,transcriber's ,note ,italic text displayed as3 italic ,bold text displayed as3 bold ,,the ,,training ,,of ,,an ,,infantry ,,company4 ,,catechism ,,on ,,field ,,training 7,,infantry74 ,a series of ,questions and ,answers on all subjects of field training1 extracted from the latest official ,,training ,,manuals1 together with miscellaneous information1 practical exercises and examples progressively arranged4 ,revised and brought up to date by ,,col4 ,h4 ,o',,donnell1 p4s4c4 7,,west ,,yorkshire ,,regiment74 ,,sixth ,,edition4 ,,contents4 ,elementary--,general ,principles of ,attack and ,defence--,miscellaneous ,tactical ,operations--,warfare in uncivilised ,countries--,protection on the ,line of ,march--,protection when at ,rest--,methods of obtaining ,information--,quarters1 ,camps1 and ,bivouacs--,field ,engineering--,diary of ,training4 ,fully illustrated with #cj pages of ,plates and ,diagrams4 ,one of the numerous ,press ,opinions4 8,the book is most comprehensive1 for every branch of the soldier's life is touched upon1 and every situation or emergency seems to be anticipated4 ,colonel ,o',donnell's publication is quite a military encyclopdia40--,empress1 ,calcutta4 ,,price #c_/- ,,net4 ,from the ,printers and ,publishers1 ,,gale ,,polden ,,ltd41 ,,wellington ,,works1 ,,aldershot1 ,and at ,london and ,portsmouth4 ,the ,,training ,,of ,,an ,,infantry ,,company ,by ,major ,e4 ,,kirkpatrick1 ,i4,a4 ----------3,o3---------- #b,,nd ,,edition4 ,london3 ,,gale ,,polden1 ,,ltd41 #b1 ,,amen ,,corner1 ,,paternoster ,,row1 ,e4,c4 ,nelson ,house1 ,,portsmouth ,wellington ,works1 ,,aldershot4 ,obtainable from all ,booksellers4 ,,two ,,shillings ,,sixpence 7,net7 7,copyright under ,act of #aiaa47 ,,aldershot3 ,,printed ,,by ,,gale ,,polden1 ,,ltd41 ,,wellington ,,works4 #aiad ,,preface ,this booklet has not been written for the use and benefit of officers and non-commissioned officers of long experience and proved skill in the profession of training men for battle4 ,to such as these it may only provide an object of criticism1 for in the course of years spent in turning recruits into trained soldiers they will have formulated to themselves1 and adopted1 some system of training which they found productive of the best results under their own guidance4 ,but there are many at present1 and at a future time1 should certain circumstances arise in the life of the nation1 there may be very many more who may not have such stores of experience to draw on1 and yet may be faced with the problem of rapidly converting an untrained or only partially trained body of men into a force capable of acting successfully in real war1 both in attack and defence against trained and disciplined troops4 ,again1 it is written1 not for officers commanding battalions1 nor for officers of cavalry and artillery1 but only for officers commanding companies or other similar units of infantry1 though it may1 perhaps1 be of use in training mounted troops for dismounted action4 ,meantime1 while the pipes of peace are still smoking1 it is hoped it may be of some use to officers and non-commissioned officers when the time comes to prepare schemes of company training and put them into execution4 ,e4 ,k4 ,september1 #aiac4 ,,preface ,,to ,,second ,,edition4 ,since the above was written1 the issue of new or amended ,manuals of ,training has necessitated a revision of the book1 which is now presented in a form agreeable to the four-company organisation4 ,the ,empire is now confronted by those circumstances to which allusion was made in the ,preface4 ,e4 ,k4 ,september1 #aiad4 ,,contents ,,page ,,list ,,of ,,abbreviations ix ,,introductory ,,remarks-- ,i4--,the ,intention of the ,book #a ,,ii4--,making the ,best of their ,companies to ,train the ,modern ,man for the ,modern ,battle #d ,,iii4--,the ,standard of ,training assumed to have already been acquired and its application to further ,exercises #i ,,iv4--,ground for ,training--,its ,use and ,influence--,palliation of the ,lack of a ,training ,ground #aa ,v4--,company ,organisation--,moral and the ,personality of the ,commander #af ,,vi4--,discipline--,moral and ,means of ,supervision #bb ,,vii4--,organisation by ,files and its ,effect on ,moral--,cohesion #bg ,,viii4--,method of ,training #ca ,,ix4--,as to ,scouts and ,working ,dress #cg ,,exercises ,i4--,individual ,advance in ,extended ,order #ch ,,ii4--,retirement by ,pairs #dh ,,iii4--,individual ,training in ,use of ,fire and ,fire ,discipline #eb ,,iv4--,the ,assault #fj ,v4--,the ,section and ,platoon in ,attack #fd ,,vi4--,the ,section and ,platoon in ,retirement #gd ,,vii4--,the ,section and ,platoon in ,independent ,attack #gh ,,viii4--,the ,platoon as ,advanced and ,flank ,guard #hd ,,ix4--,preliminary for the ,attack by the ,company in ,battalion #hi ,x4--,the ,company in ,attack with the ,battalion under ,artillery ,fire #ic ,,xi4--,the ,company in ,attack with the ,battalion under ,rifle ,fire #ig ,,xii4--,the ,company in ,attack ,acting ,alone #aje ,,xiii4--,the ,company in ,retirement #ajg ,,xiv4--,outposts #aab ,,xv4--,defence #adb ,,xvi4--,hasty ,expedients #afc ,,xvii4--,night ,operations #aga -------- ,a ,,scheme ,,of ,,company ,,training #aha ,,references ,,and ,,abbreviations4 ,i4,t41 #abh 7#c7 ,infantry ,training1 #aiad1 ,section #abh1 para4 #c4 ,f4,s4,r4 ,field ,service ,regulations1 ,part ,i4 ,operations1 #aiji 7,reprint #aiab74 ,t4 ,m4,r4 ,training and ,manuvre ,regulations1 #aiac4 ,m4,f4,e4 ,manual of ,field ,engineering1 #aiaa4 ,a ,,few ,,press ,,opinions4 8,,united ,,service ,,magazine40 ,major ,e4 ,kirkpatrick is the author of a small book on 8,the ,training of an ,infantry ,company40 ,there have been so many books and pamphlets of this kind--short cuts to knowledge--that one is apt to regard each fresh one with suspicion and even with aversion1 but ,major ,kirkpatrick has much that is helpful to say1 he says it well1 and he shows how much good work may be done even in the training of the emasculated companies such as our military system so often leaves us4 ,his instructions cover a wide field1 and there must be few company officers who will not be grateful to the author for many valuable hints4 8,,united ,,service ,,institution ,,of ,,india40 ,there are few junior officers of infantry who will not benefit by a study of this book4 ,the thorough system of training elaborated in the seventeen exercises1 which form the major portion of the book1 is worthy of the attention of ,regular as well as ,territorial ,officers4 ,these elementary exercises deal with the essentials in the war training of the ,infantry soldier1 from the work of the individual in advance and retirement1 and of the section in action and on protection duties1 to the training of the company in attack and defence1 and outpost4 ,as an example of a system of training illustrating the necessity of attention to detail in the early instruction of the soldier1 this series of exercises is valuable1 and their value is increased by the constant reference to training manuals4 ,the author wisely recommends the study of all the official books referred to as he recognises that his exercises and comments are only of value in so far as they illustrate and explain the principles laid down in training manuals4 ,,the ,,training ,,of ,,an ,,infantry ,,company4 ,,introductory ,,remarks4 ,the authorised handbooks of training rightly confine themselves to broad principles1 and do not attempt to give detailed examples of their application1 the idea being that officers should study these regulations and apply the principles by the light of local conditions and their own experience4 ,infantry ,training and the ,field ,service ,regulations are1 however1 very pregnant little books1 containing1 as they do1 a summary of the whole of ,modern ,tactics1 as far as they concern infantry and the combined action of all arms4 ,time and thought are necessary1 if the principles contained in them are to be translated into such intelligent action that the men trained on the lines laid down may be capable of doing their duty in real warfare1 without first undergoing a bitter and costly schooling of useless casualties or1 perhaps1 even of defeat4 ,but if an officer is called on to achieve this result1 being himself without much previous experience in training1 he will find himself faced with a task of great difficulty1 and1 with the best intentions1 he may waste precious time1 as well as his own and his men's patience and energy1 in doing parades and exercises1 which are either not indispensable1 or of minor importance for the main object4 ,as an extreme example1 it would be better1 in a hastily raised corps1 to combine the disciplinary training of obedience to the word of command1 with instruction in the use of their arms1 by practice in smart work in aiming and firing1 than merely to study precision in 8sloping0 and 8presenting arms10 which look well1 but do not immediately affect fighting efficiency4 ,for these reasons1 it has occurred to me that ,i might do some of my brother officers in esse or in posse a service by setting out certain elementary exercises in training infantry soldiers1 which ,i have found of value in bringing them up to a standard of battle training sufficiently high to need only battalion training and a baptism of fire to turn them into steady and reliable troops4 ,it is not contended that these few examples are anything but concrete instances of the application of the principles of the ,training ,manuals4 ,they are intended1 as has been stated1 merely for those who are short of time and experience1 and1 therefore1 references to the manuals are given when the exercise illustrates some particular section of those works1 and it is recommended that officers who intend to use these examples should look up and read the sections referred to before going on to the parade4 ,though this book is not meant for officers commanding battalions1 ,i have one word to say to them1 and it is this1 that if they wish to have an efficient battalion they must let the company officers have proper opportunities of training their companies1 apart from the time of company training1 when the whole company is struck off duty4 ,if there are six parades a week1 let three or four of them be company parades1 ordered and carried out by the company commanders2 the balance will be quite enough to secure combination between the companies in battalion4 ,on company parades1 the battalion commander should supervise1 but never interfere1 unless things are being manifestly mismanaged4 7,see ,t4 ,m4,r41 #b 7#b and #c774 ,the days of the one man battalion are gone for ever4 ,the company is the thing that matters2 a good battalion can only be composed of well-trained companies4 ,it is the work of the battalion commander to propound the general lines of training and to use the companies to the best advantage in combination1 but the training of the individual soldier must be in the hands of the man who is to lead him in war4 ,,ii4 ,on ordinary parades1 the captain of an infantry company is seldom able to get together more than a fraction of his men4 ,the calls on the company for men for duties and odd jobs1 leave and furlough1 and1 in the ,territorial ,force1 the private occupations of the men1 allow of only a few being assembled on any one parade4 ,this being so1 there is a temptation--sometimes yielded to by officers who have not much experience1 to say to themselves3 8,this is rot2 what can ,i do without any men80 ,such a question is the result of confusing the individual instruction of the men with the tactical practice of the leader in handling his company as a whole4 ,the answer too often takes the form of an hour's close order drill or something similar1 which may do some good1 but not nearly as much as if the officer stoutly made up his mind to make the best of a bad job and took out those few men and did some practical training in field operations4 ,the fewer men there are on parade1 the more individual attention will the company commander be able to give them4 ,he will be able to look at each man's work more carefully1 talk to the men and get to know their characters as soldiers1 spot who are likely to make good non-commissioned officers1 and coach them far more than if the whole company were on hand at once4 ,so do not turn up your nose at a company only twenty strong1 but make up a scheme of exercises to be gone through1 and1 since the men who are not on parade to-day will be so to-morrow1 arrange to do the same exercise on two1 or1 if needed1 three1 consecutive days1 so as to catch all1 or1 at least1 most of the men1 and your non-commissioned officers1 who are not usually so drawn on for off-parade duties1 will become well acquainted with each exercise1 learn what to do and how to run things1 and so become both a help to you as instructors1 and themselves gain authority and power of command from the knowledge of their own competency4 ,it is quite likely that these exercises and the explanations given1 may seem to some readers to be absurdly simple and needlessly long-winded1 while there is also a good deal of repetition4 ,to this ,i will make early reply that they are written for officers who are not too proud to accept other people's advice in training a company of young soldiers of the stamp which would be forthcoming if some cause#a or other tempted or constrained into military service that great proportion of our male population who are at present quite ignorant of a soldier's work1 and who1 from apathy1 or a hundred other causes1 do not join the ,territorial ,force4 ,such men probably have never in their lives given a thought to soldiering4 ,the majority of them are town born and bred1 and have passed most of their lives among bricks and mortar4 ,if they have ever looked carefully at the large or small features of a bit of country1 it has been from an industrial1 sporting1 or1 perhaps1 sentimental1 but never from a tactical1 point of view4 ,they have everything to learn in making use of ground for fighting4 ,their ideas of using modern arms are equally crude2 the primitive fighting instinct will be uppermost in their minds1 and would express itself in an incontinent desire to get to close quarters with their enemy1 when bayonet1 butt or hand grips would seem the proper way to settle the matter4 ,a very laudable desire it is--this of wanting to close in--and one to be encouraged by every means1 but however brave troops may be1 they cannot in general indulge their desire to attain close quarters and the resulting facilities of fighting by the light of their natural instincts unless they have first been successful in the fire fight--the strife of the arms of artifice--which is waged by bullet and shell at distances which ,nature never contemplated4 ,it is the artificiality of the fire fight which makes the task of turning town-bred men into skilful soldiers such a difficult and lengthy process4 ,they must be led to look at ground in relation to its capabilities of increasing the effectiveness of their own fire and also of diminishing the result of that of the enemy1 i4e41 they must learn to select good fire positions and good cover4 ,the problem of finding the latter for himself against a civilized foe begins1 for the individual soldier1 as soon as the enemy's rifle fire becomes effective and compels the use by his side of extended order2 this is held to be on open ground about fourteen hundred yards from the enemy's infantry 7,i4,t41 #aah 7#d774 ,prior to this the responsibility for cover rests with his leaders1 as he will then be in some close formation4 ,fire positions he must choose for himself as soon as his section commander ceases to be able to indicate his wishes1 or to secure combined action by the whole unit4 ,this will probably happen at about six hundred yards from the enemy1 when individual fire is expected to replace controlled fire by sections4 ,these two aspects of fighting--the use of ground1 and the use of the rifle as a far-reaching weapon of almost absolute precision1 if truly sighted and aimed--are foreign to our instincts1 and the average man has to be trained till he is able to override his instinct and fight an artificial war1 so as to work his way to charging distance4 ,some men need less training than others2 a stalker in a deer forest is an adept in the use of cover1 and in general1 country-bred men should be easier to train than town-bred1 but the majority of our men being the latter1 we must lay ourselves out to teach them from the beginning this business of the fire fight1 since success in this is usually necessary before the assault can succeed 7,i4,t41 #aba 7#g774 ,this can only be done by training them in extended order and putting them through various exercises chosen for the purpose4 ,any exercise which does not in some way tend to fit men for battle is mere waste of time2 aimless perambulations of an extended line fall under this category1 but are quite often to be seen on parade grounds4 ,no amount of smartness in close order drill will compensate for a deficiency of field training4 ,,iii4 ,the exercises which ,i have drawn up1 simple though they are1 are of the nature of 8,instructional ,operations10 as defined by ,t4 ,m4,r41 #dj 7#ab71 and it is presupposed that the men have received1 or are in course of receiving1 sufficient instruction in the use of the rifle 7musketry in all its branches71 and of the bayonet 7bayonet fighting71 in drill in close order1 and the drill grounding of extended order work1 including signals 7,i4,t41 #ij-if74 ,we are then to consider ourselves to be at the stage in which the soldier is to be taught to work over broken country as directed in the latter part of para4 #ij1 above quoted4 ,but do not think the lessons learned at musketry instruction are to be forgotten and left behind by the men when they begin to work in extended order across country4 ,demand from your men that the rifle shall be deadly1 and1 by unceasing supervision1 breed a habit among them of aiming and firing in extended order1 whether with or without blank cartridge1 with the same exactitude as when firing their course of musketry on the range4 ,take the high standard--a hundred men's lives in one man's bandolier1 instead of a hundred bandoliers for one man's life4 ,the higher standard of the two is at least possible1 though not common1 but why not try and work towards it1 so that when bullets are flying within decisive range of the enemy1 it will be your men's fire1 that is the deadly close-hitting kind1 that makes afraid1 and not the haphazard jet of bullets whose inefficacy lets unhurt familiarity breed tolerant contempt8 ,in the same way1 when men are in close order at any time during a field parade1 keep up the same smartness1 and quick obedience to orders which are exacted in close order drills1 in order that the men may become truly disciplined1 and not merely so in appearance1 so when they come under fire without being extended1 as may happen in the early and distant stages of a fight1 they will1 as a matter of course1 submit themselves to their commander's wishes1 and ignore their own inclinations1 which1 just at the first experience1 even with very brave men1 might be for an immediate and independent rush in some direction--perhaps forward1 perhaps in another direction--they will be 8in hand10 and free of the liability of raw troops to suffer from sudden panic or to become a mob1 full of fight1 perhaps1 but still a mob1 and as such1 a force which cannot be controlled or used in furtherance of any general plan4 ,,iv4 ,the want of a suitable and accessible bit of ground on which to train our men is one of the chief difficulties we have to meet in the ,united ,kingdom1 and1 of course1 it is greatest in the case of town corps1 varying with the size of towns1 while in large cities ground is not to be had at all1 save at a distance of several miles from the men's dwelling places4 ,unfortunately1 there is little doubt that the possession or lack of suitable training grounds has a great effect on the readiness1 or otherwise1 of troops to give a good account of themselves when they come under fire for the first time in their lives4 ,the lack of it takes away reality from the work of the men in the ranks and cramps the initiative of their officers1 who are given no opportunity to exercise their wits in figuring out practical situations which might occur on service4 ,i can give no recipe for obtaining the use of ground1 but from what ,i have just said ,i hope it is clear that the officer commanding a battalion or company should use every blandishment or art of which he is capable to get the use of a stretch of ground1 and also1 if it is at a distance1 and the attendance of the men at parades voluntary1 he should try to provide facilities for getting them to and from the ground4 ,the worst bit of country is better than the barrack square4 ,the ideal ground is that which gives conditions suited to each phase of the training1 the principal requirements being fire positions and cover1 and these should occur so as to provide illustrations of the use to be made of them in individual training1 and in the collective training of sections1 platoons1 and the larger units4 ,thus1 for training individual men1 good ground would be that with an irregular surface1 giving many places twenty to fifty yards apart1 which each man could use in firing and taking cover4 ,the usual seaside golf course of hummocks1 furze bushes1 and occasional watercourses1 is good to teach individual men over--,i say teach1 for we must not imagine that an enemy will be so kind as to leave easy ground like that in his front1 if he can help it4 ,for section or platoon training1 the surface should be similar1 so that the individuals should still be called on to look out for their own halting places1 but1 in addition1 there should be a certain number of small features1 hillocks1 banks1 and so on1 one to four hundred yards apart1 which will serve as fire positions and cover for the whole unit1 and provide the commanders with successive objectives1 to which it will be their duty to bring their men in good order1 and without needless exposure to the enemy's fire4 ,when the company is training together1 the ground should be similar1 but of greater extent1 both broader and larger1 so that sections and platoons may be practised in supporting each other1 some being halted in these fire positions1 and covering by their fire the movements of the others who are in process of gaining fresh vantage points4 ,and so on for larger units and the combined action of all arms2 good ground for early instruction is that whose features1 from their nature and distance from each other1 lend themselves to illustrate conditions under which the power of each unit and arm may be most profitably employed in conjunction with others4 ,troops trained over ground that gives the above advantages will acquire an eye for country4 ,a knowledge of the uses to be made of ground will be common to all ranks1 so that when they find themselves fighting on bad ground1 which does not give much cover or good fire positions1 they will be the more apt to search for such cover and fire positions as are obtainable1 while troops trained on flat and open ground would be much slower in making the best of a bad job4 ,we are not concerned with anything more than a company2 therefore1 get for your own use1 if you can manage it--failing help from higher powers--a bit of ground of some sort1 golf course1 common1 city park1 or what not4 ,it need not be very extensive4 ,even if it gives only three or four positions suitable for occupation by a section working in conjunction with another1 say1 six hundred by three hundred yards1 it will give room for useful instruction2 but1 of course1 a larger extent is preferable1 as giving room for more extended and varied exercises4 ,if your training ground is of limited extent1 it should1 nevertheless1 if possible1 have a wide field of view on all sides beyond its own confines1 and leave you the right to send a few men to take positions on the adjoining country1 even if not allowed to manuvre about it1 so that when carrying out your exercises you may be able to use men with blank cartridge to act as a skeleton enemy1 when such is needed4 ,but if you are not allowed to send men on to the neighbouring ground1 the wide field of view will still enable you to indicate certain distant positions as supposed to be held by the enemy4 ,by this means you will be able to use the whole area of your permissible ground to represent a bit of the battlefield1 and escape having to place the supposed enemy absurdly close to your manuvring troops1 e4g41 at the edge of the training ground1 or in some other position which makes heavy calls on the imagination4 ,britishers are not imaginative4 ,lastly1 if all else fails1 and you have nowhere to go except the flat parade ground1 or even the drill hall1 which in large towns is often very spacious1 do not1 ,i beg you1 become discouraged and throw up all effort to get your men ready for field work4 ,do the exercises on the flat1 limiting the extent of movements1 if there is little room1 and use flags or anything else to represent fire positions for sections and platoons1 and let the men kneel or lie down between advances1 if there is no cover4 ,a great deal may be done in this way to lay a good foundation for extended order work4 ,your men will know the mechanism of it1 and you will save much time when you do manage to have them out on a proper training ground4 ,i4,t41 #ajg 7#b71 requires company commanders1 in preparing their schemes of training1 to have regard to the ground at their disposal2 do so1 therefore1 even if the ground aforesaid is only a parade ground1 and make the most of it2 it is better than sitting still and either doing nothing1 or only a weary round of company drill in close order4 ,of course1 you must let the men know what you are driving at1 or they will get bored and lose interest4 ,v4 ,having got a company of men and ground to train them on1 the first step is to organise that company for its battle training4 ,a company is organised into four platoons1 each under a subaltern1 with a sergeant as his second-in-command 7platoon sergeant74 ,each platoon has four sections1 and the sixteen sections of the company are numbered one to sixteen4 ,the men of each of the above units remain permanently in that unit4 ,if possible1 maintain this organisation on duties and fatigues1 though this is often a counsel of perfection1 but quarter the men together1 and insist on the maintenance of the organisation1 without deviation1 on parades4 ,have lists made up of the men of each platoon and section1 and let men who so wish1 belong to the same unit4 ,once these lists are made up1 see to it by means of the section commanders that these men fall in on parade together in the place in the company where their section is standing1 no matter how few there are2 if there are but two men of one section on parade1 they should fall in as front and rear rank men of one file4 ,avoid disseminating the men of a platoon or section among other units in order to raise the latter to a sizeable strength4 ,instead of this3 supposing you have three weak platoons and one strong one on parade2 of the four sections of one of the weak platoons1 send two to each of the other two weak platoons4 ,this will give you three platoons of1 perhaps1 unequal strength1 but sufficient for work--and this without taking the responsibility of section commanders off their shoulders1 and the cohesion of each unit is preserved4 ,some further suggestions on the subject of organisation will be put forward when speaking of moral4 ,the officer who aspires to develop whatever capabilities his men possess