Company commander

“ Under the extended order system as carried out during this war, the company commander becomes a far more important personage than he has been during the last twenty years, with an immensely free hand, within certain limits, directly active operations commence. ”

“ I believe a company commander should be the best disciplinarian in the service, and should feel that his position, so immediately connecting him with the rank and file, makes him the surest conservator of the peace and good order of the army. And an officer who from incompetency or other cause is not well adapted to teach and maintain a good system of discipline in his command, should be summarily dismissed from the service. ”

“ The situation is one in which it would be possible for the battalion commander to give orders to the machine gun company, but would be necessary only in case that the company commander was incompetent. The captain of a company must not expect to receive orders from the major at every new phase of the situation. ”

“ The battalion commander is responsible that the company commanders are thoroughly instructed, and he supervises, but should not lay down, the methods which they employ to train their companies. The company commanders, assisted by their subalterns and non-commissioned officers, are directly responsible for the efficiency of the rank and file, and their advancement in the service will depend on their success. ”

“ Would we have time to train these men into a fighting machine, or would we be thrown in at once to stop the great Hun drive in Flanders, then at its height? How many of us would see these homes, these dear ones again?—But a company commander has little time to indulge in reflections; and thoughts of the morning report, and how to distribute the chow more evenly, and a large budget of orders I had to read, soon chased away everything else. ”

“ The commander of the company gives the executive command when the whole company, or the whole company except the section of formation, is required to act; when sections act independently they receive the executive commands from their own commanders.
6. All movements and formations in fours can also be performed in file.
7. A company should be frequently exercised in close order over hilly, wooded, and broken ground, and should be constantly turned about, in order that every man may be equally competent to act in either rank. ”

“ Mention should here be made of the fact that shortly before leaving England the old eight company organisation was abandoned, and the new four company organisation adopted, and each new company was divided into four platoons. The change was exceedingly beneficial, as it would have been difficult in the field for a battalion commander to give orders to eight company commanders. ”

“ When a new company is organized, its officers are appointed by the commander of the regiment to which it is to belong, and the order of appointment is transmitted through the captain of a neighboring company, who details men to organize the new one. ”

“ The ideal way would be for the company commander to control the company by communicating direct with every man on the firing line, as graphically shown on the following page:
Fig. 49
However, in the noise and confusion of battle it would be utterly impossible for all the men to hear the captain's voice. Experience shows that from 20 to 35 rifles are as many as one leader can control. The captain, must, therefore, control the company through the platoon commanders—that is to say, he actually directs the fire and the platoon commanders, assisted by the squad leaders, actually control it. ”

“ A non-commissioned officer from each company remains always in the quartermaster's tent to supervise the preparing of supplies for his company. He sees that the company cooks prepare steaks, soups and other food to be sent into the trenches. He is responsible to his company commander that his company gets its proper share.
The rationing usually begins about eight o'clock, and if you listen you can hear the rumble of the ration waggons in the German lines as clearly as in our own. ”

“ In the absence of orders from the battalion commander, the company commander will determine whether the fire of the company will be distributed over the front of the whole battalion or whether it will be concentrated upon a portion of the front. The method of advance from one firing position to another will be determined by the company or platoon commander. Where the company is employed as a whole the advance may be by platoon. ”

“ Thus encouraged, the Company dismissed without further word of command.
"And who may you be?" asked the Captain, with some bitterness. "Are you the Commander-in-Chief?"
"I am one infinitely more powerful," was the reply. And then the speaker threw off his disguise-cloak, and appeared in morning-dress. "Behold in me the Editor of an influential Journal!"
A week later the Captain had sent in his papers, and every man in the Company he had once commanded wore the stripe of a Lance Corporal. And thus was the power of the Press once again sufficiently vindicated. ”

“ Instruction must be given the company in meeting artillery fire and in the work of the various covering detachments but these two subjects, owing to their importance and length, are reserved for consideration in separate chapters.
Hints for company work
The company commander must get the full help and support of his platoon and squad leaders, much depends upon them; they are the real leaders of the men; they require much training and practice, especially in leading the rushes and in controlling and directing fire. ”

“ Co. who was not absolutely loyal to the service and to the company commander; never one who shrank from the most disagreeable duty, nor who gave a thought to his personal popularity. They were human, of course, and made mistakes like the rest of us; and sometimes they couldn’t help being placed in a bad light to the men. But you men—some of you, even, who beefed most against the tops—if you only knew how many times that same top came to the company commander or other officers to help out this fellow or that, to suggest some way of making things easier for the whole company ”

“ The commander of the settlement shall have charge of the arms and ammunition which are actually there, and of those which shall afterwards be sent, so long as he shall be in command: and the clerk or factor who shall reside there shall take charge of all merchandise, as well as of the furniture and utensils of the company, and shall send a regular account of them, signed by him, by the ships. ”

“ I earnestly recommend that four officers of engineers be assigned to duty with this company. The commander should be an officer of rank; his position permanent. In case the Chief Engineer should order an officer into the field to take command of Company A, engineers, I respectfully request that I may be ordered to the United States as soon as relieved from this duty". ”

“ To ensure regularity and a perfect understanding between the commanding officers of troops and captains of ships, a copy of rules for the guidance of the commanders of merchant-ships, should be given to the officer commanding the troops; and a copy of the regulations for troops of Her Majesty's forces, and the East India Company's service, given to the commander of the ship. The captain of a free-trader is not allowed to flog his men ”

