"Giving orders to a company or platoon" Topic

I'm not talking about the format of the order, I'm concerned with the words used by a company commander to a platoon commander (or a battalion commander to a company commander) to indicate the importance/required determination of the attack, and what sort of 'acceptable' casualties that might indicate. Are there standard words for these (probe, assault, etc.)?

Usually the commander just uses plain English to say what he wants. Clarity is the most important goal.

About the only phrase (unofficial)I ever encountered was "DIP" or "Die In Place" for a defensive position that must be held at any cost in lives and equipment. It usually meant a rear guard mission to delay the Opfor while friendlies withdrew.

Thanks FABET01!

We used clear command words like "clear", "destroy", "occupy", etc.,.

Mission: 1 platoon will clear along route X from phase line 1 to phase line 3.

"Clear" has a different meaning than "occupy", or "sweep".

Brian

There are a couple of briefings in the video – Troop & Platoon Tactics that may help:

YouTube link

Tally Ho!

Yes, I agree with what others here have posted … And Simplicity is one of the Principles of War. Most OPORDs had what was/is called the "Commanders Intent". And usually it is pretty straight forward, etc., … Plus once a unit works together for a while, there are SOPs, Battle Drills, etc., that are used and developed. And the old "that is just how we do that" or "did it last time". Because it works. That everyone understands, etc.

In some cases the Leader/Commander does not have to say much of anything. The troops under his command just react to a given situation. Because they have rehearsed, ran battle drills, know the SOPs, etc., …

After serving in 4 US ARMY Infantry Bns, I can state that they all operated very similarly based on doctrine, training, etc. But in some cases, each had some of their own, some times "colorful" jargon, vernacular, terms, etc., that evolved over time.

In the ROK the Mech Bn I served had a certain term for if a vehicle or even person was that "broken"/Not Mission Capable. Over the radio or face to face – "Tango Uniform"[TU] meaning "s Up" was frequently heard. Don't know how that came about but everybody in the unit used it. Also "Charlie Foxtrot"[CF] was used often – "Cluster " … Every one knew what that meant. And it was not good.

Yes, DIP was used in many units, but generally only during training or in "jest". You really wouldn't want to hear that order given in a real combat situation.

If you watch the movie Hamburger Hill. The Plt SGT, gives a short "mission brief"/OPORD/FRAGO. And uses the term "Same, Same" when talking about radio freqs, etc. … And in many cases in the middle of an op. That was pretty much all was given or all you got.

Of course more than once you'd hear over the net, "Alpha 6 Actual … Get your head out of your and move to CP Utah. ASAP !"

Also as opposed to the kind of detailed OPORD that was expected at … say … RANGER School. Which covered pretty much every aspect of the mission. From who was the Demo Tm, the Litter Tm, etc. After awhile again, all that becomes SOP, etc., … But you had to learn and know how to cover all aspects, situations, events, etc., that would/could occur. That kind of standard will usually get the mission done and [hopefully] with little to 0 loses to your unit …

Aren't some of older army manuals (US ones anyway) available online that have the basic orders in them? I know somewhere I have a circa-1980s tankers' manual printed out that explains their order structure.

We used to have a little card with the outline of an OPORD, etc. We'd carry with us. And IIRC something similar is in the US RANGER and SF Handbooks …

I found some US Army operations orders online and used them as a template for the orders given to each side in wargames. I think I just did a google search for "operations order".

Thanks for the answers given. The google search for operations order was good, it's lead me to "Intent (military)" on wikipedia, which seems to be on the lines of what I'm after.

Yes, a clear statement of intent is what it is all about.

I also use standard order formats for player briefings, as they are very sensible sections. Information, Intention, Method Tec.

Most OPORDs had what was/is called the "Commanders Intent". And usually it is pretty straight forward, etc., …

Yep …

We used clear command words like "clear", "destroy", "occupy", etc.,.

Mission: 1 platoon will clear along route X from phase line 1 to phase line 3.

"Clear" has a different meaning than "occupy", or "sweep".

IIRC, "clear" means "make sure there are no live enemy in the area. eliminating the enemy has priority over covering ground"

"Sweep" means "travel from point A to point B, eliminating the enemy as you go. Travel has priority, so bypass knots of resistance and let supporting troops deal with them."

That sounds about right … or close enough …