eli5 How do military units navigate chaos and maintain direction when faced with casualties, especially if the commanding officer is killed, as depicted in the opening scene of “Saving Private Ryan”?

Question

Recently I watched “Saving Private Ryan” again, and it made me have some questions. For example, in the opening scene of soldiers rushing to the beach, most of the soldiers were almost dead before they even got out of the landing craft. If the commander was also killed, what about the remaining soldiers? Who should direct the people? How should each unit perform the tasks assigned before departure?

In: Other

Answer 1

It’s called the “chain of command”. Every soldier knows who is in charge, and who is next in line if their leadership falls. The next person up assumes command in the moment, and the details are sorted out later. Officers, then non-commissioned officers, then by rank if it gets down to lower enlisted. It’s a part of training.

Military rank is very hierarchical and is built up from smaller units. 2-4 person teams combine to form squads of 5-10, 2-4 squads are organized under platoons, platoons are organized under companies, which are organized under battalions, etc. on up to entire armies. Each sub-unit has someone in charge and everybody knows who it is.

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edit: my experience is with US Army. But it’s the same everywhere.