Military Instructors ManualCole, J. P. (James Perry)
History
Military Instructors Manual
Cole, J. P. (James Perry)
Military art and science; United States. Army -- Military life; United States. Army -- Officers' handbooks
A. 1. An aeroplane cannot conduct reconnaissance at a height of less
than 5,000 feet without being within easy range of
anti-aircraft artillery; nor of less than 2,000 feet without
coming into range of machine-gun and rifle fire.
2. To be observed from such heights, objects on the ground must be
distinguished by:
(a) Motion.
(b) Color contrast.
(c) Line contrast, or
(d) Shadows.
B. Concealment:
1. (a) On warning of hostile aircraft, troops on the march should
withdraw to the side of the road (if possible, into shade),
or lie down flat in the road and remain motionless.
(b) If it is necessary to continue the march, this should be
done in broken detachments, which are far less distinct
than continuous column.
(c) Troops in a trench should crouch down in the shadowy side
and remain motionless.
(d) Faces should never be turned up, as the high lights on
cheek-bones and foreheads then show up distinctly.
(e) Bright metal on arms, equipment and headgear must be kept
covered.
2. Artillery wagon-trains, etc., should if possible be halted
promptly on warning. When halted, their neutral coloring
protects them.
3. Trenches are best concealed:
(a) By avoiding, in construction, a too regular outline, and
following as far as possible the contours of the ground.
(b) By coloring the parapet and parados to match the ground.
This may be done most quickly by painted canvas; if the
latter is not available, by planting or strewing the loose
earth with surrounding herbage. In this work care must be
taken not to make the covering itself too conspicuous by
brightness or monotony of coloring.
(c) By covering the trench itself, where convenient, with a thin
material, colored like the parapet and parados.
(d) By avoiding all overt movement of troops in the trenches
under observation.
4. Buildings, _e.g._, ammunition dumps, hangars, etc., can be
completely concealed by being painted the color of the
ground they stand on and fitted with canvas curtains,
similarly painted and stretched from the eaves to the
ground at a horizontal angle of 35 degrees. These curtains
completely eliminate shadows.
5. Success in each work of concealment by camouflage is best
assured by the assistance of an aeroplane observer to test
and correct it.
* * * * *
Orders Governing Intrenchment Problems at Second Plattsburg Training
Camp.
HEADQUARTERS PLATTSBURG TRAINING CAMP,
PLATTSBURG BARRACKS, NEW YORK.
SEPTEMBER 22, 1917.
DIVISIONAL ENTRENCHING PROBLEM.
General Situation:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account