The first thing to be done is to accustom the soldier to darkness, to teach him to overcome the nervousness which is natural to him, and to train his powers of vision and hearing to suit conditions which are strange to him.

Training of Vision.

Two or three men, under an instructor, should be taken out to ground with which they are perfectly familiar. The instructor will direct them to 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, i.e., in khaki, in a tunic, in shirt-sleeves, etc., when viewed against different backgrounds; the ease with which bright objects are seen, especially if in movement. If there is rising ground in the vicinity the difference in the visibility of men standing on the sky-line or on the sides of the slope should be noted. Experiments in the distance at which a match struck in the open and also under cover of some object, or a man smoking, can be seen should also be made. Blank cartridges should be fired, and recruits taught to judge the direction in which the rifle was pointing and its approximate distance from them.

Training of Hearing.

To train their powers of hearing, men, placed a few yards apart, should be made to guess what a noise heard is caused by, and the approximate position of it. The rattle of a mess tin, the working of the bolt of a rifle, the movement of a patrol, the throwing down of accoutrements, low talking, or any noise likely to be heard on outposts may be utilised. Special pains must be taken to impress upon the men the penetrating power of the human voice. The distance at which men talking, even in a low voice, can be heard on a still night is astonishing, and as it is a sound which cannot be mistaken for anything else, and which disturbs birds and animals more than any other, it is most important that the recruit should be shown the absolute necessity of keeping perfect silence.

At this stage it is a good practice to post the men in pairs at intervals along an alignment which the instructors endeavour to cross unnoticed. The instructors should cross from both sides, so as to compel the recruits to watch in every direction.

Finding Bearings.

When the recruit has become accustomed to the dark, and entirely overcome his nervousness, he should be taught to find his bearings by the pole star, to check the direction of his advance by means of stars, landmarks, or even the wind, and conversely by the same means to find his way back to the point from which he started. He should also be taught to recognise the phases of the moon, and to judge whether it is rising or setting.

To test a man’s ability to keep a given direction when moving at night, the following plan is useful. Having chosen a spot from which no prominent landmarks are visible, the instructor, accompanied by the recruit, will advance towards it from a distance of not less than 200 paces. While advancing the recruit must take his bearings. On arriving at the spot chosen the instructor will turn the recruit rapidly round two or three times, and then order him to continue his advance on the same line as before.

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.

From the commencement of the training the instructor will not fail to continually impress upon the men that it is absolutely criminal to fire during a night attack, and that the bayonet is the only weapon the assailants can use with advantage to themselves and safety to their comrades. Except during a brief period in the middle of summer, it is generally possible to carry out these elementary exercises before 10 p.m., and in the short winter evenings they can take place immediately after the men’s tea. It is always advisable that the men should have had a meal shortly before starting to work in the dark, and if the weather is cold, or they are kept out late, they should be given soup or cocoa on their return.