and is referred to in those
terms.

The Decision, as it appears in the Estimate, is not bound by any rigid
specifications as to form. Later (Chapter VII), when the commander
prepares for the inauguration of planned action by the formulation and
issue of directives, he assumes the obligation of conveying the
substance of his Decision to his subordinates in clear language. At
that time he will again have to subject its expression to scrutiny,
and may find that he has to make modifications solely for
clarification.

CHAPTER VII

THE RESOLUTION OF THE REQUIRED ACTION INTO DETAILED OPERATIONS

(The Second Step--The Solution of Subsidiary Problems)

The problem of the second step may be stated in question form
as follows: "What action should I take for the attainment of
my objective as selected in the first step?"

[Sidenote: For convenience a tabular form, inserted in the appendix,
page 224, gives page references to the principal subdivisions of this
Chapter.]

Having arrived at his basic Decision, the commander, if he wishes to
put it into effect, will proceed to formulate a plan of action which
can be cast into the forms of directives for execution. In making such
a plan, he provides for operations in the detail proper for his
situation. He thereby expands the general plan, indicated in or
developed from his basic Decision, into a complete plan which can
readily be placed in the Order Form (Chapter VIII) as a directive or
directives for the guidance of his subordinates.

The procedure involved in formulating such a detailed plan of action
has been described previously in general terms (Chapter V). The method
of determining the salient features of the operations required has
also been discussed (in Section III of Chapter IV). Therefore, these
matters are not repeated at this point.

The problems distinctive of this procedure (the second step, as
described in Chapter V) are subsidiary problems, in the sense that the
incentive for their solution arises by reason of a decision already
made by the commander, i.e., the basic Decision, and because they are
problems which the commander recognizes are to be solved by himself
and not by his subordinates.

Assumptions. The commander's plan has been derived from an estimate of
the situation based on the best information available to him. Complete
and accurate information is frequently lacking; hence, many military
plans consider contingencies which,