Manual of Military Training Part 89

3. Half an hour later two other squads, wearing white bands around their hats, or having other distinguishing marks, are sent out as "cats" to locate, if possible, and report upon the position of the "mice."

4. An hour is fixed when the exercise shall end, and if within the given time the "cats" have not discovered the "mice," the "mice" win.

5. The "cats" will write reports of any "mice" patrols they may see.

_Rules_

1. An umpire (officer or noncommissioned officer) goes with each patrol and his decisions as to capture and other matters are the orders of the company commander. The umpires must take every possible precaution to conceal themselves so as not to reveal the position of the patrols with which they are.

Each umpire will carry a watch, all watches being set with that of the company commander before the exercise commences.

2. Any "cat" patrol coming within 50 yards of a "mouse" patrol, without seeing the "mice," is considered captured.

3. When the time is up, the umpires will bring in the patrols and report to the company commander.

=1090. Flag-Stealing Contest.= 1. A section of country of suitable size, with well-defined limits, is selected, the boundaries being made known to the contestants.

2. The contestants are divided into two forces of about 20 men each, and each side will establish three Cossack posts along a general line designated by the company commander, the two positions being selected facing each other and being a suitable distance apart. The men not forming part of the Cossack posts will be used as reconnoitering patrols.

3. About three quarters of a mile in rear of the center of each line of outposts four flags will be planted, in line, about 30 yards apart.

4. The scouts and patrols of each force will try to locate the outposts of the other force, and then to work their way around or between them, steal the flags and bring them back to their own side.

They will endeavor to prevent the enemy from doing the same.

5. One scout or patrol will not carry away more than one flag at a time, and will have to return to their side safely with the flag before they can come back and capture another.

6. Scouts may work singly or in pairs. Any scout or patrol coming within 80 yards of a stronger hostile party, or Cossack post, will be considered as captured, if seen by the enemy, and if carrying a captured flag at the time, the flag will not count as having been captured. Of course, if a scout or patrol can pa.s.s within 80 yards of the enemy without being discovered, it may do so.

7. An umpire (officer or noncommissioned officer) will be with each Cossack post, each patrol, and at the position of the flags.

8. The hour when the exercise ends will be designated in advance and at that hour the umpires will bring in the Cossack posts and patrols.

The same requirements regarding watches obtains as in the Mouse and Cat Contest.

9. At the conclusion of the contest the commander of each side will hand in to the company commander all sketches and reports made by his men.

10. Points will be awarded as follows:

Each flag captured, 5.

For each sketch and hostile report of the position of a Cossack post, 3.

For each report of movements of a hostile patrol, 2.

The side getting the greatest number of points will win.

11. Umpires may penalize the contestants for a violation of the rules.

The same contest may be carried out at night, subst.i.tuting lighted j.a.panese lanterns for the flags.

FOOTNOTES:

[13] The best book on scouting that the author has ever seen, is Baden-Powell's "Aids to Scouting," which was consulted in the preparation of this chapter.

CHAPTER VIII

NIGHT OPERATIONS

=1091. Importance.= Because of the long range and great accuracy of modern fire arms, there has been in recent years a marked increase in the practice of night operations, such operations being of common occurrence not only for ma.s.sing troops under cover of darkness in favorable positions for further action, but also for actually a.s.saulting positions.

Read carefully pars. 464, 496, 498, 523, 524, 580-590.

TRAINING OF THE COMPANY

=1092.= Night movements are amongst the most difficult operations of war, and, therefore require the most careful, painstaking and thorough training and instruction of troops in all matters pertaining thereto.

The history of night fighting shows that in most cases defeat is due to disorganization through panic. It is said that in daylight the moral is to the physical as three is to one. That being the case, it is hard to say what the ratio is at night, when a general atmosphere of mystery, uncertainty and fear of surprise envelops the operations, and, of necessity affects the nerves of the men. The vital importance, therefore, of accustoming troops as much as we can in peace to the conditions that will obtain in night fighting, cannot be overestimated. The following outline shows the subjects in which individual and collective instruction and training should be given:

INDIVIDUAL TRAINING

=1093. General.= The first thing to be done is to accustom the soldier to darkness and to teach him to overcome the nervousness which is natural to the average man in darkness.

The best way to do this is to begin by training him in the use of his powers of vision and hearing under conditions of darkness, which are strange to him. The company should be divided into squads for this instruction.

=1094. Vision.= Take several men to ground with which they are familiar. Have them notice the different appearance which objects present at night; when viewed in different degrees of light and shade; the comparative visibility of men under different conditions of dress, background, etc.; the ease with which bright objects are seen; the difference between the visibility of men standing on a skyline and those standing on a slope. Post the men in pairs at intervals along a line which the instructors will endeavor to cross without being seen.

The instructors should cross from both sides, so as to compel observation in both directions. Have a man (later, several) walk away from the rest of the men and when he is about to disappear from view, halt him, and estimate the distance. Send a man (later, several) outside the field of vision, to advance on the rest of the men. Halt him when he enters the field of vision and estimate the distance. Send a number of men outside the limit of vision and then let them advance on the rest of the men, using cover and seeing how near they can approach un.o.bserved.

=1095. Hearing.= Place a number of men a few yards apart and make them guess what a noise is caused by, and its approximate position. The rattle of a meat can, the movement of a patrol, the working of the bolt of a rifle, the throwing down of accouterments, low talking, etc., may be utilized. Take special pains to impress upon the men the penetrating power of the human voice, and the necessity of preserving absolute silence in night operations. Have blank cartridges fired and teach the men to judge their direction and approximate distance away.

=1096. Finding Bearings.= Show the men how to determine the points of the compa.s.s from the North Star. The Big Dipper constellation looks like this:

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 1]

The North Star is on the prolongation of a line joining the two "pointing" stars, and at above five times the distance between the two stars. At another time have those same men individually locate the North Star. Using this star as a guide, practice the men moving in different directions, by such commands as, "Smith, move southeast."

"Jones, move northwest," etc.

To test a man's ability to keep a given direction when moving in the darkness, choose a spot from which no prominent landmarks are visible, advance toward it accompanied by a man, from a distance not less than 200 paces. While advancing the soldier must take his bearings. On arriving at the spot chosen the instructor will turn the soldier around rapidly two or three times and then have him continue to advance in the same direction as before. No prominent landmarks should be visible from the starting point.

=1097. Moving in the Dark.= Form four or five men in line with about one pace interval, the instructor being on one of the flanks. Place some clearly visible mark, such as a lantern, for the instructor to march on. Impress upon the men the importance of lifting their feet up high and bringing them to the ground quietly and firmly, and of keeping in touch with the guide and conforming to his movements without sound or signal. The pace should be slow and frequent halts should be made to test the promptness of the men in halting and advancing together. As the line advances, each man will in turn take his place on the flank and act as guide. The light on which the men are marching should be hidden from view at intervals, in order to test the ability of the men to maintain the original direction. Later on, the number of men in a line may be increased considerably. The rougher the ground, the darker the night and the longer the line, the slower must the pace be and the more frequent the halts. After pa.s.sing an obstacle men instinctively line up parallel to it, and consequently if the obstacle does not lie at right angles to the line of advance, the direction will be lost; so, be sure to guard against this.

=1098. Night Fencing.= Practice the men in charging in the dark against a white cloth or the dummy figure of a man. In the beginning have the figure in a fixed place, but later have the soldier charge seeking the figure, and not knowing just exactly where it is beforehand.

=1099. Night Entrenching.= It is frequently necessary in time of war to dig trenches at night in front of the enemy, and while this work is easy in the moonlight, it is very difficult in the dark. Bear in mind the following points: