623. Marching constitutes the principal occupation of troops in campaign and is one of the heaviest causes of loss. This loss may be materially reduced by proper training and by the proper conduct of the march.
624. The training of infantry should consist of systematic physical exercises to develop the general physique and of actual marching to accustom men to the fatigue of bearing arms and equipment.
Before mobilization troops should be kept in good physical condition and so practiced as to teach them thoroughly the principles of marching. At the first opportunity after mobilization the men should be hardened to cover long distances without loss.
625. With new or untrained troops, the process of hardening the men to this work must be gradual. Immediately after being mustered into the service the physical exercises and marching should be begun. Ten-minute periods of vigorous setting-up exercises should be given three times a day to loosen and develop the muscles. One march should be made each day, with full equipment, beginning with a distance of 2 or 3 miles and increasing the distance daily as the troops become hardened, until a full day's march under full equipment may be made without exhaustion.
626. A long march should not be made with untrained troops. If a long distance must be covered in a few days, the first march should be short, the length being increased each succeeding day.
627. Special attention should be paid to the fitting of shoes and the care of feet. Shoes should not be too wide or too short. Sores and blisters on the feet should be promptly dressed during halts. At the end of the march feet should be bathed and dressed; the socks and, if practicable, the shoes should be changed.
628. The drinking of water on the march should be avoided. The thirst should be thoroughly quenched before starting on the march and after arrival in camp. On the march the use of water should, in general, be confined to gargling the mouth and throat or to an occasional small drink at most.
629. Except for urgent reasons, marches should not begin before an hour after daylight, but if the distance to be covered necessitates either breaking camp before daylight or making camp after dark, it is better to do the former.
Night marching should be avoided when possible.
630. A halt of 15 minutes should be made after the first half or three-quarters of an hour of marching; thereafter a halt of 10 minutes is made in each hour. The number and length of halts may be varied, according to the weather, the condition of the roads, and the equipment carried by the men. When the day's march is long a halt of an hour should be made at noon and the men allowed to eat.
631. The rate of march is regulated by the commander of the leading company of each regiment, or, if the battalions be separated by greater than normal distances, by the commander of the leading company of each battalion. He should maintain a uniform rate, uninfluenced by the movements of troops or mounted men in front of him.
The position of companies in the battalion and of battalions in the regiment is ordinarily changed daily so that each in turn leads.
632. The marching efficiency of an organization is judged by the amount of straggling and elongation and the condition of the men at the end of the march.
An officer of each company marches in its rear to prevent undue elongation and straggling.
When necessary for a man to fall out on account of sickness, he should be given a permit to do so. This is presented to the surgeon, who will admit him to the ambulance, have him wait for the trains, or follow and rejoin his company at the first halt.
633. Special attention should be paid to the rate of march. It is greater for trained than for untrained troops; for small commands than for large ones; for lightly burdened than for heavily burdened troops. It is greater during cool than during hot weather. With trained troops, in commands of a regiment or less, marching over average roads, the rate should be from 2¾ to 3 miles per hour. With larger commands carrying full equipment, the rate will be from 2 to 2½ miles per hour.
634. The marching capacity of trained infantry in small commands is from 20 to 25 miles per day. This distance will decrease as the size of the command increases. For a complete division the distance can seldom exceed 12½ miles per day unless the division camps in column.
635. In large commands the marching capacity of troops is greatly reduced by faulty march orders and poor march discipline.
The march order should contain such instructions as will enable the troops to take their proper places in column promptly. Delay or confusion in doing so should be investigated. On the other hand, organization commanders should be required to time their movements so that the troops will not be formed sooner than necessary.
The halts and starts of the units of a column should be regulated by the watch and be simultaneous.
Closing up during a halt, or changing gait to gain or lose distance should be prohibited.
(C.I.D.R., Nos. 2 and 12.)
PROTECTION OF THE MARCH.
General Considerations.
636. A column on the march in the vicinity of the enemy is covered by detachments called "advance guards," "rear guards," or "flank guards." The object of these covering detachments is to facilitate the advance of the main body and to protect it from surprise or observation.
They facilitate the advance of the main body by promptly driving off small bodies of the enemy who seek to harass or delay it; by removing obstacles from the line of advance, by repairing roads, bridges, etc., thus enabling the main body to advance uninterruptedly in convenient marching formations.
They protect the main body by preventing the enemy from firing into it when in close formation; by holding the enemy and enabling the main body to deploy before coming under effective fire; by preventing its size and conditions from being observed by the enemy; and, in retreat, by gaining time for it to make its escape or to reorganize its forces.
637. Tactical units should not be broken in making details for covering detachments.
638. The march order of the whole command should explain the situation, and, among other things, detail the commander and troops for each covering detachment. It should specify the route to be taken and the distance to be maintained between the main body and its covering detachments. It should order such reconnaissance as the commander specially desires to have made.
The order of the commander of a covering detachment should clearly explain the situation to subordinates, assign the troops to the subdivisions, prescribe their distances, and order such special reconnaissance as may be deemed necessary in the beginning.
An advance or flank guard commander marches well to the front and, from time to time, orders such additional reconnaissance or makes such changes in his dispositions as the circumstances of the case demand.
Advance Guards.
639. An advance guard is a detachment of the main body which precedes and covers it on the march.
640. The advance guard commander is responsible for its formation and conduct. He should bear in mind that its purpose is to facilitate and protect the march of the main body. Its own security must be effected by proper dispositions and reconnaissance, not by timid or cautious advance. It must advance at normal gait and search aggressively for information of the enemy. Its action when the enemy attempts to block it with a large force depends upon the situation and plans of the commander of the troops.
