BOMBING AND SHELLING REPORTS
ACI 143/43 states2:-
"Reports on enemy shelling and bombing are of
the greatest value to counter-battery and intelligence staffs. All ranks
will be informed that the submission of these reports is important."
The following account received from a gunner
officer in ITALY describes the consequences of a platoon commander's neglect
to initiate a shelling report. This account further furnishes a salutary
reminder to junior commanders that it is not only the counter-battery and
intelligence staffs who may benefit by these reports.
"Smith was a capable officer, and he had a
good platoon. They were dug in, and the siting of their weapon pits, their
arcs of fire, and all the hundred and one other details that an infantry
platoon commander has to attend to, were a model of tactical and
administrative sub-unit organization.
"On the morning of the second day after the
platoon had occupied the position, it was spotted by a German artillery OP
and lightly shelled. The enemy could not see distinctly because the sun was
in his eyes. He therefore carried out a careful registration and, having
recorded the target, left Smith's platoon alone and turned his attention
elsewhere.
"Smith and his men noted where the shells
dropped, replaced a few sandbags, and congratulated themselves on having
escaped so lightly, with only one man wounded. As time passed, they heard
our own guns and were gratified to assume, in a rather vague way, that the
morning's work had been equalized. But Smith did not send in a shelling
report.
"In the evening, the same German observer,
this time with the sun behind him, fired all the guns of his battery on
Smith's position. Six men were killed and several more wounded. The platoon
tidied up a second time, but still Smith did not send in a shelling report.
"The inevitable happened. At first light next
morning, the position was subjected to a sudden, vicious bombardment. Smith
and a number of his men were killed. The enemy infantry came on through the
smoke."
Every officer should have an "AB 155 Label,"
or a copy of it, affixed to the inside cover of his AB 155 (message form
holder). COs should make sure that, if their officers have not already got
the label, copies are duplicated and issued to them. The wording is as
follows:
|
BOMBING AND SHELLING REPORT
The following letter code will be used for shelling or bombing
reports. The message will be preceded by the code word BOMREP in
the case of bombing reports and SHELREP in the case of shelling
reports.
All
incidents of bombing or shelling must be reported at once.
A
Time from
B
Time to
C
Map reference of observer
D
Area being shelled or bombed
E
Number and nature of guns or aircraft
F
Number and nature of shells or bombs
G
Damage done
H
Bearing to flash or sound (for shelling only)
Example of bombing report:-
BOMREP A 1930 B 1940 C 654123 D
Village 702153 E 10 Ju87 F
20 fifty pound bombs G heavy and on fire |
