Allied Air Power Doctrine: Royal Air Force War Manual; Volume I - Appendix II - Classification, Preparation and Issue of Orders and Instructions

Classification

1. Orders are classified as :

(i) Standing orders.

(ii) Routine orders.

(iii) Operation orders.

In addition " Special Orders of the Day " will sometimes be necessary. These are of an exceptional nature and cannot conveniently be classed as either standing, routine or operation orders.

2. Standing orders.—The object of standing orders is

(i) To adapt existing regulations to local conditions.

(ii) To save frequent repetitions in routine and operation orders.

3. Unless carefully revised and kept up to date, standing orders may lead to misunderstanding. For this reason they should be confined to essentials, and additions or deletions promulgated as necessary.

4. The commander issuing standing orders is responsible that any alteration in them is notified to units, and that the orders are communicated to new units coming under his command.

5. Routine orders.—Routine orders are of the same nature in war and peace. They deal with all matters not concerned with operations, such as discipline and interior economy. Not being of a confidential nature they may be distributed freely and by developing their use to the utmost the amount of telegrams and correspondence can be largely reduced.

6. Operation orders and instructions.—The intention of a commander and his directions for the conduct of operations are conveyed to his subordinates by means of orders and instructions.

7. In principle, orders direct a definite action to attain a certain aim, whereas instructions indicate the aim to be attained and direct the recipient to take the action he considers suitable. Orders are generally used when the commander is controlling the operation in person. Orders, therefore, must lay down the aim to be attained, and the method by which the commander intends to carry out the operations. (For details see paras. 9 to 26 inclusive.)

8. Instructions are the directions of a commander to a sub-ordinate entrusted with the carrying out of an operation. They should be so framed as to give the subordinate the maximum amount of assistance without hampering his initiative or choice of the method to be employed. (For details sec paras. 27 to 35 inclusive.)

Preparation and Issue of Operation Orders

9. The object of an operation order is to bring about a course of action in accordance with the intention of the commander and with full co-operation between all arms and units.

10. An operation order is prepared and issued by the air staff. It must contain what the recipient wants to know and nothing more. It should tell him nothing which he can and should arrange for himself, and will only enter into details when details are absolutely necessary. Any attempt to prescribe to a subordinate at a distance anything which he, with a fuller knowledge of the local conditions, should be better able to decide on the spot, is likely to cramp his initiative in dealing with unforeseen developments and should be avoided.

11. In framing an operation order, therefore, the general principle is that the aim to be attained, together with such necessary orders regarding the action to be taken by the recipient, should be briefly but clearly stated ; while the actual method of carrying out the action ordered should be left to the utmost extent possible to the recipient.

12. The administrative branches of the staff are responsible for drawing up all orders for their particular arrangements in connection with the operations. The air staff should publish in the administrative paragraph of the operation order any of these administrative orders that may be necessary to enable the recipients of the operation order to complete their arrangements for the operations, and any that it is necessary for all recipients to know. The remaining administrative orders should be issued as administrative instructions by the branch concerned after co-ordination by the air staff (see paras. 27 to 35 inclusive).

13. It is essential that subordinates should be able to work intelligently and resolutely in accordance with brief orders. Every operation order is based on an assumption as to the enemy's present situation. If it becomes apparent to the recipient that the assumption on which the order was based is erroneous then he must be able to take upon himself the responsibility for departing from or varying the order, in order to carry out the intention of the superior authority. When such action becomes necessary he should report to the superior authority the action taken.

14. To facilitate co-operation, the whole of the directions to each portion of a force taking part in a combined operation will usually be embodied in one operation order. When, for any reason, separate orders are issued instead of a combined order, each separate order should include such information regarding other forces as the recipient may find it useful to know.

15. If any portion of a force is to be detached, the commander of the detachment should, if possible, be named in the order. When dealing with detachments made up of different units, a rendezvous, where representatives of units are to meet the commander, should be arranged.

16. Except in cases of urgency, orders should be issued through the usual official channel. When it is necessary to pass the order direct without going through the intermediate authorities, the officer issuing the order should inform any neighbouring formations likely to be affected and should confirm it through the usual official channel. The recipient in turn should inform his immediate superior of the receipt of the order and of the action he is taking on it.

17. Orders must be issued in sufficient time to enable sub-ordinate commanders to frame and distribute their own orders. The hour of issue is the responsibility of the superior who issues the order and who must make due allowance for the time taken in distribution in the circumstances existing at the moment. The intention stated should be that of the subordinate commander issuing the order arising out of the intention issued to him by the higher authority which normally should not be published for information. A subordinate commander's orders should, however, be sufficiently full to enable those under him to appreciate the situation and to understand how they may co-operate with others. As a general principle the intention should be kept clear and directive on general lines, so that in the absence of further orders the recipients could continue to operate in conformity with the plan of the commander.

