rough and ready expedients so as to form a fighting front in any
direction. This training is of great value, both from a disciplinary
point of view, as it makes men quick to move on an order, and also
from the point of view of _moral_, as men accustomed to get sudden
and unexpected orders given under imaginary circumstances will be
more likely to keep cool, when such orders are necessitated by the
stress of actual battle, than men who have always been trained in a
deliberate fashion.
Such sudden orders must in general mean one of two things, either
that the enemy has got you, or you have got him, “on the hop,” if I
may introduce an expression from the cricket field, and that there
is every chance of the bowler, whoever he is, being badly scored
off, unless he treats the batsman to something more difficult than
the expensive half-volley. If you are fortunately able to find the
enemy at a disadvantage, you will act against him by rifle fire
alone; but, on the other hand, you may find yourself caught in a bad
situation, by either artillery or rifle fire, or possibly by cavalry,
who mean to use the steel. It follows then, in practising expedients,
based, as they should be, on some possible situation, that you should
make the central idea either offensive, as if attempting to bring
your men into a position to get the best results from their fire, or
defensive, as if to escape, or mitigate shell fire or rifle fire, to
which you are subjected under adverse conditions.
Against artillery fire from ranges or in positions at which you
cannot reply effectively with rifle fire, your action at first, at
all events, must be purely defensive, i.e., all you can do, will be
to escape being overwhelmed by the shell fire, and even at effective
rifle range, the shields of modern field guns, enable them to engage
infantry on very equal terms, so long as the infantry is in front, or
not far on a flank, of the line of guns.
In the days of muzzle-loaders, it was the cavalry who possessed the
power of suddenly annihilating infantry, when caught unprepared to
withstand their charge. The magazine rifle has reduced this danger,
but the quick-firing cannon has now equal, if not greater, powers of
dealing out swift destruction to any infantry that it finds exposed
in close formation, if only the range be known. At least once in the
Russo-Japanese War, and again in the Turko-Bulgarian war, if we may
believe the somewhat ill-authenticated reports yet to hand, have
artillery wiped out of existence in a few moments several hundred
unfortunate infantrymen, who were caught in the _rafâle_ fired at a
range either ascertained previously, or got at the moment by good
luck or good judgment. The contingency of being thus caught by
artillery is evidently one that should be prepared for by infantry,
as was the forming of squares in the old days, when a cavalry charge
was an ever present peril. In this case of artillery fire, the
conditions and the object desired are practically always the same—the
infantry is in close order of some sort, and wishes to break up into
a congeries of small groups, so as to isolate the effect of the burst
of each shrapnel. The matter of rifle fire is different, 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 own, and this is
the proper field in which to practise expedients.
Whenever you intend to carry out some such movement to meet a
supposed situation, you must let the men know exactly what you are
picturing, so that they also may understand what is needed. The
essence of these practices is that they should be performed without
time for deliberate thought—the men must learn to think and act
quickly. The most satisfactory way is to be yourself mounted, as you
can then get the whole company to hear you at once, whereas, if on
foot, the men who are farthest from you often lose the first part
of what you say; you then have to repeat it, and the thing loses
its character of surprise for the rest, who have already heard it
once. Give out the situation in a loud voice, and in as few words as
possible, then try and give the very order you think you would give,
if the situation was a real one on service; use your own imagination,
in figuring what you would say, and how you would say it. To call
attention, it seems legitimate to use your whistle, as on service
the men would have some warning that things were about to happen,
either by the arrival of shell or bullets, the sight of the enemy, or
by the signal of their own scouts. In giving the situation, if you
are receiving fire, give out what kind of fire it is, the enemy’s
position, if it is allowable to suppose it known, or if you are
going to be on the offensive, give out where the enemy is, and what
he is doing, and how you learn this, i.e., by your scouts, or by
first-hand observation. For example, while the company is marching
in fours along a road, you see, in imagination, two shells burst
simultaneously near by, and about two hundred yards from each other,
and you wisely deduce that the enemy is ranging on your company. Blow
your whistle and give out “Artillery fire is opening on the company,
from such and such a direction—open out to columns of sections.” If
you have taught your men what to do to escape artillery fire, they
will open out at the double into columns of platoons, at not less
than fifty yards interval, measuring roughly at right angles to the
direction of the supposed fire (I.T., 118 (3)).
