Quote:
Originally posted by Garry Shipton
Sitting here in the den,just had a thought.When my dad was a convoy outrider on a motorcyclr for his company of CMP's,was there any official directives on how the cconvoy was led?Dumb question,but still wondering on how a convoy was led!!
|
Hi Garry;
Thought you might find this of interest concerning RCASC 'out riders'. Its taken from 'Wait for the Waggon, The Story of the Royal Canadian Army Service Corps.'
"Early in 1943 it was becoming apparent that the system of controlling a Platoon and organizing its defence 'on the march' left much to be desired. The approved 'Order of March' made it difficult for those in authority to exercise command.
This Order of March provided for two motorcycles out in front as point riders, followed by six defensive vehicles under a Sergeant (the first two were called 'block vehicles' and their function was to pull across the road and block it in the event of frontal attack), after which came the Platoon Commander in his Jeep. Behind him were the task vehicles of his Platoon spaced out at twenty to the mile, or at roughly eighty-five yard intervals.
This arrangement had several undesirable aspects. In the first place the Officer Commanding who was responsible for the Platoon was not in a position to lead it. He was behind several vehicles, which automatically delegated the responsibility for following the right route to those in front of him, and made it awkward for him to order defensive manoeuvres when neccessary.
In the second place, the arrangement made it difficult to maintain adequate control of the Platoon on the road, particularly at night and, with approximately eight-five yards between vehicles, it was too easy for a driver to lose the vehicle ahead and take a wrong turn.
Senior officers of the RCASC, who kept all aspects of Army Service Corps work under continuous study, considered this problem. They recalled the dictum that the most important body of men in an Infantry Battalion is the Section of nine men commanded by a Corporal, that this is the fighting unit, and that it must be under command-that if the nine men are not under command they cease to be a fighting unit. In accordance with this principle, it seemed that the Section Corporal of a Transport Platoon, his drivers, and his vehicles, should be a command unit. In the existing Order of March they were not.
A new Order of March was evolved, putting the OC at the head of his Platoon with one motorcyclist. Behind him came the defence vehicles with their light machine guns, followed by the task vehicles in Sections, or 'packets,' of six vehicles each, with each Section commanded and controlled by its Corporal on a motorcycle. The senior Sergeant, also on a motorcycle, brought up the rear.
The road space occupied by the Platoon remained unchanged - twenty vehicles to the mile - but vehicles in each Section ran well closed up, with the extra road space separating the sections. As a result, the Corporal on his motorcycle was able to control his Section without difficulty, particularly at intersections. He could stand at an intersection, stop opposing traffic, and direct his vehicles onto the road they should take."
Photo: An RCASC Platoon Sergeant controls his Platoon on exercise.
Cheers
