The following post provides the author’s solutions to one of the sixteen short problems published in the very first (1930-1931) issue of the Infantry School Mailing List.
If you have yet to read, or, better yet, work through this problem, please do so before looking at the solutions.
SOLUTION TO PROBLEM NO. 13
The Blue regimental commander recommends that the veteran regiment be withdrawn under cover of darkness, and moved by night to the woods southwest of B with a view to making a surprise attack on the enemy to the north at dawn or operating against his rear. The peace-strength regiment to take over security missions to the west and southwest.
The Blue regimental commander believes in the offensive and in maneuver. He reasons that Blue success at A now has almost no bearing on operations as a whole and that the threat near C will be slow materializing. The decisive fight will be near B. He desires to assist the Blue effort there to the utmost.
With veterans he considers it practicable to withdraw the troops now in contact with the enemy, under cover of darkness, march several miles at night, and prepare to attack in still another direction soon after daylight. This puts the stronger regiment in the decisive fight, leaving the simpler holding mission to the partly trained troops.
With all troops partly trained, a simpler maneuver is advisable. The peace-strength regiment is turned over to the commander of troops at B; the war-strength regiment withdraws to the 5:00 PM position of the peace strength regiment under cover of darkness and provides security. Depending on the situation portions may be available later to-morrow to assist the operations near B.
Sources
‘Infantry Problems’ Infantry School Mailing List (Fort Benning: US Army Infantry School, 1931) Volume 1 (1930-1931) page 53 (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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🤔 Call me crazy, but I think presenting your opponent with multiple dilemmas and seizing a bridge leading to where I want to go is a better COA.