Manual of Military Training, James A. Moss [books under 200 pages .TXT] 📗
- Author: James A. Moss
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To advance: Raise vertically the lantern or other object with which the signal is made.
To halt: Lower and raise the object several times.
To lie down: Bring the object down near the ground.
To form squad columns: Move the object several times to the right and left.
To form platoon columns: Describe several circles.
As skirmishers: Move the object front to rear several times.
1102. Night Marches. In acting as an advance guard to a column, the company would send out a point a few yards ahead, which would be followed by the rest of the company. Three or four scouts should be sent out a hundred yards or so ahead of the point. They should advance at a quick pace, keeping in the shadow on the side of the road, being constantly on the alert, using their ears even more than their eyes. They will halt to listen at crossroads and suspicious places, and move on again when they hear the company approaching. Should the enemy be discovered, one of the scouts will return to warn the advance guard—the others will conceal themselves and watch. Under no circumstances must the scouts ever fire, unless it be for the purpose of warning the company and there is no other way of doing so. The diagram on the opposite page is suggested as a good formation for a company acting as advance guard at night. A company marching alone would move in the same formation as when acting as advance guard, except that it would protect its rear with a few scouts. Of course, the nature of the country and proximity and activity of the enemy, will determine the best formation to be used, but whatever the formation may be, always remember to cover well your front, rear and flanks, with scouts, whose distance away will vary with the light and nature of the country. Don't forget that protection in rear is very important.
The men must be warned against firing, smoking, talking, striking matches, making noise, etc. They should also be informed of the object in view, direction of the enemy, etc.
In night marches the rests should not exceed five minutes; otherwise, many men will fall asleep.
OUTPOSTSCareful training in outpost duty at night is very harassing, but, in view of its importance, should not be neglected. This instruction should be given with the greatest thoroughness, strictness and attention to detail.
1103. Sentries Challenging. In challenging sentries must be careful to avoid any noise that would disclose their position. In fact, challenging by voice should be reduced to a minimum by arranging a system of signals by which the officers of the day, patrols, etc., can be recognized. The following signals, any one of which may be decided upon, which would be made first by the sentry and then answered by the approaching party, are suggested: Clap the hands together twice; strike the ground twice with the butt of the rifle; strike the butt of the rifle twice with the hand; whistle softly twice. The replying signal would be the same as the sentry's signal, except that in case of the use of the butt of the rifle, an officer would reply by striking twice on his revolver holster. After repeating the signal once, if it is not answered, the sentry will challenge with the voice, but no louder than is necessary. In case of a patrol only one man will advance to be recognized after the signal has been answered. The sentry must always allow persons to approach fairly near before challenging.
1104. Sentries Firing. Anyone who has been through a campaign knows how nervous green sentries are, and how quick they are about firing. During the beginning of the Philippine Campaign the author heard of several cases where sentries fired on fire-flies several hundred yards away. Never fire unless it be absolutely necessary to give an alarm, or unless you can clearly distinguish the enemy and are fairly certain of hitting him. In the French Army in Algeria, there is a rule that any sentry who fires at night must produce a corpse, or be able to show by blood marks that he hit the person fired at. If he can do neither, he is punished for giving a false alarm.
1105. Marking of Route from Outguards to Supports. The route from the support to the outguards, and from pickets to their sentries, should, if necessary, be clearly marked with scraps of paper, green sticks with the bark peeled off, or in any other suitable way.
1106. Readiness for Action. The supports should always be ready for action. The men must sleep with their rifles beside them and in such places that they will be able to fall in promptly in case of attack. Some men have a way of sleeping with their blankets over their heads. This should not be allowed—the ears must always be uncovered. The commander, or the second in command, with several men, should remain awake. When the commander lies down he should do so near the sentry, which is always posted over the support.
GENERAL1107. Connections. It is of the greatest importance that proper connection be maintained between the different parts of a command engaged in night operations. It is astonishing with what facility units go astray and how difficult it is for them to find their way back where they belong.
1108. Preparation. It matters not what the nature of the night operation may be, the most careful preparation is necessary. Success often depends upon the care and thoroughness with which the plans are made.
