Manual of Military Training by James A. Moss (best value ebook reader .TXT) 📕

troops. A long march should not be made with untrained troops. If a long distance must be covered in a few days, the first march should be short, the length being increased each succeeding day.

1215. A successful march. A successful march, whether in peace or war, is one that places the troops at their destination at the proper time and in the best possible physical condition. Therefore, every possible effort, by exercising care and judgment, and by enforcing march discipline, must be made by all officers and noncommissioned officers to have the troops reach their destination in good physical condition,—"ready for business."

Preparation

1216. The commander. The commander must give such instructions as will insure that the necessary preparations are made,—that the men and animals are in fit condition and that the men are properly equipped; that provision has been made for rations and ammunition; that the wagons are properly loaded; that the necessary arrangements have been made for caring for the sick, etc.

1217. Organization commanders. Every organization commander is responsible that such of the above requirements as apply to his organization are complied with.

1218. Filling canteens. It is an invariable rule that all canteens must be filled before the march begins.

Starting

1219. Time to start. When practicable, marches begin in the morning, ample time being allowed for the men to breakfast, animals to feed, and the wagons or animals to be packed.

The time for reveille, if different from the usual hour, should be announced the evening before.

The exact hour for the start depends, of course, upon circumstances. However, as a rule, foot troops do not start before broad daylight; mounted troops, when practicable, about an hour after broad daylight.

In order to avoid intense heat, especially in the tropics, and also, in the case of long marches, to avoid reaching destination after dark, an earlier start than usual must be made.

Both men and animals rest well in the early morning hours, and should not, therefore, have this rest interrupted unless there is some real necessity for it.

Starting at night or at an hour that will cause a part of the march to be made at night, should, if possible, be avoided, because of the difficulties and disadvantages of night marching.

Conduct of the march

1220. The rate of march. The rate of march varies with the length of march, kind of troops, equipment carried, size of command, condition of troops, state of the weather, condition of roads, and other circumstances. However, whatever the rate may be it should be uniform, that is most important, as there is nothing that will irritate and tire a command more than a varying, un-uniform rate of march.

The rate of march is regulated by the commander of the leading company or some one designated by him, who should give the matter special attention, the rate being checked from time to time by a watch.

On a march of several days' duration the position of companies is ordinarily changed daily, so that each in turn leads.

With trained troops, in commands of a regiment or less, marching over average roads, the rate should be from 23/4 to 3 miles per hour. With larger commands carrying full equipment, the rate will be from 2 to 21/2 miles per hour.

Assuming that the length of step of the average man is 30 inches, the following rate-of-march table is deduced:

Steps per minute Miles per hour 35 (1/5) 1 70 2 88 (in practice, 90) 21/2 97 (in practice, 100) 23/4 106 (in practice, 110) 3

[Note. By remembering that 35 (1/5) steps per minute gives 1 mile per hour, the number of steps per minute necessary to give a rate of 2, 21/2, 23/4 and 3 miles per hour, is quickly and easily obtained by multiplying 35 (1/5) by these numbers.]

In hot, sultry weather, with the men carrying the full pack, the rate of march would naturally be considerably less than on a cool day, with the command not carrying the pack. It is most important that these and other considerations affecting the rate of march be constantly borne in mind by the officer in command of the column, who should indicate to the commander of the leading company the number of steps to be taken per minute. In indicating the number of steps to be taken per minute, it should be considered whether the men at the head of the leading company are the average, above the average, or below the average in height. A short man, for example, would probably have to take 100 steps a minute to keep up with a tall man walking at the rate of 90 steps per minute.

1221. Marching capacity. The average marching capacity of Infantry is about 15 miles a day, but in extensive operations, involving large bodies of troops, the average is about 12 miles a day. Small commands of seasoned Infantry marching on good roads in cool weather can average about 20 miles a day.

1222. Halts. A halt of 15 minutes should be made after the first half or three quarters of an hour of marching to enable the men to attend to the calls of nature and adjust their clothing. Judgment must be exercised in selecting the place for this halt; it should not be made in a village or other place where its object would be defeated.

After the first halt a halt of 10 minutes is made in each hour, that is, the troops march 50 minutes and then halt 10. Of course, the number and length of halts should be varied according to the weather, condition of the roads and the equipment carried by the men. In the tropics the best results are often obtained by marching 45 minutes and halting 15.

When the day's march will run well into the afternoon, a halt of about one hour should be made at noon and the men allowed to eat.

