Charge (military)

“ Absolute rules are foolish, the conduct of every charge being an affair requiring tact. But so regulate by general rules the conduct of an infantry charge that those who commence it too far away can properly be accused of panic. And there is a way. Regulate it as the cavalry charge is regulated, and have a rearguard in each battalion of non-commissioned officers, of most reliable officers, in order to gather together, to follow close upon the charge, at a walk, and to collect all those who have lain down so as not to march or because they were out of breath. ”

“ The opening and use of this ration, except by permission of an officer, counts as a crime in the Army, unless a man is placed in such a position that no officer is at hand to sanction the opening of the package, when the matter is perforce left to the man’s discretion.
Marching on service is a different matter from marching in time of peace. Not only is there the strain of ever-possible attack, but there is also, for cavalry and infantry, the weight of service armament and equipment to be considered. ”

“ Persons who attach themselves to an army going upon an expedition against hostile Indians may be understood as agreeing that they will submit themselves for the time being to military control. All officers, conductors, gunners, matrosses, drivers, or other persons whatsoever receiving pay or hire in the service of the artillery or corps of engineers of the United States, shall be subject to be tried by courts-martial. ”

“ If a Corps, or any part thereof, shall be called upon to act in cases of riot or disturbance, the charge of constant pay may be made for such services, for all the effective Officers and Men employed on such duty, at the following rates, the same being supported by a Certificate from His Majesty’s Lieutenant, or the Sheriff of the County; but, if called out in case of actual invasion, the corps is to be paid and disciplined in all respects, as the regular Infantry; the Artillery Companies excepted, which are then to be paid as the Royal Artillery. ”

“ I say that strong men, moved by pride or fear, by taking up too soon the charge against a firm enemy, have caused more charges to fail than to succeed. Keeping men in hand until the command "charge," seizing the precise instant for this command, are both difficult. They exact of the energetic leader domination over his men and a keen eye, at a moment when three out of four men no longer see anything, so that good cavalry leaders, squadron leaders in general are very rare. Real charges are just as rare. ”

“ It must not be forgotten, however, that voluntary troops may be and are maintained even in states in which the bulk of the army is levied by compulsion, and the simple militia obligation of defending the country is universally recognized.
40. Compulsory Service.—Universal liability to service (allgemeine Wehrpflicht) draws into the active army all, or nearly all, the men of military age for a continuous period of short service, after which they pass successively to the reserve, the second and the third line troops (Landwehr, Landsturm, &c.) ”

“ The whole effective charge of the army, navy, and ordnance, was about seven hundred and fifty thousand pounds. The noneffective charge, which is now a heavy part of our public burdens, can hardly be said to have existed. ”

“ Thus troops are said to be under arms, when assembled in a state of military array, and having the necessary weapons of offense and defense, as rifles, swords, etc. To be under command is being liable to be ordered on any particular duty. To be under cover is to be shielded or protected. To be under contribution is being liable to give, in money or kind, what may be authoritatively called for. ”

“ Each conscript subsequently receives his feuille de route, stating the regiment he must join, and the date on which he must join it, and making an allowance for his journey to the town where he is to be quartered. [3] From the moment conscripts receive their feuilles de route they are under military law, and can only be tried by court-martial for any crimes or offences they may commit.
Men while serving for a month in the reserve, or for a fortnight in the territorial army, are also exclusively under martial law for the time being. ”

“ The army and navy and the troops designed for the internal security are subject to special laws, in the matter of military offences, both for the maintenance of discipline and for the form of the trials and the nature of the penalties. ”

“ All public stores taken in the enemy’s camp, towns, forts, or magazines, whether of artillery, ammunition, clothing, forage, or provisions, shall be secured for the service of the United States; for the neglect of which the commanding officer is to be answerable.
Art. 59. If any commander of any garrison, fortress or post, shall be compelled, by the officers and soldiers under his command, to give up to the enemy, or to abandon it ”

“ It is taken up at such a distance as may be necessary to insure its success, whatever it may cost in men and horses. The regulations are correct in prescribing that the charge be started close up. If the troopers waited until the charge was ordered, they would always succeed. ”

“ Those whose wounds permit it are also employed to do garrison duty in fortified places not exposed to an attack by enemies, and to assist in the different arsenals and laboratories, foundries, and depots of military or naval stores. Others are attached to the police offices, and some as gendarmes, to arrest suspected or guilty individuals; or as garnissaires, to enforce the payment of contributions from the unwilling or distressed. ”

“ Then the General from the War Office called up the rest of the Regiment.
"Now, Non-commissioned Officers and Men," said he, "you have no one to command you, and no one to pay for your marches out, prizes, and the rest of it. But don't let that bother you. You may still call yourselves Soldiers—not that I call you so myself. ”

“ Each man acted on the initiative, without any regard to his companions or to his leader. The manœuvres of the army seemed to be comprehended in the one word, 'Charge!' The English withstood the charge, and were left masters of the field with two officers and a dozen of the rank and file killed. ”

“ It was one of those charges in which everybody sees that if a miracle happens it will be all right, and that if it doesn’t happen—It was one of those charges in which first an officer stands out, waving his sword, then a man or two follow him, then three or four more, then all waver back, only to start forth again, then others join, then the officer cries aloud, then, with a roar, the line springs forward and rushes over the field, in the cannon’s mouth. ”