of becoming individually and collectively formidable in battle1 must pay attention to much more than mere physical considerations4 ,napoleon's dictum1 that the moral is to the physical as three to one is early dinned into the ears of the officer of ,regulars1 but may stand repetition in pages meant for the perusal of others4 ,no officer can expect to get the most out of his men unless he directs his attention to the study of the psychical side of the training4 ,there are two fields in which the study must be pursued4 ,one is the officer's own personality1 the other that of his non-commissioned officers and men4 ,t4 ,m4,r41 #h1 deals with the former1 and should be read and pondered over4 ,in battle good men have sometimes achieved victory in spite of the shortcomings of their officers1 but good officers1 as well as men1 are necessary for consistent success in the series of battles which make a campaign4 ,now1 good officers1 given time for training1 will infallibly produce good men1 provided the latter are of the average physique and courage4 ,therefore1 study thyself1 and try to see what you lack1 in order to become a good officer4 ,cultivate your skill in handling your men by reading any books you can get2 there are1 unfortunately1 not very many that deal with the work of such small units as companies or even single battalions4 ,go out into the country1 or1 if you have not time1 recall to yourself some bit of country you know1 and import an enemy into the landscape4 ,perhaps a few riflemen are holding ground on the flank of a road along which your battalion wants to march1 but cannot1 without undue loss1 until these riflemen are driven off2 and your commanding officer tells you to do the driving4 ,in imagination1 or on the ground1 decide what position you would hold1 if you were the enemy1 in order to make yourself as nasty as possible--though having no hope of being reinforced--to the battalion trying to come along the road4 ,then settle in your mind what you1 as commanding your company1 would do to get rid of the annoyance4 ,be quite clear1 what would you do8 ,go at them bald-headed8 ,there are times and enemies when this is the best way2 you would have to be fairly close1 and the enemy not shooting very straight1 and rather careful of his skin2 or will you march a long way round till the enemy sees you are getting behind him1 and so manuvre him out8 ,then your battalion will be a long time waiting4 ,or will you look at the ground and find1 let us suppose1 a spot to which you will send a section or platoon to open a fire on the enemy1 while another works its way to a point you have noted from which fire can be brought to sweep crossways a little knoll1 or some such supposititious feature which seems to form the enemy's left flank1 and to be occupied by ten or twelve men1 and which gives command over the rest of his position8 ,then1 while the second lot is on its way1 you plan to lead the remainder a little way round1 under cover1 in order to get to fairly close range of the knoll1 so that when the second party opens fire on it1 and its defenders are hampered both by this fire and by that of those you first posted1 you may surprise them by an outburst of fire from your reserve1 and either drive them off their perch by cross-fire from three directions1 or1 if they do not shift1 run in at them with the bayonet1 trusting to get across the intervening space at the cost of a few casualties1 when your superior numbers at that point should ensure your success even if they actually await the bayonet4 ,learn to consider quickly how many ways there are of doing such a job as the above1 and to decide quickly and rationally which is the best4 ,these schemes1 involving only a company or two1 will not be presented for your solution by your battalion commander2 you must set them yourself1 and their solution1 and the thinking necessary thereto are the best methods an officer can get of training himself without having his men on the ground4 ,in your mind's eye1 put your company into every situation you can think of1 and get it out again1 and you will have acquired an enormous reserve of capacity for acting quickly and rightly when your men and your enemy are both on the ground4 ,but beware of dealing in too short distances1 or you may produce unreal pictures of war4 ,do not imagine manuvres at four hundred yards from the enemy when every man exposed would be hit in a few minutes4 ,the clearness and decision of thought you acquire will be reflected in the orders you give4 ,your men will give you their confidence when they see1 as they are quick to do1 that you know your job4 ,there is nothing more disheartening for a subordinate1 be he private or colonel1 than to feel he is under control of a duffer1 whose mistakes he will have to correct4 ,this feeling saps discipline1 and quickly destroys the fighting value of a body of men4 ,in peace training1 the men become sulky at being 8bothered about10 lose interest in their work1 and wish themselves done with parade4 ,in war1 their personal characters usurp the control of their actions1 and they become a mob in uniform4 99 99 99 99 99 ,but in addition to possessing the confidence of the men in your tactical ability1 you should seek all other means to increase your influence over them4 ,gain their respect in other ways1 by honesty of purpose1 by example1 tact1 devotion to duty1 and so on4 ,gain their goodwill by watching over their individual and collective interests1 though in this you must play to the gallery sufficiently to let them identify you as the source of benefits received4 ,keep an even temper1 and do not show anger without good cause4 ,personal attachment to their officer shows itself most when men's powers are taxed by hardship1 fatigue1 and danger2 it is then a great auxiliary in maintaining discipline among the mass4 ,,vi4 ,as regards the moral of the men1 ,i4,t41 #a 7#d to #aj7 must be referred to4 ,you must introduce discipline--the habit of subordinating personal inclination to the orders of the superior promptly and without cavil4 ,if your men are raw1 you have to go slow just at first till they all know what is expected of them4 ,let them understand that orders are not given haphazard1 but are invariably based on some good reason1 which1 being so1 there is no need for reasons to be always stated1 nor for recipients of orders to feel unhappy for want of them4 ,if you can induce a feeling among the men that slackness on parade1 slowness in obeying orders1 and so on1 are bad form1 and tend to disgrace the company1 you will do well1 and this good spirit will enable you to enforce discipline without having recourse to punishment1 if you are vested with the power of inflicting it4 ,i have already said that when in close order during tactical exercises1 you should maintain discipline in the ranks4 ,i now go further and say that you should maintain it when the men are extended or detached from the company singly or in small groups4 ,evidently the discipline here needed is something more than mere mechanical obedience4 ,what it is1 is to be found in ,t4 ,m4,r41 #ci 7#d71 and ,f4,s4,r4 #ab 7#ac71 and ,i4,t41 #aaf and #aag4 ,make the men understand that when they are extended they must obey their unit commander's orders and signals as to fire and movement at once1 and without hesitation1 and must be always on the look-out for them4 ,allow no talking1 except what relates to the business in hand1 such as passing of orders or information1 results of fire1 and so on4 ,hold the men responsible that if they are out of reach of the control of their leader1 it is their duty to carry out the spirit of the orders under which they set out4 ,to bring their responsibility home to them1 you must make a point of calling men occasionally to give an account of what they did when detached1 and why they did it1 so that they may pause for a moment if they are of the sort that take advantage of opportunity to sit behind a hedge and smoke a cigarette when they ought to be up and doing4 ,here you will naturally say that this is all very well1 but how is one to look after men scattered here and there over several hundred yards of rough country8 ,here come in the non-commissioned officers1 of whom1 so far1 no mention has been made1 and also your subaltern officers4 ,since success in battle will depend largely on the efficiency of fire unit commanders1 and the normal fire unit is the section 7,i4,t41 #f 7#d771 it is evident that the section commander is a very responsible person1 and much must be expected from him4 ,your subalterns and platoon sergeants you must use as your delegates in supervising and leading the platoons to which they belong1 except when they are needed to act specifically as platoon commanders1 keeping themselves constantly on the move among the men1 looking at the details of the work1 sighting of rifles1 aiming1 use of cover1 choice of lines of movement1 not lying down themselves nor participating in the operation as combatants4 ,when you wish to give them practice in setting exercises themselves1 turn the whole company over to one of them and act yourself as critic1 or act as subaltern under his orders4 ,this is one means of supervision4 ,the next is your non-commissioned officers4 ,they are in direct command1 and you must hold them responsible for their sections1 but when their units are acting in conjunction with others1 it is evident they cannot act both as commanders and instructors unless certain concessions are made1 for if the non-commissioned officers as well as the men of a section were to act as they would have to do under real fire1 each non-commissioned officer might be able only to supervise a man or two on his right and left1 the rest being too far off4 ,therefore1 at the beginning of an exercise1 you should tell the non-commissioned officers whether1 in addition to giving executive commands1 they are to be at liberty to move about freely and act as instructors also4 ,needless to say1 in instructional exercises1 and until the men are quite seasoned1 you should let them do this1 but1 on the other hand1 in exercises meant to illustrate actual conflict and the limitations imposed by the presence of an enemy1 they should pay attention to those limitations so that they1 as well as the men1 may be prepared to endure the disabilities imposed by ,service conditions4 ,next comes yourself4 ,once you have given your subordinates your orders for any exercise1 leave them to carry it through1 and make yourself as ubiquitous as may be in supervision4 ,keep criticism for the end1 and interference only for the prevention of absurdities4 ,to make yourself ubiquitous1 the best way is to use your horse1 and make the noble animal do the running about with you on his back4 ,you can then get through about six times what you can on your own feet1 by cantering from one section to another1 and you get a better view of the whole performance1 but you must remember when correcting anything the men are doing that you are mounted1 while they are probably kneeling or lying1 and much that you see is invisible to them4 ,equip yourself with a pair of field glasses1 and also with a megaphone1 which latter should be about fourteen inches long1 and carried by a strap over the shoulder1 the strap punched so as to be capable of being made long or buckled up close under the arm1 according as you need to use the megaphone1 or wish to get it out of your way4 ,use your glasses to look at what sections and individual men in them are doing4 ,they will reveal to you small mistakes that escape notice at some distance with the unaided eye4 ,the megaphone saves you a lot of small excursions to get to earshot of men1 and also a lot of shouting at a distance1 which is fatiguing1 and is apt to lead to exacerbation of tempers1 both of the shouter and the listener4 ,moreover1 it enables you to hear as well as speak from a distance4 ,this is done simply by holding it aimed at the other man with your ear instead of your mouth at the mouthpiece4 ,use your whistle to call attention to orders or signals1 carry it in your hand1 not in your pocket1 and put a loop in the cord and pass the loop over your middle finger1 or you will be always dropping it4 ,instead of a cane1 carry a small semaphore flag1 and give your signals with it4 ,this saves a good deal of arm-waving1 and tends to smarten up movement1 as it is more easily seen than the arm4 ,by bringing all these aids into your service1 you will find that you can make your influence felt1 although the sections are separated by the greatest distances which they are ever likely to be called on to take up in battle4 ,,vii4 ,besides discipline1 there are certain other moral influences which give strength to an ,army4 ,these are indicated in ,i4,t41 #a 7#d and #e74 ,the two mighty forces of religion and patriotism are not treated of here1 as they have their roots not in any system of training1 but in the upbringing of the youth of the nation1 but there is one force which you1 as a humble commander1 can call into play1 and that is shame--the dread of losing the respect of oneself and of one's comrades4 ,during peace training you may make men dread the public shame of misbehaviour by the aid of those means of supervision which ,i have suggested1 but in war the power to supervise is greatly curtailed1 and it is very desirable to find something to replace it1 and1 at the same time1 to supplement a too absolute reliance on the stoutness of men's hearts1 for this may prove a broken reed when the troops are largely composed of unseasoned soldiers4 99 99 99 99 99 ,to a certain extent1 the organisation of the company into permanent sections provides us with the substitute we desire1 as the men of sections are likely to be cognisant of how their comrades behave when out of view of the rest of the company as long as the whole of the men of the section are in view of each other2 but this will not always be the case3 for example1 in wood fighting or in house fighting1 both of which would assuredly occur if our men have to fight in ,europe4 ,in such fighting everything comes down to the pushfulness of the individual soldiers1 for even sections will lose their leaders4 ,therefore let us carry the principle of the company organisation logically one step further1 and make the men of a file as they fall in on parade in the section act in conjunction for the remainder of that parade4 ,this arrangement is recognised in the last edition of the ,musketry ,regulations1 and has1 at various times1 been adopted in former drill books of our ,army1 and has given excellent results1 while1 if the present book does not prescribe it1 at least it countenances it 7,i4,t41 #abc 7#ab771 and ,i strongly recommend your introducing it into your company4 ,it is likely to produce emulation in the fire fight among men whose hearts are in the right place1 and in the assault it must produce the advantages of combination1 for two men coming on with the bayonet in conjunction are far more likely to do someone an injury than if they each came on independently1 since in the latter case a cool and skilful antagonist might dispose of one and then the other1 even as the ,japanese are said to have stepped aside when charged by the ,russians1 who1 running forward blindly and head down1 fell an easy prey to their alert little enemies1 and were bayoneted in succession as they arrived4 ,the proof of this pudding is the eating thereof1 and if your company ever happens to be alongside a company told off daily into haphazard sections1 as is sometimes done1 in spite of rules1 you will then see the difference1 even if it is only at manuvres4 ,in close order they may still look alike1 but let them be extended in rough country1 and you will see that yours is the blade of steel2 the particles of its metal are coherent2 it will bend1 but not break4 ,the other is of wrought iron1 polished on the surface but of brittle material1 and sure to fly to pieces in any rough usage4 ,by this file organisation you will produce in the men in the ranks the highest degree of cohesion--the habit of regulating their own actions in accordance with the actions and needs of others in furtherance of one general aim4 ,having secured this cohesion among the men1 you have still to produce it within the company as between platoons and sections4 ,for cohesion is the coping stone of the edifice of efficiency1 and rests on a basis of discipline1 moral and training4 ,it makes possible the application of the principle of mutual support which is indispensable in the attack 7,f4,s4,r41 #aje 7#d771 and it enables retirements and defensive action to be carried out without disorganisation1 and with the minimum of loss4 ,whenever sections act together1 see to it that the non-commissioned officers keep an eye on the movements of the others1 and question them as to the extent their orders to their sections should be influenced by the needs and movements of the others4 ,by this means they will be induced to check the inclination to play only for their own hands1 and to remember always that their unit is part of a combination which can best attain success by acting accordingly4 ,,viii4 ,training is the preparation of officers and men for the duties which they will carry out in war4 ,these duties consist in the application of the principles contained in the training manuals1 and it is your business to provide concrete examples4 ,but in these days of long range arms combats take a very long time1 and you cannot expect in a parade of perhaps one or at most two hours1 and with a limited extent of ground1 to carry out all the varied phases of an operation which1 in warfare1 would take anything from six to eighteen hours to complete1 and would extend over perhaps five or six miles of country1 even if we limit ourselves to the extreme ranges of heavy artillery1 and take no account of movements not within the range of possible fire4 ,therefore1 in your training1 you must be analytical1 choosing for one parade such phase or phases as you have time and ground for1 and doing the others later on4 ,when your company knows all it can be taught thus piecemeal1 it will be early enough to try to get time and ground to perform continuous operations4 99 99 99 99 99 ,for instance1 infantry in the attack will usually have to go through three phases3 first1 the advance to fire positions2 second1 the fire fight 7,i4,t41 #aba 7#f772 and1 third1 the assault1 which latter must be divided into the charge and the steps which follow it according as it is successful or not4 ,you will have to train for these three phases4 ,the first1 against an enemy armed with guns and rifles1 would consist in opening out from column of route into little columns--sections or platoons--and moving forward in this formation1 the main object being to escape being smashed to pieces by his artillery fire before being able to do him any damage 7,i4,t41 #aah 7#c774 ,later1 you would come under his rifle fire1 and your little columns must scatter out into lines of men in extended order 7,i4,t41 #aah 7#e774 ,these movements seem1 and are1 very easy1 but still they must be practised in peace if they are to be done coolly and without confusion in time of war when the first intimation of the necessity for opening out may be the shriek and crash of what will be to most of the men the first shrapnel they have ever seen1 and withal aimed at themselves4 ,this phase requires the presence of all four platoons of the company1 and so may be kept over till the men have been trained in the phase which it precedes1 namely1 that of the fire fight4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the fire fight begins when the attacking infantry have got as far forward as they can without having to reply to the enemy's fire1 and it is quite distinct from the preceding phase of passive endurance4 ,success in the fire fight is an absolute necessity for a successful assault4 ,possibly your enemy has prepared your success before war broke out by abstaining from training his men in musketry1 but even if his shooting is inferior1 the fire fight will call into play all the qualities and skill of which your men are possessed1 both individually and collectively4 ,accordingly you should practise them in the fire fight from the opening of their fire up to the assault1 first individually and then collectively4 ,the assault can be dissected into the fixing of bayonets with as little cessation of fire as possible1 the charge itself1 followed1 according as it is held to have been successful or not1 by the rallying of the troops1 pursuit of the enemy by fire and strengthening of the captured position1 or the withdrawal or such mitigation of the results of failure as may fairly be attempted4 ,thus1 by considering the attack as made up of phases as above1 it is1 ,i think1 possible and instructive to practise each one of them separately1 on a short parade1 and on limited ground1 by placing the men in the order in which they would be at beginning of any one phase1 and carrying on from there4 ,before beginning any exercise1 call your non-commissioned officers out to the front1 and explain to them and to the men1 in very full detail1 what the exercise is intended to be1 what points particularly require attention1 how you want it done1 and the sequence of events1 if it involves combined action between the different units2 whether the company is supposed to be acting by itself or as part of the battalion1 and1 if the latter1 whether your side are having the support of artillery fire or not1 where the enemy is1 and what he is1 i4e41 is he infantry only1 or has he also cavalry and guns1 what he is supposed to be doing1 attacking1 defending1 retiring1 marching1 or what4 ,deal with all such points before you start1 otherwise you will find your non-commissioned officers and men filling in the blanks each according to his own bent of imagination1 and everyone in consequence playing at a different game4 ,to be thus able to define the scope and arrangements of the exercise1 you must have it clearly planned out in all detail in your head4 ,this you should do if possible the day before the parade1 so that you will have the thing well thought out1 and events marshalled in logical sequence4 ,at all exercises1 if possible1 have the enemy represented by a skeleton force1 as directed by ,t4 ,m4,r41 #dh1 a few actual men with blank cartridge1 and a red range flag or two to roughly define the enemy's position4 ,use for this purpose old soldiers1 if you have them1 or1 at least1 men who have already performed the exercise you mean to do1 and it is better to take one or two men from each platoon than to send off a whole section1 and so break up the company organisation4 ,six or eight men are quite enough to form any skeleton enemy that is needed for a company to manuvre against4 ,you must give the skeleton enemy definite orders as to what they are to represent1 where they are to go1 and what to do and not to do4 ,if they are given at all a free hand1 especially if under the enterprising ,british subaltern1 they are very apt to indulge in far-reaching manuvres1 and subject you to sudden raids and onslaughts which upset your scheme for the parade1 and leave you no enemy at the very point you wished to have him4 ,if you cannot arrange for a skeleton enemy1 at least never fail to indicate some position as supposed to be held by an enemy4 ,if your exercise ground is limited in extent1 fix the enemy's position outside it1 regardless of whether you have1 or have not1 licence to traverse the intervening space1 so as to avoid carrying out your exercise within impossibly close range of the enemy4 ,in default of a skeleton enemy to provide you with a target1 tell your men to aim at any members of the public who are about the enemy's position4 ,this is better than snapping at inanimate objects1 as it gives more interest and so keeps up careful aiming4 ,as regards the general method of training1 follow commonsense and the manuals1 and work from individual up to collective1 bearing in mind always that collective work is built up of the work of the individuals who throughout have to be kept up to the collar by the various arts which ,i have touched on4 ,the less of the iron hand that is shown the better4 ,,ix4 ,i make no mention of scouts1 as they are specialists4 ,they must be selected after you have got to know all the men of your company and their capabilities4 ,their training as scouts cannot be carried out by you personally at the same time that you are training the company4 ,to be really of use1 it will be a whole-time job for one officer1 and you will either have to turn them over to one of the subalterns1 or go with them yourself1 preferably the former1 if the subaltern is capable4 ,when they are trained and fall in on parade as scouts in their sections1 it is a good plan to have places permanently reserved for them as third files from the left of sections 7the blank file's place7 so that they can leave the ranks without disturbing the formation for forming fours4 ,as regards dress one thing is quite certain1 and that is that with only one suit of uniform men cannot appear clean and smart off duty in it1 and yet use it for field work with all the lying down and knockabout wear involved4 ,in time of national danger1 appearances will go to the wall1 and men will do their work at the expense of the fit of their one and only suit of uniform4 ,,footnotes3 #a ,a cause now exists1 and the men have come out4 ,,exercise ,i4 ,,individual ,,advance ,,in ,,extended ,,order4 ,the exercise portrays what men will have to do when the rifle fire of the enemy becomes effective1 and necessitates extension of the small columns which are used to dodge his shell fire 7,i4,t41 #aah 7#c774 ,this will be somewhere over one thousand yards from the enemy1 and perhaps fourteen hundred may be taken as a maximum4 ,from the point at which extension from the small columns is made up till the time of the assault1 a line of men in extended order is the suitable formation1 unless there is some covered way leading forward which can be traversed in file or other formation4 ,once the advance has begun it should be carried through as quickly as possible without exhausting the men too much1 and fire should not be opened until it is absolutely necessary to neutralise that of the enemy1 firstly1 because it lessens the speed of the advance and so increases the time during which the attackers are exposed to the enemy's fire2 secondly1 because once men start firing it is more difficult to lead them forward2 and1 thirdly1 because it uses up cartridges whose value and difficulty of replacement increases at every yard nearer the enemy's position4 ,the exercise is then to train men to gain ground to the front with the minimum of exposure to the enemy's fire1 and as quickly as may be1 firstly1 without firing1 and1 secondly1 while firing themselves1 but in the latter case speed must be subordinated to the development of a fire of sufficient accuracy and volume to largely neutralise that of the enemy1 for at this stage of the battle advances under fire will only be possible if it is inaccurate2 and the only certain means of causing it to be inaccurate is by disturbing the enemy's nerves and aim by bringing to bear on him the fire both of supporting troops and of the firing line itself 7,i4,t41 #aah 7#f774 ,the regulations do not encourage the opening of fire by units less than two platoons at ranges over one thousand yards as the results do not compensate for the delay4 ,under one thousand and up to six hundred it is desired that fire should be controlled and directed1 i4e41 the amount1 and the target should be specified by commanders 7,i4,t41 #aaf74 ,under six hundred yards