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

CAMPS

1230. Principles governing selection of camp sites. The following basic principles govern in the selection of camp sites:

(a) The water supply should be sufficient, pure, and accessible.

(b) The ground should accommodate the command with as little crowding as possible, be easily drained, and have no stagnant water within 300 yards.

(c) There should be good roads to the camp and good interior communication.

(d) Camp sites should be so selected that troops of one unit need not pass through the camp grounds of another to reach their own camp.

(e) Wood, grass, forage, and supplies must be at hand or obtainable.

(f) In campaign, tactical considerations come first in the selection of camp sites, capability of defense being especially considered, and, as a result, troops may have to camp many nights on objectionable ground.

(g) However, sanitary considerations must always be given all the weight possible consistent with the tactical requirements. Through no fault of their own, troops occupying an unsanitary site may suffer greater losses than in the battles of a long campaign.

1231. Desirable camp sites. The following conditions are desirable for camp sites:

(a) Porous soil, covered with stout turf and underlaid by a sandy or gravelly subsoil.

(b) High banks of rivers, provided no marshes are near.

(c) In cold weather, a southern exposure, with woods to the north to break the cold winds.

(d) In warm weather, an exposure toward the prevailing winds, with site moderately shaded by trees.

1232. Undesirable camp sites. The following conditions are undesirable for camp sites:

(a) Clay soil, or where the ground water approaches the surface, such sites being damp and unhealthful.

(b) Alluvial, marshy ground, and ground near the base of hills, or near thick woods or dense vegetation are also damp.

(c) Ravines and depressions are likely to be unduly warm and to have insufficient or undesirable currents.

(d) Proximity to marshes or stagnant water is usually damp, and has mosquitoes, which transmit malaria, dengue fever and yellow fever.

(e) Old camp sites are dangerous, as they are often permeated by elements of disease which persist for considerable periods.

(f) Dry beds of streams are subject to sudden freshets.

(g) In the tropics troops should not camp nearer than 500 yards to native huts or villages because of danger from malarial infection.

1233. Form and dimensions of camps. The form and dimensions of camps depend upon the tactical situation and the amount and nature of ground available. However, in general, the form and dimensions of a regimental or battalion camp should conform as nearly as practicable to the diagram on the opposite page, and camps of all sizes should, as far as possible, conform to the principles, regarding arrangement, underlying the diagram given on the opposite page, which gives the general form, dimensions, and interior arrangements of a camp for a regiment of Infantry at war strength. In certain cases, particularly in one-night halts in the presence of the enemy, camps must of necessity be contracted, while in other cases, where a more extended halt is contemplated and where tactical reasons will permit, better camp sanitation may be secured, and a more comfortable arrangement made by the expansion of camp areas.

1234. Making camp. The command should be preceded by the commanding officer or a staff officer, who selects the camp site, and designates, by planting stakes, the lines of tents, the positions of the sinks, guard tent, kitchens, picket line, etc.

After the companies are marched to their proper positions and arms are stacked, the details for guard and to bring wood, water, dig sinks, pitch tents, handle rations, etc., should be made before ranks are broken.

Immediately upon reaching camp and before the men are allowed to go around, patrolling sentinels should be established to prevent men from polluting the camp site or adjoining ground before the sinks are constructed.

Sentinels should be posted over the water supply without delay.

As soon as the tents have been pitched and the sinks dug, the camp should be inspected and all unnecessary sentinels relieved.

The tents should be pitched and the sinks dug simultaneously.

Should the troops reach camp before the wagons, the companies may be divided into squads and set to work clearing the ground, gathering fire wood, collecting leaves, grass, etc., for beds, etc.

The moment a command reaches camp its officers and men usually want to go here and there under all sorts of pretexts. No one should be allowed to leave camp until all necessary instructions have been given.

Enlisted men should not be permitted to leave camp without permission of their company commanders.

Sick call should be held as soon as practicable after the tents have been pitched.

CAMP OF A REGIMENT OF INFANTRY, WAR STRENGTH Fig. 1 Fig. 1 MISCELLANEOUS

1235. Retreat. In camp retreat formation should always be under arms, an officer being present with each company and inspecting the arms.

1236. Parade ground. In front of every camp of permanent nature, there should be a parade ground for drills and ceremonies.

1237. Camping on fordable stream. In camping for the night on a fordable stream that is to be crossed, cross before going into camp, unless there is some tactical reason for not doing so; for a sudden rise, or the appearance of the enemy, might prevent the crossing the next morning.

