8/8/2019 Questions for a Platoon Commander http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/questions-for-a-platoon-commander 1/8 *'/\u25a0 '/\u25a0 f^t ^t fc fc Ml l fi i Questions for uestions aor a Platoon Commanderlatoon Commander (Reprint of document prepared by the Reprint of document prepared by the American Expeditionary Forces, France) merican Expeditionary Forces, France) • oL • *• » • i I ! WAR PLANS DIVISION • \ A AR PLANS DIVISION • \ A April, 1918 <JH J A pril, 1918 <JH J A 4A S A 3 /il all SI /il all SI J5 5 5 iE j.v E j.v g < fl 2 g < fl 2 WAR DEPARTMENT *£ >! n AR DEPARTMENT *£ >! n Document No. ocument 791 o. 791 *^^ ^^ !2?lQni !2?lQni Office of the Adjutant General ffice of the Adjutant General UNCLASSIFIED
Questions a Platoon Commander should askhimself on taking over a Trench, and a t frequentintervals afterwards.
—
1. la m Here for Two Purposes To do as Much Damageas Possible to the Enemy, and to Hold My Part of theLine in all Circumstances. Am I s AGGRESSIVE as I
might be with Organized Sniping, Rifle Grenades andPatrols? Am I oing My Best to Make "No Man's Land"Our Land ? Am I oing all I an to make this Position asStrong as Possible? Have I one all I an for the COM-FORT and SAFETY of My Men?
2.Do I tudy as
much of theenemy's country
asI an see,
and do I ealize the importance of reporting at once anything I
see or any information I btain? Do I lways do this and alwayshave a runner ready to carry the message?
3. Have I ointed out to Section and Squad Commandersthe portion of the enemy's trench they are responsible for keepingunder fire, and where his loopholes are?
4. What points in front particularly require patrolling atnight?
5. Do I onnect up all right with the platoons on my rightand left? Do I now the position of my nearest support? Doall my men know the position of Company and Battalion Head
«.quarters and the Battalion Aid Station and the best routes tothose places?
6. Does every man know his firing position, and can he firefrom it, over the parapet, at the foot of the wire? Are thereany machine guns or automatic rifles in my sector? What is
their arc of fire? Is my front covered by enfilade machine gunor automatic rifle fire? I f so, from where?
7. Do all my men know their duties in case of attack? I f
the enemy succeeds in breaking into my line at any point, howcan I est arrange for counter-attacking him? Do I horoughlyunderstand the Company and Battalion Defense Scheme, andhave I xplained i t to all my N . C. O.s?
•8. Do I o my best to prevent men exposing themselves
needlessly? HaveI
scertained and warned all my men of theplaces in my part of the line, including communicating trenches,which are exposed to the fire of hostile snipers, and have I akensteps to remedy this?
9. Are my sentries in the right places? Are they properlyposted by N . C. O.s? Are the orders explained to each sentryas he is posted, and am I ure that he understands them? Arethey posted in the best possible places so as to se e well andeasily, and have they enough periscopes?
10. Where are my listening posts? Are my listening patrolsproperly posted?
11. Do I now the orders regarding the use of the emergencysignal for assistance (S. O. S.)?
12. Are the arrangements in case of gas attack complete andknown to all? Where is the gas alarm and is i t in good workingorder? Do my sentries know the orders as to sounding the gasalarm?
13. Do my men always have their gas masks and box res
pirators in the alert position, and are they in good order andproperly fitted? Do they know how to put them on and usethem?
14. Are the arrangements in case of bombardment completeand known to all? Have I racticed the rapid evacuation ofmy dugouts and manning of my line in case of an enemy attack?Are there some picks and shovels in each of my dugouts?
15. Are all my rifles, ammunition, and grenades clean andin good order? Have all the men got rifle covers and do they
on and off the rifle? Are theknow when the covers should bemagazines kept filled? Have the men got rifle oil, pullthroughsand cleaning material?
16. Where are my ammunition and grenade stores? Arethey properly labelled and are their positions known to all theplatoon? Are they under cover from the weather? Do I now
the position of thevermorel
sprayers,mine shafts, trench
mortars, rifle grenade batteries, artillery observation posts andtelephones in my vicinity? Do I eep a list of trench stores inmy charge and see there is no waste of them? Do I nd myN . C. O.s inspect trench stores, ammunition and grenade storesas often as we should? Are all the grenades primed? Will all
off easily,the wooden lids of Reserve ammunition boxes comeengineerand are the tin linings unbroken? Where is the nearest
store?
17. Am I oing constant work on my wire? DoI
nowwhere my men can get through, and are there easy means ofexit from my- trench close to those places? Do I now whatgaps there are in the enemy's wire and am I oing my best toprevent the enemy from repairing them?
18. Are my parapets and traverses really bullet-proof every-where?
19. Are my parapets, traverses, fire steps and dugouts prop-erly revetted? If not, how can I make them secure at once?Do I make sure that no undercutting of the parapet or paradostakes place?
20. Are my trenches as dry as I might make them? Arethey trench-boarded?
21. Is there an N . C. O. always on duty? Do I ake himwith me on my rounds? Does my Senior Sergeant know everything he should, so that he can take my place if I ecome acasualty?
22. AmI
lways the first man out at "inspection" and doI
se e that every man is at his post?
23. Do I nd my platoon realize that i t is our duty to leaveour trenches and dugouts, when relieved, in a better statethan we found them?
24. Do I lways check at once any tendency to slackness andslovenliness on the part of my men in carrying out their duties?