it is recognised that individual fire gives good results1 and1 moreover1 control becomes almost impossible4 ,divide your exercise accordingly4 ,first1 teach merely the advance without firing1 letting the men know that they are not to fire1 as a rule1 without orders under six hundred yards1 and then let them advance firing at each halt behind cover1 choosing their own target and times of firing as they would do in the stage of 8close fire10 i4e41 six or perhaps eight hundred yards up to assaulting distance1 which latter is about two hundred yards from the enemy's line of defences4 ,this parade is one that can be done with very few men present1 but it is necessary to form them up into sections with a large proportion of non-commissioned officers4 ,keep the men in their proper sections1 but1 if necessary1 join two or three together1 so as to form sections with three or four non-commissioned officers to each4 ,thus1 if you form four sections1 they should each be in reality a boiling down of the platoons4 ,in future exercises ,i will also suppose that you thus concentrate your men1 keeping the members of each section together1 and form them into sections of size suitable to the work of the day1 and no further allusion will be made to this4 ,before taking the men on to the exercise ground1 you should choose a point on it from which you intend to start your advance4 ,some fourteen hundred or less yards from this choose a position for your skeleton enemy1 who will consist of three or four old soldiers with forty rounds of blank each4 ,if men are not available1 put up a few red range flags4 ,whichever are used1 put them into some position that an enemy might reasonably occupy2 do not simply dump them down on to the ground4 ,the skeleton enemy must be told to show up occasionally1 and to open a slow but regular fire as soon as they see your men advancing1 but only to keep it up as long as your men show themselves in making their advance4 ,a complete cessation of fire will denote that your men are making such good use of cover as to be invisible to the enemy4 ,let your men also know that these instructions have been given1 and that such an advance is the ideal to be sought for1 provided always that it is not absurdly slow4 ,if neither men nor flags are available you must make believe and point out a supposed position at a supposed distance4 ,i have already pointed out the advantages of having a skeleton enemy to work against4 ,in front of your starting point1 and about four hundred yards from it1 decide on some point at which you will let the men halt after they have made their way across the intervening space4 ,here ,i will refer you to the diagram4 ,the line ,,aa is your starting point1 ,,cc the enemy's position4 ,your exercise consists in showing individual men how to gain ground from ,,aa as far as ,,bb1 distant about four hundred yards from ,,aa1 with the minimum of exposure to the enemy's aimed fire4 ,draw up the sections1 supposing there are two1 on the line ,,aa1 fifty to one hundred yards apart1 and let the men sit down facing away from ,,cc and1 if possible1 under cover1 so that they may not see how their comrades negotiate the course4 ,space the available non-commissioned officers of each section along the course from ,a to ,b and ,a to ,b1 with orders to supervise and criticise the advance of each man within the limits of their beats4 ,allow a belt of twenty to thirty yards broad from ,a to ,b and from ,a up to ,b1 within which men must seek their cover4 ,this belt is made broad here to afford instruction1 but when the men work together in their sections1 it will be much narrower1 as they will then be extended at intervals of five or six paces only4 ,start off one man at a time from each section to cross from ,,aa to ,,bb1 to move as if under fire from the enemy in rushes from one cover to another4 ,as soon as a man reaches ,,bb he may fall out and watch the movements of the remainder4 ,do not send off a fresh man until the preceding one has nearly reached ,,bb1 so that your non-commissioned officers may have good opportunity to look at each man as he goes4 ,as for yourself1 be active in supervising both sections1 using your horse if you have one4 ,,diagram ,i4 ,,for ,,exercises ,i4 ,,ii4 ,illustration3 ,,cc ,enemy's position about #adjj,x from ,,aa4 ,enemy being represented by men with blank cartridge or flags4 ,,aa ,starting points #adjj yards from enemy's position4 ,men start from ,,aa to cross to ,,bb without exposing themselves to the enemy at ,,cc4 ,crosses indicate cover1 and the chain dotted lines routes by which men may advance4 ,,aa to ,,bb is about #djj,x ,the following are points to be attended to3--,before leaving their cover1 men must decide where their next halting place is to be1 and make for it quickly1 and with decision4 ,there must be no emerging into the open1 and then looking about for a bit of cover to go for4 ,the length of each rush should not be enough to let the enemy have time for deliberate aim--fifty yards or so is quite the limit for this4 ,if there is no cover the men must lie down flat between each rush4 ,occasionally it is advisable to make a long rush from one good position to another at sprinting pace without stopping at all 7,i4,t41 #aba 7#ab771 so this should be practised sometimes1 the non-commissioned officers at that part of the beat being ordered to tell the men what is needed4 ,once a man has decided on his next halting place1 and is in wind1 he should leave his cover with a jump4 ,the slow uprising of a figure is sure to draw the enemy's attention1 and make his fire more accurate than it would be if no intimation were given him4 ,similarly1 on reaching cover1 men should fall down quickly1 and not lower themselves slowly to earth4 ,insist on a careful choice of cover1 a very small depression or elevation1 even six inches1 is enough to give cover from view1 and therefore helps in escaping aimed fire1 but in peace time men will not take trouble over apparently trifling things like this unless it is rubbed into them by close supervision4 ,noticeable objects should be avoided as the enemy may have taken their range1 and they help him to define a point on which to concentrate fire4 ,if a man makes mistakes and shows indecision at any part of the course1 call him back to the last cover he left1 and let him start again from there after pointing out what he has done wrong4 ,,ii4 ,the advance combined with individual fire4 ,the second part of the exercise is done in the same way as the first1 the men advancing and taking cover as before1 but now using their rifles4 ,they have to be taught to use the cover to advantage1 both as a protection and as an aid to their shooting1 and to take pains in searching for a good target1 and in their sighting1 aiming and firing4 ,for purposes of instruction1 six hundred yards is rather a short range to open fire at1 and ,i recommend your making a start at eight hundred or so1 i4e41 two hundred yards beyond ,,bb towards the enemy1 working up to four hundred4 ,this necessitates judging distance at beyond the practically point-blank ranges of the ,lee-,enfield rifle1 and makes the men use their eyes keenly to spot the enemy1 while it avoids a certain amount of unreality which is apt to attach to instructional movements carried on in front of a skeleton enemy at the deadly short ranges under three hundred yards4 ,points which should be considered are3-- ,to fire from the right and lower edge of any cover1 not over the top4 ,make the men keep a count of the number of times they snap over the course 7i4e41 cartridges used71 and report to the non-commissioned officer at the finish of their course4 ,let the men do their own judging distance1 and let non-commissioned officers drop at once on any man who either fails to do so1 or forgets1 as they often do1 to adjust the backsight4 ,cultivate a habit among the men of looking about for different targets1 not firing only straight in front of themselves1 but on their right and left1 so that when they come to fire collectively they may feel nothing new in being told to open the enfilade fire recommended by ,i4,t41 #aaf 7#aa71 and also get the custom of watching for the enemy all along his front4 ,these two exercises of advancing with and without firing are the groundwork of the fighting efficiency of the soldier in the attack1 and will be found to call for every natural and acquired qualification the individual possesses4 ,good shooting1 quick judgment1 activity1 wind1 and everything else are needed if the work is done with full observance of the conditions which would exist under fire4 ,put the men through exercises of this sort several times1 and1 if possible1 on different ground1 till they acquire quickness in choosing cover and the arts that make an expert fighter4 ,confidence in themselves will come with the skill they acquire1 and with confidence comes decision of mind1 which is really more important than bodily efficiency4 ,if you have time1 a useful rider to this exercise is to work the men by pairs1 as is recommended in the ,musketry ,regulations for the observation of fire1 and so introduce them early to the use of the file organisation which ,i have advised you to adopt4 ,,exercise ,,ii4 ,,retirement ,,by ,,pairs4 ,a sound provision against panic among young troops is to accustom them to regard a retirement as all in the day's work1 and not as an exceptional undertaking which their anxiety may invest with possibilities of disaster4 ,the essence of successful retirement in face of an enemy lies in the continuous opposition1 or appearance of it1 offered to the enemy by one portion of the troops1 while others draw off to take post to cover the withdrawal of the rearmost portion4 ,i4,t41 #acg1 gives the idea in few words4 ,it does not mention individual training in this1 but it is useful to put men through the movements1 both to cultivate cohesion in the ranks1 and as a tactical exercise4 ,it may happen in war that an extended line has to give ground when engaged with the enemy1 and this under so heavy a fire as to make movement except over short distances impossible without great loss4 ,such a withdrawal would mean that the troops are in a very tight corner1 and would test them very highly1 but that is another matter4 ,it may happen1 and should be prepared for4 ,a withdrawal under these conditions might perhaps be carried out by the alternate movement of men in files covered by the fire of the others1 until such a distance from the enemy had been obtained as to allow sections or companies to take up the alteration4 ,up to that distance it will be simply a reversal of what was done in ,exercise ,i41 but worked by files--a front rank man and his rear rank man1 one going back a short distance1 and the other firing to cover the movement4 ,again1 men on patrol or otherwise detached may have to retire to avoid capture1 or for many other reasons1 when they might not be under close and heavy fire1 but still would be under the necessity of preventing the enemy closing in on them or surrounding them4 ,in this case1 the length of each withdrawal would be much longer than in the former case2 one man would fire while the other made off perhaps two or three hundred yards at his best speed4 ,train for both contingencies2 it can be done in one and the same parade4 ,skeleton enemy as usual4 ,for the withdrawal under heavy fire1 let the sections sit down and fall out at ,,bb 7,diagram ,i471 and put out the non-commissioned officers between ,,ba and ,b ,a as before4 ,call out the men by files1 tell them to work back to ,a and ,a1 one firing1 the other retiring4 ,as a rule they should retire past each other before halting4 ,the same points must be observed as in ,exercise ,no4 ,i1 and the quicker they are in movement the better1 but they must be taught to go in quick time also when so ordered 7,i4,t41 #acg 7#d774 ,for the retirement of a file as on patrol1 do exactly the same1 but you should work over six hundred yards of ground or so to correct any tendency to import the short rush into this exercise1 which would be out of place1 and also to let men have more practice in looking for suitable fire positions from which they can both fire on the enemy1 and from which they can get away when their turn comes1 a point they often neglect at first4 ,the different nature of the two exercises must be made quite clear4 ,at this exercise you should bring before your men the need of using all sorts of ruses in a retirement1 the use of rapid fire just before withdrawing1 the sham withdrawal acted by ceasing fire1 and retiring a few yards1 but only to halt and re-open fire after a few seconds if the enemy has been tempted to expose himself1 thinking the coast clear1 the real withdrawal effected so carefully that the enemy is not sure whether you are there still or not1 and so on2 and make them put their own ideas of these plans into action and tell them if they are doing what is feasible on service or not4 ,bar all 8manuvre slimness10 i4e41 anything that could not be done on service4 ,,exercise ,,iii4 ,,individual ,,training ,,in ,,use ,,of ,,fire ,,and ,,fire ,,discipline4 ,early lessons in fire discipline can be given in single rank on the parade ground1 but the open country and extended order are wanted for training men to the fullest extent under service conditions4 ,only in the open country can be got the variety of targets1 ranges and the visual training which are necessary for a complete education4 ,men must be taught1 and taught again1 that the taking up of extended order1 and movement over all sorts of ground1 in no way mean that they are to pass at once beyond the control of their unit leaders1 or that it is optional to continue to take any sort of pains with their shooting just because their non-commissioned officers cannot stand over them1 but have to shout orders from a distance4 ,this exercise consists in advancing and retiring in extended order with fire and the use of cover when halted2 but to allow for more prolonged shooting practice and closer supervision than are possible when carrying out an attack or retirement as on service1 the halts are longer and movements should at first be made in quick time4 ,put out your skeleton enemy on a good broad front1 so as to allow room for change of targets1 and do not have them all in one straight line1 so that each target shall call for a change of sighting4 ,let the sections work independently of each other under their section commanders1 who1 with the other non-commissioned officers1 will have to act both as commanders and instructors4 ,bring the sections up to about twelve hundred yards from the enemy2 get them into a line with intervals between them1 i4e41 spaces measuring from the flank of one to the flank of the other1 sufficient to admit of each section being extended to two or three paces between men without its flank men coming too close to those of other sections1 e4g41 with two sections of eight file1 i4e41 sixteen men each2 you must leave room for half of each to extend to two paces towards the other1 and keep a fair interval2 that is1 from the centre of each of the above sections of eight men in each rank you want #h #b 7half the number in the front rank7 #b 7two ranks7 #b 7two paces extension7 #af paces for the line extended and an interval of1 say1 #cj yards1 which gives #df yards between each section centre to centre4 ,now1 let the section commanders order the men to extend1 lie down1 take cover and open fire4 ,the unit commander1 the non-commissioned officer in charge of the section1 is to name the target and distance and also the rate of fire1 rapid or slow1 at all distances over six hundred yards from the enemy 7,i4,t41 #aaf 7#e771 unless it is desired on occasion to train men to do this for themselves4 ,after fire has been delivered1 direct section commanders to proceed with the exercise1 giving orders for advancing1 halting and firing1 the advance to be made from cover to cover as in ,exercise ,no4 ,i1 but in quick time4 ,yourself supervise in chief1 and tell section commanders when you want to give orders as to the firing or movement1 and let them give the executive commands1 after which you and they should pass along the lines and scrutinise each man's actions in carrying out the orders1 questioning them1 and repealing hints you may have given when telling them the object and methods of the practice1 if they appear not to be giving them effect4 ,the value of the practice depends on the orders you give as to the firing and the following are suggested3-- 7a7 ,switching the fire of all the rifles on to different parts of the enemy's position1 sometimes straight in front1 but quite as often at his extreme flanks4 ,this is to introduce the use of enfilade fire 7,i4,t41 #aaf 7#aa77 and the habit of giving support by fire to other units 7,f4,s4,r41 #aje 7#d771 by concentrating the fire on to particular targets4 7b7 ,distributing the fire laterally along the whole or a part of the enemy's front 7,i4,t41 #aaf 7#aj774 ,this may be done by giving the section a particular extent of the enemy's front1 e4g41 8from the dry tree to the gate in the hedge40 ,the section commander then allots those of the enemy1 who can be viewed within his bit of front to individual men1 or preferably files of men1 who are to treat them as their especial charge and keep on firing at them till otherwise ordered1 or till the enemy shifts4 ,of course1 if there is not enough of the skeleton enemy to give each file in the section a live antagonist 7and there won't be on your parades71 the commander must indicate bits of cover which individual men of the enemy might be expected to use and tell his men to fire at these spots4 ,this is a most important practice1 and needs a good deal of attention and application before the men get really quick at it4 ,it means1 of course1 that on service you will make it your business to allow as few of the enemy's riflemen as possible to be free of the distraction of having some bullets landing about them1 to upset their nerves and aim4 ,unless some plan is adopted to do this all along his line1 it is all too probable your men will be exposed to some accurate fire from rifles held in steady hands1 and even one rifle so held has1 to my knowledge1 caused a loss of eleven men in as many minutes4 ,this lateral distribution is rather difficult1 but it is easy1 compared with the concomitant task of spotting where the men of the enemy are hidden1 if they really try to hide1 at anything but the shortest fighting ranges4 ,the only remedy for this is for each private to carry field glasses of sorts2 you will not get them from ,government1 but if any of your men are keen enough to go in for spotting a hidden enemy for themselves with glasses and would bring their own to parade1 forbid them not1 but encourage it4 ,i have been told that in some of the yeomanry corps in the ,south ,african war nearly every trooper raised somehow and somewhere a pair of glasses--some were mother o' pearl and silver-mounted1 but did the spotting all right in spite of that4 7c7 ,passing orders and changing targets4 ,under heavy fire non-commissioned officers will not be able to move along the line1 and orders must be passed either by word of mouth or by written messages passed from hand to hand2 the former is apt to be slow1 and the orders garbled en route unless practised beforehand2 the latter is not very practical as men in action are too busy to read bits of paper or trouble themselves to see that they are passed on 7,i4,t41 #aai 7#d774 ,to practise the verbal method while the men are engaged in firing at any particular target1 give orders to one man in a low tone 7you would have to speak loud if ball cartridge were being used7 to fire at some other target1 and to pass the word4 ,the man then tells his neighbours on each side1 and yourself and a non-commissioned officer then follow the order each way1 and when a man varies it admonish him to repeat just what he got from the last speaker1 no more and no less4 ,in a little time the men will become exact in taking and passing messages4 ,this method should be confined to directions about firing2 orders for movement should invariably be given by commanders by word themselves or signal1 and men should not be allowed to repeat these1 as it may lead to grave mistakes on service1 as a signal may be seen and acted on by someone for whom it was not intended4 7d7 ,besides firing at the skeleton enemy or bits of cover1 let fire be directed at civilians who are moving about in the field of view4 ,call on some individual man by name to choose some such target1 and tell him he has to pass the word to the rest of his squad what target he has chosen and to fire at it4 ,this gives practice in target definition1 i4e41 describing its position so that other men can know just where to look for it4 ,it is not easy in a landscape devoid of noticeable objects to do this quickly1 but it is important1 as the difficulty of locating a well-concealed enemy with smokeless powder requires that every pair of eyes in the ranks should be engaged in the search till all the positions of the enemy's riflemen are seen1 and the information given to everyone in the firing line4 ,until this is done1 the affair is one of trying to neutralise aimed by unaimed fire1 a pretty hopeless task4 ,hence train your men to use their eyes for seeing and their tongues for description4 7e7 ,accustoming the men to judge distance1 and use their backsights without orders4 ,judging distance for the men as a formal practice is confined to ranges under #hjj yards1 but it does no harm to let them judge greater ranges4 ,let the unit commanders define targets to be fired at1 omitting to state the range1 and let the men judge it for themselves and fire4 ,walk up the line and see that no man forgets to adjust his backsight for the distance he estimates4 ,if possible1 have the correct ranges taken previously with a range finder1 and let the men know what they are after they have aimed4 ,each change of target gives the men a useful lesson in judging distance4 7f7 ,having put the men through all sorts of paces in the way of firing while advancing and retiring1 in quick time do the same thing again1 but with the movements in double time1 and1 in addition1 carry out the increases and decreases of the extension1 inclines and changes of direction given in ,i4,t41 #ic1 throughout insisting on the same steadiness in firing as when in quick time4 ,all this will at first probably get the men 8rattled10 and the benefit of it is that after some of it they will get over being 8rattled10 and will not let hurried orders or speed of movement interfere with deliberation and steadiness in shooting4 ,,exercise ,,iv4 ,,the ,,assault4 ,exercise ,,iii4 can suitably be wound up by a practice in delivering an assault1 as this does not take long1 and the moral may be pointed that all fire training is only a preparation for a successful assault4 ,the fixing of bayonets before assault commonly leads to a complete cessation of fire in the firing line4 ,this is quite wrong1 as such complete cessation of fire by the firing line must largely surrender for the time being that superiority of fire which facilitates the delivery of the assault 7,i4,t41 #aba 7#g771 for it gives the enemy a chance to take aim again4 ,supporting fire by artillery or infantry not in the firing line cannot be relied on when the firing line has reached assaulting distance4 ,therefore1 do not have a simultaneous fixing of bayonets1 but let one-half fix while the other fires1 and the best arrangement is evidently one that ensures a fire being kept up along the whole front and not in patches4 ,the system ,i have found most satisfactory is to fix bayonets by ranks1 the front rank fixing while the rear rank continues firing1 and then the rear rank fixing while the front rank fires4 ,it may be done by odd and even files1 or other ways1 but1 the company being organised in files1 the same men are usually in the front and rear rank1 and there is no difficulty in their remembering which they are4 ,the important thing is to adhere to one system once it is adopted1 and have it well understood by all4 ,it does not matter much if a few men fix bayonets out of turn1 so long as the fire is merely diminished and not stopped during the time bayonets are being fixed4 ,in the charge1 the men should work by their files1 i4e41 the two men of each file should act together and run at the same objective4 ,the meaning of this is that in actual conflict two men would go together for the same individual enemy1 and between the two of them they would be pretty sure to bring him to an untimely end1 if the enemy really waited for the steel1 and with less chance of his doing damage than if the combat took place man-to-man2 thereafter they could turn their attentions to some other person4 ,for the practice choose and indicate any position for assault2 work sections up to about two hundred yards from it1 and then order rapid fire and bayonets to be fixed4 ,as soon as all are ready1 order the charge to be sounded4 7,i4,t41 #abd74 ,when the men hear the bugle they must at once jump from their cover and go straight and hard at the position2 there must be no waiting by individuals to fire a last shot or two4 ,the rush should be made suddenly and swiftly1 so that the enemy has no time to see what is happening before the men are well on their way at him4 ,when the position is reached1 pass right through it and well beyond it1 to escape hostile gunfire 7,i4,t41 #abd 7#e771 and then order the 8,halt10 when the men may lie down under cover and open a pursuing fire4 ,walk along the line and see1 with the help of non-commissioned officers1 whether men of each file are together2 if so1 it will be proof that they have obeyed the directions to keep together during the charge4 ,allow a minute or two of the pursuing fire1 then let section or platoon commanders sound their whistles1 close and reform their sections under cover4 ,on the whistle-sound 7a succession of short blasts71 men rise and double to where the commander is1 resume their places1 and lie down4 ,this re-organisation is very important for you as company commander1 for by it you get your men formed up quickly into platoons and ready to be closed into company or to take fresh orders in the minimum of time4 ,the usual thing seen is that after the assault the ground is covered with a mixture of men of all companies staring about1 and apparently thinking the show at an end1 whereas on service this is the very time you may expect either a counter-attack by infantry or a burst of artillery fire directed on the lost position4 ,to repeat the orders of the assault3 8,rapid ,fire2 ,fix ,bayonets2 ,charge2 ,halt and ,take ,cover2 ,commence ,fire2 ,rally and ,close ,under ,cover10 and be ready for further happenings4 ,,exercise ,v4 ,,the ,,section ,,and ,,platoon ,,in ,,the ,,attack4 ,having trained the individual men in the work needed of them1 the next step is to make use of that individual skill to the best effect in combination under orders of a commander4 ,the section is the lowest unit recognised for training 7,i4,t41 #ajg71 and it also is the normal unit used in firing 7,i4,t41 #f 7#d774 ,when the company is advancing in the attack1 or retiring1 its sections and platoons will often be widely separated from each other1 and the company commander cannot look after each one in detail1 so that the platoon commanders1 and under them the section commanders1 must be fully competent to lead their men without supervision1 in accordance with the general intention given them before the company opened out4 ,so the training of men in combination must be accompanied by the training of your section and platoon commanders4 ,the duties of fire unit commanders are laid down in ,i4,t41 #aaf 7#e71 and those of section commanders in ,i4,t41 #aaf and #abc 7#aj74 ,before you proceed with this exercise have up these non-commissioned officers and devote ten minutes to an exposition of what is contained in the above paragraphs4 ,dilate on them1 and show how neglect of those duties hampers the company commanders4 ,at the same time1 desire them to maintain among the men during sectional exercises the standard of individual training which was obtained in the preliminary exercises4 ,unless they do so the men will soon cease to apply what they then learnt1 and so forget it in battle until the occurrence of casualties impresses its value afresh in their minds4 ,also give them the gist of what follows as to the advance and description of fire phases4 ,the exercise gives commanders the opportunity of doing what they will have to do when the company is attacking or retiring1 but without their having to keep an eye on the movements of the other platoons4 ,the men should now be extended at full intervals as on service1 five or six yards apart1 this being held to be the most that is needed4 ,put out the skeleton enemy in groups1 one group as objective of attack for each section or platoon on parade1 and the groups sufficiently apart to prevent them interfering with each other when extended as above1 for they are to act independently4 ,take up the advance as if at fourteen hundred from the enemy1 when his rifle fire on open ground would compel you to change from small columns of sections or platoons into the line of extended men 7,i4,t41 #aah 7#e774 ,the advance up to assaulting distance1 from fourteen hundred yards1 consists 7,i4,t41 #aba 7#g771 in the first place1 of an advance to fire positions4 ,now ,musketry ,regulations lay down that fire by less than two platoons is of little effect over one thousand yards1 so do not encourage commanders to open fire till one thousand yards at least1 and use the space fourteen hundred to one thousand yards for instruction in getting their sections or platoons forward as quickly1 and with as little exposure1 as possible4 ,secondly1 the advance consists of a fire fight combined with further advances up to the assaulting position4 ,in this fire fight controlled collective fire is better than individual fire 7,i4,t41 #aaf 7#g7 7iii771 so up to six hundred yards let firing take place1 only on the specific orders of commanders1 who accordingly are to name the targets and ranges4 ,in this phase therefore make them choose forward fire positions and work their units forward1 using controlled collective fire at the same time4 ,under six hundred yards it is apparently held best to accept the inevitable and allow individual fire1 the unit commanders being still responsible for getting their men forward up to the position of assault--about two hundred yards from the enemy4 ,still at this close range unit commanders should do what they can to direct the fire1 and especially they should see that men fire slowly and carefully4 ,in general the rate of firing or snapping is far too fast1 and pouches would be empty long before the assaulting position would be reached4 ,owing to the great importance of training the sections1 it is advisable to let them do this exercise1 through both the phases below1 separately from each other1 and not in platoon4 ,when they know all about it1 let them work in platoon4 ,having drawn up your sections in line at fourteen hundred yards1 order the section commanders to extend and move on1 and signal the skeleton enemy to open fire4 ,first ,phase3 ,fourteen to ,one ,thousand ,yards1 ,gaining ,ground ,without ,firing4 ,practise the section commanders in all ways of getting their sections forward without undue exposure or delay1 by rushes of the whole section1 man-by-man from one and both flanks and by files1 together1 and any other way that suggests itself4 ,stand over the section commanders in turn and tell them to advance the section by one method and then by another1 and ask them which seems most suitable for various conditions of fire and ground 7,i4,t41 #aah 7#d774 ,the advance should be steady and determined4 ,before starting the advance from one position to another1 section commanders are to decide and must tell the men to what point they mean the next advance to be made 7,i4,t41 #ajh 7#b771 in the same way as individual men were taught to mark their next halting places4 ,attention must be paid to the way in which advances are inaugurated4 ,rushes must be sudden and simultaneous 7,i4,t41 #ib 7#e774 ,the men have been trained to leave their cover quickly4 ,the unit commander must give his directions for the next move without getting up 7if himself lying7 and tell the men to be prepared2 when all are ready1 he and the men must jump up together and rush at once on the word or signal4 ,the object of this1 of course1 is to avoid a concentrated fire being directed on the unit commander1 and1 perhaps1 the two or three men nearest him1 if they get up before the others1 which would make it likely that some of them would be hit immediately1 while the rest of the unit looked for a new leader1 and so no advance take place2 whereas if everyone gets on the move together a casualty or two will not bring the whole to a standstill4 ,of course1 commanders should lead the way1 but they must get in front by sprinting the first few yards4 ,second ,phase3 ,one thousand to ,six ,hundred ,yards 7,collective ,fire7 and ,six ,hundred to ,two ,hundred ,yards 7,individual ,fire74 ,as soon as a section begins to fire1 it becomes possible for it to practise the lessons in the use of fire which were learnt in ,exercise ,,iii41 such as concentration and distribution of fire4 ,from one position the commander must choose his next fire position1 and work his section up to it in whatever way is most suitable4 ,on flat and open ground this position may simply be the halting place of the next rush1 thirty or forty paces to the front1 but it is more instructive and practical to have positions far enough from each other1 say one hundred and fifty or two hundred yards1 to necessitate the advancing section making several successive rushes and using various devices to gain ground without attracting the enemy's attention4 ,practise sections in all ways of advancing from one position to another1 as was done before firing began1 and encourage the use of covered ways4 ,this exercise1 if properly done1 represents what the section would have to do in battle4 ,for the purpose of instruction1 the unit commanders should be allowed to move about as instructors1 but when all ranks have been through the exercise and know what is needed1 you should practise it under service conditions1 and tell unit commanders to behave as if under fire2 this is important1 as it lets all see how much will be asked of the individual man under fire1 and how difficult it is to exercise any wide control4 ,for the same reason you must in this exercise begin the practice of ordering casualties of leaders1 and carry it on through the whole of the rest of the training4 ,order section commanders to be casualties1 and let the next senior man carry on1 then order that man to become a casualty1 and let the next one take command4 ,collect these casualties with you and let them go round with you1 and have for a time the onlooker's view of the game4 ,do not stint in ordering them1 but let every man be ready to take up command4 ,this readiness to assume command and to carry on the advance in spite of the absence of leaders is most valuable in battle and on parade for training1 keeps men's attention fixed on the business1 and helps to counteract disorder when companies and sections get mixed up in reinforcement in battalion attack4 ,under six hundred yards let the men use individual fire1 choosing their own targets2 at this time try to get them into the way of looking for the targets which most require to be shot at at the moment--they must be always looking along the enemy's line1 and must not acquire the paralysing habit of only seeing straight in front of themselves4 ,call on unit commanders to keep in view the question of expenditure of ammunition4 ,it is no good ordering men to snap-fire #bjj times in the course of an advance when they would only have #ajj rounds in their pouches on service1 and no means of getting more2 when blank is being used they should see that the ammunition of casualties is collected and redistributed4 ,at some time in the course of this exercise the section must be practised in improving cover as if under fire1 i4e41 working lying down4 ,the nature of the work depends on what tools you have1 but it should be attempted if possible4 ,order the section to do it when halted together in some fire position4 ,at first they will shape badly and expose themselves a lot1 but if you have time for practice they get into the way of digging in very quickly4 ,if there are stones pile up 8schanzes40 ,attention should be paid to concealment of the cover1 so as not to make it a target for the whole countryside1 and it must give cover from fire or view1 or both2 one often sees men making molehills which show up their position without being capable of stopping a bullet4 ,better not make them at all than that way4 ,wind up the advance occasionally by an assault1 as it is a mistake to let the idea take hold that the fire fight is the end of all things4 ,this1 ,i think1 is the reason that the word 8skirmishing0 has disappeared from the book of training1 as it connoted an indecisive action1 whereas the whole spirit of the present training is that it shall be directed to the delivery of an assault and the ousting of the enemy from his position4 ,scouts are the only people who may have to skirmish in the former accepted meaning of the word1 and they only do so until the firing line joins them1 or they withdraw after reconnoitring4 ,in ,platoon4 ,next work the sections together in their platoons on similar lines4 ,practise again all ways of gaining ground2 by rushes of the whole platoon1 or if one or more sections1 man by man1 and so on1 as taught to the section4 ,fire should be directed by the platoon commander1 and controlled by the section commander4 ,teach the lateral distribution of fire along a given front among the four sections of the platoon4 ,teach also the principle of covering fire1 one section being sent to make its way with every use of cover to a forward fire position1 while the remainder continue firing4 ,the first section1 on arrival at the new fire position1 opens fire1 and the others follow in due course1 one section only being dumb while the movement is in progress4 ,if there is a choice of good lines of advance it is better that sections should not follow each other on one line1 as the enemy may have noticed the move and be waiting for them4 ,,exercise ,,vi4 ,,the ,,section ,,and ,,platoon ,,in ,,retirement4 ,for the general principles of retirements see ,i4,t41 #acg4 ,the platoon1 when working with the company1 will take its turn at being the rearmost portion of the troops1 and will have the difficult task of getting away while in touch with the enemy1 but its retirement will be covered by the fire of other portions of the company4 ,on the other hand1 if a platoon or section finds itself beyond support from other troops1 as might happen often enough1 it will have to act itself as a rearguard and retire by alternate parts4 ,in both cases great advantage is gained if the position held can be vacated so stealthily that the enemy shall not be aware of its having been vacated till the defenders are well on their way to the rear4 ,for this reason it will be worth while to accustom the men to employ1 when practicable1 a procedure used in mountain warfare1 withdrawing the bulk of men first and leaving only a few quick-footed men to keep up appearances and fire as long as possible and then retiring them at speed4 ,also all men must be taught to grovel backwards on their stomachs from the crest of their fire position till sufficiently under cover1 if there is cover1 to stand up without being seen1 after which they rise and make off4 ,send out the skeleton enemy with instructions to follow up the retirement slowly1 and not to close in on the sections1 as it is easy and tempting to do this when there are no bullets in the rifles4 7a7 ,as a ,section or ,platoon ,acting with the ,company4 ,do the practice first by sections and then in platoon4 ,draw up the unit on a fire position about eight hundred yards from the enemy1 the men in extended order1 lying down1 and open fire on the enemy4 ,tell the commander to choose his next halting place and retire his unit on it1 which he should do on the lines before indicated4 ,the halting places should be chosen as far apart as two to four hundred yards2 short retirements merely prolong the time exposure to fire and should not be used unless the enemy are very close or the fire very heavy4 ,once the men are clear of the position1 they should move as fast as they can1 trusting to escape casualties1 by speed1 the alteration of range1 and the fire of the few men left on the position4 ,as a rule1 carry out all retirements at the double1 so that the men shall not be confused by the hasty movement4 ,as soon as the first party has reached the new position1 the fringe of men left on the old one should creep back and go as hard as they can to rejoin their section or platoon1 and they should be taught to judge the time of going for themselves1 so as not to 8let in0 the section or themselves1 by going too early or staying too late4 ,repeat the movement to one or two further positions4 ,it is a strenuous practice and makes demands on the men's limbs1 wind1 and willingness1 but the rearguard is the post of honour and danger4 ,order casualties of leaders from time to time1 and let the men be called to move in quick time sometimes1 which they would have to do if there were signs of unsteadiness4 7b7 ,as a ,section or ,platoon ,acting ,alone4 ,act on the same lines as before1 but let the commander run the show1 which he should be able to do1 after having done it under supervision4 ,one party 7a file or two in the case of a section1 or one or two sections in that of a platoon7 gets back to a fire position and opens fire to cover the retirement of the other4 ,in general1 it is better that both parties should not fall back on one and the same fire position2 on the contrary1 if they act on a wide front in ordinary country--say1 three hundred yards apart--their fire is equally effective1 but the enemy is broken up1 and the danger of their being outflanked or surrounded is less4 ,for the same reason it is good practice1 if the platoon is strong1 to send out groups of four or five men still further on the flanks1 and a group to precede the whole on the line of retirement by six hundred yards or so1 in order to occupy positions and deny them to the enemy1 and after one or two turns of this exercise tell the skeleton enemy to follow on harder and try to work round the flanks4 ,in this part also continue to order casualties of leaders4 ,,exercise ,,vii4 ,,the ,,section ,,and ,,platoon ,,in ,,independent ,,attack4 ,it is very important to secure the intelligent co-operation of section and platoon commanders in the operations in which their company or battalion is taking part4 ,i have read that in the ,russo-,japanese ,war the result of one of the battles--,i think at ,penlin1 #cast ,july--turned on the action of an infantry section who gained a footing on the extreme flank of the ,russian line1 and drove off the defenders in the immediate vicinity1 opened a way for the advance of the greater numbers1 and led to the outflanking and retreat of the whole ,russian force4 ,if you give your unit commanders some chances of carrying out attacks1 acting as if unsupported by other troops1 they will find themselves faced with the same problems which confront commanders of larger bodies in the attack1 and they will be more likely1 when acting in combination1 to look beyond just the limits of their own commands2 they will be led to comprehend the object of operations and the difficulties in the way1 and will become quick to seize any opportunity to further the general plan without waiting for orders4 ,it is true that so small a body as a section would seldom be formally told to attack an objective single-handed1 but there are often occasions on service when a platoon might have to carry out an attack on a small scale1 as when a few of the enemy's riflemen are making themselves unpleasant1 while not in sufficient force to do more than 8snipe10 or to require the diversion against them of a whole company4 ,though a section as now constituted is a very small unit to work with1 ,i think no excuse is needed for performing the attack with the smallest unit1 having in view the excellent training it forms for non-commissioned officers and men4 ,however1 for this practice1 it is advisable to form sections somewhat above the usual strength1 by joining two together1 so as to give at least eighteen rifles in the whole4 ,after having put the sections through the exercise1 you will1 of course1 let the platoon commanders carry out the attack with their platoons4 ,put out a skeleton enemy of three or four men for each platoon or section1 or one only for all to attack in turn1 and post this enemy in some commanding place1 with a good field of view and fire so that if possible the unit shall have twelve to eight hundred yards to manuvre over before coming to close quarters4 ,as an example1 give out the supposition that this enemy are a cavalry patrol of the enemy1 who have dismounted and are using their rifles on the company as it is on the move from somewhere to somewhere else4 ,the section or platoon is ordered to drive them off1 neutralise their fire1 or hold them in check1 in case they should be the forerunners of a greater number4 ,the enemy should begin to fire on a signal from you 7with your flag71 which you should give as you tell off the commander for the duty4 ,if the other units are to attack the same enemy in turn1 you should halt them under cover or turn them to the rear1 so as not to see too much of the method the first lot choose to carry out their job4 ,the method of the attack will depend on the nature of the ground--what suits one case may not suit another1 and there may be two or three courses open in attacking any one position4 ,the commander should accordingly look well at the ground before deciding how he will carry out the attack1 but there are certain principles common to attacks1 great or small1 which he should put into practice4 ,he should secure himself from interruption on his flanks and rear1 and he should provide a supporting fire to distract the enemy and cover the advance of his main force4 ,he cannot make large detachments or indulge in wide patrolling1 nor would such small bodies as platoons be sent off to attack if such were advisable2 but1 at least he can post a file or two on some high ground1 or1 failing that1 on one flank out of decisive range of the enemy1 i4e41 about eight hundred yards from him1 with orders to keep up a steady fire until his advance masks their fire4 ,this will prevent1 or at least give warning of1 an attempt to cut in on the rear4 ,he may also send a file perhaps two or three hundred yards to either flank1 to move parallel with his advance and prevent his being enfiladed at short range1 if the enemy should be tactless enough to avail himself of a chance of meeting the advance by a counter-attack4 ,until he sees pretty well what he has in front of him1 he should divide his party into two1 sending one to engage the enemy and keeping the other as a reserve to support the first by fire if they get into difficulties1 and to be available to carry on the attack after the other has got the enemy well busy1 either by reinforcing it directly1 or1 better still1 by continuing the advance along a fresh line leading to some position from which the enemy can be finally turned out1 either by fire or by a charge1 the first half joining in and advancing as soon as the enemy has turned his attention to the new attack4 ,both parties should keep scouts or a patrol of some sort out in front of them until the foreground is proved not to contain any hidden body of the enemy1 or until the opening of fire by their own side makes it necessary for the scouts to merge into the firing line4 ,i have seen on service a half-company go off to take post as a piquet on a long ridge2 it neglected the above precautions1 beyond having some scouts in front4 ,there were four or five of the enemy on the ridge1 and they waited till the scouts were close1 shot some down and drove the others to cover1 and then turned their fire on to the half-company1 who were also driven to ground1 and1 as there was little cover1 they were tied up till set free by some more infantry1 who had to be specially sent off to move along the ridge4 ,had the half-company moved in two portions1 the first would have contained this weak enemy1 and the rear party could easily have circled round and got on to the ridge farther along1 which would at once have caused the enemy to clear out4 ,see ,f4,s4,r41 ,i41 ,i1 as to the results of the violation of the principles of leading troops1 and as therein directed1 impress the principles taught on the minds of your non-commissioned officers1 who are commanders1 albeit only of platoons and sections4 ,,exercise ,,viii4 ,,the ,,platoon ,,as ,,an ,,advanced ,,guard ,,and ,,as ,a ,,flank ,,guard4 7a7 ,when the company is on the march1 it should always be preceded by an advanced guard--either a party of scouts1 or1 more usually1 by one of the platoons4 ,after the advanced guard comes in contact with the enemy its further action becomes either an attack to drive off the enemy1 or a defence to delay his advancing1 according to his strength and tactics2 so ,i propose here merely to indicate suitable formations of march in ordinary1 i4e41 non-mountainous country1 so that the platoons may be practised in taking them up without delay on being told off for the duty4 ,the exercise takes little time1 and can be done on the same parade as the flank guard exercise4 ,an advanced guard may come under ,are at any moment1 and to provide against surprise 7,f4,s4,r41 #fd71 its leading portions may move in extended order4 ,the duties are given in ,f4,s4,r41 #fh1 and apply quite completely to so small a body as a platoon4 ,the platoon should be divided into a vanguard and a main guard4 ,for the vanguard1 a common plan is simply to extend a section on either side of the road1 but ,i prefer to divide the section into three patrols1 or more if strength permits1 who work along in a general line--one to search the road and its immediate vicinity1 and one on each side4 ,the nature of the country regulates the breadth of ground the centre patrol can search from the road1 and the distance to which the others are sent out on each side4 ,the other sections follow as main guard1 not so close as to be at once mixed up with the vanguard if fire is opened on the latter1 nor so far as to be unable to support it quickly with fire4 ,the advanced guard is responsible for keeping touch with the main body 7the company7 7,f4,s4,r41 #fd 7#d771 but the company commander should satisfy himself that this is being done4 ,if view is restricted1 the main guard must drop a connecting file to keep connection4 ,this file must march with their beards on their shoulders1 to see what the company is doing1 and let the commander know1 and also to signal to the company1 if the platoon has had to halt4 ,if the country is open1 the commander should still tell off a file for this duty1 who will march with the platoon1 but be continually on the look-out to the rear4 ,the platoon commander ought1 of course1 to keep a watch himself1 but may have other things to attend to1 and it is well to take precautions against the platoon either getting too far in front or letting the company get too close to it1 by marching on while the platoon is investigating some suspicious locality4 7b7 ,the ,platoon as a ,flank ,guard4 ,a platoon may sometimes be used as a flank guard1 as when a small convoy is on the march with only a company or two as escort4 ,flank guards are dismissed in a few words in ,f4,s4,r41 #gj4 ,it is worth while to practise them once or twice to avoid delay in taking up the formation when the march is being started1 or in improvising a method of fighting off the enemy if he attacks4 ,represent the convoy or whatever it is by a man with a red flag to move along the road2 the platoon is then to move along parallel to the road1 and far enough off to afford protection from effective rifle fire1 i4e41 at least eight hundred yards in open country4 ,the skeleton enemy should be instructed to keep about the same distance again on the flank beyond the platoon1 and to move along parallel with it without closing in1 opening fire on an agreed signal4 ,the march formation should be on the same principles as those for the advanced guard4 ,the platoon should move in two bodies1 and patrols or scouts should precede it1 both in the direction of the march and towards the flank which is being guarded4 ,it is important to keep touch with the main body by connecting files at all times1 otherwise if the road changes direction out of view of the flank guard it may separate them too far or bring them too close to the company4 ,the method of fighting merely to hold off the enemy resembles that used by a rear guard for the same purpose1 i4e41 fire and movement by alternate portions4 ,when the enemy opens fire on your signal1 the patrol on the flank either falls back1 or the platoon reinforces it4 ,the patrol in the line of advance should still continue to precede the movements of the platoon in that direction1 and should be told to conform to its movement4 ,the platoon replies to the enemy's fire as soon as possible and begins the lateral fight--one half is sent1 if possible under cover1 to take up a fire position farther along the direction of the line of march1 preceded by the patrol1 which1 to some extent1 secures it from surprise from that direction4 ,as soon as the leading party has found a fire position and opens its fire1 the other follows it1 and either halts alongside it1 so allowing it to go off to a new position1 or continues its movement beyond it and takes up a third position to cover the further movements4 ,the latter method is the quicker1 as it saves the time of replacing men of the first party in their fire position by those of the second4 ,the exercise need not be prolonged1 as a few of these lateral movements are quite sufficient illustration to enable the men in future to take up their duty quickly4 ,,exercise ,,ix4 ,,preliminary ,,for ,,the ,,attack ,,by ,,the ,,company ,,in ,,battalion4 ,a company attacking as part of the battalion is sure to find the men of different platoons mixed up in the course of the attack with those of other platoons1 both of that company and of others4 ,before practising the attack1 accompanied with this mixture of platoons1 it is advisable to train them and their non-commissioned officers for their duties without allowing any mixing up4 ,this may be done by bringing all the platoons of the company up into one line1 and then extending each on its own ground4 ,the result is that each platoon may be taken to represent the leading platoon of four companies told off to furnish the firing line and supports 7,i4,t41 #abb74 ,the four platoons form thus the firing line1 the other three supposititious platoons of each company being in support4 ,this formation would be taken up when the enemy's rifle fire began