18. The distribution by the commander to his subordinates of copies of operation orders received by him from higher authority can seldom be justified. Exceptional cases may arise when this may be permissible in order to save time, but the officer who passes on a copy of an order must realize that he is responsible for making known any information contained in it.

19. During the course of operations it will often be necessary to supplement the operation orders already issued by further orders. These may take the form either of complete fresh orders, or separate orders, issued to one or more units or commands. In the latter case, should the original orders be modified to any considerable extent, all other units or commands affected by the new order must be in-formed of its purport.

20. If detailed orders are likely to be delayed in issue, a preliminary " Warning Order "should be sent out as soon as the general outline of the action has been decided. This will prevent inconvenience to units and will enable any necessary preparations to be made. The preliminary warning should state when the complete order will be issued. Verbal orders should be confirmed in writing.

21. Full recent information is so vital to an operation that it will often prove impracticable to rely upon the information which would be given in written orders. The intelligence organization is the best means of communicating the necessary information with the mini-mum delay and when this means is available it will be sufficient if the orders include only those points which it may be necessary to emphasize in connection with the operations in view.

22. All operation orders are secret and they should not be taken into the air by recipients nor be distributed by air unless there is no likelihood of their falling into the hands of the enemy.

23. (i) To facilitate the quick digestion and interpretation of operation orders, it is desirable that the same logical sequence and the same form should always be used, even for verbal orders. The following form has, therefore, been selected and should always be followed :

SECRET.

OPERATION ORDER NO       (Reference Operation Order No....)

MAP REFERENCE.  COPY NO         

List of appendices.     DATE    

 Information.

(1) The general situation should be given under the headings:

(a) Regarding the enemy.

(b) Regarding our own forces.

(2) Under the first will be included only such information as is necessary to assist the recipients in carrying out their allotted tasks. When possible the commander should accept the responsibility for the accuracy of this information, but where this is impossible the degree of reliability and the time that the information was acquired should be stated. Under the second heading will be given the information regarding our own forces. Upon this will largely depend the effective co-operation between formations and units. In this respect the question of secrecy must always be taken into consideration.

(3) To avoid long and complicated orders it may be advisable to refer to previous operation orders or intelligence summaries, or it may be advisable to place in appendices details as to the hostile order of battle or the composition of detachments, although important essentials should remain in the body of the order. The tabulation of detail wherever shown tends to clearness.

Intention.

(4) This paragraph should consist of a concise statement of the intention of the officer issuing the order. Alternative plans and conditional statements depending on developments are apt to cause doubt and uncertainty and should be avoided.

(5) The intention should be that solely of the commander issuing the order. In the interests of secrecy, reference to any intention of superior commanders should not be included unless absolutely essential, when it should be included in (1) (b) above.

Execution

(6) Under this general heading will normally come the paragraph dealing with the action to be undertaken by the units concerned, based upon the intention of the commander. Control should be exercised only so far as it is necessary to secure co-operation. The tasks should be set out in logical sequence with the object of rendering them clear and simple for the recipients.

Administrative arrangements

(7) This consists of the instructions regarding supply, transport, ammunition, medical services, etc., which are necessary to enable the recipients to complete their arrangements for the operations. Reference should be made to any separate instructions that may be issued.

Intercommunication

(8) This paragraph should give the necessary details regarding intercommunication reports, recognition signals, message dropping stations, wireless silence, and any other aspects of signals which may be necessary.

Acknovledge

(9) The word "Acknowledge" at the end of an operation order indicates that it must be acknowledged by all recipients as a matter of routine, though not necessarily by signal. When doing so, the use of the word " Acknowledged " signifies that the order has been received and the contents are understood.

(10) Should it be necessary to notify receipt of an order in code or cipher before its contents are understood, the word " Received " should be used.

Signed  ..........................

Rank    ......................................

Appointment      Method of issue and time.

Distribution List.

(ii) The time of issue is that at which the orders were actually issued from the office of origin.

(iii) The distribution list should be in logical order. Formations and units under command will be given first, then staff and heads of administrative services, followed by operations record book and file and finally copies of the order for information of formations or units concerned with or co-operating in the operations. In forwarding orders to other formations or units, for information, any point requiring special attention must be the subject of a separate communication—for example, when important departures have been made from plans previously discussed. For specific reasons it may be advisable on occasions to send a copy of orders to a higher formation.

(iv) The distribution list should appear on all copies of the orders , but the file copy should show in addition the copy number of the order issued to each recipient, and the method by which It was issued.

(v) Operation orders should be paragraphed similarly to the example above. Headings such as " Information" and " Execution ", etc., will not be numbered ; the paragraphs will be numbered continuously throughout the orders and sub-paragraphs lettered a, b, c, d, etc. Sub-sub-paragraphs will not be used.