“ The organization includes fully officered companies, regiments and brigades. Of course every brother knows the officers of his own company, but that is all he is supposed to know. The commander of the company knows where his orders come from, and that is all he is expected to know. The matter is never discussed, but every one understands that the officers are men who have seen service in the late war, and are qualified for their positions. ”

“ The unit of instruction in tactics will depend upon circumstances, and upon the kind of movements the commander desires to make. The common unit for the four arms, for supplying the men’s wants and for instruction in discipline, is the “company.” This unit receives, at other times, other names, depending upon circumstances. For instance, a battery of artillery is the same as company; the term squadron of cavalry frequently means a company, etc.
A company consists of a given number of men commanded by a commissioned officer who has the rank of captain. ”

“ It is well officered, Captain Myers being its commander, Lieutenant Pollard, first lieutenant, and Lieutenant Reese, second lieutenant. Its commanders are young men of the first character and material. The corps de esprit of the company is the highest order. It has the advantage over the old company, in as much as its battery and equipment is of the very latest or advanced excellence of modern ordinance. It is an ornament to the military organization of the State and city, and no doubt may be entertained that whenever an opportunity is offered it will sustain the prestige of the old company. ”

“ On one occasion, when stationed at a post of several companies commanded by a field officer, he was himself commanding one of the companies and at the same time acting as post quartermaster and commissary. He was first lieutenant at the time, but his captain was detached on other duty. As commander of the company he made a requisition upon the quartermaster—himself—for something he wanted. As quartermaster he declined to fill the requisition, and endorsed on the back of it his reasons for so doing. ”

“ The Company Commanders murmur assent—on the whole sympathetically. Anxious though they are to get upon business terms with the Kaiser, they are loath to abandon the unkempt but sturdy companies over which they have toiled so hard, and which now, though destitute of blossom, are rich in promise of fruit. But the senior subalterns look up hopefully. Their lot is hard. Some of them have been in the Service for ten years, yet they have been left behind. They command no companies. "Here," their faces say, "we are merely marking time while others learn. ”

“ In order to facilitate the instruction of the young officers, I am of opinion that a company, consisting of forty privates, and a proportion of non-commissioned officers, should be formed in every battalion and the command of it given to the "Captain lieutenant." The men should be selected in equal portions from every company, and none but the very best men admitted into it. ”

“ The Company, with its three officers—Captain, Lieutenant, and Ensign—and its Sergeants and Corporals, has been for centuries the foundation stone of the organization of Infantry. Its Chief, the Captain, is the officer with whom the men are most intimately associated, as he is responsible not only for their drill, discipline, and training, but also for their food, clothing, pay, and lodging. The men’s confidence in their Captain is grounded on this responsibility. It is to him that they learn to look for their well-being, comfort, and redress of grievances, as well as for praise or blame. ”

“ In other respects the instructions in Parts II and III are applicable to the formation of companies, and to the position of supernumeraries. Signallers and pioneers will remain in the supernumerary rank of their companies. When a non-commissioned officer is in command of a company, he will, in marching past in column, or column of double companies, take post three paces in rear of the centre of the company. ”

“ If the lieutenant wants anything from the company in the way of working parties, the services of the company artificer or company clerk, the use of ordnance stores or quartermaster articles, he should always speak to the captain about the matter. ”

“ Even a company has a good deal of administrative business to do. Accounts are to be kept, rations, clothing, arms, accoutrements, and ammunition are to be receipted and accounted for. Returns of various kinds are to be made, applications for furlough, musters, rolls, and the like make a good deal of clerical work, and though most of it may fall on the first sergeant, the captain and commissioned officers must know how it should be done and when it is well done, or they are sure to get into trouble. It was a very rare thing for a man of middle age to make a good company officer. ”

“ More officers could be well employed with resulting increase of efficiency:
(1) One Chief of Staff, who should be free to carry on a continuous estimate of the situation, based upon all necessary information. He would be given the freedom of the Operations Department of the British and French Admiralties.
(2) An officer, preferably of the rank of commander, for duties in connection with shipping and convoy to handle all the numerous communications in relation to the movements of American shipping, particularly military shipping, and also other shipping carrying American troops. ”

“ It will be desirable for you at once to form a company organization. As there are but fifty on your muster-roll, being about half the usual number, you will not require as many officers. I recommend the election of a captain, first and second lieutenants, three sergeants and three corporals. You have already become somewhat accustomed to company drill, so that you will be able to go on by yourselves under the guidance of your officers. If any doubtful questions should arise, I shall always be happy to give you any information or assistance in my power. ”

“ That when a portion of country is so distant, or so situated, that in the opinion of the Executive Committee it would be inconvenient for persons residing therein to belong to an organized company, they shall be organized as a separate company under the command of a captain appointed by themselves, and give due notice to the major of the battalion, and be subject to the same laws and regulations as the other companies of the battalion. ”

“ Captains who command companies: these companies (on the war establishment) consist of 100 men each, and there are 10 companies in every regiment, consequently a colonel, or lieutenant-colonel, commands 1,000 men.
6. Lieutenants, of which there are 2 to every company
7. Ensign; 1 to each company.
The Lietuenants and ensigns are subaltern officers, having no command, but assisting the captain. ”