W. D. Bird

“ If the enemy venture to close with the rear-guard and picquets, it is submitted that an immediate counter-attack should be delivered, the main body being halted.
To lose so golden an opportunity of inflicting loss on a volatile foe seems on the one hand unwise, whilst, on the other, it is surely both undignified and demoralising to permit savages to hunt British regulars into camp. ”

“ As is the case in all war, the measures taken for the security of a camp include a system of picquets, and in frontier expeditions these are placed all round camp, either on the level, or on any commanding heights, within, at any rate, effective rifle range.
Picquets may be pushed even further forward, but when so situated, must be numerically strong, as they are liable to be rushed, though more for the sake of capturing their arms, than with the object of inflicting loss. No picquet should be of less strength than one section, all should be intrenched against attack from any direction. ”

“ Success in war depends in some degree on adaptation of tactics to local conditions, and it is therefore clear that, to attain rapid success against the inhabitants of the North Western Frontier, a knowledge of their tactics is required, and that, whilst the British aims are pursued with unswerving determination, their probable movements must be met and defeated.
The tribesmen, like most savages, are only really formidable when one is running away from them. ”

“ When a picquet commander sees, or receives reports that the rear-guard is approaching, he should send the bulk of his picquet to a position, previously reconnoitred, on the lower slope of the hill, and in the direction of the line of march of the column, whence the retirement of the remainder can be covered by fire.
Whilst on the hill, and especially as the time for withdrawal approaches, the men of a picquet should be careful not to show themselves, in order that the enemy may not, by counting heads, be able to divine that retirement has been begun. ”

“ The tribesmen skirmish well, and move quickly over their hills, but rarely, except when engaging a small force, or by night, attack in mass. On the other hand, they often crowd their defensive positions with men.
They are said to dislike being overlooked by their opponents, and therefore do not care to attack up hill, but will, at times, try to rush a detachment, with the object of capturing rifles and ammunition.
The fact that a proportion of the men possess only inferior fire-arms, renders possible resort to shock tactics, especially when roused to a pitch of fanaticism. ”

“ Active defence is maintained by flying columns, of strength and organisation suitable to the character of the enemy and the nature of the country. To these columns is confided the protection of certain areas, an end attained, not by inactivity, for the troops should be continually on the move, so that the enemy can never be certain when and where to expect them, but by a vigorous and energetic offensive in whatever directions an efficient service of intelligence reports hostile gatherings. ”

“ To this end the tribesmen must be induced to stand and fight with the purpose of inflicting casualties on them.
It is to be remembered that the enemy can, less easily than the British, afford losses, especially of arms. Commanders, without being prodigal of their men's lives, need not, therefore, be afraid of incurring casualties, especially when there is likelihood that the enemy will suffer loss to at least an equal extent. If the tribesmen's losses are heavy, those of the British troops will probably be considerably less. Close fighting is all to the advantage of trained soldiers. ”

“ When the enemy, for instance, is in force in the vicinity, and his actions, such as throwing up of entrenchments, harassing camp in large numbers, imply that he will offer vigorous resistance to the advance, it is probable that the baggage and supply column will be best parked, under sufficient guard, either in the camp, or in some other locality easy of defence, whilst the remainder move off, in preparatory formation for action. ”

“ Since the distance is to be quickly traversed, and because a road picquet takes some time, even as much as an hour, to secure and establish itself on a hill, it follows that, unless risk is to be run of the march of the main body being delayed, the advanced guard must precede the main body by at least one hour, and may even move off in the twilight which precedes dawn. ”

“ Assuming that the column will move at an average rate of about two miles per hour, that, in order to avoid risk of disaster, it is, as a rule, desirable for the main force not to march before dawn, and to be in camp by dusk, and that ten—twelve hours of daylight are available, it is clear that the road space occupied must not, for a ten mile march, exceed ten to fourteen miles. That is to say, the numbers that can fulfil this condition on a narrow track, amount to about 4500 fighting men, carrying three days' rations on the person, and five days' on transport animals. ”

“ In deciding the strength of a column for an expedition against the North West Frontier tribesmen, the first requisite, having regard to the foregoing considerations, is so to limit numbers, that, in the topographical conditions likely to be met, the force can, as an entirety, make a march of reasonable length, let us say eight or ten miles. ”

“ Whether artillery should be allotted is a more open question. In favour of placing guns with the advanced guard, it can be argued that they may be of assistance in clearing the hills to be occupied by picquets or vanguard; against their inclusion it may be urged that artillery ammunition will necessarily be scarce, owing to the difficulty of carriage, and should only be employed when an advantageous opportunity for inflicting loss occurs, but that advanced guard commanders are prone to make too much use of their guns. ”

“ In warfare in civilised and highly developed countries, when the enemy's object is rather to defeat the fighting force than to harry the convoy, and when troops can march on broad frontages, the protection given by bodies of cavalry with horse artillery, flung far to front and flanks, and supported, if necessary, by infantry, is usually adequate. ”

“ When a valley is to be swept in course of punitive operations, an adequate force should be left to secure the entrance, if the column is to leave by this route.
Troops, as has already been suggested, should, in respect of ammunition, food, and warm coats, be independent of transport animals, and it should be understood that units are always to be prepared to remain for the night away from camp. The men should be trained to economise water, which is often scarce across the border. ”

“ An argument against convergent invasion is, that since it may be necessary to use more than one line of communication, not only will the employment of larger numbers be necessary, but more transport animals, the provision and care of which really constitutes the main difficulty in frontier warfare, will be required. ”