In practising this opening out under artillery fire, which, as I have
said, is the one specific hasty manœuvre performed under conditions
nearly always similar, it is inexpedient to lay down any fixed rules
for the positions to be taken up by the platoons. It sounds simple to
say that the platoons of the leading half-company go to the right,
and those of the rear half to the left, but when men are marching at
ease, and shells begin bursting round them unexpectedly, I do not
think there will be time for anyone to see which half-company is
leading. The main thing is to get the platoons instantly away from
the road on which the enemy has laid his guns, and from each other.
Direct platoon commanders to lead their men at the double in any
direction away from the platoon in front, except, of course, towards
the rear. In theory, of course, this might result in all four making
out towards one flank, but, even so, this is better than having any
deliberative halts on the road, and in practice the platoons in rear
can see which way those in front are heading, and wheel to go to
the other flank. There is no advantage to be had from getting the
men in the ranks into extended order, as the shrapnel scatter the
whole width of their bursting zone in an impartial manner, nor is it
any use to seek such slight cover as gives only a screen from view,
unless with a view to getting away from the shell-swept locality
without attracting notice. Platoon commanders should, of course, make
for any cover that is sufficiently steep on the rear side to shelter
them from the downward dropping shrapnel bullets. If there is no
cover, the best thing after getting out into the line of platoons
separated by fully fifty yards intervals, is to move rapidly forward.
If cover exists with open ground round it, the men may be got away by
“dribbling” man by man, in the hope that the enemy may not spot the
movement, and continue or resume his shell practice, to defeat it.
As regards expedients against rifle fire, I will only suggest a few,
and leave you to invent others suited to the nature of the ground you
have got to exercise on.
1. The company in close order is surprised by a heavy rifle fire;
there is cover near by sufficient to hold the whole company
crowded together. Order the men to get into the cover helter
skelter, and then advance or retire, by the successive
movement of platoons or sections, who take extended order at
their best speed as they emerge from shelter. If facilities
exist, tell one or two platoons to reply to the fire, from the
cover, till their own turn comes to move, by which time the
first lots that went out should have got into position to open
fire.
2. The company in close order is again surprised by rifle fire, but
there is no cover near to act as a base. Get the company
quickly into extended order, and let men reply to the fire as
soon as they have extended, using studiously slow fire.
3. The company or platoons in extended order have to change front
to meet an attack from a flank. As in the book, call on them
to line a hedge or ditch, facing so as to fire in the new
direction.
4. Coming through a gap in a hedge or wall, either in advance or
retreat, scattering off right and left, so as to get out of
the way of fire concentrated on the gap.
5. The scouts from a position some distance from the company report
a body of the enemy unaware of their presence and exposed to
fire. Bring the company quickly up to the scouts’ position,
halt, load, and adjust sights under cover and just short of
the firing position, 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 rifles.
6. Taking up quickly an all-round defensive position; the platoons
or sections go off and find the best positions in different
directions which you merely indicate roughly.
7. Hastily organised attacks, to dislodge an enemy unexpectedly
found in occupation of a position, also taking up action as
flank and rearguards under fire.
EXERCISE XVII.
NIGHT OPERATION TRAINING.
I.T., 113, gives some instructions as to how men are to be taught to
march and to use their ears and eyes at night, while F.S.R., chapter
ix., goes into the subject at length. These operations are divided
into night marches, night advances, and night attacks. The men of
a company will not be fit to take a useful part in night tactical
exercises either in company or in battalion, unless they have had
some elementary training as laid down in “Infantry Training,”
and have also been practised in the two indispensable duties of
maintaining connection (F.S.R., 129 (4)) and in reconnaissance
(F.S.R., 130 (1)). Night patrolling and the duties of night sentries
have been dealt with under outposts, and I will not say anything
more about them here. The rest of the elementary training contained
in “Infantry Training” requires no explanation, and you can practise
your men in it in small parties. There remains the maintenance of
connection, and I have found that training for this is best done at
first by daylight. It is very simple, and after one or two daylight
lessons the men will work quite well by night, but to begin straight
off under darkness will only lead to waste of time, as mistakes
cannot easily be corrected, nor the working of a system made plain.
