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Chapter 4
Hill 122
The 915th's new battalion commander, Major Eric Peach, was a big, pudgy man with
reddish hair and face. He came to us from a sister battalion, the 344th, so I had known him
slightly. He was quite different from Col Costain: e.g. I never heard anyone in the 915th refer
to Costain as "Jim," but before long most of the officers called Peach "Eric" in informal
conversation, sometimes even to his face. Not that we didn't respect and obey him: we
certainly did that. But we didn't feel the hot breath of the battalion CO on the backs of our
necks and go about our duties thinking that were about to catch hell for overlooking
something. Anyhow, it was easier for Peach to relax, because Costain had forced each of us
to learn his job well, and now we were able to handle things even without pressure.
Costain had always been off and away somewhere, visiting the firing batteries,
checking on forward observers (that's how he got killed, remember) and going to other
command posts to see what was going on. He visited his own CP just often enough to keep in
touch with things, but we always wondered where he would be if there were an emergency.
Peach, on the other hand, spent most of his time at our CP, doing most of his
checking by talking on the phone or getting reports from his staff. He would occasionally
make a trip to the Div Arty or 359th Infantry CP, but I think he begrudged the time he was
gone. And he was always there when you needed him.
The three things a field artillery battalion has to do well are to move, communicate,
and shoot. Shooting is its primary job, of course, but you can't shoot until you have moved to
within range of the possible targets. Consequently the art of Reconnaissance, Selection, and
Occupation of Positions (RSOP) is an important part of a battalion commander's job.
It generally started when the Div Arty S-3 called, said to move either as soon as
possible or as soon as possible after dark, and assigned us a "goose egg." A goose egg was a
rough circle or oval marked on a map enclosing an area into which we were to move the
battalion. This was a precaution to prevent two battalions from trying to occupy the same
place at the same time against all the laws of physics. Usually the area would amount to
about a square kilometer [250 acres]. Plenty of room, depending on the nature of the land.
One tried to locate everything, especially the firing batteries, so that there was a hill between
them and the enemy because if the enemy could see the flash of firing cannon, they could
shoot at the battery.
Before you occupy a position, you have to reconnoiter, that is, go to the location and
decide what to put where. The battalion CO does this, and he takes a lot of people to help him
when he goes. The reconnaissance party would normally comprise (1) the CO in his vehicle
(Most Bn CO's rode in a command car, a big clumsy passenger vehicle with a powerful radio,
but Peach preferred the more maneuverable jeep), followed by (2) the S-2 in a jeep, then (3)
the Headquarters Battery Commander/Communications Officer in a jeep,
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