Free Defense of Hill 781 by James R. McDonough Page B

early, and leave them where they can tell the commander what’s going on. At the same time, defeat the enemy reconnaissance effort. Blind him. Don’t let him get a fix on you.
    Get the special staff under control. The artillery officerand the air liaison officer are too critical to let them get out of touch. Put them in your pocket and keep them there. Have the chemical officer talk to the intelligence officer. If the winds are not right, don’t use smoke. If you can blind the enemy and retain your own freedom of movement, use all the smoke you can get.
    Use every available minute to get things focused on the central mission. Alert the subordinate elements as soon as you have an indication of the upcoming mission. Get the staff in motion quickly, but keep them on track. Update as intelligence gives you a better picture. Don’t worry about picture-perfect written orders. What orders you do give, make clear. Above all, get your intention across to every key subordinate, then make sure they get it passed on to their subordinates, and so on down the line. When you give the order, do so at a place and in a manner that facilitates understanding of the mission. Key ground overlooking the battle area is probably the best place to do that. Leave your subordinates plenty of time to do their own reconnaissance and planning.
    Put yourself at the critical place. A picture is worth a thousand words. If you can’t be at the critical place, make sure you understand what the guy there is telling you. Ask the critical questions. Don’t be pressured into making a hasty decision, but don’t equivocate either. When you do make a major shift, ensure everybody gets the word. Don’t assume that they will. Hold someone accountable for informing them.
    Take care of the engineers and the air defense units. Husband them, protect them, and give them clear and specific orders. When it suits the mission, put them under control of a subordinate commander, then hold him accountable for them. When you have to retain them under task force control, have them under tight hold, but don’t stifle their initiative. Get the air defense missile teams under some armor protection,probably right with the company commander they’re protecting.
    Coordinate your combat power. Bring the mass of the tanks and Bradleys together at the point of main effort. Coordinate that effort with the infantrymen. Cover them with artillery and mortar fire. Don’t give the enemy room to escape. Cut him off, overrun him, and annihilate him.
    Get the radio net under control. Everybody has got to be in instant communication with everybody else. Get the commanders to talk to each other, over the task force net if no other way is possible”
    The list went on, from the grand to the small, but at that point the jeep pulled into the TOC set up on Objective BLUE. It was time for Always to turn his attention to the next mission. His jeep driver gave him a wide smile and a salute as the colonel stepped out. “There’s a good soldier,” the commander thought to himself.

CHAPTER 3
Change of Mission
    The morning’s attack had the task force moving more than twenty kilometers to defeat the enemy in zone and secure Hill 781. Reportedly, the enemy they had knocked off of Objective BLUE had fallen back and been reinforced, so that two motorized infantry companies reinforced with one or two platoons of tanks were now digging in around Hill 781. This would comprise a larger force than they had faced that morning, which was now estimated to have been a reinforced company. (It was with some chagrin that Always accepted the fact that one company had done so much damage to his task force.) By attacking at first light there was a chance that they could catch them before they could improve their defenses.
    Despite the fact that the scouts were not yet reconstituted, it was imperative that they get out forward before much more time passed. The distance implied a great deal of risk, and Always was not