641. The strength of the advance guard varies from one-twentieth to one-third of the main body, depending upon the size of the main body and the service expected of the advance guard.
642. The formation of the advance guard must be such that the enemy will be met first by a patrol, then in turn by one or more larger detachments, each capable of holding the enemy until the next in rear has time to deploy before coming under effective fire.
643. Generally an advance guard consisting of a battalion or more is divided primarily into the reserve and the support. When the advance guard consists of less than a battalion, the reserve is generally omitted.
644. In an advance guard consisting of two battalions or less, the reserve and support, if both are used, are approximately equal; in larger advance guards, the reserve is approximately two-thirds of the whole detachment.
In an advance guard consisting of one battalion, the machine guns, if any, form part of the reserve. In an advance guard consisting of two or more battalions, the machine guns form part of the support.
645. The support sends forward an advance party. The advance party, in turn, sends a patrol, called a point, still farther to the front. Patrols are sent out to the flanks when necessary. When the distance between parts of the advance guard or the nature of the country is such as to make direct communication difficult, connecting files march between the subdivisions to keep up communication. Each element of the column sends the necessary connecting files to its front.
646. A battalion acting as an advance guard should be formed about as follows: The reserve, two companies; the support, two companies; the advance party, three to eight squads (about a half company), depending upon the strength of the companies and the reconnaissance to be made; the point, a noncommissioned officer and three or four men. Or the reserve may be omitted. In such case the advance party will consist of one company preceded by a strong point. The remaining companies form the support.
647. The distances separating the parts of an advance guard vary according to the mission of the whole force, the size of the advance guard, the proximity and character of the enemy, the nature of the country, etc. They increase as the strength of the main body increases; they are less when operating in rolling, broken country than in open country; when in pursuit of a defeated enemy than against an aggressive foe; when operating against cavalry than when against infantry.
If there be a mounted point, it should precede the dismounted point by 250 to 600 yards. The advance party may be stronger when there is a mounted point in front. The infantry maintains its gait without reference to the mounted point, the latter regulating its march on the former, (C.I.D.R., No. 2.)
648. To afford protection to an infantry column, the country must be observed on each side of the road as far as the terrain affords positions for effective rifle fire upon the column. If the country that it is necessary to observe be open to view from the road, reconnaissance is not necessary.
649. The advance guard is responsible for the necessary reconnaissance of the country on both sides of the line of march.
Special reconnaissance may be directed by the commander of the troops, or cavalry may be reconnoitering at considerable distances to the front and flanks, but this does not relieve the advance guard from the duty of local reconnaissance.
650. This reconnaissance is effected by patrols sent out by the leading subdivisions of the advance guard. In a large advance guard the support commander orders the necessary reconnaissance.
Patrols should be sent to the flanks when necessary to reconnoiter a specified locality and should rejoin the column and their proper subdivision as soon as practicable. When the advance party is strong enough, the patrols should be sent out from it. When depleted by the patrols sent out, the advance party should be reenforced during a halt by men sent forward from the support. If it be impracticable to send patrols from the advance party, they will be sent from the support.
Where the country is generally open to view, but localities in it might conceal an enemy of some size, reconnaissance is necessary. Where the road is exposed to fire and the view is restricted, a patrol should be sent to examine the country in the direction from which danger threatens. The object may be accomplished by sending patrols to observe from prominent points. When the ground permits and the necessity exists, patrols may be sent to march abreast of the column at distances which permit them to see important features not visible from the road.
Mounted scouts or cavalry, when available, should be used for flank patrols.
651. Cases may arise where the best means of covering the head and flanks of the column will be by a line of skirmishers extending for several hundred yards to both sides of the road, and deployed at intervals of from 10 to 50 yards. A column may thus protect itself when passing through country covered with high corn or similar vegetation. In such case, the vegetation forms a natural protection from rifle fire beyond very short ranges.
652. Fixed rules for the strength, formation, or conduct of advance guards can not be given. Each case must be treated to meet conditions as they exist. That solution is generally the best which, with the fewest men and unbroken units, amply protects the column and facilitates the advance.
Rear Guards.
653. A rear guard is a detachment detailed to protect the main body from attack in rear. In a retreat, it checks pursuit and enables the main body to increase the distance between it and the enemy and to re-form if disorganized.
The general formation is that of an advance guard reversed.
654. Its commander should take advantage of every favorable opportunity to delay the pursuers by obstructing the road or by taking up specially favorable positions from which to force the enemy to deploy. In this latter case care must be taken not to become so closely engaged as to render withdrawal unnecessarily difficult. The position taken should be selected with reference to ease of withdrawal and ability to bring the enemy under fire at long range.
655. In large commands artillery and cavalry form a very important part of the rear guard.
Flank Guards.
656. A flank guard is a detachment detailed to cover the flank of a column marching past, or across the front of, an enemy. It may be placed in position to protect the passage, or it may be so marched as to cover the passage.
657. The object of the flank guard is to hold the enemy in check long enough to enable the main body to pass, or, like the advance guard, to enable the main body to deploy.
Like all other detachments, it should be no larger than is necessary, and should not be detailed except when its protection is required.
658. When a flank guard consists of a regiment or less, its distance from the main body should not exceed a mile and a half. Practicable communication must exist between it and the main body.
659. The flank guard is marched as a separate command; that is, with advance or rear guards or both, as circumstances demand, and with patrolling on the exposed flank.
660. At times it may be necessary for an advance-guard commander to send out large reconnoitering parties which temporarily assume the character and duties of a flank guard. Such parties should be given specific orders as to when and where they are to rejoin the column.
