William H. Waldron

“ If no opening is obvious, one must be created by beating off the opponents weapon or making a "feint point" in order to make him uncover himself.
Hand to hand fighting with the bayonet is individual, which means that a man must think and act for himself and rely on his own resources and skill; but, as in all games, he must play for his side and not only for himself. In a bayonet assault all ranks go forward to kill or be killed, and only those who have developed skill and strength by constant training will be able to kill. ”

“ We are in constant communication with the observing posts that cover our front, and our observing posts covering the other platoons are in constant communication with them.
6. We know the firing position assigned to us and are familiar with the use to be made of the accessories furnished us. We can fire over the parapet at the foot of our wire entanglements to repel night attack.
7. We will at all times be careful about needlessly exposing ourselves. We appreciate the fact that it is absolutely stupid to get killed or wounded in the trench through negligence. ”

“ There is no necessity for wearing men out on flank patrol duty beating their way over rough country and climbing fences, when they accomplish no useful purpose. Never send out a flank patrol unless there is some sound tactical reason for it. Then when the time comes and there is necessity for patrols, your men will be found ready to put forth superhuman efforts, if need be, to help you accomplish your mission. If you are in contact with the enemy, or there is immediate danger of such contact, flank patrols may be necessary and a commander should not hesitate to send them out. ”

“ Experience has shown that the best method of dividing up the work is to group the men in pairs, one man with a pick and one with a shovel and to prescribe that they relieve each other.
The leading squads assigned to each bay work at top speed for 30 minutes. At the end of the twenty-eighth minute the corporal of the rear squad brings his men up and deploys them. At a signal from the platoon commander the men of the first and third squads drop their tools, get out of the trench, and proceed to the rear, where they rest. ”

“ Should one of our soldiers be captured, the enemy should be able to secure from him only his name and rank. The prisoner should give no other information whatever.
“Before going out with a patrol the patrol leader makes an inspection of his men. What is included in this inspection, Captain Hastings?”
Captain Hastings: “If I were making the inspection I would satisfy myself that every man is physically fit for the duty to be performed. I would not want a man who has been on some strenuous duty and is all worn out. ”

“ All company officers and non-commissioned officers should be taught how to instruct in bayonet training in order that they may be able to teach their squads and platoons this very important part of a soldier's training, which must be regularly practiced during the whole of his service at home, and during his periods of rest behind the firing-lines.
The greatest care should be taken that the object representing the opponent and its support should be incapable of injuring the bayonet or butt. Only light sticks are to be used for parrying practice. ”

“ The first phase of the attack is the artillery preparation. In order that the infantry may make the attack with a minimum of losses, the artillery must have destroyed the wire entanglements and obstacles that obstruct the advance, or at least have sufficiently breached them to permit their being negotiated. The destruction of these obstacles is never complete. It would require too great an expenditure of ammunition. The infantry occupying the hostile trenches must be simply overwhelmed with artillery fire so that they will be unable to man the parapets when the assault is launched. ”

“ Well, sir, the men would be too much exposed. Suppose the enemy appeared on the road with as much as a troop. We fire into him. Perhaps the hostile captain’s orders are to check the advance of our main body. He decides to take his losses and charges down the road. Our small detachment would be in a precarious situation, only eight men against an entire troop. The men know they have no means of getting out of the way. They would be thinking more of their own safety than of hitting the enemy. They would shoot wild, and the chances are that the squad would be ridden down and destroyed. ”

“ As it does not arrive at fixed hours like the bombardment, the enemy cannot continually avoid it by taking refuge in his dugouts and shelters; when he is moving about a trench which is subject to rifle grenading he must be [Pg 131] continually on the alert. This perpetual menace, hour in and hour out, day in and day out, renders his sojourn in the trenches extremely disagreeable.
Before rifle grenades are thrown careful observation of the opposing trench must have been made to determine the point where the grenade is likely to do the greatest damage. ”

“ You must always remember that a reconnoitering patrol does not fight except when it is forced to do so in self-defense, or when it has secured all the information it wants, has sent it back, and then turns itself into a fighting patrol to delay the advance of the enemy. Are there any other points to bring up about the mission of the enemy? ”

“ When a non-commissioned officer takes charge of a detachment for any tactical duty and gives his instructions in a clear and concise manner, leaving nothing to be guessed at, he inspires the confidence of his men. They realize immediately that there is someone at the helm who knows his business and they cheerfully respond. ”

“ It is this seeming trivial action that sometimes calls for all the ingenuity that the patrol leader may possess. The road may be open for a considerable distance, so that if one of the members of our patrol crosses from one side to the other he will be seen and the position disclosed to the enemy. It may be necessary for the patrol to fall back a short distance in order to secure the necessary cover. It may be necessary, in order to avoid discovery, to direct all men on one side of the road to take cover on their side and the remainder to seek cover on the opposite side. ”