(vi) Maps and appendices should be identified with the order and marked with the same copy number as the order to which they are attached.

24. In framing an operation order for movement, formations and units should be detailed in order of movement clear of the general text of the order. When dealing with large movements it is generally more convenient to tabulate particulars in one or the other of the following forms, but important points such as the destination or objective, time of arrival and action on arrival should be stated in the body of the order, the Movement Tables being supplementary to deal with detail for clearness

(i) Movements by air :—

The time of arrival of the aircraft should be given in column f ; the actual time of starting being left to the subordinate commander

(ii) Movements by land :

The movements of transport columns to the starting point, column d, should be left to the subordinate commanders.

25. Movements to a port of embarkation will usually necessitate the arrangement of more detail than can be conveniently tabulated. The following additional information should be furnished to units :—Name of ship, quay, time and date of commencement and completion of embarkation, date of sailing.

26. In addition, a staff officer should be detailed by the authority issuing the orders to make arrangements with the navy or port authorities to avoid delay between the arrival of the units at the port and the commencement of embarkation. (See also chapter V " Movements.")

Preparation and Issue of Instructions

27. Instructions are classified as :

(i) Operation instructions.

(ii) Administrative instructions.

In addition, there are the ordinary instructions issued from time to time concerning matters of general importance, e.g., instructions regarding new tactical methods, the handling of weapons, etc.

28.  Operation instructions are issued by the air staff and are for two purposes

(i) Instructions issued to indicate the general idea in the mind of the commander when the situation is not sufficiently clear for him to give definite orders. Such instructions, while defining the aim of the superior, give to the subordinate liberty to exercise his command in such a manner as he himself may decide to further or to secure that aim.

(ii) Instructions issued in conjunction with a certain operation order and amplifying it as regards details. They include detailed instructions regarding the action of the various units, especially when the inclusion of these details in the order itself would make it too lengthy and so detract from its clarity.

(29) The heading of an operation instruction should be in the following form;-

They may be addressed personally to subordinate commanders, e.g., " Your role is ....................................!       

30. The air staff is responsible for seeing that the heads of the services and their representatives are kept informed of so much of the intentions of the commander as it may be necessary for them to know, in order that they may carry out their work efficiently.

31. Administrative instructions are issued by the branch concerned after co-ordination by the air staff. They deal with the details of such matters as supply, transport, medical arrangements, etc. Any point that directly concerns the operations in hand, such as the arrangements for drawing from railhead, supplies to be carried, evacuation of casualties, etc., should be detailed in the appropriate paragraph of the operation order.

32. When framed with reference to a particular operation order, administrative instructions should be issued to each recipient of the order concurrently with it or as soon after as possible, to assist recipients in the execution of the order.

33. When operation instructions are issued as a preliminary to an order for a major operation, it will usually be necessary to issue the administrative instructions concurrently with the operation instructions, to give ample time for the necessary administrative arrangements to be made.

34. The heading of an administrative instruction should be in the following form

:

35. The following matters should be noted in the administrative instructions issued with an operation order :

(i) To be considered by personnel branch.

(a) Casualties, reports and replacements.

(b) Medical arrangements for evacuation, location of ambulances, casualty clearing stations, etc., and probable moves.

(c) Provost and traffic. Prisoners of war.

(d) Examination of water supplies, sanitation.

(e) Supply of cash. Burials.

(f) Discipline.

(ii) To be considered by equipment branch.

(a) Accommodation.

(b) Water supply and method of carrying it.

(c) Location of depots and how special stores can be obtained.

(d) Ammunition supply—expenditure reports.

(e) Supply arrangements—railheads, reserve rations and special supplies.

(f) Transport. Location of units administered directly by the formation issuing the instructions. Any special transport facilities.

(g) Works and buildings services.

(h) Salvage arrangements.

36. Guiding principles regarding the execution of orders.--Notwithstanding the greatest skill and care in framing orders, unexpected local circumstances may render the precise execution of an order unsuitable or impracticable. In such circumstances the following principles should guide the recipient of an order in deciding his course of action.

(i) The formal order will never be departed from either in letter or spirit :

(a) so long as the officer who issued it is present,

(b) if the officer who issued it is not present, so long as there is time to report to him and obtain a reply without losing an opportunity or endangering the command.

(ii) The departure from either spirit or letter of an order is justified if the subordinate who assumes the responsibility bases his decision on some fact which could not be known to the officer who issued the order and if he is satisfied that he is acting as his superior would order him to act were he present.

(iii) If a subordinate neglects to depart from the letter of an order when such departure in the circumstances of (ii) above is clearly demanded, he will be held responsible for any failure which may ensue.

(iv) Should a subordinate find it necessary to depart from an order, he should immediately inform the issuer of it and the commanders of any neighbouring units likely to be affected.