This post continues a series of decision-forcing cases. With that in mind, I recommend that, before reading the paragraphs that follow, you read (or, better yet, work through) the first six posts in the sequence.
You use the last two hours of daylight to integrate your four howitzers into the defensives of RCT 17. In particular, you work with the forward observers of the supporting field artillery battalion (with twelve 105mm howitzers) and the attached chemical mortar platoon (four 4.2-inch mortars) to ensure the task force can drop a lot of shells on any group of Japanese troops that approaches.
Soon after sunset, RCT 17 begins to receive fire from small arms, light mortars, and a 37mm anti-tank gun. (You suspect that the latter come from the main armament of the Stuart tank that got stuck in the mud during the afternoon.) Like the other heavy weapons of the task force, your howitzers respond to this fire. However, as your ammunition trucks have yet to return, you have told your platoon commanders to economize on ammunition.
Which each passing hour, the volume of hostile fire increases. This, you believe, indicates that the enemy troops north of Burauen have been reinforced. You also hear small groups of men shout ‘Banzai’.
At 1900, you begin to wonder about the whereabouts of your ammunition trucks. As the five hours that passed since their departure gave them plenty of time to drive seven miles to Dulag, load up on ammunition, find the four mechanics, and return, you fear that your request for time-fuzed shells has resulted in a time-consuming search of the many ammunition boxes piled near the beach.
At 2045, the commanding officer of RCT 17 takes you to task for the low volume of fire produced by your howitzers. You explain that your howitzers are running out of ammunition and that your two ammunition trucks have yet to arrive.
The commanding officer calls his S-4, who is located at Dulag. At 2300, three ammunition trucks - all of which belong to Service Company - and the four missing mechanics report to you.
The two ammunition trucks from your company remain missing. When you ask new arrivals about them, they told you that your ammunition men had arrived at Dulag late in the afternoon, spent some time searching in the ammunition dump, loaded up their trucks, and drove off to the west. Indeed, they tell you that they expected that the ammunition trucks from cannon company would reach Burauen long before they got there.
What is going on, Captain, and what do you plan to do about it?
Please feel free to use the comments section to propose a solution to this problem. When doing so, please employ a first-person perspective. That is, rather than writing ‘Captain Jensen should’, please begin your response with ‘I would …’
If you are new to decision-forcing cases, you will find much of interest in the following article.
It is clear to me that I have a lost Ammunition Section, due to unexplainably bad navigation, enemy action, maintenance failure or malingering. If any of the ammunition in the Regimental convoy is 75mm, have the basic soldiers off load it and transfer it to the howitzers. If necessary, have one of the Platoon Leaders oversee this. If there is no 75mm ammunition, they are to inform me of that ASAP.
Other actions:
1. Put the ordinance tech to work fixing the leaking counter recoil systems and otherwise inspecting and repairing the other howitzers. Have the junior mechanics assist him if needed.
2. Ask the maintenance sergeant to explain what has been going on to myself and the 1SG. Charges under the Articles of War might follow based on his answers.
3. As stated before, I would send my XO, along with my Command Recon team, down the road to find the ammunition trucks and expedite their return. I would send them in two vehicles, at least one which has a radio to keep myself and the 1SG informed as to their status.
If the security situation warrants it, I would send additional soldiers from the spare gun crews. The priority is to locate and retrieve the ammunition, ammunition trucks and ammunition team ASAP.
4. Update the Regimental CDR on the show so far.
Call the MPs and start a AR 15-6 Investigation, cuz We Modernz must Law…
The Hermann Wouk saga continues…