Short Problem 3
From the 'Infantry School Mailing List'
The following problem appeared in the first semi-annual volume of the Infantry School Mailing List, which rolled off the press in 1931. (This periodical, which might well be described as a journal in all but name, replaced the collections of instructional materials that the US Army Infantry School sent out to subscribers in the 1920s.)
For the philosophy behind this problem (and the fifteen that followed), please see:
This problems calls for players to step, in succession, into the shoes of two different commanders: that of the First Battalion and that of the Second Battalion.
PROBLEM NO. 3
Lay bare as the paunch of the purser’s sow to the hail of the Nordenfeldt
Rudyard Kipling, Ballad of the Clampherdown
First Battalion
You command the First Battalion, which is currently located in the woods on the south end of your map.
You receive orders to conduct a daylight attack in order to seize the hostile-held hills north of your position.
You intend to attack with two rifle companies. (The remaining rifle company serves as your reserve.)
Friendly artillery will support your attack
Friendly forces occupy ground on both of your flanks. They will be attacking towards the north at the same time as your battalion.
Looking over the ground that your two rifle companies will have to cross to get to the enemy, you notice the complete absence of any significant cover.
Please explain the formation that the two attacking companies should adopt while moving towards the line of departure (marked LD on the map).
Second Battalion
You command the Second Battalion, which is currently located in the woods on the south end of your map.
You receive orders to conduct a daylight attack in order to seize the hostile-held hills north of your position.
You intend to attack with two rifle companies. (The remaining rifle company serves as your reserve.)
Friendly artillery will support your attack.
Friendly forces occupy ground on both of your flanks. They will be attacking towards the north at the same time as your battalion.
Looking over the ground that your two rifle companies will have to cross to get to the enemy, you notice that it offers considerable cover.
Please explain the formation that the two attacking companies should adopt while moving towards the line of departure (marked LD on the map).
In 1931, the business end of a war-strength battalion of US Army infantry consisted of three rifle companies and a machine gun company. Each rifle company broke down into eighteen eight-man squads. The machine gun company rated twelve water-cooled, tripod-mounted, rifle-caliber machine guns.
How to Play
I invite full-bore subscribers to use the comments section to share their own answers to the questions posed.
Please note that the problem asks players to provide two distinct solutions: one for the First Battalion and one for the Second Battalion.
I will post the original (1931) solution to the problem, as well as my own commentary, on Sunday, 31 May 2026.
Source
‘Infantry Problems’ Infantry School Mailing List (Fort Benning: US Army Infantry School, 1931) Volume 1 (1930-1931) page 32 (Internet Archive)
The Internet Archive preserves scans of microfilmed copies of all thirty volumes of the Infantry School Mailing List. However, it catalogs them under the heading of the Infantry School Quarterly, which succeeded the Mailing List in 1947. (Internet Archive)
The Hathi Trust provides links to scanned-from-paper copies of some, but far from all, issues of the Infantry School Mailing List (Hathi Trust)
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