“ Probably any of us could blunder through a situation of this kind, but it takes a man trained in military tactics to make his decisions quickly, to act upon them promptly and take advantage of the fleeting moments to inflict damage on the enemy. These are the things that we study to become proficient in. These are the things that we must teach our non-commissioned officers if we are to have confidence in their ability to meet tactical situations that confront them, with judgment and decision. And there is no royal road to success along this line. ”

“ There is nothing in your front that would afford you a target. The scouts that you send out 35from the strong point run into our covering patrol and either become casualties or are driven back. Your strength does not permit sending out a reconnoitering party of sufficient strength to break through and get any real information of what is taking place in your front. You simply have to sit and wait for something to develop. I am sure if you will place yourself in the enemy’s position at this time, you must realize his situation and the conflicting thoughts that come across his mind. ”

“ When the enemy is met in sufficient force to warrant the employment of troops of the main body there is a certain process that the commander has to go through before he can get his troops in action. A reconnaissance must be made to determine the strength and disposition of the enemy, for it would be folly to commit a force to action without knowing something of these elements. Then, too, the orders for the deployment have to be issued and the deployment has to be effected. All of this takes a certain amount of time during which period the advance guard holds off the enemy. ”

“ I like the idea of having each combat group being responsible for its whole front. In addition to dividing responsibility for the defense of the area occupied it weakens the support platoon and makes it just that much less effective for counter-attack work. ”

“ Lieutenant Wallace: “Yes, sir. The men would know that Halley has come back with some information. I would give the information to the men in order that they may know. I would tell them of Corporal Vincent’s squad coming back to reinforce us and inform them of what I intend to do with it.”
The Director: “I think you are right in giving this information to your men. They can go about their task more intelligently. Would you go back to the cross-road to inspect Corporal Vincent’s position after he had made his disposition, Lieutenant Ralston?” ”

“ When you get into the infantry area of a battle you must get your troops into a formation from which they can make an attack or repel an enemy counter-attack and you must keep them in that formation. That is why the subject of approach march and deployment is so important and that is why troops must be so thoroughly trained in it. ”

“ If you have fairly good cover from the fire and view of the enemy it is not at all difficult.
“The greatest danger in all of this is from our own side. From the impatience of our own higher commanders who think the preparations are taking too much time. Brigade and regimental commanders who are to the rear and cannot see what is going on get impatient with the apparent delays and demand that the attack be delivered at once. Even the battalion commander, who is up at the front and ought to know better, cannot see how you can possibly consume so much time getting ready. ”

“ If we should place the support right up on the line of outguards we would commit it to one position, and in case of attack it would be difficult to move it to meet the enemy’s main effort. If we keep it at a central point to the rear of the line, we can readily move it to any point where it may be most needed.”
The Director: “You are right. We do not want to commit our support to action until we find out the direction of the enemy’s attack. The shifting of troops along a front line is a most difficult and hazardous operation. ”

“ The Director: “Captain Hodges, have you any criticism to make of Captain Harvey’s order?”
Captain Hodges: “Yes, sir. In the first place, he has left out several things that ought to be told to the men. He has not provided any instructions for one man of the squad. He has not made it clear just which patrol each man belongs to. He has not told the men what equipment they are to carry with them.” ”

“ If the patrol advances in an extended line of skirmishers, capture is rendered much more difficult, but each man will be acting more or less independently, and it will be most difficult for the patrol leader to control the operations.
“A patrol should assume the general formation of a column on the march, i. e., there is an advance guard, a main body, flankers, and a rear guard. These several elements may be represented by only one man, but the principle is exactly the same. The advance man is necessary to give warning of the approach of the enemy. ”

“ A Base Platoon is designated only as an aid to the initial formation of the company. During an approach march, in deploying on the line of departure and in advancing to the first firing position, the base platoon forms the guide for the company and helps ensure a coordinated attack. But as soon as enemy opposition is met, each platoon makes its own fight within its own zone of action and all consideration of the ‘base platoon’ is dropped. In action, each platoon must observe the action of adjacent units and be prepared to assist them. ”

“ Often it is the only kind of fire that can be employed. However, considerable time is necessary to prepare for indirect fire, and this situation does not permit of the delay necessary to prepare for indirect fire. Direct fire is also more effective and should be employed whenever possible. It seldom will be advisable for a machine gun company of an assault battalion to use indirect fire. There is a distinct advantage in having an elevated firing position as the guns are able to give support to the rifle companies until they approach more closely to the target. ”

“ When the darkness is not so great and the powers of sight more nearly approach in value the powers of hearing, it is better to place the sentinel on low ground, with the sky line to his front. This is because approaching persons will be silhouetted on the sky line and that it is difficult to see when looking down from a height into a dark valley.
“The night post should always be provided with an obstacle placed from 10 to 30 yards to the front of the sentinel. It must be low, so that it will not be seen by an approaching enemy. ”