The company should parade as strong as possible in this exercise,
as, with only a few files on parade, the necessity of maintaining
connection, and the difficulty of doing so, are not so obvious as
when a fairly large body of men has to be handled without making a
noise. Connection has to be maintained within the company itself,
and also with the other companies in front or rear, if in column of
route, or on the right and left, if deployed. In order to practise
this connection with other companies, represent the front and rear,
or flank section commanders of the supposed adjacent companies by a
man for each company, who should move where those section commanders
would be, i.e., in fours, at the head or tail of the directing flank,
in line, on the flanks of the front rank. Use these dummies as the
recipients of all orders and signals passed along, so that your
company may get the habit of keeping touch with the others before it
works with the battalion.
_I. Connecting Files._
The only sure way of keeping connection between bodies of troops
moving in separate parties is by connecting files, who keep within
sight of each other and so can seldom be at more than twenty yards
distance apart. These files must be taught to pass commands with
exactitude, and never to open their mouths otherwise, i.e., they
must never speculate between themselves “Are they advancing?” or so
forth, or talk at all, because the next file may hear some word of
their talk and mistake it for an order. When connecting files are
needed they must take up their places without its being necessary to
tell them off loudly, and when no longer needed they must close into
company in silence and in good order.
Form the company into fours, turned to a flank as in column of route:
tell the dummy section commander of the preceding company to march
off; string the company out after him, the men marching off in files
at about ten paces between each file without further command after
the first one has gone, each as it moves off touching the next to
follow, to give it notice. When they are all strung out, let the rear
dummy section commander follow. Then pass orders up the line; use
only the form given in I.T., 96 (3). To make sure that such verbal
orders have reached the intended recipient, the only way, though a
slow one, is to require him to send back a report that he has taken
the action required. Thus, 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 “The leading portion,
or, etc., has halted.” Let your first order be to halt, passed from
the dummy company in rear up to that in front “From Colonel A. to all
companies—halt.” On receiving the order one man of each file halts
on his ground and turns to the rear, the other goes forward to the
next file as quickly as he can without noise, delivers the order, and
returns to his former place, when he halts and faces the other way
from his comrade. Thus, on the completion of the order to halt, one
man of each file will be facing each way. Bayonets will usually be
fixed in night operations, and it is important, especially in Rifle
Battalions, to accustom men to carry the rifle on the right shoulder,
with the hand round the small of the butt and never at the trail,
otherwise there is much danger of someone getting a stab as well as
an order.
After the halt, get on the move again by passing up the word to
advance, and practise any other likely orders:—“Go fast in front,”
“Go slow in front,” “The rear cannot keep up,” and so on. Follow the
orders up the line and see that men do not tamper with the form of
the order en route, and that they speak in a whisper when giving it
over. Section and platoon commanders must be told all orders as they
pass, see that their units conform, and look after the maintenance of
the distance between files.
Next practise lateral communication, the four platoons in one line
in close order, with company intervals between each, representing
the leading platoons of four companies drawn up in line of columns
of platoons at deploying intervals and ready for a night advance.
Lateral connecting files need to be closer than when following
each other, so put out connecting files to the flanks in a similar
way to what was done before, but at six, or eight yards interval.
Then move, halt, and deploy the supposed column by means of these
files, dressing and interval being kept up by the files moving up or
stepping short, and closing on or inclining from any named company of
direction without specific orders.
_II. Marching and Formations._
Form up the company and get it into fours as if in column of route,
dummy company section commanders as before. Practise marching off
from the halt, and halting, passing the word from the front or rear
company along the men on the flanks of the fours. As the order comes
along, the flank men of the fours nudge or shove the other men in
their respective fours, and whisper to the flank men in the four in
front or behind. There is seldom any need to speak, as a push or
pull is enough. The platoon commanders get the word from the flank
men of the sections of fours, and from one another as well, as they
are to follow the order along their own platoons, and go forward or
back to the commander of the next platoon to whom they must repeat
it, and then resume their proper places. The platoon commander of
the leading, or rear, platoon is responsible for passing the word
to the nearest platoon commander of the next company. The company
officers must arrange also to hear all orders, and should have fixed
positions, known to all, which they will only quit temporarily.
In marching off from the halt, the rear portion of the company
should step out well, as soon as the order reaches them, so as to
avoid straggling, while the leading fours preserve a uniform pace.
