Teleprinter Intelligence Chain

Classify every incoming line

Start with five fields: who is reporting, what object the report describes, whether the clue is a coordinate, bearing, distance, or area, what action the order requires, and whether a later message can supersede it. Keeping the source beside the fact prevents an observer position from being copied as the target and prevents promotional or narrative language from becoming an invented mechanic.

1. Read the message to the end before moving stations.
2. Underline the subject and the named origin separately.
3. Label confirmed facts, estimates, and corrections.
4. Copy the required shell and any timing condition onto the firing card.

Preserve corrections and chronology

A correction is evidence about why the earlier value became unsafe. Cross out the old value without erasing its source, then write the replacement with the later timestamp or sequence number. This matters when two targets, observers, or batteries are active at once: the map should show which line belongs to which report rather than only the operator's latest memory.

Transfer only map-ready evidence

Direct coordinates can be placed with their full grid and sub-cell. Bearings must remain attached to the reporter that generated them, and distances remain radii around their origins. If a clue cannot yet create a point, label it as a search line or arc. Do not invent the missing half of a triangulation merely because the gun is ready.

Audit the chain after a bad result

When the shell is wildly displaced or the objective does not advance, return to the earliest uncertain message. Verify target identity, reporter number, direction, coordinate precision, required effect, and whether a later correction was missed. Ballistic adjustments cannot repair an intelligence error, so the report chain must be trusted before range moves to the calculator again.