In order that an organization may be capable of reaching the enemy, it
is necessary for each man to be thoroughly convinced that his neighbor
will march at his side and not abandon him; he should not have to turn
around to see whether his comrade is coming. This requires a solidly
established cohesion. Cohesion is very difficult to obtain with the
continual renewal of men and noncommissioned officers; to cement it
well, the men must have lived long together and have borne the same
hardships during which are strengthened the sentiments of solidarity and
affection which create in the company invisible bonds, stronger than all
discipline and the only ones capable of resisting the fierce egoism of
the battlefield.
The company must also have been tried out by experiences severe enough
for everyone to be able to estimate what his leaders and neighbors are
worth under circumstances where borrowed masks fall off. Thus habit,
friendship, and confidence make no difference in the appearance of a
company; it is the battle alone that unveils these qualities in their
full staunchness and value.
The company of the 9th of May had been in existence at least four
months, that is, the last considerable reinforcements had been present
about four months. We had indeed received newer recruits, but they were
not sufficient to change the spirit of the company. We had lived in the
Belgian trench where the material side of the situation could not have
been more miserable. Without having suffered serious losses, we had been
at times very roughly used, so that all the men had an idea of the
trials of war.
Thus trench life is an excellent school for cohesion, but a company
which moves forward directly from trench life would not be capable of
attacking as we should like. Trench life is deteriorating and destroys
in the mind of the man the idea that he belongs to a unit, to an
organization. It should be completed by a period of exercises.
During the period of exercises, the work should be toward cohesion by
establishing an exact discipline, difficult to obtain in the trenches,
by punctually requiring the marks of respect, and by paying close
attention to the uniform and personal appearance. All these details have
a prime moral importance; nothing is more demoralizing for the soldier
than to see around him his comrades badly dressed and negligent in their
duty; he evidently finds at times that this is more convenient but at
heart he lacks confidence because he well knows that in this troop of
Bohemians, without faith or order, everyone will go his own way in the
moment of danger. The daily aspect of a company, carefully uniformed and
well disciplined, gives him, on the contrary, a feeling of reassurance
and confidence.
“... Mais par un prompt renfort
Nous nous vîmes trois mille en arrivant au port
Tant à nous voir marcher en _si bel équipage_
Les plus épouvantés reprenaient de courage.”
This is what our battalion commander often quoted to us.
Combat exercises by entire units, close-order drill, and passing in
review which should always close an exercise session, contribute to
develop the sentiment, which becomes blunted in the trenches, that the
soldier belongs to a unit, compact and articulate.
The trench produces cohesion in the _small group_, the period of
exercise the _cohesion in the organization_.