The training of an infantry companyKirkpatrick, E. (Edward)
History
The training of an infantry company
Kirkpatrick, E. (Edward)
Great Britain. Army -- Infantry -- Drill and tactics; Infantry drill and tactics
Besides discipline, there are certain other moral influences which
give strength to an Army. These are indicated in I.T., 1 (4 and 5).
The two mighty forces of religion and patriotism are not treated
of here, as they have their roots not in any system of training,
but in the upbringing of the youth of the nation, but there is one
force which you, as a humble commander, can call into play, and that
is shame—the dread of losing the respect of oneself and of one’s
comrades. During peace training you may make men dread the public
shame of misbehaviour by the aid of those means of supervision which
I have suggested, but in war the power to supervise is greatly
curtailed, and it is very desirable to find something to replace it,
and, at the same time, to supplement a too absolute reliance on the
stoutness of men’s hearts, for this may prove a broken reed when the
troops are largely composed of unseasoned soldiers.
* * * * *
To a certain extent, the organisation of the company into permanent
sections provides us with the substitute we desire, as the men of
sections are likely to be cognisant of how their comrades behave
when out of view of the rest of the company as long as the whole
of the men of the section are in view of each other; but this will
not always be the case: for example, in wood fighting or in house
fighting, both of which would assuredly occur if our men have to
fight in Europe. In such fighting everything comes down to the
pushfulness of the individual soldiers, for even sections will lose
their leaders. Therefore let us carry the principle of the company
organisation logically one step further, and make the men of a file
as they fall in on parade in the section act in conjunction for the
remainder of that parade. This arrangement is recognised in the last
edition of the Musketry Regulations, and has, at various times, been
adopted in former drill books of our Army, and has given excellent
results, while, if the present book does not prescribe it, at least
it countenances it (I.T., 123 (12)), and I strongly recommend your
introducing it into your company. It is likely to produce emulation
in the fire fight among men whose hearts are in the right place, and
in the assault it must produce the advantages of combination, for two
men coming on with the bayonet in conjunction are far more likely to
do someone an injury than if they each came on independently, since
in the latter case a cool and skilful antagonist might dispose of one
and then the other, even as the Japanese are said to have stepped
aside when charged by the Russians, who, running forward blindly and
head down, fell an easy prey to their alert little enemies, and were
bayoneted in succession as they arrived. The proof of this pudding is
the eating thereof, and if your company ever happens to be alongside
a company told off daily into haphazard sections, as is sometimes
done, in spite of rules, you will then see the difference, even if it
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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