies. Keep the tactical units together as much as possible. It is marvelous how many mistakes can occur on the battlefield. Attempt a complicated plan and its failure is reasonably assured. Have your plan simple. The enveloping attack is the best. That is to say, have your line longer than the enemy's so that you can attack one of his flanks. He knows this quite as well as you and he will endeavor to perform the same
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