1238. Windstorms. Whenever windstorms are expected, the tent pegs should be secured and additional guy ropes attached to the tents.

Tents may be prevented from blowing down by being made fast at the corners to posts firmly driven into the ground, or by passing ropes over the ridge poles and fastening them to pegs firmly set into the ground.

1239. Making tent poles and pegs fast in loose soil. If the soil be loose or sandy, stones or other hard material should be placed under the tent poles to prevent their working into the soil, thus leaving the tent slack and unsteady. When the soil is so loose that the pegs will not hold at all, fasten the guy ropes to brush, wood or rocks buried in the ground.

1240. Trees sometimes dangerous. While trees add very much to the comfort of a camp, care should be exercised not to pitch tents near trees whose branches or trunks might fall.

CHAPTER XV

CAMP SANITATION

1241. Definition. By "Camp Sanitation" is meant the adoption of measures to keep the camp in a healthy condition. These measures comprise:

(a) The disposal, so as to render them harmless and prevent pollution, of all wastes, refuse and excreta from men and animals in suitable places provided therefor;

(b) The care exercised in handling, preparing and serving food;

(c) The adequacy of shelter for the men;

(d) The maintenance of proper drainage;

(e) The supply of water for bathing and washing, and the maintenance of a pure supply for drinking.

1242. Camp expedients. "Camp-expedients" is the name given the mechanical means used to put into effect some of the measures, named above, connected with camp sanitation, and usually consist of latrines, kitchen sinks, urinal tubs, rock or earth incinerators, and drainage ditches.

1243. Latrines. The latrines must be dug immediately upon reaching camp—their construction must not be delayed until the camps have been pitched and other duties performed. The exact location of the latrines should be determined by the commanding officer, or by some officer designated by him, the following considerations being observed:

1. They should be so located as not to contaminate the water supply.

2. They should not be placed where they can be flooded by rain water from higher ground, nor should they be so placed that they can pollute the camp by overflow in case of heavy rains.

3. They should be as far from the tents as is compatible with convenience—if too near, they will be a source of annoyance; if too far, some men, especially at night, and particularly if affected with diarrhoea, will defecate before reaching the latrine. Under ordinary circumstances, a distance of about 50 yards is considered sufficient.

Latrines for the men are always located on the opposite side of the camp from the kitchens, generally one for each company unit and one for the officers of a battalion or squadron. They are so placed that the drainage or overflow can not pollute the water supply or camp grounds.

When the camp is for one night only, straddle trenches suffice. In camp of longer duration, and when it is not possible to provide latrine boxes, as for permanent camps, deeper trenches should be dug. These may be used as straddle trenches or a seat improvised. When open trenches are used the excrement must be kept covered at all times with a layer of earth. In more permanent camps the trenches should be 2 feet wide, 6 feet deep, and 15 feet long, and suitably screened. Seats with lids are provided and covered to the ground to keep flies from reaching the deposits; urinal troughs discharging into trenches are provided. Each day the latrine boxes are thoroughly cleaned, outside by scrubbing and inside by applying, when necessary, a coat of oil or whitewash. The pit is burned out daily with approximately 1 gallon oil and 15 pounds straw. When filled to within 2 feet of the surface, such latrines are discarded, filled with earth, and their position marked. All latrines and kitchen pits are filled in before the march is resumed. In permanent camps and cantonments, urine tubs may be placed in the company streets at night and emptied after reveille.

All latrines must be filled before marching. The following illustration shows a very simple and excellent latrine seat which can be made and kept in the company permanently for use in camps on the march:

Fig. 1 Fig. 1

Urinal troughs, made of muslin and coated with oil or paint, should discharge into the trenches.

1244. Urinal tubs. When obtainable, urinal tubs or cans should be placed in the company streets at night, their location being indicated by lighted lanterns, the tubs or cans being removed at reveille.

Fig. 2 Fig. 2

1245. Kitchens. Camp kettles can be hung on a support consisting of a green pole lying in the crotches of two upright posts of the same character. A narrow trench for the fire, about 1 foot deep, dug under the pole, not only protects the fire from the wind but saves fuel.

 

Fig. 3 Fig. 3

A still greater economy of fuel can be effected by digging a similar trench in the direction of the wind and slightly narrower than the diameter of the kettles. The kettles are then placed on the trench and the space between the kettles filled in with stones, clay, etc., leaving the flue running beneath the kettles. The draft can

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