Places for long halts should be selected with care; woods, water and shade are desirable features. Arms are stacked and equipments removed.

Halts should not be made in or near towns or villages unless to procure water or supplies, and when so made, the men remain in column, details being sent for whatever is necessary.

In hot weather, especially in the tropics, it may be advisable in the case of long marches to halt for three or four hours during the hottest part of the day and finish the march in the late afternoon or early evening. As a general proposition, however, it is inadvisable to arrive at a strange place after nightfall or even late in the afternoon.

1223. Crossing bridges and fords. When a cause of delay,—for example, a damaged bridge,—is encountered, the troops in rear are notified of the minimum length of the delay; they then conduct themselves as at regular halts.

In ascending or descending slopes, crossing streams or other obstacles, or passing through defiles requiring a reduction of front, every precaution is taken to prevent interruption of the march of the troops in rear. If the distances are not sufficient to prevent check, units are allowed to overlap; if necessary, streams are crossed at two or more places at the same time; in passing through short defiles the pace is accelerated and the exit cleared at once.

If a company unit is delayed while crossing an obstacle, the head slackens the pace or halts until all of that unit has passed; it then resumes its place in the column, increasing the pace, if necessary.

Before attempting to cross with bodies of troops, careful examination is made of fords, boggy places, bridges of doubtful character, ice, etc., as the case may be.

Troops must never cross a bridge in cadence,—that is, the men must not be in step.

In fording a deep stream with a swift current, the men cross on as broad a front as possible, marching abreast and holding hands. They should not look at the water, but at the opposite shore. If the ford is wide enough, mounted troops may cross at the same time on the upstream side, thus breaking the force of the current.

Fords that are at all difficult delay long columns unless the troops cross at several places at once.

1224. Straggling and elongation of column. The marching efficiency of an organization is judged by the amount of straggling and elongation of the column and the condition of the men at the end of the march.

An officer of each company marches in its rear to prevent undue elongation and straggling. If there be only one officer with a company, the first sergeant performs this duty.

No man should leave the ranks without permission. If necessary for a man to fall out on account of sickness, he should be given a permit to do so by the company commander or the officer at the rear of the company. This permit is presented to the surgeon, who will admit him to the ambulance, have him wait for the trains, or follow and rejoin his company at the first halt.

It is the duty of all officers and noncommissioned officers to prevent straggling and elongation of the column.

MISCELLANEOUS

1225. Forced marches. A forced march may be said to be a march of more than average length.

Forced marches seriously impair the fighting power of even the best troops, and should be undertaken only in cases of necessity.

Such marches are generally made by increasing the number of marching hours. For large columns of Infantry marching long distances, increase of pace is seldom of value.

1226. Night marches. While night marches are some times made in very hot weather to avoid the heat of the day, they are generally made for the purpose of surprising the enemy, escaping observation by aeroplane, or for securing a favorable position from which to attack the enemy at dawn.

Moonlight and good roads are favorable for night marches.

Precaution must be taken that the proper road is followed and that contact between units is maintained, men being stationed, if necessary, to mark changes of direction. If necessary, guides are secured and charged with the duty of following the right road. When, due to unfavorable conditions, units cannot be kept well closed, men will be placed at forks and crossings of roads, especially on very dark nights.

When in hostile territory, silence is maintained; articles of equipment are secured to prevent rattling, and smoking and talking are not permitted. Also, under certain conditions villages and farmhouses are avoided on account of warning given by dogs.

Night marches impair the efficiency of a command and are never undertaken without good reason.

1227. Compliments. As a rule, troops on the march pay no compliments; individuals salute when they address, or are addressed by, a superior officer.

1228. Protection on the march. Protection on the march is furnished by covering detachments known as advance guards, rear guards and flank guards.

1229. Fitting of shoes and care of feet. In view of the fact that the greater part of the Infantry soldier's occupation in the field consists of marching, too much stress cannot be laid upon the importance of his paying special attention to the fitting of his shoes and the care of his feet.

An Infantryman with sore feet is like a lame duck trying to keep up with the rest of the flock.

Keep your feet clean. Dirty feet invite blisters. An excellent preventative against sore feet is to wash them every night in hot (preferably salt) water and then dry them thoroughly. If this is not practicable, then mop them every evening with a wet towel and invigorate the skin with a good rubbing.

Keep the nails cut close.

Rubbing the feet with hard soap, grease, or oil of any kind, and putting ordinary talcum powder in the shoes before starting on a march, are very good to