All possible eventualities should be thought of and provided for as far as praticable. The first thing to do is to get as much information as possible about the ground to be covered and the position of the enemy, and care must be taken to see that the information is accurate. Reconnaissance must be made by night as well as by day; for, ground looks very different at night from what it does during the day.
FIELD ENGINEERING
1109. The following, from the Engineer Field Manual, together with the elements of field engineering covered in Chapter XI, on Obstacles, will give the company officer a good, working knowledge of those parts of field engineering for which he is most likely to have need.
Bridges1111. Dimensions and guard rail. A roadway 9 ft. wide in the clear should be provided to pass infantry in fours, cavalry two abreast, and military wagons in one direction; a width of 6 ft. will suffice for infantry in column of twos, cavalry in single file, and field guns passed over by hand.
The clear width of roadway of an ordinary highway bridge should not be less than 12 ft. for single track, or 20 ft. for double track.
The clear head room in ordinary military bridges should not be less than 9 ft. for wagons and cavalry; for highway bridges not less than 14 ft.
Ramps at the ends of a bridge, if intended for artillery, should not be steeper than 1 on 7. For animals, slopes steeper than 1 on 10 are inconvenient.
If the bridges are high, hand rails should be provided. A single rope may suffice, or it may have brush placed upon it to form a screen.
A guard rail should be provided along each side of the roadway, near the ends of the flooring planks. In hasty bridges it may be secured by a lashing or lashings through the planking to the stringer underneath. Otherwise it may be fastened with spikes or bolts.
1112. Spar bridges.—This name is applied to bridges built of round timbers lashed together. Intermediate points of support are provided by inclined frames acting as struts to transmit weight from the middle of the bridge to the banks. The single-lock and double-lock bridges with two and three spans of 15 ft., respectively, are the ones of most utility.
The first step in constructing a spar bridge is to measure the gap to be bridged and select the position of the footings on either bank. Determine the distance from each footing to the middle point of the roadway if a single-lock, or the two corresponding points of a double-lock bridge. Next determine and mark on each spar except the diagonals the places where other spars cross it. The marking may be done with chalk, or with an ax. If possible a convenient notation should be adopted. As, for example, in marking with chalk, a ring around the spar where the edge of the crossing spar will come, and a diagonal cross on the part which will be hidden by the crossing spar.
A simple way to determine the length of spars is the following: Take two small lines somewhat longer than the width of the gap, double each and lash the bights together. Stretch them tightly across the gap so that the lashing comes at the middle as at A, Fig. 8. Release one end of each and stretch it to the footing on the same side as indicated by the dotted lines. Mark each line at the footing C or C', and at the position chosen for the abutment sill, B or B'. Cut the lashing and take each piece of rope to its own side. The distances AB and AB' are the lengths between the transoms, and with 2 ft. added give the length of road bearers required. The distances AC and AC' are the lengths of struts from butt to top of transom, and with 3 ft added, give the total length of spars required.
For a double lock bridge, a piece of rope of a length equal to the length of the middle bay replaces the lashing. If the banks are not parallel, a measurement should be taken on each side of the bridge.
If desired, a section of the gap may be laid down on the ground in full size and the lengths of spars determined by laying them in place. This method, though given as standard by all authorities, requires more time and more handling of material than the other and gives no better results.
The construction of a frame is shown in Fig. 1, and the system of marking in Fig. 2. The arrangement of frames to form a single lock bridge is shown in Figs. 3 and 4, and a double lock bridge in Fig 6.
Fig. 1 Fig. 1 Fig. 2 Fig. 2
1113. Construction of single-lock bridges, Figs. 3, 4, and 5.—Suitable for spans of 30 ft. or less. The two frames lock together at the center of the span; their slope must not be more than 4 on 7. The bridge can be erected by two or three noncommissioned officers and 20 men, one-half on each side of the gap. Heavy spars require more men.
The footings at A and B must be firm, horizontal if possible, and at right angles to the axis of the bridge. In a masonry pier they may be cut out. In firm soil a simple trench will suffice. In yielding soil a plank or sill must be laid in the trench. The frames are made of such length as to give a slight camber to the bridge, which may be increased to allow for probable settlement of the footings. The inside
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