_The Director_: “Captain Sands, what is a point?”
_Captain Sands_: “A point is an element of an advance guard that
precedes the advance party.”
_The Director_: “That is right, and it is no more or less than a
fighting patrol that is assigned a definite line of march. Its
operations are conducted on that basis. It can afford to be bold and
aggressive because the advance party is close at hand to back it up.
What factors govern the formation of the point, Lieutenant Wallace?”
_Lieutenant Wallace_: “The point must have a formation that renders it
the least vulnerable to hostile fire. This means dispersion. On the
other hand, the dispersion should not be so great that the commander is
not able to control its operations. I should say that a patrol
formation, where the men march in pairs on opposite sides of the road,
would be suitable.”
_The Director_: “What should be the distances between the men?”
_Lieutenant Wallace_: “Twenty to 25 yards. That distance would provide
the necessary dispersion, and at the same time there would be sufficient
compactness to insure control.”
_The Director_: “Where will the point commander march, Lieutenant
Ralston?”
_Lieutenant Ralston_: “He should march at the head of the point.”
_The Director_: “Do you agree with that statement, Captain Harvey?”
_Captain Harvey_: “No, sir; I do not. It seems to me that the commander
should be free to go wherever he is needed. He should not be tied down
to any one place.”
_The Director_: “I agree with you. There are other reasons why he should
not habitually march at the head of the point. In the first place, the
man at the head of the point must always be on the lookout for the
enemy, and if the point commander is the man his whole attention will be
devoted to that task and there will be very little leadership exercised
in the point. Again, we do not want to take a chance on our point
commander becoming a casualty unnecessarily. He has been placed in
command, presumably because he is the best man fitted for the job. He
knows the plans for the day’s work better than any of the other men. If
he becomes a casualty on the first few shots, there may be no one to
take his place without some confusion and delay. If the point commander
marches a little distance back, say in the second or even third pair, he
will be sufficiently close to the front to perform his duty. I prefer to
have him in the second pair. Before leaving this subject of the
formation of the point I would like your opinion, Captain Hughes, on the
question of deploying the men in a line of skirmishers at extended
intervals.”
_Captain Hughes_: “That might be all right after the enemy is
encountered, but I would not do it on an ordinary march. In the first
place, it would be rough going for the men off on the flanks of the
road, and they could not keep up. If the rate of march is held down to
keep abreast of them, the progress of the main body will be delayed. In
the next place, if the intervals are too much extended, the point
commander will not be able to control the operations and will not have
his men where he wants them at the critical moment.”
_The Director_: “Your reasons seem to be logical and possess merit.
Before going further I want to say a few words about the operations of a
point.”