to be effective1 i4e41 at or under fourteen hundred yards4 ,within this distance the firing line has to press on through the zones in which it uses collective and individual fire up to assaulting distance1 being reinforced as needed1 firstly by the supports1 and finally at the time of the assault by all or part of the local reserve1 which1 in this case1 would be composed of the four companies of the battalion not detailed to furnish the firing line and supports4 ,put out a skeleton enemy with orders to remain in one position1 and fire slowly1 but continuously4 ,draw up the four platoons1 or as many as are present of the company at fourteen hundred yards or so from the enemy1 in one line and at sufficient intervals to allow of their extending to five paces1 plus some space between flanks of sections after extension1 to allow plenty of choice of lines of advance4 ,indicate to each platoon a part of the enemy's position which it is to regard as its final objective of assault 7,i4,t41 #aba 7#c774 ,have the men extended to five paces1 and carry out the attack right through on the lines of ,exercise ,v41 and finish with an assault and rally after it4 ,each company would have an officer with its platoon in the firing line to direct the fire4 ,if fire is opened between fourteen hundred and one thousand yards1 it will not be effective against ordinary targets unless the whole four platoons direct their fire on the same target4 ,under one thousand yards fire should be controlled by section commanders and directed by platoon commanders4 ,practise concentration of the fire of the four platoons on one part of the enemy's line and lateral distribution of fire within the limits of that part4 ,give each platoon a fraction of this fraction of the enemy's frontage to deal with1 and let the platoon commander again tell off his sections to fire at various marks inside his limits4 ,again switch the fire of all four platoons on to some other particular bit of the enemy's position1 as done in previous exercises4 ,to do this you must introduce and work with thoroughness a system of inter-communication 7,i4,t41 #aai71 but it should be one approved and adopted by your battalion commander1 otherwise each company of the battalion may be found using a different one4 ,it is to be understood that orders as to the direction of fire in no way interfere with the gaining of ground to the front1 a platoon firing at one object ceases fire in order to advance1 but resumes its fire on the same object when it again halts4 ,as soon as section fire is opened1 encourage mutual support1 some part of the line firing while others advance1 and make section commanders continue to observe this principle4 ,at some one parade for this exercise halt the whole line during the attack and practise entrenching under fire1 the men working lying down 7,i4,t41 #aba 7#ac774 ,thereafter resume the advance4 ,move about yourself and let your section commanders do so also1 and check any slovenly work on the part of the men in using1 quitting1 or getting into cover1 and in the use of their rifles and judging distance if1 as should often be done1 it is left to them to estimate how far they are from the target of the moment4 ,,exercise ,x4 ,,the ,,company ,,in ,,attack ,,with ,,the ,,battalion ,,under ,,artillery ,,fire4 ,when the battalion is moving forward to attack1 and before the enemy's rifle fire is more than a distant and future danger1 that of his artillery becomes an imminent and formidable menace as soon as the limits of its range are crossed1 because of the suddenness with which it is capable of dealing destruction4 ,whether his artillery actually opens on the battalion is another matter4 ,if the battalion shows up as a tempting target in column of route or mass1 he most certainly will fire on it1 but if it is skilfully led it may possibly escape his notice altogether2 at the same time1 it is hardly likely that it can move from five thousand to fourteen hundred yards from the enemy's infantry without giving some indications of its movement1 and the probability is1 that at some part of the advance it will find itself the recipient of the enemy's attention4 ,to escape the effect of this fire1 the battalion and the company will have to break up into small shallow columns such as platoons or sections at least #ej yards from each other laterally 7,i4,t41 #aah7 and two hundred yards from front to rear2 in fact1 a lot of little groups of men sufficiently apart to prevent the burst of one shell covering more than one group4 ,the advance in this order constitutes the first phase of the infantry attack4 ,the company must be practised in getting into this formation1 and moving in it so as to avoid confusion in action1 and also to let non-commissioned officers and men understand that this formation does not free them from the control of their commander4 ,at manuvres and exercises the adoption of this formation is sometimes burked on various pretexts1 of which the most heinous is to say that the results of artillery fire are overrated1 and the risk run in keeping in closed formation is more than compensated for by the comfort of the men1 maintenance of control and saving of time4 ,this theory ,i fancy had its origin in the ,south ,african ,war1 where the ,boer artillery was skilful but exiguous1 if judged by ,european standards4 ,i have not been under shell fire myself1 but ,i have seen the results of it on a column of about two hundred men who came along a watercourse two thousand yards or so from the guns1 in something resembling a march formation4 ,the guns had the range1 and the enemy left about fifty dead in that watercourse in a few minutes1 so personally ,i am going to open out my company and trust to my peace training of it to keep it in hand and get it along fast enough to be on the spot when wanted4 ,i need hardly give details how to practise this4 ,the point is1 to get the company opened out quickly and without confusion1 and this is to be done by telling your platoon commanders what you want and where they are to go1 and not by any drill4 ,platoons may further split up into columns of sections4 ,leave it to your platoon commanders to have the sections moved apart to intervals of fifty yards4 ,if the enemy's artillery is straight in front1 a diamond formation seems suitable--a platoon at each angle--the length of the diagonal front to rear being over two hundred yards and side to side over one hundred2 or the platoons may simply follow each other at two hundred yards distance1 though this is not a very handy arrangement4 ,but1 subject to keeping the distances large enough1 it is not the formation that matters1 but the way it is taken up1 and ,i will leave it at that4 ,at the end of this phase of endurance of the enemy's artillery fire the company comes under rifle fire and has to take to extended order1 and on service it would perhaps have to do this and plunge into the attack without the platoons closing in from the scattered formation in which they have so far moved4 ,but for the first few times you should close up at fourteen hundred yards and start from there1 so as to tell the men what is next to be done when they come under rifle fire1 and in any case the size of your exercise ground would probably necessitate your doing the two phases over more or less the same bit of ground4 ,,exercise ,,xi4 ,,the ,,company ,,in ,,attack ,,with ,,the ,,battalion1 ,,under ,,rifle ,,fire4 ,the immediate objects of the fire fight within effective rifle range are to produce a fire sufficiently heavy to overcome the fire of the defence1 and to reach a position from which the assault can be delivered 7,i4,t41 #aba 7#e and #f774 ,in theory1 then1 the desideratum is to get so many men up to about two hundred yards from the enemy that they form a line practically shoulder to shoulder1 in order that their fire may be at least as heavy as that of the enemy1 if the latter are also in one continuous line1 and in default of circumstances admitting of effective covering fire being maintained from positions in rear or on a flank4 ,on this supposition it is frequently argued that a battalion and its companies1 when advancing to the attack1 should do so on a front not greater than that which the battalion would occupy if it were in single rank1 but this does not really follow4 ,the nature of the ground may be such that to attempt to build up a shoulder-to-shoulder firing line all along the enemy's position within charging distance1 may be merely to send men to useless destruction by exposing them on fire-swept spaces1 where they are sure to be knocked over before they can do any good4 ,on the other hand1 there may be other points where men may be massed so as to give not only a firing line of maximum density1 but also a supporting force both to replace casualties and to carry out the assault4 ,these are the points which it is of importance to gain and hold in strength sufficient to carry out the object of the attack--the assault4 ,it is the duty of the battalion commander to give each of his firing line companies some such point as their objective1 and to define the frontage and direction of their attack4 ,it is similarly the duty of the commander of a firing line company to give each of his sections an objective within the limits assigned to his company 7,i4,t41 #abb 7#d7 and #abc 7#c-774 ,the problem for solution is1 how to get to those points1 and so it does not appear to matter much what frontage the battalion and its companies occupy when they start off for the attack at the fourteen hundred yards limit of effective rifle fire1 provided of course1 they do not encroach on the frontage of other units4 ,indeed1 an attack which starts on a wide base and concentrates only in its later stages seems much more likely than one which starts from base equal to a single rank frontage to keep the enemy uncertain of its objective1 and to be able to bring oblique or enfilade fire to bear on portions of his line4 ,therefore1 when practising the company in attack1 do not be bound by cast iron rules as to the breadth of the zone of ground within which you are to bring your company from fourteen hundred yards up to the charging position4 ,four platoons following one straight behind the other1 at two hundred yards distance1 make a very unwieldy procession1 and1 in general1 ,i would advise you to use something in the nature of a diamond formation at first1 the three platoons in rear making their own way forward till they reinforce the leading portion which finally consists of the whole company4 ,put out the skeleton enemy on a front of1 roughly1 what your company will occupy in single rank1 and let the position1 if possible1 have within it two1 or at most1 three points1 which you can assign as objectives to the platoon commanders4 ,you must consider this position as having been assigned to you as objective by your battalion commander1 the ground on the right and left of it being the prey of other companies1 and not the object of your assault1 though it should1 nevertheless1 frequently be the object of your fire during the advance4 ,draw up the company at about fourteen hundred yards from the enemy4 ,tell the platoon commanders the relative positions the platoons are to take up when the advance begins1 roughly the distances between them 7,i4,t41 #abc 7#g771 the direction of the attack1 if the enemy's position is not quite clearly to be seen1 the frontage on which the company is free to manuvre1 and the points which the sections are to regard as their objectives2 the details contained in ,i4,t41 #abc and #abd1 may also be enumerated if the commanders are not experienced4 ,as regards these details1 ,i recommend that scouts be formed not in a line of men extended at wide intervals1 but as a line of patrols of four or six men each1 and you or a subaltern should halt them early in the attack and tell them to send back word that they are held up by fire1 or that they have defined the enemy's position2 on this the nearest platoon reinforces them1 and the process of building up the firing line begins from that point4 ,as regards inter-communication1 use connecting files and semaphore signalling to join up the various parts and make real use of them1 but avoid sham messages4 ,as soon as the object and manner of the attack have been detailed to all1 tell the platoon commanders to move off their platoons to their positions and extend them ready to advance1 and the scouts to get off in front4 ,five paces is the least extension to ensure that a bullet aimed at one man may miss him with a fair chance of not hitting his neighbour4 ,do not let the scouts go too far away1 because at this time of getting to grips with the enemy1 their usefulness1 when acting with their companies is mainly limited to guarding against ambush at close range1 and as ground scouts to prevent the company coming against some unseen obstacle1 barbed wire1 donga1 canal1 or what not4 ,as soon as all are in position1 the company may be considered as being in the formation in which it would have arrived at the point where1 in addition to the enemy's artillery fire1 it comes under heavy and fairly accurate rifle fire4 ,give the signal to advance1 and let the platoon commanders begin to work their platoons forward1 using what covered ways they can find4 ,after a little of this1 have the scouts halted and reinforce them by one platoon1 order fire to be opened1 bearing in mind that one platoon's fire is probably useless at over one thousand yards from the enemy1 but if your company is in the diamond formation the platoons on each flank will probably be able to fire1 and with favourable ground1 e4g41 a knoll1 or bluff somewhere on the line of advance1 the rear platoon also will be able to fire over the heads of the firing line4 ,there is no danger in this if the men hold their rifles straight1 and it would assuredly be done in war4 ,i have myself seen it1 and the chances of an accident are minimised by practice in peace4 ,during this early opening of fire use every effort to keep the fire from being merely a make-believe1 i4e41 send word round by your connecting files or semaphore to fire at certain targets1 and see that section commanders direct their fire accordingly4 ,in battle the information as to which part of the enemy's position seemed most to demand attention would1 of course1 reach you from those of your side who were suffering fire coming from that part of the position1 and the result of your passing the word to fire at it as above would be that a shower of bullets would come dropping all round it1 to the upsetting of the aim of the hostile marksmen4 ,under cover of this fire your firing line may be allowed to gain a little ground1 platoons moving alternately so as to avoid a cessation of fire4 ,thereafter continue to gain ground1 and gradually reinforce the firing line till all your supports are absorbed and the whole company is in the firing line4 ,when this has taken place the line will consist of a mixture of men of different sections and platoons4 ,avoid unreal movements in attempting to keep the men of each unit together in reinforcing and recognise that admixture is unavoidable4 7,i4,t41 #ic 7#aa7 and #abc 7#i774 ,the organising of the resultant disorder is one of the essential objects of training for the attack4 ,make your section commanders call on the men to right and left of them1 if they are nearer them than any other unit commander1 to act under their orders4 ,thus3 8,private ,a to ,private ,j under my orders40 ,have this done constantly till it becomes a matter of course4 ,the men of files can always hang together1 but prove that this is being done by asking men where their file mates are4 ,get this system started as soon as reinforcement is begun1 and keep it in full swing throughout4 ,once it is started1 these extemporized fire units must apply the principles learnt by the intact sections and squads in ,exercise ,,ix41 i4e41 supporting fire by part to cover movement of the others1 control and distribution of fire1 etc41 and so work on up to assaulting distance and deliver an assault4 ,after this1 let section and platoon commanders reform their men and units as quickly as possible1 and then reform the company under your own orders4 ,at subsequent parades introduce casualties among the section and platoon commanders1 and let the senior privates in each of the mixed up fire units step into their places and carry on the attack without halt or confusion4 ,,exercise ,,xii4 ,,the ,,company ,,in ,,attack ,,acting ,,alone4 ,on service a company may often have to attack some post of the enemy without having the support of either artillery or infantry1 and exercises framed to illustrate these conditions are very useful in developing the initiative of all ranks4 ,in paragraph ,v4 of the preamble ,i gave an example1 and ,i think1 if you will peruse it again1 you will see what sort of thing you should arrange for the exercise4 ,at inspections one sometimes sees a company sent off by itself to carry out such an attack1 and the method often adopted is to tell off the company into the firing line and supports1 and1 perhaps1 a reserve4 ,the whole then go straight for the object and perform a sort of travesty of what the company does when acting as part of a battalion4 ,by this time ,i trust you will be quick to perceive that this is just what it ought not to do4 ,as an isolated force it has to do much more than simply to form a firing line and bring off an assault4 ,it must secure its flanks1 have a real reserve1 employ a flank as well as a frontal attack1 provide for its own withdrawal if worsted1 be prepared to deal with a counter-attack1 and observe all the principles laid down in ,i4,t41 #aba4 ,mutatis mutandis1 your reserve may consist of only a platoon1 your flank guards a file or two of men1 your flank attacks a section or platoon with a subaltern accompanying it1 and so on1 but the precautions must be taken and the principles put into practice1 or your attack would run risk of failure4 ,you would do it all on service2 therefore1 do it all in peace4 ,carry out such exercises1 carefully planned1 and with observance of service conditions1 and ,i am quite sure you will see what a great deal there is to be done in this direction before you feel yourself and your company quite competent to undertake a similar task in the field4 ,that first exercise against a skeleton enemy will be the forerunner of many others4 ,your criticism of the action of your non-commissioned officers must be carefully considered1 as there are usually several justifiable ways of doing a thing1 and it should always be constructive and not merely destructive 7,t4 ,m4,r41 #b 7#b774 ,,exercise ,,xiii4 ,,the ,,company ,,in ,,retirement4 ,the men have been practised in retirement in pairs in ,exercise ,,ii41 and the sections and platoons have also learned their part in ,exercise ,,vi4 ,it remains to train the company for this duty1 which it might have to do either as acting as rearguard to the battalion1 whether the latter was1 or was not1 in conjunction with other troops1 or as if effecting its withdrawal when isolated4 ,in both cases the procedure and distribution are pretty much alike4 ,in the former case1 the company1 if it gets into difficulties1 may be able to get help from the rest of the force1 but in the latter it will not be able to do so1 and the commander should be especially careful to have in hand some portion of his company which he can use to extricate any detachment which gets 8tied up40 ,on the other hand1 it is very desirable that the main body should not be called on to reinforce the rearguard when the company is not acting alone4 ,so that in both cases you should be prepared to meet eventualities from your own resources4 ,again1 a rearguard is bound to have the majority of its force in action in order to hold back the enemy and present an appearance of force1 so that it is not always possible to set apart a portion of so small a body as a company to act solely as reserve1 and to remain continuously outside the actual combat4 ,the solution of the difficulty seems to lie in an intelligent application of the principles of rearguard fighting given in ,f4,s4,r41 #ga to #gc1 and the early but timeous withdrawal from the fighting line of a portion of the company who move back to a position in rear from which they can cover the withdrawal of the remainder1 but are still available to be thrown into the fight1 if it is necessary to inaugurate some sort of a counter attack to give portions heavily engaged a chance to break away from close grips4 ,it is important in this exercise to teach non-commissioned officers and men to be ready to adopt quickly any method of withdrawal that may be ordered1 because the nature of the ground must determine the way in which a withdrawal can best be effected1 and the nature of the ground may vary every few hundred yards4 ,therefore ,i merely suggest some ways of practising retirements1 and during the course of the exercise you should change from one to another1 and also encourage commanders to act on their own initiative1 when1 as will probably happen1 your system of inter-communication fails to act with sufficient speed and accuracy4 ,i4,t41 #acg1 gives general rules as to the action of platoons and sections1 and the standard set up in ,exercises ,,ii4 and ,,vi4 should be adhered to4 ,send out the skeleton enemy with orders to follow up the retirement1 but not to close in under six hundred yards4 7a7 ,get the whole company deployed into one line of platoons1 with intervals between them1 occupying a wide front1 four to eight hundred yards1 the men at five or more paces extension4 ,this may seem too wide a front1 but1 after all1 the intervals between the platoons are only two hundred and forty yards1 and an enemy trying to break straight through the line would be under fire at one hundred and twenty yards or less1 while a wide front is the best precaution against having your flanks turned and your retreat intercepted4 ,send back a platoon from one of the flanks to take up quickly a position in rear clear away from the firing line2 three hundred to six hundred yards is not too much2 let it open fire1 and let the remainder of the firing line work back by retirement of alternate sections1 each running back thirty or forty yards1 beginning this movement from the flank from which the first platoon went1 the platoon on the other flank holding on and only giving ground when the two centre platoons have got well on their way to the line on which the first platoon is halted4 ,this is a slow retirement1 but gives a maximum of continuous fire and the flanks are strong4 7b7 ,with the whole company extended in one line1 and no intervals between platoons4 ,retire by short rushes of alternate sections2 the rushes must be quite short1 twenty yards at most1 so that the sections that have retired can fire through the intervals of the rear portion of the line the instant that it begins to retire4 ,this is meant for use after an unsuccessful assault1 and only on flat ground4 7c7 ,with the company extended in one line1 but with intervals between the platoons4 ,order the flank platoons to retire and take post to cover the withdrawal of the two centre platoons1 who remain in position till the flank platoons are ready to open fire4 ,watch how the platoon commanders handle their platoons2 they should do so artfully1 as taught in ,exercise ,,vi4 7d7 ,retire by half-companies1 two platoons together1 using your subalterns as half-company commanders1 and putting the onus of finding suitable covering positions on them1 merely telling them to cover each other's retirement4 7e7 ,with the company all holding one position1 leave the scouts or picked men to cover the retirement by rapid fire1 and withdraw the remainder at full speed1 then cover the retirement of the scouts by the fire of the whole from a position in rear4 ,watch that the scouts creep back from their cover without letting the enemy know they are going2 and of this screen of scouts the flank men ought usually to be the last to go in order to make the enemy believe that the position is still occupied4 ,,exercise ,,xiv4 ,,outposts4 ,i4 ,the general rules for outposts and the part played by an outpost company are to be found in ,i4,t41 #adg to #aeg1 and it is necessary accordingly to train for those duties in peace4 ,let us begin from the beginning1 and see what infantry outposts are and what they have to do4 ,a line of infantry outposts will very often have to be taken up after a day's fighting1 or in close proximity to the enemy before a battle4 ,the commander of an outpost battalion will be told by the staff to take up with his battalion a certain length of the front1 say1 from ,farm ,a to ,hill ,b1 inclusive--perhaps a mile or even two in extent4 ,he cannot possibly have time to ride all along the front and fix places for piquets and sentries4 ,instead of this1 he looks at the ground and comes to the conclusion that it will require1 say1 all his four companies in the outpost line4 ,he divides up his front into four parts1 and gives each of his companies one part4 ,it is his duty to see that the eight companies form along the line that combines the best facilities for defence and reconnaissance to the front4 ,accordingly1 he tells the captain of ,a ,company to take from ,farm ,a to1 say1 the wood ,x1 inclusive1 the captain of ,b ,company from the wood ,x1 exclusive1 to1 say1 the stream ,,ml1 inclusive1 and so along4 ,the captains of companies then have to go off and take up their frontages4 ,as beforesaid1 infantry outposts must expect to take up their line close to the enemy1 and often when dusk is falling4 ,this gives you your clue as to how it should be done4 ,you must march your company in fighting formation1 so as not to be ambushed--a screen of scouts or other covering troops in front and on the flanks1 a party1 section1 or platoon ready to succour the covering party1 and hold up the enemy1 and a reserve ready to act under your orders1 either for attack or defence4 ,your movement and the taking up of your line should be unseen by the enemy2 therefore1 move carefully under cover both from distant and close positions1 from which you may be seen4 ,the line must be taken up quickly4 ,the main thing is to get it occupied2 therefore1 it is a mistake to halt the company while you plod round the whole of the front and plan just where each piquet and sentry will be4 ,instead1 take a good look at the line as you march and decide what are the essential points to be held for defence and as observation points4 ,as soon as your scouts have made good the ground a little in front of those points1 send off what you think are necessary1 sections or platoons1 to seize these points1 and act as piquets till you go round and adjust details4 ,thus your company will occupy the line in rough-and-ready fashion as quickly as they can advance4 ,when the company breaks up to go to the piquet posts1 go with any one of the piquets which is to be on one flank and settle the exact position of the piquet with reference to the line you intend to hold as your line of resistance1 and any other details which you think the piquet commander should attend to1 such as what localities should be patrolled1 and estimate the number of men required4 ,any surplus sections should accompany you from this piquet1 and you and they then go along the line to the other piquets which you arrange similarly1 using the surplus to reinforce those piquets that need them1 and if at the end you have still a surplus of men you may either form them as a support in rear or dismiss them to remain with their own platoons4 ,for purposes of messing on service the latter is convenient1 but1 