“ With an army in the field, certain persons, not soldiers, are also subject to the provisions of "Military Law," such as civilians serving with the force in an official capacity; persons accompanying the troops with special leave, such as newspaper correspondents and contractors; persons employed with the troops, such as transport drivers; other persons known as followers who accompany the troops either as sutlers or on business or pleasure with the permission of the commander. ”

“ Call our wretched force an Army! Why, to quote a writer, whose letters have been published in our leading journal, "Nobody could tell the Secretary of State for War how a force of forty thousand men, if it had to be supplemented for defensive purposes by Volunteers, could be supplied with ammunition for six weeks." Call our force an Army! ”

“ The Government forces consist of about 160 men and boys, with very imperfect military training, and of whom about forty are officers. They are organized as infantry. There are also about 600 citizens enrolled as a reserve guard, who may be called upon in case of an emergency, and about 150 police. ”

“ No officer should ride between the divisions on a march, except general and staff officers, the execution of whose duty renders it necessary for them to pass in all directions.
When a battalion passes a defile, and there is no room for the officers to ride on the flanks of their divisions, half of those who are mounted pass at the head of the battalion, and half in the rear. ”

“ For the decisive counter-attack, a separate body, The General Reserve, which has nothing to do with the immediate defence of the entrenchments, will be retained in the hands of the officer commanding.
2. The strength of the firing line will depend entirely on the extent of the field of fire and the character of the cover. If the conditions are favourable to the defence a few men can easily protect a wide front. ”

“ We met officers in every branch of the service,—infantry, cavalry, artillery, flying corps, ordnance, army service, medical, engineers, construction, water transport, etc., and thereby obtained a splendid idea of what was going on, and how the various branches of the service worked together and viewed any given problem.
Some of these views were quite at variance with one another. For instance the artillery man looked upon the infantryman as the man who protected his guns and kept off the enemy while he killed them. ”

“ Each division to be under the command of a quarter-master.
‘The privates of the company of artillery to be blacks. To have no other arms but swords, and to be accoutred for drawing the guns. The non-commissioned officers to be whites, and to be armed with muskets and bayonets. The whole to have infantry pay. Permission to be granted to take one private from each troop of dragoons for a drummer to receive pay as a private. ”

“ Impartial history will in due time do justice to all. The distinguished judgment, ability and zeal of our engineer officers of both corps, will then stand out in broad relief, and the providence and skill of our ordnance officers will also be conspicuous, and justly so, as they are not content with service under cover in the arsenals, preparing guns and ammunition, but they follow to the field their heavy ordnance, and under the fire of the enemy give practical proof of its excellence and power. ”

“ There were the same drills to go through, only they were harder, and in charge were men who had seen terrible fighting. Some of them were American army officers, sent back from the front to instruct the new recruits, and others were French and British officers, detailed to teach the raw troops who, at first, were brigaded with the veterans. ”

“ The commanding officers of regiments must likewise enforce the orders of the army regarding the constant, real inspection of the soldiers' arms, ammunition, accoutrements, and necessaries, in order to prevent at all times the shameful waste of ammunition, and the sale of that article and of the soldiers' necessaries. ”

“ There were numerous additional prescriptions, concerning discipline and drill, the duties and responsibilities of officers, and the penalties to be imposed for non-compliance. In case of any alarm, invasion or insurrection, every man thus enrolled was immediately to repair to headquarters, to wit, the home of his captain, and the captain was to march the company straight to the scene of invasion or insurrection “to oppose the enemy,” at the same time sending word to the regimental or brigade commander. ”

“ Commanding officers are responsible for the conduct of the troops under their command, and the articles of war and the regulations of the army provide ample means for restraining them to the full extent required for discipline and efficiency. Soldiers were called into the field to do battle against the enemy, and it is not expected that their force and energy shall be wasted in protecting private property of those most hostile to the government. No soldier serving in this army shall be hereafter employed on such service. ”

“ Each Militiaman called out for actual service shall attend at such time and place as may be required by the Officer commanding him, with any arms, accoutrements, ammunition and equipment he has received, and with such provisions as such officer may direct. ”

“ If the charge starts at a distance of more than two feet, the cavalry loses one man for every five infantry-men charged, and the infantry loses one man for each sabre charging.
At less than two feet and more than one foot, the cavalry loses one man for every ten charged, and the infantry two men for each sabre charging.
At less than one foot, the cavalry loses one man for every fifteen charged, and the infantry three men for each sabre charging. ”

“ For this purpose all men liable to do military duty are enrolled, and are required to meet on certain days every year for instruction in the art of war, in order to be ready for actual service whenever it shall be required. The body of soldiers thus enrolled are called the militia. There are other words which are sometimes applied to bodies of soldiers; as infantry, which means the soldiers or troops who serve on foot; cavalry, the troops on horses; artillery, those who manage the cannon and other heavy weapons of war. But all troops are comprehended in the general term, militia. ”

“ With no other army have I seen an officer threaten with a pistol an unarmed civilian. Were an American or English officer to act in such a fashion he might escape looking like a fool, he certainly would feel like one. The four soldiers the officer told off to guard us climbed with alacrity into our cab and drove with us until the street grew too narrow both for their regiment and our taxi, when they chose the regiment and disappeared. ”

“ When regiments are combined into brigades, brigades into divisions, and divisions into army corps, cavalry, artillery, and certain other auxiliary troops, such as engineers, signal corps, aeroplane corps, etc., are joined with them in such proportions as has been found necessary. Every unit, from the company up, has its own supply and ammunition wagons, field hospitals, etc. ”