Military commander

“ It may help however to illustrate the dual nature of the cares by which a general is distracted. He has at the same time to perform the military functions of command and to superintend the business of management. His duty as a commander involves continuous attention to the enemy's movements and to the instructions of his own chief. He must study the intentions of the army commander to whom he is subordinate and conform to them in his own movements against the enemy. ”

“ The commander in chief conceives little is now wanting to enable the soldier to change the military character into that of a citizen, but that steady and decent tenor of behavior which has generally distinguished not only the army under his immediate command, but the different detachments and separate armies, through the course of the war. ”

“ As long as I’m Commander-in-Chief, we will do whatever we must to protect those who serve their country abroad, and we will maintain the best military the world has ever known. ”

“ Having passed 12 paces beyond the officer of the day, the adjutant halts; the sergeant-major halts abreast of the adjutant and 1 pace to his left; they then return saber, salute, and retire; the commander of the guard then commands: 1. Platoons, right by squads, 2. MARCH, and marches the guard to its post.
The officers of the day face toward each other and salute; the old officer of the day turns over the orders to the new officer of the day. ”

“ Each commander of a detail halts his detail, dresses it on the general line, salutes and reports as does the first; then takes his post in a similar manner. Should the commander of a detail not be a non-commissioned officer he passes by the right of the guard and retires.
4. Sergeant Major.—He takes one step to the right, draws sword and verifies the detail, and then commands: "Count off." He completes the last squad if necessary and indicates the division into platoons: then takes his post and commands: 1. Open ranks; 2. March. This is executed as laid down in the Infantry Drill Regulations. ”

“ Nothing is more common in an active campaign than for a commanding officer to send messages hurrying the movement of a part of his army. These are usually oral, and even when delays are complained of, the commander, in the interests of cordial cooperation and cheerful alacrity, awaits a full opportunity for personal explanation from his immediate subordinates before administering a reprimand. ”

“ When a guard is in line, not under inspection, and commanded by an officer, the commander of the guard salutes his regimental, battalion, and company commander, by bringing the guard to attention and saluting in person. ”

“ We do, therefore, require, that from henceforward, the Commander-in-Chief both of Horse and Foot, which lead up the Forlorn-hope upon whom also we mean to bestow special tokens of our princely favour, do signify in writing the names of those soldiers whom they find most forward in serving us, their King and country, that care may be taken to reward their deservings and make them specially known to all our good subjects. ”

“ You may object that it seems absurd to compare favorably the military abilities of a commander of forces which have constantly been on the defensive with those of the chief of troops so far ever victorious. ”

“ Here, also, the commander is brought fully to realize that, to reach a sound decision, there is a requirement for a studied development of each stage by which the human mind passes from recognition of a necessity for action to the ultimate conviction as to the best course to pursue.
As essential background for the utilization of his intellectual powers in this process, the commander requires knowledge of the capabilities and limitations of the technique of his profession and of the weapons of his calling. ”

“ Whatever might have induced his conduct of the war, the nation has learned a lesson for all time. Generals who had grown grey in honorable service were rudely set aside for a Commander whose principal merit consisted in his having published moderately well compiled military books. ”

“ Whatever method of expression may have been employed by higher authority, the commander will facilitate his appreciation of the assigned objective if he now sets down his assigned task, scrutinizes it carefully, and then makes note of the objective which is either specifically or inferentially indicated by that task. ”

“ The Commander of each side shall be responsible for publicizing widely throughout territory under his military control the contents of the provisions of this Sub-paragraph, and for calling upon the appropriate civil authorities to give necessary guidance and assistance to all such civilians who desire to return home. ”

“ Each active segment must have a commander responsible for its defense, upkeep and sanitation, and the discipline and instruction of his men. Basis:
The plan of defense turned over by the preceding commander. This will usually suffice for the first 24 hours after relief. General information of the enemy's lines, dispositions, and intentions, based chiefly on aerial photographs. Organization Of Defense:
Allocation of front. (The front of an American battalion will average about 1,000 yards.)
Diagrams: A. The Regiment. B. The Battalion. C. The Company. D. The Platoon. ”

“ The whole military power of the State is at the disposal of the Governor. He is the commander of the militia, and head of the armed force. ”

“ I speak of our Army's commanders first, as an Army takes its habits and character from its head; and probably no other Army in the world was so fortunate as to have always at its head great soldiers and great commanders, recognized as such the world over—two of them the peers of any commander that ever stood up in a great conflict. ”

“ The Commander of the Forces being desirous to render the army for the field as effective as possible, directs that all soldiers acting as servants to officers, shall always appear in uniform, and carry their arms and accoutrements on the march. The servants of regimental officers to be in the ranks on the march, and the Commander of the Forces calls upon the General and other officers in command strictly to inforce this order. ”

“ Each commander who issues orders for Attack or Defence should assemble his subordinate commanders, if possible in view of the ground over which the troops are to operate, explain his orders, and satisfy himself that each subordinate understands his respective task. ”

“ The soldiers are in the best of spirits, and full of trust in their great commander, insomuch that no officer thinks of asking the reason of any of his motions, but all follow him with blind confidence in his wisdom. ”

“ The art of maintaining himself and his command in the outpost line is a question of vigilance, imagination, and forethought on the part of the commander, and cunning on the part of his men. Let us place ourselves in the position of an officer commanding a hundred to two hundred men, and detached some ten miles out to the flank and front of a force. ”

“ We see him taken from us at a time when we most stand in need of so skillful and popular a commander; when the experience of three years, and the knowledge he hath acquired of the eountry and the people, have added to the confidence we always placed in his conduct and abilities. ”