25. Are my men as comfortable as I an make them? Arethere enough dugouts for them all? Do they get hot soup andcoffee from the trench cookers? What can Id o to make themmore comfortable? Do I rganize my men's- work in properreliefs and are proper duty rosters kept? Do I make sure that,as far as possible, my men get sufficient sleep?
26. Are the trenches as clean and sanitary as they might be?Are my bags for refuse and empties in position? Is earth orchloride of lime used in the latrines? Are the latrines clean andproperly looked after?
27. Am I oing all I an to prevent my men from getting"trench feet"? Has every man a spare pair of dry socks andwhat are the arrangements for drying socks? Do my men wearrubber boots when i t is not necessary?
28. Are my men drinking water from any but authorizedsources? Are my men's canteens clean and full? Have Ienough kerosene cans for water?
29. Are the orders as to wearing equipment being compliedwith?
30. Are my men using notice boards, floorboards or woodfrom the defenses or stores as firewood?
Damage as Possible to the Enemy, and to Hold My Partof the Line in all Circumstances. Am la s AGGRESSIVEas I Might be with Organized Sniping, Rifle Grenades,and Patrols? Am I Doing My Best to Make "No Man'sLand" Our Land? Am I doing all I Can to Make thisPosition as Strong as Possible? Have I Done a ll I Canfor the COMFORTand SAFETY of My Men?
II Ay
Questions a Platoon Commander should askhimself before an attack.
1. Do I now exactly the part my platoon is to play in the—attack assaulting platoon, supporting platoon, in support,reserve, etc.?
Do I now the formation my company is to take, the functionof each platoon, and where Company Headquarters is to be?
2. Do I now exactly what objectives have been alloted(a) to my Platoon, (b) to my Company, (c) to my 'Battalion?Have I map showing them?
3. Have I xplained them to my N . C. O.s and men? Andhave I iven my N . C. O.s a sketch plan of the platoon's objec-tive showing the group objectives?
4. Do my N . C. O.s and men understand exactly whatformation the platoon is adopting for this attack, and thevarious duties each one of them has to perform?
5. How am I sing my automatic rifles?6. Do I now the location both of the left and of the right
of my objective?7. Do I now, and do my N . C. O.s and men know, the
names of the units on my flanks, and in case we are in support orreserve, the units in front and behind us?
8. Do I nderstand the barrage lines and timing of lifts inthe Artillery Program? Does my map show the barrage lines?
9. Have I mpressed upon my men the great importance ofkeeping close up to our own barrage?
10. Is my watch synchronized?
11. Do I nderstand all orders sufficiently to be able to takecommand of the Company if my Company Commander iswounded?
12. Have I old my second in command and N . C. O.severything I can to enable them to accomplish the assignedmission if I m wounded?
13. Are all my N . C. O.s and men properly equippedaccording to orders?
14. Do I now who have (a) wire-cutters, (b) Very pistolsand lights?
15. Have (a) grenades, (b) flares been issued to each man,and have orders about their carriage and use been properlyexplained?
16. Do I now and does my Orderly know, (a) the best way
to Company Headquarters now; (b) how to find my CompanyCommander during and after the attack; (c) where Battalion andRegimental Headquarters are, and if they are moving, the routeand destination?
17. Have I mpressed upon my men that the success of thisattack may be determined by the action of any one of them,and that any man who gives or repeats an order to retire is atraitor?
18. Have I old them that slightly wounded men must carryback their equipment, and that men must on no account weakenthe line by taking back wounded?
19. Do the litter bearers know their way to the advanceddressing station and the arrangements made for removingwounded?
20. Do I now what to do with prisoners?
21. Have I etailed the patrols to be pushed out as soon asthe objective has been gained, and explained to them exactlywhat to do?
22. Do my men understand the necessity of establishingtouch with units on our flanks, o r, if on gaining our objective weare not in touch, that trenches leading to left and right must bebarricaded immediately .
23. Do I understand that to consolidate a well-definedtarget exposes my men to heavy shelling afterwards? Have I
thought out where and how i t is best to consolidate the objectivelam about to attack? Does i t agree with the company commander's plan for consolidation?
24.- Do all my men know which are IN and which are OUTcommunicating trenches?
25. Do I now and have I xplained to my N . C. O.s thearrangements for supply of water, small arms ammunition,grenades, sandbags, wire, etc.? Have I nspected my platoonfor ammunition, ration, water and flares?
26. Have I made all possible arrangements for any specialwork required from my platoon after the objective has beengained?
27. What are the aeroplane signals? What is the emergencysignal for assistance (S. 0. S.)?
11l
Questions a Platoon Commander should askhimself when the objective of an attack has beengained.
1. Am I nd my men where they were meant to be?
2. Have I eported my position and the situation generally?3. Are flares being lit when called for by the contact aero-
plane?4. Is my platoon reorganized to resist counter-attack?5. Am I oing all I an to consolidate the position and am I
consolidating in the best place?6. Am I n touch with units on my flanks? If not, are
barricades (blocks) being established as quickly as possible?7. Are the automatic rifles disposed to the best advantage?
Do they cover a barricade (block) ?
8. Have the patrols been pushed out as I rranged?9. Am I aking the best use of my scouts and snipers?
10. What is the enemy doing? Am I oing allin my powerto find out, and to let my Company Commander have the in-formation as quickly as possible?
11. What special orders did I eceive?12. Was I rdered to dig any part of a communicating
trench? If so, are the men assigned for the purpose actuallyperforming the allotted task?
13. Can I ut up anything as a guide to our position for the
artillery?14. Do I ppreciate that if my present position is difficult tohold, it is likely to be much worse if I ry to withdraw?
15. Do I nderstand that bold and energetic action makesfor success?
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