Everything else being equal the army that possesses the most accurate information about the enemy will win. Military history recites the fact that almost every important battle has been either lost or won because of information or lack of information that one side had or did not have of the other side. It is by the use of patrols that the most valuable information of the enemy is usually obtained.

There are many kinds of patrols, but it is with reconnoitering or information seeking patrols that this chapter deals.

DUTIES OF A PATROL

Each reconnoitering patrol is given a certain mission (duty) to perform. The name, "reconnoitering," meaning to survey, to view, indicates that its first duty is to get information, and information is always greatly increased in value if the enemy does not know it has been obtained. Having obtained valuable information, its next duty is to send this information to the officer sending out the patrol.

STRENGTH

The strength of the patrol will generally depend on its mission and on the number of messages that it will probably send back. The larger the patrol the greater the probability of the enemy seeing it. On the other hand, if it is too small, it will not have sufficient members to send in important information and continue operations. Captain Waldron in his book, "Scouting and Patrolling," recommends a patrol of a leader and six selected men for ordinary reconnaissance. This number makes it possible for the patrol leader to place a man out on each flank, a man in advance, two to remain with him and one to remain in the rear as the get-away man. The officer who sends out the patrol determines its strength.

COMMANDER

The leader should be an officer or a noncommissioned officer. He must have good judgment, be cool, be quick in making a decision, be strong in physique, have initiative, and be brave, but not to the extent of rashness. Besides his regular equipment he should have a good pair of field glasses, a compass, a watch, wire cutters, pencils, a message book, and a map of the country.

INSTRUCTIONS

The officer sending out a patrol should give it instructions on the following points:

1. Information of the enemy and of friendly supporting troops.

2. The mission of the patrol. This will include the general direction in which it is to go.

3. How long the patrol is to remain out.

4. Where messages are to be sent.

PREPARATION

Before going out the patrol commander will make a careful inspection of the members of his patrol in order to see:

1. That the members are in a suitable condition for the duty to be performed. (Not drunk, sick, lame, having a bad cough, etc.)

2. That each man is properly armed and has the requisite amount of ammunition.

3. That the accoutrement is so arranged that it will not rattle or glisten in the sunlight.

4. That no man has anything about him that will afford the enemy valuable information in the event of capture.

At the conclusion of this inspection he will, in the presence of the officer sending out the patrol, go over his orders, giving his men all the information that he has of the enemy and his own troops; state the duty (mission) of the patrol so that all may know what they are going to accomplish, and he will follow this with a statement of his general plan for carrying it out. He will designate an assembly point should the patrol be dispersed. He will designate a second in command should he be disabled.

FORMATION

SUGGESTED FORMATIONS FOR PATROLS
SUGGESTED FORMATIONS FOR PATROLS

It is impossible to lay down any hard-and-fast rule governing the formation and conduct of the operations of a patrol. Each situation will have to be worked out by itself. The patrol should assume the general formation of a column of troops on the march; that is, it will have an advance guard, a main body, flankers and a rear guard. These several elements may each be represented by only one man.

CONDUCT OF THE PATROL

In communicating with each other for ordinary purposes the members of the patrol use signals agreed upon before the start. For this purpose each man must constantly keep within sight and hearing distance of the leader. A patrol moves cautiously, taking advantage of all available cover, seeking in every way to see without being seen. It halts frequently to listen and make careful observations of its surroundings. Except at night a patrol should not move on roads. Villages and inhabited places should not as a rule be entered. During the daytime it seeks high ground from which it can scan the country and at night it seeks a position from which the sky line can be observed.

ENCOUNTERING THE ENEMY

If a small hostile patrol is encountered it is generally better to remain in concealment and let it pass than to attack. The noise of a fight may be heard by the enemy, the presence of the patrol therefore indicated, and the enemy will take further precautions to oppose its operations. If the patrol is suddenly attacked or surprised by a superior force, the patrol should at once scatter in all directions and the members make their way back to the last place designated as a meeting place and then after reuniting continue the reconnaissance. When a patrol fights it does so resolutely. Courage and coolness may bring about success when adverse conditions are encountered.

RETURNING

A patrol can never be certain that the enemy's patrols are not operating in its rear. Hence in returning, it is necessary to observe the usual precautions. If the patrol has eluded the enemy, it is best to return over a route other than that over which the start was made. If a patrol, after having accomplished its mission, is being pursued, it is well, especially when near its own lines, to engage the pursuing troops so as to give warning of its approach to the outpost line. Under the conditions just mentioned, except the patrol is a great distance from its outpost line, it may be necessary as a last resort to have the patrol scatter and each man return individually.