“ During fifteen years of fighting and of detached expeditions, in which they had all, turn about, held independent commands, both officers and soldiers had been able to gauge their valour, their intelligence, and that capacity for bearing the weight of undivided responsibility, which is the great test of a commander-in-chief. ”

“ Expand then your doughty breast at thoughts of the glorious fields that are before you: your old General is set aside, and the most enterprising man in the service, Count———himself is now your Commander. ”

“ The share which the British army have had in producing those events, and the high character with which the army will quit this country, must be equally satisfactory to every individual belonging to it, as they are to [102] the Commander of the Forces, and he trusts that the troops will continue the same good conduct to the last. ”

“ The command of the Army is exercised by the President as Commander-in-Chief through the medium of the Secretary of War and the Chief of Staff, the latter officer having the rank of General and taking the place of the former Commanding General of the Army. ”

“ We discovered from the Commander afterwards that the whole army consists of officers, very few of them below the rank of Major-general. They are inordinately proud of their medals, and quite amazingly inefficient. ”

“ Commanding officers learn the amount of strain which they can impose on their men; the conditions under which transport can and must be brought up for the use of the troops can be studied with almost as much accuracy as in warfare; the cavalry commander learns the value, from a war point of view, of his men as scouts and on detached duties, while the artillery officer finds out, as he never could without manœuvre experience, the possibilities of gun transport, and the business of ranging positions with a view to rendering them untenable by shellfire. ”

“ The commanders of the opposing armies, indeed, most of the great actors, are dead, while a large portion of the rank and file have [Pg 127] answered the last roll-call, but the impressiveness of that scene is still fresh in my memory. As I write it all comes back to me. The long lines of blue with their glistening bayonets; the gleaming sabres of the cavalry; the tattered banners. On a little knoll was Gen. Warren the gallant commander of the 5th Corps sitting sidewise on his horse with field glass in hand surrounded by staff officers and couriers. The artillery was thundering. ”

“ He is in close touch with his subordinate leaders, knows the condition and spirit of his men, is always among them in person to inspire and control their movements. Troops take their tone from their immediate Commander, and reflect his vigour or hesitation, his confidence or caution. An intuition of his mental attitude seems to pass through all ranks of the Command. On the other hand the Army Commanders, and still more the Commander-in-Chief, are but nebulous figures to the soldiers in a very large Army. ”

“ Upon this he put his shoulder to the beam and pulled until the sweat stood on his forehead. When the beam was right, he turned to the corporal, saying, “Mr. Corporal, when you have another such job and have not men enough, send for your commander-in-chief, and I shall gladly come to help you a second time.” ”

“ Almost every officer that obtained a command showed himself an able commander. Every crew was heroic; every cruise daring: every combat a victory, where proximate equality rendered it possible. Never did any service, in any age or country, exhibit so large a proportion of skilful, daring, victorious commanders, mainly developed by the system of warfare which gave so many a chance to show what they were. ”

“ IN ADVANCES.—Infantry forming part of an Advanced Guard to a force advancing must always act with dash and resolution, but their action must always be regulated by the one motive of complying with the intentions of the commander of the force they are covering. ”

“ The forty sharpshooters being supplied with their complement of sergeant and corporals, and thus constituting an organization by themselves, only lacked one important element, a suitable commander—a leader who, aside from being a thorough soldier, should possess traits of character which would not only enable him to employ skilfully the superior abilities of those who were to constitute his command, but at the same time feel that esprit de corps which is so necessary to both officers and soldiers when success is to be achieved. ”

“ Not only the strategical and tactical manœuvres by which the commander concentrates his forces and wins his victories, but his communications, his means of transportation, the supplies for his army, the equipment and discipline of his troops, the abilities of his subordinate commanders, the topography and resources of the country, give him the greatest anxiety. He must give close attention to all these matters; for the neglect of a single one may lead to disaster. He must be brave, clear-headed, cool, cautious, and fearless ”

“ THE COMMANDER'S POSITION.—The position of the commander who issues the orders for the Attack must be fixed, and must be made known to subordinate commanders, as it will be the place to which reports will be sent. In the case of a small force the commander will generally stay with the General Reserve; if the force is fairly large, and composed of all arms, he will probably be on the main artillery position; but in the case of a large force he should be well out of reach of the distraction of local incidents. ”

“ Orders should not provide for maintaining communication, for protecting flanks, and for keeping up local reconnaissance, since these matters are attended to as a matter of course, every leader being held responsible for making proper dispositions, within the limits of his command, for the performance of these duties. The higher the rank of the commander, the farther he should stay away from the scene of battle. ”

“ Out of the effective list of major-generals, lieut.-generals, or generals, the Commander-in-chief, as at present, could select those whom it might be deemed advisable to employ upon the staff of the army, or for any particular object, and as it is to be presumed that their services might be constantly required, especially in our foreign possessions, few of them would be found an unnecessary burden upon the country. ”

“ The commander is a major-general. His staff comprises an assistant adjutant-general, an assistant inspector-general, a topographical engineer, a commissary of musters, a commissary of subsistence, a judge-advocate, several aides-de-camp—and perhaps other officers, of varying rank. Those mentioned usually ranked from colonel to captain. In the Union army, major-generals might command either a division, a corps, or an army, but in the Confederate service each army of importance was commanded by a lieutenant-general. Take a look at the corps headquarters flag. ”

“ A commander is 132 bound to be true in his words, particularly with the functionaries of government. Let him constantly practise shooting with arrows and guns, and exercise the soldiers in arms; but not be passionately devoted to hunting, although he may sometimes indulge in it for the training of troops, and the recreation of the mind, which is indispensable in this world of dependencies. ”