Night Operations for Infantry: Compiled for the Use of Company OfficersDawkins, C. T.
History
Night Operations for Infantry: Compiled for the Use of Company Officers
Dawkins, C. T.
Infantry drill and tactics
_Moving in the Dark._
For this exercise three or four recruits, with the instructor on the
directing flank, will be placed in line at about one pace interval.
Some clearly visible mark, such as a lamp, should be placed as a point
for the directing file to march on. The instructor will impress upon
the men the importance of lifting the feet up high and putting them
down firmly and quietly, also of keeping in touch with their neighbour
on the directing flank, and of conforming to his movements without
sound or signal. The pace must be very slow, and frequent halts made to
test the quickness of the men in working together. As the instruction
progresses, each man in turn will take the instructor’s place on the
directing flank, and the light on which they are marching should be
obscured at intervals, in order to test their ability to maintain the
original direction.
When the recruits have thoroughly mastered the foregoing principles
they should be taken to more difficult ground, and gradually advanced
to work together in larger numbers. They must be taught to turn into
single file for the purpose of passing obstacles, and to form up
rapidly in single rank again without noise or confusion. It must
always be remembered that the rougher the ground, the darker the
night and the longer the line, the slower must be the pace and the
more frequent the halts. After passing any obstacle, such as a ditch,
hollow road, etc., which does not necessitate turning into file, it is
always advisable to halt and make sure that the alignment is correct.
After passing an obstacle men instinctively line up parallel to it;
consequently, if the obstacle does not lie exactly at right angles to
the line of advance, the direction is lost. I remember seeing a brigade
thrown into complete disorder by the neglect of this precaution, after
successfully advancing for about 1,000 yards on a very dark night. In
this case one flank of the line crossed a hollow road, lying at an
angle to the direction of the advance, and forming up parallel to it
advanced across the front of the rest, and altogether broke up their
formation.
_General._
During the earlier exercises the men may be taken out without arms,
but, as the instruction progresses, they must be trained to work in
full marching order. Each man must be taught to note carefully those
portions of his equipment which are likely to cause a noise under
special circumstances, such as lying down, rising up, crossing an
obstacle, etc., and to take precautions accordingly. Bayonets should
always be fixed, but to avoid accidents the scabbards should be on
them. Special attention must be paid to seeing that the rifles are
carried at the proper angle to prevent the bayonets clashing.
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.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account