“ The enveloping form of tactics, when the enemy is attacked both in front and flank, is as effective in tribal as in other warfare. But, owing to the topographical advantages enjoyed by the tribesmen, it will be necessary to hold them closely in frontal attack, and so distract their attention from outflanking movements. ”

“ Simple ruses which suggest themselves are, either to attempt to attract the tribesmen into the low ground by a bait of ammunition or transport animals, the cavalry, guns, and part of rear-guard, infantry being previously concealed in positions from which they can take advantage of any mistake the enemy may commit, and the retirement of picquets stopped, as soon as the attack is delivered. ”

“ Though cavalry may be useful for the delivery of a counter-attack, the horses afford an easy mark, whilst its presence with the rear-guard may cause the enemy to keep to the hills instead of descending into the valley, where they will be more vulnerable. Cavalry, it seems, should, therefore, not be added to the rear-guard infantry. ”

“ The delivery of a counter-attack is accompanied by some risk, and its success will depend on the aptitude of the rear-guard commander for stratagem, for, if loss is to be inflicted, the enemy must, as a rule, be trapped. ”

“ From the above description it will be seen that British troops, so long as they observe the ordinary principles of war, have nothing to fear from the tribesmen. But it is to be remembered that, unless stratagem is intended, the offensive is the general rule in tribal warfare, for the enemy construes a defensive attitude as a sign of fear, and becomes correspondingly elated. ”

“ Pathans, familiar with the country, and confident that they have everything to gain, and but little to lose by such tactics, favour the harassing of troops as they withdraw from heights, or along valleys. Though it may be taken as a maxim that there will be no pursuit if the enemy has, in any recent fighting, been adequately punished, the conditions may have been such that casualties could not be inflicted. ”

“ The composition of forces despatched on reconnaissance and minor punitive expeditions requires careful consideration. Columns composed of men drawn from many different infantry units are inherently weak, so that, in all operations, complete units, so far as they are required, should be employed, cavalry being added when local conditions are favourable. Artillery will generally be necessary, as well as a proportion of technical troops, but the strength of columns should, within limits of safety, be low, in order to insure mobility, and to encourage resistance. ”

“ When the picquet commander sees the rear-guard commander, who will usually be with the last troops, and whose presence will be shown by a flag, is opposite his post, he should give the signal for the evacuation of the hill top, on which the men should creep back, and as soon as they are below the sky line, run down the hill to a position beyond that of their covering party. ”

“ As the troops march up the valley, the advanced guard commander should decide what localities are to be held, and in what strength. He should issue his orders to the battalion or company commander, as the case may be, when the picquets should move direct to their positions. Meanwhile, the staff officer should make, in sections, a rough sketch of the positions occupied by the various picquets, which should be numbered consecutively as they move out, the sections of the sketch being sent, as completed, to the officer commanding the rear-guard. ”

“ The tribesmen of the North West Frontier are brave, and inured to fatigue and hardship, a considerable number have been trained in our Indian army, and these have some knowledge of tactics, and acquaintance with British methods.
The clansmen possess no artillery, but in other respects are fairly well armed, and owing to the cheap sale of rifles and ammunition in Afghanistan, are daily becoming more formidable in this respect. ”

“ In these circumstances, not only will risk of defeat in detail be even greater than in the case of concentric invasion—for small columns can better exercise mutual support, than can a large force moving in a restricted valley—but the length of the convoy train, and the seeming strength of the force, will be a direct temptation to the tribesmen to avoid battle, and have recourse to guerilla warfare. ”

“ As has been stated, the clansmen will rarely commit themselves to battle in conditions favourable to the British, unless they can be outwitted or surprised. Night operations may, therefore, frequently be necessary, having special regard to the fact that, from their hill tops, the enemy will overlook all manœuvres. As the natives are not often abroad in the early morning, surprise, at dawn, will not present unusual difficulties. ”

“ It is contended that the withdrawal of a picquet rests, except in special circumstances, entirely with the picquet leader. He is the man on the spot, and can best judge when the retirement should commence.
The rear-guard commander should rarely attempt to regulate the actions of the picquets, of whose situation he cannot have adequate knowledge, but should exercise general supervision, ready to afford assistance if required. ”

“ It follows that the first step, after a site has been selected, the water supply secured, and the usual measures for security taken, should be to set apart as many men as possible for offensive purposes, including reconnaissance. In other words, the strength of the reserve should be calculated from these premises, having due regard to the number of nights in bed required by the whole garrison; and the reserve should not be such men as may be left over after the requirements of passive defence have been fully satisfied. ”

“ Like other people, they shoot well when not themselves under effective fire, and, when shooting into a valley, where the strike of the bullet can be observed, their fire is accurate. On the other hand, owing to their relatively defective armament, and to lack of ammunition, tribal fire as a rule lacks volume. ”

“ The first method, by concentrating the troops each evening, makes for their general security, but, since picquets must daily, and at fixed hours, move to and from their places, a good deal of fatigue will be imposed on the men, and there will, in addition, be some risk of minor disasters to individual picquets, which may be ambuscaded. Moreover, since the convoys cannot march until the picquets are in position, and as picquets cannot be risked outside the post before sunrise and after sunset, the hours available for the movements of the convoys will be a good deal curtailed. ”

“ In minor tactics, whilst taking every advantage of the cover afforded by features of ground, troops must beware of seeking shelter in hollows or nullahs, places which will, assuredly, have been marked by the enemy's riflemen, so that their occupation will rarely escape punishment. ”