tactically1 a support is often needed1 in which case the men's comfort must take second place4 ,you must make a clear distinction between day and night outposts1 though you practise the latter by daylight4 ,infantry outposts by day and until the enemy advances1 are firstly patrols and look-out men1 whose business is to look for any movement on the part of the enemy1 and to prevent his seeing their own side's doings1 and to report what they see of the enemy's1 and1 secondly1 a line of piquets who occupy the line decided on as the line of resistance1 and who may fall out and rest while things are quiet1 with supports and sometimes a reserve behind them4 ,the patrols are active agents in getting information in front of the outpost line1 and they will mostly consist of mounted troops except in close country or thick weather4 ,the look-out sentries are passive obstacles to the enemy's patrols or scouts penetrating the line2 the piquets are the reserve of force ready to be called into action when needed4 ,but a line suitable for observation and resistance by day is seldom suitable by night also4 ,fighting by day is done by shooting1 and rough ground affording cover is likely to be chosen for the advance of the attackers4 ,by night1 however1 the attack will be made with the bayonet1 and the attacker will avoid broken country1 which will confuse and delay his advance4 ,choose your outpost line accordingly4 ,by day seek for a good field of fire1 mutually supporting positions1 and good facilities for observation1 and strengthen the position you mean to fight on4 ,by night close the likely ways by which an enemy may advance by putting piquets on them in strengthened positions with obstacles prepared in front1 and patrols lying out on intervening ground to intercept scouts4 ,thus1 in an undulating hedge-covered country with many roads1 by day your piquets would be behind the crests of the undulations1 sentries only on the look-out1 and patrols scouting in front4 ,by night your piquets would be on the roads1 which they would block with barbed wire or abattis of cut hedge stuff1 and your patrols in the fields between and lying out along the road in front at some place where they could watch anything passing1 and get back to the piquet line without running risks of being shot by their own side4 ,we will see below what training is required for non-commissioned officers and men in their duties on piquet1 patrol and sentry4 ,when you have trained them in these duties1 take up an outpost line as a tactical exercise with your company1 acting as an outpost company by day1 and then as by night1 and if you have scouts send them out to act as an enemy's patrol in front to see how much of the operation of taking up the line is visible to them2 then1 after a certain hour1 let them try to make their way through the line unseen4 ,they must not work round the flanks as ex hypothesi2 these are held by other outpost companies2 finally1 let them start sniping the outposts as if ushering in an attack1 and let your piquets take up the line of resistance1 your patrols falling back on the firing beginning4 ,,ii4 ,the ,training of ,men and ,platoons in ,outpost ,duties4 ,an outpost company will more often consist of two or more small piquets of one or more platoons with a support1 than simply of one large piquet with its support1 so that when you come to train the whole company1 as above1 in taking up a part of an outpost line1 the performance of the work will depend largely on the ability of your platoon and section commanders to direct the men in their duties4 ,unless they are capable of doing this1 time will be wasted as you will be occupied with one portion of the line while the rest are doing nothing and awaiting your arrival1 for in this class of work the instructor must remain for some time with each piquet while the men are being put through the various duties1 and cannot supervise concurrently at all points4 ,therefore1 it is best1 before taking the men out for instruction1 to give a day or two solely to the instruction of subalterns and non-commissioned officers4 ,when they have got a knowledge of what is required1 have the men out1 divide them into piquets under subalterns and section commanders1 who will put them through the duties1 and the work will go on on proper lines1 and you will be free to go round and supervise each in turn4 ,you will have four subalterns1 sixteen section commanders1 and other non-commissioned officers1 a total of twenty rifles or so1 but if you are short of non-commissioned officers1 have out enough privates to give you sixteen or twenty rifles4 ,form them up as a piquet and make the supposition that it has just received its orders to break off from the company and go to a certain point in the outpost line and take up its duties there4 ,day ,piquets4 ,indicate some such point as a day piquet position at a reasonable distance from where the piquet is when you give it its orders1 and let the senior non-commissioned officer march it there1 as on service1 the point chosen being1 if possible1 such a one as would be occupied on service4 7a7 ,this advance to the piquet is the first duty4 ,in spite of the company covering troops being supposed to be somewhere in advance1 the piquet on its march should be protected by a small patrol 7,f4,s4,r41 #fd 7#a774 ,in taking up the position1 it must not let the enemy see it2 that is1 neither the men nor their commander should show themselves4 ,very often the men are kept under cover1 but the commander wanders about fixing places for sentries in full view of everyone4 ,he should lie down and peep over the crest or whatever it is while making his plans4 ,having arrived at the piquet position1 indicate a position on the right and on the left where other piquets are supposed to be and proceed with3-- 7b7 ,duties of outpost sentries4--,these are given in ,i4,t41 #aeb4 ,post as many groups as will use up the whole strength in places which would need watching on service2 if there are not enough such places near by1 then merely for the purpose of this semi-drill1 post two or more groups close together4 ,a group consists of one or two men on duty1 and their reliefs1 who lie down near them4 ,these groups are relieved every eight or twelve hours4 ,let it be understood that the position of their own piquet is occupied by the reliefs of these groups and of patrols1 and it is a good plan to show the position by a flag4 ,the sentries must see without being seen1 know where other groups are1 where their own and other piquets are1 be told to challenge and halt anyone approaching as in ,i4,t41 #aeb 7#c71 and what to do if attacked4 ,let them do this to you personally1 as if you were someone not belonging to the troops1 and impress on them that they must be careful to teach it to their men so that no stranger may ever be allowed to get close to a group1 and to shoot if he does not halt4 ,neglect of this simple rule has led to many mishaps in all armies4 ,concealment is not easy1 but must be got somehow--by artifice1 if the ground is unfavourable4 ,after putting all through 8sentry go0 close to the groups and teach them3-- 7c7 ,patrolling1 for which see ,i4,t41 #aaa and #aef4 ,patrols are not meant for fighting1 but to get information or watch dangerous places4 ,but they may have to fight to avoid capture1 and they do no good by walking blindly into an ambush4 ,to bring back information or news that the enemy are coming on1 it is evidently essential that whatever happens to the rest of the party1 one man at least should always be able to escape1 and to avoid ambush the patrol should move in a formation which will prevent a surprise overwhelming the whole party4 ,in short1 one portion must scout1 and the other be prepared to cover their movement and help them to get away1 if possible1 but in any case to get away itself and carry news of the enemy4 ,but patrols must be limited in strength1 or they will not be able to escape notice1 and must make up for their weakness by cunning and stealthiness of movement4 ,for patrolling by day1 tell off the whole strength into patrols of four or six men1 one of whom will command in each patrol4 ,let each take up the formation it would usually adopt2 that is1 one or two files in advance1 followed by the rest at a distance sufficient to prevent the surprise of the whole by one and the same opening of fire4 ,teach the method advocated for movement across country1 i4e41 a careful but rapid advance from one cover to another1 also how to approach suspicious localities4 ,the leading file halts and looks for any signs of the enemy2 meanwhile the rear file comes nearly up to it2 the leading file then moves forward while the rear file lies down with rifles loaded and sighted1 ready to fire at once to cover the others if the enemy shows himself4 ,if the locality to be searched can be outflanked1 the leading files should move round one or both flanks before closing in on it4 ,if it is one that cannot be outflanked1 as1 for instance1 a straight edge of a large wood1 they should approach it under cover1 creeping up a hedgerow perhaps1 and so get inside4 ,if there is no cover they may try some ruse to draw the enemy's fire before getting too close1 halting as if they had seen something1 shading the eyes with the hand1 pointing and then starting to run back as if alarmed1 which might lead the enemy to open fire to prevent their escape4 ,but it is rather hard to get men to do this play-acting unless there is a real force of 8,blue0 or 8,red0 enemy against them4 ,the commander of the patrol1 when approaching any place1 should tell his men what they are to do if it is seen to be held by the enemy1 i4e41 to lie still and watch1 or retire4 ,if the latter1 he should fix some place in rear where the patrol could rally after getting out of harm's way4 ,show them how to look over a ridge1 wall1 or hedge1 without attracting notice1 taking off their headdress and raising the head slowly1 keeping the rest of the body carefully under cover1 and also to move unseen1 keeping in the shadow of hedges or roadside trees1 and covering up any polished metal work of their uniform2 to lie up on any place that commands a good view1 and look long and carefully all over the country to catch sight of anything4 ,finally to report what they see1 and to do this at once1 if there is need1 by sending one1 or better1 if the patrol can spare them1 two men back to the piquet with a written report1 the rest still remaining in observation4 ,without having an actual force opposing you1 you can only do this exercise with some appearance of reality by giving out verbal situations to the patrol4 ,thus3 8,go and reconnoitre that wood which an enemy may be holding40 ,on this the patrol would get into formation and move forward4 ,then1 when approaching the wood1 8,you have seen small parties of the enemy beyond the wood both on its right and left1 and they are perhaps in the wood also2 try and get into it unseen10 if there is any cover1 or1 if not1 8show what you would do to draw their fire before getting close40 ,then 8the wood is held by the enemy1 withdraw your patrol if you can40 ,as the patrol attempts to retire 8a heavy fire is opened on you as you retire1 showing that there is at least a company in the wood1 your first duty is to send news of this to your piquet--how and whom would you send1 and how would you frame your message80 7d7 ,duties on piquet4--,close the platoon and take it to the place where the piquet is to be4 ,a piquet on arrival at its position has at once to strengthen the position against attack1 and this without waiting for orders 7,i4,t41 #aea 7#d774 ,but as we are here only training the non-commissioned officers in their duties we will not ask them actually to dig trenches or make loop-holes and entanglements2 indeed1 this1 as one may term it1 executive work1 has its proper place in 8,defence40 ,bearing in mind1 then1 that we are dealing with a day outpost1 ask or show the platoon how to strengthen the position4 ,bring out a few picks and let them spitlock on the ground the lines of any trenches that might be needed1 paying great attention to the siting of the trench so that fire could be brought over all the ground in front4 ,let them indicate with exactness where and how they would improve and adapt existing cover4 ,great regard need not be had to the number of men in the piquet1 as outposts1 if attacked1 should make as much show of force as possible1 and it does good and not harm if there are alternative loop-holes facing in different directions2 also accommodation must be provided for the support4 ,the commander should look for ground outside the outpost line from which enfilade rifle or artillery fire might be brought to bear on him1 and mark how he would protect his men from it by traverses1 breaking the line of loop-holes into short lengths1 keeping under lee of existing cover and so on4 ,the strengthening of the piquet must be done with the aid of common-sense4 ,it will seldom be enough to propose to dig one bit of trench all in one piece and hope the enemy will be good enough to come and knock his head against it4 ,cover may be made or adapted in several separate groups1 if this is needed1 so as to make it possible to bring fire to bear on any part of the ground in front4 ,the piquet must be prepared to make as brave a show as possible1 therefore the commander1 while strengthening the point near which his piquet is to rest1 must decide what he will do if attacked4 ,probably there will be within the limits of his piquet's frontage one or two other points which might be useful for defence1 and he must not expect attack just from one direction4 ,with regard to such alternative positions he should settle when and how he will use them1 and whether he can afford time and men to strengthen them1 and1 last but not least1 whether he will be able to get men from one to the other if the enemy does develop a strong attack4 ,if he can do all these he will have added immensely to his power of defence1 provided he handles his men skilfully1 as he will be able to hold one position till the enemy thinks he has defined its location1 then dodge to another1 while they will go on firing at the old one1 and so make his piquet appear many times stronger than it is4 ,concealment of the defence is very important1 and the non-commissioned officers should be reminded that this must be attended to4 ,they may forget it as there is no actual digging4 7e7 ,duties in ,piquet4--,the position of the piquet and alternative defence positions having been fixed1 and trenches or other defences marked out on the position1 and on the alternative positions if any1 assemble the platoon at the piquet and show the non-commissioned officers how to tell off reliefs and other duties4 ,each group furnished by the piquet consists of three to eight men1 and mounts one or two men as sentry1 as the circumstances of the post require 7,i4,t41 #aeb 7#c771 the sentry1 single or double1 being relieved in turn by the others of the group4 ,the whole group is under command of the senior soldier or a non-commissioned officer4 ,the men who are to form the reliefs of the groups stay with the piquet1 which usually is composed solely of the reliefs of groups and patrols4 ,extra men who have no specific duties are not advisable unless the position is very exposed4 ,suppose your group sentries are single1 and the groups of three men each1 and relieved every eight hours1 then for every group posted and in position there will be six men in the piquet resting and waiting their turn1 each group thus needing a total of nine men--three out1 six in4 ,patrols start from the piquet or support1 as the commander of the company directs1 and the piquet commander may send them out on his own initiative1 if he thinks it needful4 ,as they are practically all on duty as long as they are out1 a turn of four hours is enough for them1 or1 rather1 a third of the daylight time4 ,take your patrols from this piquet to be four strong1 there will be for each patrol eight men in the piquet and four out on patrol1 a total of twelve needed to furnish each patrol4 ,in telling off a piquet on the above conditions of relief1 and before dismissing the men to rest1 the commander must pay attention to two main points4 ,firstly1 he must tell off the reliefs1 and give each relief a place to rest in4 ,men on outpost are usually tired and need all the rest they can get1 especially if they are up all night4 ,therefore reliefs should be kept together and rest in one place1 so that the commander can find them at once without stirring up the others to see who's who4 ,secondly1 the men must be told off to alarm posts1 which they are to occupy in case of attack--each relief and each man of it should be given a position on the entrenchment which he is to hold4 ,to ensure that they will do this at once and without confusion they should be made to go to these places and occupy them before being dismissed4 ,there will then be no needless running about with consequent casualties if fire1 either of artillery or infantry1 suddenly opens4 ,say you have sixteen rifles 7non-commissioned officers and others7 in your instructional piquet give out that it is to furnish-- #a ,sentry over the piquet4 #b ,groups of three men each1 ,nos4 #a and #b4 #b ,patrols of four men each1 ,nos4 #a and #b4 ,the sentry over the piquet alone being actually posted1 the two groups and two patrols being supposed to be out in front1 as this part of the lesson is only concerned with the inside work of the piquet1 and you have already shown them this work on sentry and patrol4 ,as your strength is not sufficient you must make a further supposition1 and make believe that for the reliefs of the groups one of your rifles represents three1 and for those of the patrols one rifle represents two4 ,appoint one of the non-commissioned officers in turn as commander1 and let him tell off accordingly4 #c ,rifles for piquet sentry1 one of whom he actually mounts4 #a ,rifle 7representing three7 as second relief1 ,no4 #a group4 #a ,rifle 7representing three7 as third relief1 ,no4 #a group4 #b ,rifles 7representing two each7 for second relief1 ,no4 #a patrol4 #b ,rifles 7representing two each7 for third relief1 ,no4 #a patrol4 ,and a similar number for ,no4 #b patrol and ,no4 #b group4 ,having told off these reliefs the commander should then tell them where they are to have their resting places and where their posts are in case of alarm4 ,at this time also he would give out any special orders which concern the piquet4 ,then without dismissing the men he should order them to go to their resting places1 and as soon as they are there order them to occupy their alarm posts1 which should be done in double time1 the men lying down on the places that have been marked out for entrenchment or improvement of existing cover4 ,make this falling in on alarm posts a standing order in the company4 ,after this has been done1 and each man knows exactly what he has to do on the alarm1 the men should be dismissed to their resting places1 which1 as before said1 should be separate for each relief and apart from each other4 ,after being dismissed1 the men would on service be allowed to make themselves as comfortable as possible4 ,other duties of the piquet commander are3-- 7#a7 ,the opening of communication with piquets in right and left and the support4 7#b7 ,the fixing of places for purposes of nature4 7#c7 ,the arrangements for getting up food to his men if they have not their rations with them4 7#d7 ,keeping his piquet in a state of readiness2 besides keeping accoutrements on1 the men should have their rifles at their sides when resting1 and take them with them wherever they go4 ,there should be no such thing as piling arms on outpost4 ,night ,piquets4 ,in the dark the bullet is a fool unless fired at close quarters4 ,no practicable amount of shooting1 even at only a hundred yards distance1 will dislodge determined men posted under cover1 and a serious attack must be made with the bayonet or by shooting within the distance at which a man may be distinguished--ten yards or so4 ,f4,s4,r41 #ach 7#b71 lays down for the ,british ,army that the bayonet only is to be used in night attacks1 and we may assume that any civilized army we may have to meet will pursue similar tactics4 ,aerial reconnaissance may nowadays allow an enemy to locate the position held by the main body of his opponent1 in spite of its being covered by outposts1 but such reconnaissance does not admit of any hope of a successful night attack being made on that main body by eluding or passing through the outposts1 because the surface of the ground cannot be sufficiently searched from above to discover the small obstacles which must be avoided or known if the advance of a large body of men is to be carried out at night4 ,so we may take it that now1 as formerly1 any large attack will fall first on the outposts1 supposing1 as we must1 that these are placed so as to hold or watch all possible lines of advance4 ,in addition to this1 outposts must expect isolated attacks made against one or two points held by them which the enemy desires to gain possession of4 ,the duties of outposts by night are1 then1 to hold and defend the outpost line in sufficient strength to prevent any large body of the enemy breaking through1 or getting a footing in some tactically important position on the line1 and also to prevent the enemy's scouts from getting through and making observations1 and1 lastly1 but of most importance1 to get news of the enemy both as a means of forestalling any attack1 and for the use of the force commander in framing his plans4 ,bringing the matter down to the level of a piquet of an outpost company1 it seems to resolve itself into night patrolling and night defence of a position4 ,as before pointed out1 enclosed country allows of piquets closing the lines of advance by which large bodies can only hope to move undiscovered1 while intervening ground can be searched by patrols4 ,on the other hand1 open country leaves the front vulnerable everywhere1 and calls for a greater number of piquets and closer patrolling than are needed by day4 ,of course1 elementary instruction in these duties must be carried out by daylight to allow of supervision2 so now assemble your platoon of non-commissioned officers and give out that you are going to practise night work4 ,choose some place for your night piquet1 realistic as may be1 a bridge1 a cutting1 or anything else that constitutes a defile or otherwise blocks a likely line of advance from the enemy's direction4 ,also choose1 and point out to the platoon1 positions where the adjoining piquets on the right and left would be4 ,give out the following instructions to the non-commissioned officers3-- 7#a7 ,piquets must take up their night positions when it is getting dusk1 the strengthening of the piquet and construction of obstacles being done in advance1 secretly if possible1 and towards evening the working party should withdraw and leave the intended night position empty till it is time to move into it1 further work being completed by twilight4 7#b7 ,the provision of obstacles is more necessary than entrenchment1 as securing the piquet from being rushed while completing the latter4 7#c7 ,men must rest on their alarm posts1 and bayonets may have to be kept fixed by all1 if there is a possibility of a sudden attack 7,i4,t41 #aea 7#g771 to ensure instant readiness4 7#d7 ,all piquets must stand to arms one hour before light and remain ready for action till the patrols have found that there is no sign of an immediate attack4 ,when relief takes place in the morning1 night outposts will not return to camp till the patrols report all clear4 ,after this1 let the non-commissioned officer in command withdraw the piquet from its day position and march it to the night position4 ,on arrival ask the non-commissioned officers in turn where they would place the piquet exactly and where they would put their obstacles4 ,obstacles for a night piquet should be under close fire1 i4e41 ten or twenty paces1 but1 in addition1 booby traps and alarms may be placed further in front4 ,barbed wire is the best of all obstacles4 ,the actual defensive measures to be taken do not differ from those taken for the defence of any position not on outpost4 ,the position of the piquet and obstacles being decided on1 let the non-commissioned officers mark on the ground the actual work they would undertake1 having regard to the time available1 which you should tell them1 and1 on the same lines as for the day piquet1 let them as commanders in turn divide the men into reliefs of sentries and patrols1 tell them off to their alarm posts1 and order them to occupy them once as if on alarm4 ,a piquet by night1 no matter how well entrenched1 has a very limited field of action4 ,even with most carefully arranged night rests for the men's rifles its fire effect is small except at close ranges1 and to resist attack by relatively larger bodies it must in general keep behind its defences4 ,hence a well organised scheme of patrols is necessary to supplement the passive opposition which the piquet can offer4 ,the patrols are charged with the duty of bringing news of any advance of the enemy to attack1 and1 if he is close enough1 of spying out his movements on and within his outpost line1 of preventing his patrols or scouts penetrating their own line1 of watching any localities which are of particular importance and unoccupied by piquets1 such1 for example1 as villages beyond the outpost line which the enemy might try to occupy by night1 and1 lastly1 of keeping up communication between the various bodies of the outposts4 ,the strength of patrols is limited by the necessity of their being able to do this work without making a noise1 and a strength of three to eight men is advised4 ,a patrol performs its duty of observation either by going from point to point1 or by watching one particular place1 when it is called a 8standing patrol40 ,if a piquet posts any group sentries by night1 away from the piquet1 such groups have just the same work as standing patrols1 except that they may be ordered to maintain their position in case of attack as they are near support1 whereas patrols would fall back as soon as they had made sure the enemy was advancing1 and possibly1 if in accordance with their instructions1 after treating him to a short burst of rapid fire4 ,an ordinary patrol will also have to halt and listen perhaps for long periods1 and so becomes for the nonce a standing patrol4 ,form up the platoon at the piquet position1 and let the commander tell it off into three patrols to practise this duty1 disregarding reliefs1 all three to be sent out at the same time in different directions1 one man in each to be commander4 ,before they start off1 tell them the following1 which piquet commanders must see to3-- 7#a7 ,if there is no countersign published for the force1 piquet commanders must arrange either a word or a sign by which men may know their own side in the dark4 7#b7 ,patrols going out are to tell the nearest sentry which way they are going 7,i4,t41 #aef 7#e774 7#c7 ,for patrols a code of signals should be arranged1 e4g41 a hiss or half-whistle1 to call attention1 answered by the same to show that the man called has heard it1 followed by the signal1 whatever it is3--a double hiss for 8come up to me10 a click of the tongue for 8retire10 but anything will do provided it cannot be clearly heard much further off than the listeners for whom it is intended1 and is neither a very common nor a very uncommon sound4 7#d7 ,the piquet commander must tell patrols how long they are to stay out and any places he thinks must be visited1 in addition to what they themselves