In halting in battalion, the leading fours should close up on the
company in front, and continue to do so, till it is seen that it
has finished closing up; there is always bound to be a good deal
of straggling at first owing to the method of giving orders. When
this system is in good working order, move and halt the company on
your own audibly whispered word of command, the platoon commanders
repeating it, the system of communication being kept up as before,
but the men moving at once on the word; this will give a fairly
simultaneous action throughout the company while ensuring against
loss of touch.
On the same lines, practise forming line from column of platoons,
mass, and column of platoons from column of fours, and marching in
line, paying attention throughout to dressing and the covering of
files in line.
_III. Night Assault._
Choose a position as objective, and form the company, in line or in
column of platoons, about three hundred yards from it, with scouts
about eighty yards in front of the company (F.S.R., 137 (4)). This
is the formation which would usually be adopted at the position of
deployment. When the scouts have got about one hundred yards from the
position, or up to a line which they would recognise in the dark as
being in close proximity to it, they should halt, and wait for the
arrival of the company. The whole then move silently forward towards
the position till you give the word or signal for assault, when all
charge. Practise this stealthy advance right on to the position,
as if the enemy were not alert, and also make the charge from
some distance, as would be done if the enemy opened fire, which is
recognised to be what will most often happen. After the assault the
men should be rallied by the non-commissioned officers taking all men
within their reach, and forming them into extemporised sections ready
to be reformed into platoons and to begin entrenching.
If by chance you get material, you may introduce refinements, in the
way of wire-cutting men with each section, sand bags with each man,
and bags stuffed with straw carried ready to throw on to abatis or to
fill up trenches, to be carried in a fixed place in the company.
_IV. Night Entrenching._
Practise marching with arms and tools, and taking up a position to
be entrenched, with especial regard to avoidance of noise. When
entrenching by night, the trenches cannot be chosen to give a
field of fire unless it has been possible to obtain access to the
locality by day, and mark them in advance; failing this the company
commander, as soon as the position is reached, must send patrols,
and go himself, to ascertain that no commanding ground, at least
in the immediate vicinity, has been left unoccupied, and, at the
first light, all other such points within effective range as it is
possible to hold, should be secured and entrenched, without orders
from higher commanders. A full illustration of this, however, can
only be done by parading at night.
_V. Search Work._
Practise the company in going off, as if detached from the column to
get touch with other troops, or to find a gate or bridge by which
some obstacle, wall, canal, etc., met with, can be passed. The
company moves off dropping connecting files to keep touch with the
halted column, the files halt at their distances, and pass word if
the company has achieved its mission, and close on the company when
the column comes up, but not before, else the column will be left out
of touch; or, if the need has passed and the company is recalled to
the column, the connecting files again remain at their posts till the
company is gathered back on them.
_VI. Surprises._
When only a few men are on parade, advanced education, combined with
some amusement, may be got by experimenting in the best ways of
laying out obnoxious persons, such as hostile patrols, who have to
be rushed in silence (F.S.R., 138 (5)). Before beginning a stalk,
the quarry should be kept under observation to see which way he looks
when halted, and any other idiosyncrasies. The assailant should creep
up to him either on his flank, or from behind, moving one foot at a
time, and bending down, though not on all fours. If the sentry looks
his way, he must stay absolutely motionless, till he again looks
away. My informant on this matter was a friend of a successful rifle
thief in Upper India.
After putting the company through the above daylight course, you
should, of course, put theory into practice and do some real night
work whenever you get the chance, putting out a skeleton enemy or
some observers to tell you how much noise you make, and follow out
the full instructions as to orders, watchwords, etc., given in
F.S.R., 138 and 139. Test your men as to their ability to see in the
dark; some men can see much more than others; spot these men and tell
them off as “Night Scouts.” Even if they are not otherwise qualified
as scouts, they are most useful in guiding the company over rough
ground.
A SCHEME OF A COMPANY TRAINING.
I give below, as an example of the application of the foregoing
exercises, a scheme of company training which I actually carried out.
This was in the days before platoons, so I have altered the scheme to
show what I should have done had the company organisation been what
it now is. I was given from Monday in one week to Saturday the next
week to march out into camp, about 10 miles, and get back, i.e., two
days of march, and ten halted working days. I had thirty-five rounds
per man of ball cartridge available for field practice musketry, and
a sufficiency of blank for the requirements of skeleton enemy and
for use with the men in one or two of the exercises. My men were
Regulars, and during the previous furlough season I had grounded them
piecemeal in field work.