may find advisable1 on closer acquaintance with the ground4 ,a suitable formation for a night patrol of six men would be four in the advanced party1 followed at ten to fifty paces by the rear party or two4 ,the reason for the stronger party being ahead is1 firstly1 that fighting at night begins with suddenness and ends rapidly1 while reinforcement of one party by another is slow and uncertain1 and1 secondly1 to ensure that some part of the patrol may have a good chance of getting away with news1 whatever happens to the rest3 ,bayonets should be fixed and rifles sloped on the right shoulder1 the right hand holding the small of the butt so as to come to the charge at once1 and not to have any chance of a rifle falling on the ground4 ,tell patrol commanders to get their patrols into formation and practise movement in silence along a road and on ordinary road4 ,if along a road1 let them move on each side of it1 off the metal on the roadside grass or dust1 and under trees or close to the hedge or wall4 ,on ordinary country the ball of the foot should be put down first as if to feel the surface1 before putting the full weight of the body on the advanced foot4 ,a stick or broom-handle1 la 8boy scout10 is invaluable in moving over unexplored ground1 as by it the real nature of objects dimly seen at one's feet can be made out1 and awkward spills thereby avoided4 ,the movement of patrols under these conditions will be very slow over any but quite level ground4 ,as the patrols move let them practise the code of signals1 halting1 advancing1 coming up into one line1 etc41 also the keeping up of communication by one file moving back and forward between the two parts of the patrol4 ,they should practise also breaking up and scattering as if attacked by overwhelming numbers1 each individual getting away as quickly and quietly as possible1 and the whole rallying again at some place in rear4 ,the patrol commander as he goes out must fix these rallying places1 usually one is enough over the whole of a patrol's beat1 and they should be outside the outpost line4 ,have the patrols moved so that on their beats they may meet each other once or twice1 and use the sign to reply when challenge is made4 ,as a second practice1 direct one of the meeting patrols to consider itself hostile1 and let the commander of the other patrol excogitate how he would deal with men who did not stand fast on being told to halt and could not give the countersign4 ,next tell the patrols to get into position to watch various localities1 a farm steading1 a ravine1 or such like1 as they would have to do for limited periods as patrols reconnoitring on their beats1 or for the whole night as standing patrols4 ,one of the best ways in which patrols can fulfil their office is by halting and listening with ears near the ground for sounds of human movement4 ,there is no rule for thus lying up except that they must not get caught themselves4 ,a couple of men should be left quite clear of the patrol to get away if the others strike trouble1 and the commander of the patrol should have word passed to these two from time to time that all is well with the rest1 or they may wait in their place while the others have been quietly downed4 ,lastly1 let patrols return to the piquet1 and learn how to approach without getting themselves fired on1 or causing useless alarm4 ,a good way is for two of the patrol to advance a few steps at a time when near the piquet1 halting and quietly code-signalling the piquet sentry till they get ,his attention and warn him that the patrol wants to come in4 ,it has taken longer to write about outposts than it may take you to put your men through them1 and ,i have purposely been discursive because a knowledge of what is needed from outposts is more important than any set exercise1 and also because this duty is the one which newly raised troops are most likely to perform negligently1 and at the same time the one which1 if neglected1 allows the enemy to bring raw troops to quick demoralisation4 ,i have also purposely written as if unlimited ground were available1 and1 speaking generally1 ,i think it is4 ,you can1 and should1 practise your piqueting and patrolling on the ordinary countryside1 with its main and bye-roads1 paths1 fields1 and hedges4 ,the practice of outposts when piquets are not entrenched1 causes no damage1 so that leave to move over the fields should not be hard to get1 but even if it cannot be got1 the principal and most important work of patrolling and watching all roads and paths1 will be done on the ground on which they would be done on service4 ,if fighting ever takes place in ,britain1 which ,heaven forefend1 outpost lines will be along the ordinary country and not on ,salisbury ,plain1 so do not go into wild and desolate places for your outposts1 but take the ordinary country round where you are4 ,,exercise ,,xv4 ,,defence4 ,the subject of defence is treated of in ,f4,s4,r41 #ajg-aaj1 ,i4,t41 #abe-ace1 and in ,chapter ,,vii41 ,m4,f4,e41 #aiaa4 ,the duties required of the company commander and his subordinates are briefly defined by ,i4,t41 #acb1 to be similar to those they carry out in the attack4 ,the whole spirit of the regulations is that the active ,defence is merely a means to an end1 viz41 the ultimate assumption of the offensive1 which may be carried out either by the same troops which have acted on the defensive or by fresh troops detailed for the purpose4 ,in both cases the troops that have acted on the defensive must be ready to become the aggressors4 ,therefore1 in training your men1 you should keep this constantly in view and conserve a spirit of aggressive mobility4 ,men must not be allowed to think that once a position has been taken up and entrenched it is to be their location till fighting ceases2 on the contrary1 they should be encouraged to look for opportunities while still on the defensive1 to occupy alternative positions which will make the task of the attacking enemy more difficult4 ,quickness in seizing and strengthening a position must be combined with mobility in leaving it to take up and strengthen a new one4 ,of course1 the time available regulates the work that can be undertaken 7,m4,f4,e41 ,,vii4 7#b772 deep trenches and concealed head cover cannot be made with an enemy pressing in to assault1 but the first requirement is the ability to choose positions that give a good field of fire and to strengthen them as thoroughly as the time available and the proximity of the enemy admit4 ,in dealing with a company1 the onus of choosing what localities it is tactically necessary to occupy and strengthen rests with the company commander1 subject to the orders of his battalion commander4 ,in the same way as on outpost1 you will be given a bit of ground to defend1 either acting with the battalion or as an isolated company1 and the rest will be on your head4 ,i do not propose to deliver a treatise on the tactical occupation of ground1 but instead ,i will ask you to procure and read two books4 ,the first is 8,the ,defence of ,duffer's ,drift10 by ,backsight ,forethought 7,w4 ,clowes and ,sons71 the second is 8,a ,staff ,officer's ,scrap ,book10 by ,sir ,ian ,hamilton 7,edward ,arnold74 ,they are both most readable books1 and are quite free of soporific effects4 ,the first is small1 and deals with the efforts of a half-company1 under ,lieutenant ,b4 ,f41 to defend a drift over a ,south ,african river4 ,in the second the author takes you along with him through the ,russo-,japanese ,war1 of which he was a privileged spectator1 and in your journeyings you look on at victories and defeats in the making1 while the causes that led to them1 great and small1 are set forth1 along with many shrewd comments on human nature and how it translates itself in the day of battle4 ,every fight bears its own lesson of what to do and what not to do in defence1 and this told in no pedantic strain1 but with the saving grace of humour1 to mitigate the darker side of human carnage4 ,read them both1 get to yourself the wisdom and understanding with which they are filled1 and you will know how to take up a position for defence4 ,having educated yourself to choose the points of a defensive position that must be occupied if the position is to be effectively held1 you have still to train your men to the work of defending them1 and they must learn to be able to do without the help of a supervising officer1 as will often be the case on service4 ,daylight defence is almost entirely a matter of fire1 the immediate object being to make it impossible for the enemy to come to close quarters4 ,platoon and section commanders then must be able to dispose their men with this in view to the best advantage within the limits of the ground allotted to their units1 and the men must be able to site their trenches or whatever form of cover has to be constructed so as to use their rifles to the best effect4 ,it is no good to teach men to dig trenches and make loop-holes unless they know the proper places for them4 7,m4,f4,e41 #ah 7#g774 ,at the same time1 practice in digging and the use of tools is very necessary for men who are not accustomed to such work4 ,the hands of the untrained man blister and his muscles tire under the unusual effort1 while he expends much energy with results small in comparison with what he can accomplish once he has learnt to use his strength well4 ,moreover1 a certain amount of technical skill is required in making any but the most simple cover4 ,to practise the execution of work1 you must have ground which you are at liberty to turn up1 as well as some materials for loop-holes and obstacles4 ,these may not be obtainable at any and every parade1 but you can give practice in the selection and siting of trenches on any bit of country without causing damage1 the men merely spitlocking or marking with stones or anything else the position of the trenches on the surface of the ground1 and describing what they propose doing4 ,i would1 therefore1 advise that you make your training consist of two parts1 firstly the siting of trenches and the planning by unit commanders and men of defensive work1 the choice and occupation of alternative positions1 and the assumption of the offensive from the defensive1 all this without actually breaking ground1 and1 secondly1 ground and tools being then available1 the performance of a course of making real cover and obstacles4 ,but the first part cannot be carried out unless the men have a knowledge of what trenches1 loop-holes and so on are like1 and the objects with which they are made4 ,in a company of raw recruits taken from the populace at large1 there will be plenty who have no ideas on the subject at all4 ,you must then precede your exercises either by a short lecture1 materials for which you will find in plenty in the 8,defence of ,duffer's ,drift10 and the manuals of training1 or1 better than a lecture1 by showing them specimens of entrenchments made by regular troops4 ,the main points to insist on are the securing of a field of fire1 the necessity of concealment of the defences1 the importance of head cover as a help to the delivery of an accurate fire by letting men keep the enemy in view without showing up themselves1 the avoidance of enfilade fire by making traverses1 or by taking advantage of intervening high ground1 the provision of cover from downward shell fire by making the trenches deep and steep enough to let men stand close up to the edges1 and1 in the case of isolated posts and points held as pivots of a position1 the necessity of preparing an all-round defence so that these pivots will be able to continue fighting whatever happens on the intervening ground4 ,the course of work actually performed for the second part should include digging all kinds of trenches1 by which the men will learn to use their tools to the best advantage1 and their hands and muscles will become hardened1 the use of the excavated earth to form parapets and parados 7cover from fire from the rear of the trench2 forty inches of earth are needed to keep out a bullet71 the drainage of trenches1 the making of traverses against enfilade fire1 the making of loop-holes and head-cover with the aid of all sorts of materials1 sand bags1 brushwood and heather1 straw and twigs1 stones and bricks 7which must be covered with earth to deaden the effects of splinters71 packing boards1 and so on1 the concealment of trenches and loop-holes so as to be invisible to the enemy 7this is of great importance71 the masking of loop-holes when not in use to prevent light showing through1 the making of dummy trenches and loop-holes to draw the enemy's fire away1 the improvement of existing cover1 such as loop-holing walls and the use of hedges with or without ditches1 making sangars1 if stones are available1 the making of obstacles of barbed and plain wire1 and measuring and marking of ranges round a position1 which should be done by some means not obvious to the enemy1 and clearing the field of fire4 ,it will seldom be practicable to obtain subjects for practical demonstration of some of the latter in peace time2 people will object to their walls being experimented on or their shrubberies laid low1 and so even here a description of the method will have to be substituted for actual performance4 ,for night defence the construction of night rests for rifles is needed4 ,the best ,i know is a packing case1 filled with earth1 with the front and rear edges notched to hold the rifle stock4 ,the magazine is laid hard up against the outside of the rear edge and the notches1 front or rear1 slowly deepened with a penknife till the sights bear on the target2 afterwards earth is banked up outside the box and head-cover made above4 ,the foregoing may seem a formidable list1 but they are things that will undoubtedly be required as soon as you get on shooting terms with an enemy2 while if you exhaust this list and feel the want of further occupation1 the ,engineering ,manual will supply you with further subjects for your activities4 ,pending your getting facilities of ground1 tools1 and materials to execute work1 you can proceed with the first part of training outlined above4 ,if your non-commissioned officers have not had experience1 take them out as an instructional section in the same way as when teaching outpost work1 and put them through the exercises which follow4 ,but if they are already fairly competent1 take the men on parade1 forming them1 if possible1 into not less than two sections4 ,instruction in ,siting ,trenches4 ,choose any position on undulating ground1 form the men in extended order in one line in rear of it1 and order them to move up1 and mark where each would place his trench in order to fire on an enemy advancing from the front4 ,in doing this it should be an invariable rule that men must lie down1 bring the rifle into the firing position1 look along the sights1 and move forward or back till they see that they have got the best position to sweep the ground in their immediate front 7see ,m4,f4,e41 #ca 7#c774 ,dead ground close to the trench gives the enemy a place in which to collect and organise an assault4 ,take the men in the same way on to other positions and repeat the lesson till they all understand that the first thing to be done is this aiming with the rifle to secure a good field of fire4 ,at first halt them close to what you see is the best line1 and afterwards halt them thirty or forty yards from it1 and then give the order to choose sites4 ,for instance1 halt them on the top of a convex slope and let them find out that the best place to bring fire on to flat ground at its base is somewhere on the enemy's side of the convexity1 for if the trench were made on the top of the slope the ground immediately in front would be hidden by the convexity4 ,the section commanders must help the men in choosing sites4 ,after the men have fixed and marked the proposed sites1 let them lay down their rifles three paces in rear and kneel or lie down at the rear edge of the site as if waiting to commence work while you and section and platoon commanders go round and examine the line4 ,ask details from the men--how high they would make the parapet1 how thick it should be1 how they would make head-cover1 how they would conceal the work1 and so on4 ,traverses and broken lines of ,trenches4 ,repeat the exercise as above1 but this time have the men in sections or small groups1 and the trenches made not in one line1 but in short lengths1 separated by traverses4 ,you will have to explain the construction and use of these to prevent enfilade fire 7if not from long range71 and to localise shell bursts4 ,again1 have lines of trenches mapped out in short lengths on an irregular front1 some a little forward1 some a little back1 with the earth at each end1 banked up on the flanks with the same object 7,m4,f4,e41 #cc74 ,short ,trenches for ,two ,men4 ,bring the men extended to six or eight paces on to a position1 and let the men of each file close to two paces from each other4 ,each file is then to choose and mark a site for a short trench to hold both of them1 or1 as it would formerly have been called1 a rifle pit1 marking where they would make loop-holes to fire both to the front1 and obliquely towards the right and left1 so as to rake the ground in front of the line of the other men's pits4 ,this arrangement is not officially recognised1 and it does not give the closest possible firing line1 but it is an excellent way of making men think for themselves4 ,when the men have got their bearings in the matter of taking up a line for entrenchment1 make them get into the way of changing from defence into attack4 ,take up a position as before1 and as soon as the trenches are marked out1 indicate a position at some distance as an objective for attack and start an advance against it1 as done in the attack practices1 forming a firing line rapidly of some named platoons and the support of the others4 ,a skeleton enemy kept hidden till needed adds much to the realism4 ,defence of ,pivots 7,m4,f4,e41 #ej 7#c71 and ,i4,t41 #abi74 ,find a position in which there are some points separated from each other which command the ground between1 and also form such pivots for defence of the position as are described in the paras4 above4 ,according to the nature of the ground1 such pivots might be1 for platoons1 as much as four hundred yards apart1 i4e41 attackers coming between them would be under fire at not more than two hundred yards4 ,send a platoon under a commander to each pivot1 and let him plan and mark out his defensive measures1 which must include3-- #a4 ,an arrangement for all-round defence1 so that the pivot may be self-contained and capable of continuing the fight1 although others may have been captured4 #b4 ,the siting accordingly of trenches and loop-holes to fire all round and especially to sweep the front and rear of adjoining pivots4 #c4 ,the adaptation of existing cover to save labour4 #d4 ,the provision of protection against enfilade and reverse fire1 and the recognition of distant localities from which such fire1 whether of artillery or rifle1 might be brought to bear on the post4 #e4 ,the marking of ranges in each direction4 #f4 ,the provision of obstacles4 #g4 ,any feasible scheme for alternative positions which his men could reach and occupy under fire4 #h4 ,the concealment of the defences1 provision of dummy trenches1 and loop-holes and any other shifts4 #i4 ,the telling off and posting of look-out men and fixing and occupying of alarm posts when work has been completed4 #aj4 ,drainage and sanitation4 ,the concealment of defences from aerial reconnaissance will1 perhaps1 soon claim more attention than it gets at present4 ,practise an attack after defence1 starting off one platoon under your own orders to 8go for0 an indicated enemy1 and sending word either by messenger or by semaphore to the others1 either to join you and form a firing line1 or to move out in support1 but1 if the latter1 do not fail to finally call them up to reinforce the firing line2 counter-attacks must usually be made with a relatively strong firing line and small support4 ,the ,company in ,defence ,acting ,alone4 ,when you have put non-commissioned officers and men through the preceding course1 plan some scheme on the lines of the defence of ,duffer's ,drift1 to deal with a company isolated and beyond reach of immediate reinforcement4 ,any bridge over a railway line1 a group of buildings supposed to contain stores1 or a ford or bridge over a river1 will provide you with an object to defend4 ,choose a line of defence round it and determine what are the essential pivots to be held4 ,to do this1 so as to furnish an instructive lesson1 it will usually be necessary for you to pay a visit to the place by yourself and formulate your proposed defence before bringing the company on to the ground4 ,pay great attention to crossing and supporting fire from the pivots1 and look at the surrounding country with a view to meeting attack from any direction1 for in this case the company1 as well as the pivots in its line of defence1 must be self-contained4 ,also have regard to the certainty that you will have artillery fire against you1 to which you will not be able to reply1 and in consequence your proposed defences must include deep trenches or recesses to shelter the men from shell4 ,your defences will take the form of a chain of isolated groups about the point to be defended and separated from each other by possibly several hundred yards4 ,it is no use simply to go and sit inside a group of buildings which the guns would knock about your ears and against which the enemy can concentrate4 ,the better plan is to break up his attack and hide your weakness by occupying well-strengthened pivots1 behind whose protection you may have some freedom of movement1 and so be able1 if the weakness or rashness of the enemy gives opportunity1 to inaugurate local counter-attacks4 ,these1 if successful in inflicting a sharp and sudden loss1 will make him hesitate to deliver a decisive attack till he has found out all about you4 ,with one company you cannot expect to achieve decisive results against any considerable body of the enemy1 but must be content with keeping him in play for as long a time as possible1 and an attitude of active bluff is the best means of doing so4 ,when you have got your plans completed1 take out the company as strong as possible and complete in its proper platoons and sections--if there are too few men let one man count for two or three4 ,send off platoons to occupy and plan the defence of the pivots as done when practising it before4 ,do the same scheme on two separate occasions4 ,the first time do not send out a skeleton enemy1 so that the men may have time to look round1 but for the second time send out some scouts under a subaltern1 and let the platoons fall out on their positions with patrols out in front4 ,fix a certain hour by which you expect the arrangements to be all ready1 and arrange for the enemy to advance at that time1 and open fire on the patrols if they are met4 ,when the patrols have fallen back the enemy closes in and starts sniping at the position4 ,then bring off a counter-attack1 withdrawing some men for the purpose from pivots that are not threatened1 and coming in on the flank of the attackers4 ,in theory1 of course1 you should have a support or reserve available for this1 but it does no harm to move men out of their trenches with the object of assuming the offensive1 while the men learn the essential part of their work by all being employed on the perimeter4 ,have out the company yet a third time on the same or a similar scheme1 pivots and skeleton enemy as before4 ,on this occasion1 if the scheme is the same1 change round the platoons to different pivots from what they occupied before1 and when the arrangements for defence have been settled1 leave only sentries and their groups on the pivots as look-outs1 but have patrols in front4 ,form the remainder of the men into a support in some central position1 and tell them off to occupy as alarm posts the pivots from which they were withdrawn4 ,when the skeleton enemy attacks1 reinforce the threatened part of the line by the men of the units told off for its defence1 and with part1 or even the whole of the rest1 make a counter-attack4 ,it is very desirable1 though unfortunately not often possible1 to perform these last three practices on ground where you are at liberty to dig1 and with an enemy of three or four companies instead of a few snipers4 ,night ,defence4 ,a night attack may be delivered as a sequence to fighting by daylight1 in the course of which the enemy has established himself sufficiently close to the defences held by his opponent to see clearly the way to reach the point against which he intends to lead his force4 ,or he may deliver an attack without previous fighting1 hoping to get the better of the defenders by surprise1 and basing his plans solely on the results of reconnaissance4 ,in the latter case the attack must be preceded by a night advance1 long or short1 according as the defenders' outposts and their patrols have succeeded in keeping the hostile troops at a distance or not1 unless1 indeed1 the troops or their scouts or spies have not been in touch at all during the day in which case an attack would not be a wise proceeding1 because the needful information about the ground and your forces is lacking4 ,such attacks as require a night advance as a preliminary are likely to be made either over open ground or along roads1 for the difficulties and delays occasioned by moving troops over broken ground which is not thoroughly known are very great4 ,but in the first case1 when fighting has been going on by day1 and the two forces are in close contact at nightfall1 separated perhaps by only a few hundred yards1 the presence of broken ground in front of the defences is no guarantee that the enemy may not consider an attack by night to have a reasonable chance of succeeding against any of the points which he has been trying to carry by daylight4 ,it follows then that in preparing a position for defence the pivots must be ready to withstand attack by night as well as by day1 and also that roads or paths leading into the position from the surrounding country should be held and defended by night1 in spite of their being innocuous by daylight owing to being swept effectively by fire from the adjacent pivots4 ,it will be admitted1 ,i think1 that fire by night is ineffectual unless at very short ranges1 or when delivered by men of extraordinary skill such as the up-country ,boer and the ,american backwoods-men were pictured to be4 ,a ,european enemy will seek to bring off his attack with the bayonet4 ,the defenders will try to foil this attack1 firstly1 by the use of fire at the close range1 which allows it to be effective1 and1 secondly1 by the use of the bayonet4 ,this plainly translates itself into obstacles to keep the enemy under fire1 obstacles to hamper him when at bayonet distance1 and night rests to help the accuracy of the fire in certain desired directions4 ,i have told you one good form of night rest1 and there are several others1 but all require some material if they are to be even approximately accurate4 ,failing material of any sort1 tie white rags round the muzzles of the men's rifles if you can get them4 ,after a week in the field your men will have nothing that is not very dirty1 but in a civilised country some member of the population may perhaps be found ready to oblige a soldier4 ,working still on your daylight scheme show your non-commissioned officers and men how to make night obstacles in addition to those meant for daylight defence1 which latter may be any distance up to one hundred yards in front of the trenches4 ,the night obstacles1 on the other hand1 should be quite close1 the fire obstacles as close as ten yards1 the bayonet obstacles1 say a narrow ditch and a wire1 close under the trenches so as to make a man stumble when trying to reach the defender with his bayonet4 ,make or plan these arrangements round the pivots1 and then practise blocking and defending paths or roads by the same methods as for pivots1 but with this variation1 that a parapet which can only be used for defence at night may be as high as you consider needful without paying regard to its invisibility1 while those to be used by day are kept as low as possible4 ,in a practical exercise the men to hold these night posts would have to be furnished either from your support or by thinning some of the pivots4 ,yet the most carefully arranged trenches and obstacles will be of no value unless the men occupy them in time to avail themselves of their advantages4 ,time sufficient to allow of this1 must be got by patrolling in front as for outposts1 by making automatic alarms in front of the obstacles 7,m4,f4,e41 #ee 7#ab771 by having alert sentries on the defence line1 and by having a good and well understood arrangement of alarm posts by which each man shall be ready to occupy at once1 in silence1 and without confusion1 the place which has been assigned to him4 ,patrolling has been dealt with under 8,outposts10 the alertness of your sentries will depend largely on the state of discipline to which you have brought your company1 and on the commonsenseness1 to coin a word1 of their training4 ,alarm posts are practised in the same way as on outpost4 ,in many corps it is a standing order that when in camp or bivouac1 on manuvre as well as on service1 men are to fall in on their alarm posts once a day1 the usual times being at retreat or on arrival in camp 7,f4,s4,r41 #dh 7#b771 and this is done whether in ,brigade 7,f4,s4,r41 #dg 7#b77 or not4 ,if such is the order in your battalion1 adhere to it within your company when detached1 if not1 do it off your own bat4 ,it does not fatigue the men and ensures attention being paid on all occasions to this important duty4 ,,exercise ,,xvi4 ,,hasty ,,expedients4 ,i4,t41 #ic 7iii471 directs the training of the section to include rough and ready expedients so as to form a fighting front in any direction4 ,this training is of great value1 both from a disciplinary point of view1 as it makes men quick to move on an order1 and also from the point of view of moral1 as men accustomed to get sudden and unexpected orders given under imaginary circumstances will be more likely to keep cool1 when such orders are necessitated by the stress of actual battle1 than men who have always been trained in a deliberate fashion4 ,such sudden orders must in general mean one of two things1 either that the enemy has got you1 or you have got him1 8on the hop10 if ,i may introduce an expression from the cricket field1 and that there is every chance of the bowler1 whoever he is1 being badly scored off1 unless he treats the batsman to something more difficult than the expensive half-volley4 ,if you are fortunately able to find the enemy at a disadvantage1 you will act against him by rifle fire alone2 but1 on the other hand1 you may find yourself caught in a bad situation1 by either artillery or rifle fire1 or possibly by cavalry1 who mean to use the steel4 ,it follows then1 in practising expedients1 based1 as they should be1 on some possible situation1 that you should make the central idea either offensive1 as if attempting to bring your men into a position to get the best results from their fire1 or defensive1 as if to escape1 or mitigate shell fire or rifle fire1 to which you are subjected under adverse conditions4 ,against artillery fire from ranges or in positions at which you cannot reply effectively with rifle fire1 your action at first1 at all events1 must be purely defensive1 i4e41 all you can do1 will be to escape being overwhelmed by the shell fire1 and even at effective rifle range1 the shields of modern field guns1 enable them to engage infantry on very equal terms1 so long as the infantry is in front1 or not far on a flank1 of the line of guns4 ,in the days of muzzle-loaders1 it was the cavalry who possessed the power of suddenly annihilating infantry1 when caught unprepared to withstand their charge4 ,the magazine rifle has reduced this danger1 but the quick-firing cannon has now equal1 if not greater1 powers of dealing out swift destruction to any infantry that it finds exposed in close formation1 if only the range be known4 ,at least once in the ,russo-,japanese ,war1 and again in the ,turko-,bulgarian war1 if we may believe the somewhat ill-authenticated reports yet to hand1 have artillery wiped out of existence in a few moments several hundred unfortunate infantrymen1 who were caught in the rafle fired at a range either ascertained previously1 or got at the moment by good luck or good judgment4 ,the contingency of being thus caught by artillery is evidently one that should be prepared for by infantry1 as was the forming of squares in the old days1 when a cavalry charge was an ever present peril4 ,in this case of artillery fire1 the conditions and the object desired are practically always the same--the infantry is in close order of some sort1 and wishes to break up into a congeries of small groups1 so as to isolate the effect of the burst of each shrapnel4 ,the matter of rifle fire is different1 as there are any number of ways in which you may seek either to escape the results of the enemy's fire or attempt to use your own1 and this is the proper field in which to practise expedients4 ,whenever you intend to carry out some such movement to meet a supposed situation1 you must let the men know exactly what you are picturing1 so that they also may understand what is needed4 ,the essence of these practices is that they should be performed without time for deliberate thought--the men must learn to think and act quickly4 ,the most satisfactory way is to be yourself mounted1 as you can then get the whole company to hear you at once1 whereas1 if on foot1 the men who are farthest from you often lose the first part of what you say2 you then have to repeat it1 and the thing loses its character of surprise for the rest1 who have already heard it once4 ,give out the situation in a loud voice1 and in as few words as possible1 then try and give the very order you think you would give1 if the situation was a real one on service2 use your own imagination1 in figuring what you would say1 and how you would say it4 ,to call attention1 it seems legitimate to use your whistle1 as on service the men would have some warning that things were about to happen1 either by the arrival of shell or bullets1 the sight of the enemy1 or by the signal of their own scouts4 ,in giving the situation1 if you are receiving fire1 give out what kind of fire it is1 the enemy's position1 if it is allowable to suppose it known1 or if you are going to be on the offensive1 give out where the enemy is1 and what he is doing1 and how you learn this1 i4e41 by your scouts1 or by first-hand observation4 ,for example1 while the company is marching in fours along a road1 you see1 in imagination1 two shells burst simultaneously near by1 and about two hundred yards from each other1 and you wisely deduce that the enemy is ranging on your company4 ,blow your whistle and give out 8,artillery fire is opening on the company1 from such and such a direction--open out to columns of sections40 ,if you have taught your men what to do to escape artillery fire1 they will open out at the double into columns of platoons1 at not less than fifty yards interval1 measuring roughly at right angles to the direction of the supposed fire 7,i4,t41 #aah 7#c774 ,in practising this opening out under artillery fire1 which1 as ,i have said1 is the one specific hasty manuvre performed under conditions nearly always similar1 it is inexpedient to lay down any fixed rules for the positions to be taken up by the platoons4 ,it sounds simple to say that the platoons of the leading half-company go to the right1 and those of the rear half to the left1 but when men are marching at ease1 and shells begin bursting round them unexpectedly1 ,i do not think there will be time for anyone to see which half-company is leading4 ,the main thing is to get the platoons instantly away from the road on which the enemy has laid his guns1 and from each other4 ,direct platoon commanders to lead their men at the double in any direction away from the platoon in front1 except1 of course1 towards the rear4 ,in theory1 of course1 this might result in all four making out towards one flank1 but1 even so1 this is better than having any deliberative halts on the road1 and in practice the platoons in rear can see which way those in front are heading1 and wheel to go to the other flank4 ,there is no advantage to be had from getting the men in the ranks into extended order1 as the shrapnel scatter the whole width of their bursting zone in an impartial manner1 nor is it any use to seek such slight cover as gives only a screen from view1 unless with a view to getting away from the shell-swept locality without attracting notice4 ,platoon commanders should1 of course1 make for any cover that is sufficiently steep on the rear side to shelter them from the downward dropping shrapnel bullets4 ,if there is no cover1 the best thing after getting out into the line of platoons separated by fully fifty yards intervals1 is to move rapidly forward4 ,if cover exists with open ground round it1 the men may be got away by 8dribbling0 man by man1 in the hope that the enemy may not spot the movement1 and continue or resume his shell practice1 to defeat it4 ,as regards expedients against rifle fire1 ,i will only suggest a few1 and leave you to invent others suited to the nature of the ground you have got to exercise on4 #a4 ,the company in close order is surprised by a heavy rifle fire2 there is cover near by sufficient to hold the whole company crowded together4 ,order the men to get into the cover helter skelter1 and then advance or retire1 by the successive movement of platoons or sections1 who take extended order at their best speed as they emerge from shelter4 ,if facilities exist1 tell one or two platoons to reply to the fire1 from the cover1 till their own turn comes to move1 by which time the first lots that went out should have got into position to open fire4 #b4 ,the company in close order is again surprised by rifle fire1 but there is no cover near to act as a base4 ,get the company quickly into extended order1 and let men reply to the fire as soon as they have extended1 using studiously slow fire4 #c4 ,the company or platoons in extended order have to change front to meet an attack from a flank4 ,as in the book1 call on them to line a hedge or ditch1 facing so as to fire in the new direction4 #d4 ,coming through a gap in a hedge or wall1 either in advance or retreat1 scattering off right and left1 so as to get out of the way of fire concentrated on the gap4 #e4 ,the scouts from a position some distance from the company report a body of the enemy unaware of their presence and exposed to fire4 ,bring the company quickly up to the scouts' position1 halt1 load1 and adjust sights under cover and just short of the firing position1 and on your whistle the men advance at once to the edge of the fire position and surprise the enemy by a simultaneous fire from all the rifles4 #f4 ,taking up quickly an all-round defensive position2 the platoons or sections go off and find the best positions in different directions which you merely indicate roughly4 #g4 ,hastily organised attacks1 to dislodge an enemy unexpectedly found in occupation of a position1 also taking up action as flank and rearguards under fire4 ,,exercise ,,xvii4 ,,night ,,operation ,,training4 ,i4,t41 #aac1 gives some instructions as to how men are to be taught to march and to use their ears and eyes at night1 while ,f4,s4,r41 chapter ix41 goes into the subject at length4 ,these operations are divided into night marches1 night advances1 and night attacks4 ,the men of a company will not be fit to take a useful part in night tactical exercises either in company or in battalion1 unless they have had some elementary training as laid down in 8,infantry ,training10 and have also been practised in the two indispensable duties of maintaining connection 7,f4,s4,r41 #abi 7#d77 and in reconnaissance 7,f4,s4,r41 #acj 7#a774 ,night patrolling and the duties of night sentries have been dealt with under outposts1 and ,i will not say anything more about them here4 ,the rest of the elementary training contained in 8,infantry ,training0 requires no explanation1 and you can practise your men in it in small parties4 ,there remains the maintenance of connection1 and ,i have found that training for this is best done at first by daylight4 ,it is very simple1 and after one or two daylight lessons the men will work quite well by night1 but to begin straight off under darkness will only lead to waste of time1 as mistakes cannot easily be corrected1 nor the working of a system made plain4 ,the company should parade as strong as possible in this exercise1 as1 with only a few files on parade1 the necessity of maintaining connection1 and the difficulty of doing so1 are not so obvious as when a fairly large body of men has to be handled without making a noise4 ,connection has to be maintained within the company itself1 and also with the other companies in front or rear1 if in column of route1 or on the right and left1 if deployed4 ,in order to practise this connection with other companies1 represent the front and rear1 or flank section commanders of the supposed adjacent companies by a man for each company1 who should move where those section commanders would be1 i4e41 in fours1 at the head or tail of the directing flank1 in line1 on the flanks of the front rank4 ,use these dummies as the recipients of all orders and signals passed along1 so that your company may get the habit of keeping touch with the others before it works with the battalion4 ,i4 ,connecting ,files4 ,the only sure way of keeping connection between bodies of troops moving in separate parties is by connecting files1 who keep within sight of each other and so can seldom be at more than twenty yards distance apart4 ,these files must be taught to pass commands with exactitude1 and never to open their mouths otherwise1 i4e41 they must never speculate between themselves 8,are they advancing80 or so forth1 or talk at all1 because the next file may hear some word of their talk and mistake it for an order4 ,when connecting files are needed they must take up their places without its being necessary to tell them off loudly1 and when no longer needed they must close into company in silence and in good order4 ,form the company into fours1 turned to a flank as in column of route3 tell the dummy section commander of the preceding company to march off2 string the company out after him1 the men marching off in files at about ten paces between each file without further command after the first one has gone1 each as it moves off touching the next to follow1 to give it notice4 ,when they are all strung out1 let the rear dummy section commander follow4 ,then pass orders up the line2 use only the form given in ,i4,t41 #if 7#c74 ,to make sure that such verbal orders have reached the intended recipient1 the only way1 though a slow one1 is to require him to send back a report that he has taken the action required4 ,thus1 a message from the rear to the leading portion to halt would be answered from the leading portion by a report passed down the line to the commander 8,the leading portion1 or1 etc41 has halted40 ,let your first order be to halt1 passed from the dummy company in rear up to that in front 8,from ,colonel ,a4 to all companies--halt40 ,on receiving the order one man of each file halts on his ground and turns to the rear1 the other goes forward to the next file as quickly as he can without noise1 delivers the order1 and returns to his former place1 when he halts and faces the other way from his comrade4 ,thus1 on the completion of the order to halt1 one man of each file will be facing each way4 ,bayonets will usually be fixed in night operations1 and it is important1 especially in ,rifle ,battalions1 to accustom men to carry the rifle on the right shoulder1 with the hand round the small of the butt and never at the trail1 otherwise there is much danger of someone getting a stab as well as an order4 ,after the halt1 get on the move again by passing up the word to advance1 and practise any other likely orders3--8,go fast in front10 8,go slow in front10 8,the rear cannot keep up10 and so on4 ,follow the orders up the line and see that men do not tamper with the form of the order en route1 and that they speak in a whisper when giving it over4 ,section and platoon commanders must be told all orders as they pass1 see that their units conform1 and look after the maintenance of the distance between files4 ,next practise lateral communication1 the four platoons in one line in close order1 with company intervals between each1 representing the leading platoons of four companies drawn up in line of columns of platoons at deploying intervals and ready for a night advance4 ,lateral connecting files need to be closer than when following each other1 so put out connecting files to the flanks in a similar way to what was done before1 but at six1 or eight yards interval4 ,then move1 halt1 and deploy the supposed column by means of these files1 dressing and interval being kept up by the files moving up or stepping short1 and closing on or inclining from any named company of direction without specific orders4 ,,ii4 ,marching and ,formations4 ,form up the company and get it into fours as if in column of route1 dummy company section commanders as before4 ,practise marching off from the halt1 and halting1 passing the word from the front or rear company along the men on the flanks of the fours4 ,as the order comes along1 the flank men of the fours nudge or shove the other men in their respective fours1 and whisper to the flank men in the four in front or behind4 ,there is seldom any need to speak1 as a push or pull is enough4 ,the platoon commanders get the word from the flank men of the sections of fours1 and from one another as well1 as they are to follow the order along their own platoons1 and go forward or back to the commander of the next platoon to whom they must repeat it1 and then resume their proper places4 ,the platoon commander of the leading1 or rear1 platoon is responsible for passing the word to the nearest platoon commander of the next company4 ,the company officers must arrange also to hear all orders1 and should have fixed positions1 known to all1 which they will only quit temporarily4 ,in marching off from the halt1 the rear portion of the company should step out well1 as soon as the order reaches them1 so as to avoid straggling1 while the leading fours preserve a uniform pace4 ,in halting in battalion1 the leading fours should close up on the company in front1 and continue to do so1 till it is seen that it has finished closing up2 there is always bound to be a good deal of straggling at first owing to the method of giving orders4 ,when this system is in good working order1 move and halt the company on your own audibly whispered word of command1 the platoon commanders repeating it1 the system of communication being kept up as before1 but the men moving at once on the word2 this will give a fairly simultaneous action throughout the company while ensuring against loss of touch4 ,on the same lines1 practise forming line from column of platoons1 mass1 and column of platoons from column of fours1 and marching in line1 paying attention throughout to dressing and the covering of files in line4 ,,iii4 ,night ,assault4 ,choose a position as objective1 and form the company1 in line or in column of platoons1 about three hundred yards from it1 with scouts about eighty yards in front of the company 7,f4,s4,r41 #acg 7#d774 ,this is the formation which would usually be adopted at the position of deployment4 ,when the scouts have got about one hundred yards from the position1 or up to a line which they would recognise in the dark as being in close proximity to it1 they should halt1 and wait for the arrival of the company4 ,the whole then move silently forward towards the position till you give the word or signal for assault1 when all charge4 ,practise this stealthy advance right on to the position1 as if the enemy were not alert1 and also make the charge from some distance1 as would be done if the enemy opened fire1 which is recognised to be what will most often happen4 ,after the assault the men should be rallied by the non-commissioned officers taking all men within their reach1 and forming them into extemporised sections ready to be reformed into platoons and to begin entrenching4 ,if by chance you get material1 you may introduce refinements1 in the way of wire-cutting men with each section1 sand bags with each man1 and bags stuffed with straw carried ready to throw on to abatis or to fill up trenches1 to be carried in a fixed place in the company4 ,,iv4 ,night ,entrenching4 ,practise marching with arms and tools1 and taking up a position to be entrenched1 with especial regard to avoidance of noise4 ,when entrenching by night1 the trenches cannot be chosen to give a field of fire unless it has been possible to obtain access to the locality by day1 and mark them in advance2 failing this the company commander1 as soon as the position is reached1 must send patrols1 and go himself1 to ascertain that no commanding ground1 at least in the immediate vicinity1 has been left unoccupied1 and1 at the first light1 all other such points within effective range as it is possible to hold1 should be secured and entrenched1 without orders from higher commanders4 ,a full illustration of this1 however1 can only be done by parading at night4 ,v4 ,search ,work4 ,practise the company in going off1 as if detached from the column to get touch with other troops1 or to find a gate or bridge by which some obstacle1 wall1 canal1 etc41 met with1 can be passed4 ,the company moves off dropping connecting files to keep touch with the halted column1 the files halt at their distances1 and pass word if the company has achieved its mission1 and close on the company when the column comes up1 but not before1 else the column will be left out of touch2 or1 if the need has passed and the company is recalled to the column1 the connecting files again remain at their posts till the company is gathered back on them4 ,,vi4 ,surprises4 ,when only a few men are on parade1 advanced education1 combined with some amusement1 may be got by experimenting in the best ways of laying out obnoxious persons1 such as hostile patrols1 who have to be rushed in silence 7,f4,s4,r41 #ach 7#e774 ,before beginning a stalk1 the quarry should be kept under observation to see which way he looks when halted1 and any other idiosyncrasies4 ,the assailant should creep up to him either on his flank1 or from behind1 moving one foot at a time1 and bending down1 though not on all fours4 ,if the sentry looks his way1 he must stay absolutely motionless1 till he again looks away4 ,my informant on this matter was a friend of a successful rifle thief in ,upper ,india4 ,after putting the company through the above daylight course1 you should1 of course1 put theory into practice and do some real night work whenever you get the chance1 putting out a skeleton enemy or some observers to tell you how much noise you make1 and follow out the full instructions as to orders1 watchwords1 etc41 given in ,f4,s4,r41 #ach and #aci4 ,test your men as to their ability to see in the dark2 some men can see much more than others2 spot these men and tell them off as 8,night ,scouts40 ,even if they are not otherwise qualified as scouts1 they are most useful in guiding the company over rough ground4 ,a ,,scheme ,,of ,a ,,company ,,training4 ,i give below1 as an example of the application of the foregoing exercises1 a scheme of company training which ,i actually carried out4 ,this was in the days before platoons1 so ,i have altered the scheme to show what ,i should have done had the company organisation been what it now is4 ,i was given from ,monday in one week to ,saturday the next week to march out into camp1 about #aj miles1 and get back1 i4e41 two days of march1 and ten halted working days4 ,i had thirty-five rounds per man of ball cartridge available for field practice musketry1 and a sufficiency of blank for the requirements of skeleton enemy and for use with the men in one or two of the exercises4 ,my men were ,regulars1 and during the previous furlough season ,i had grounded them piecemeal in field work4 ---------------------------------------- --------------------------- ,,day4 ,,forenoon ,,work4 ,,afternoon ,,work4 ---------------------------------------- --------------------------- #a ,monday ,march out to camp4 ,march discipline and work of connecting files4 ,advanced guard4 ,sanitation4 ,water piquet and sanitary patrols4 ,pitched a perimeter camp as for savage warfare4 ,trenched tents against rain1 and made a shelter trench round camp4 ,alarm posts4 ---------------------------------------- --------------------------- #b ,tuesday ,individual advance in ,improved and deepened camp extended order4 ,retirement entrenchments1 made by pairs4 loop-holes1 night rests1 and obstacles4 ---------------------------------------- --------------------------- #c ,wednesday ,platoon and ,section in ,field practice attack as part of ,company4 ,musketry3--,individual advance in extended order4 #g rounds ball per man4 ---------------------------------------- --------------------------- #d ,thursday ,platoon in independent ,field practice attack4 ,musketry3--,section in independent attack1 #g rounds ball per man4 ---------------------------------------- --------------------------- #e ,friday ,platoon in retirement4 ,preliminary training for ,company attack4 ,fire discipline and control4 ---------------------------------------- --------------------------- #f ,saturday ,company in attack with the ,prepared target battalion4 positions and markers butts for snapshooting4 ---------------------------------------- --------------------------- #g ,monday ,company in attack with ,snapshooting1 #g ,battalion4 rounds per man4 ---------------------------------------- --------------------------- #h ,tuesday ,company in attack acting ,snapshooting1 #g alone4 rounds per man4 ---------------------------------------- --------------------------- #i ,wednesday ,outposts4 ,company in attack1 #g rounds ball4 ---------------------------------------- --------------------------- #aj ,thursday ,defence4 ,company in retirement4 ---------------------------------------- --------------------------- #aa ,friday ,night attack4 ,parade at ,hasty expedients4 #b4cj a4m4 ---------------------------------------- --------------------------- #ab ,saturday ,march back to quarters4 ,transcriber's ,notes ,catalog page ,changed ,miscellaneous ,tactica to3 ,tactical pg #fb ,changed close and re-form to3 reform pg #fc ,changed expect either a counterattack to3 counter-attack pg #fg ,changed this exercise1 though to3 through pg #gf ,added period after3 left on the position pg #abd ,changed trenches or make loopholes to3 loop-holes pg #abe ,changed the line of loopholes to3 loop-holes pg #acf ,changed3 7,i4,t1 #aef 7#e77 to3 7,i4,t41 #aef 7#e77 pg #ahb ,added comma after3 entrenchments1 made loop-holes pg #ahc ,added period after3 #g rounds ball per man pg #ahd ,added period after3 ,friday ,night attack