Patrol leader

“ Patrol leaders, usually noncommissioned officers, are selected for their endurance, keen eyesight, ability to think quickly and good military judgment. They should be able to read a map, make a sketch and send messages that are easily understood. Very important patrols are sometimes lead by officers. The leader should have a map, watch, field glass, compass, message blank and pencils. ”

“ Patrolling can not be learned merely by reading books nor by work indoors. Thoroughness comes only by actually going out in the country and acting as a patrol.
In carrying out this idea the following scheme is recommended:
Let four or more men and a noncommissioned officer act as a patrol. They assemble at a certain time, at a convenient point on some country road. An officer, whom we will call Captain A, acts as the director; the noncommissioned officer, whom we will call Sergeant B, acts as patrol leader; and the others (Privates C, D, E, etc.) act as members of Sergeant B's patrol. ”

“ The ability to lead a patrol correctly without a number of detailed orders or instructions, is one of the highest and most valuable qualifications of a noncommissioned officer. Since a commander ordering out a patrol can only give general instructions as to what he desires, because he cannot possibly forsee just what situations may arise, the patrol leader will be forced to use his own judgment to decide on the proper course to pursue when something of importance suddenly occurs. ”

“ A Patrol Leader is selected in each patrol by the girls themselves (or, if the girls desire it, by the captain) . She holds her office for six months or a year. The girls are apt to select the right girl for the place.
The patrol leader must be what her name implies, "A Leader," for she stands next to the captain and lieutenant, and takes either place in their absence. The patrol must not look upon her as a "Boss." ”

“ My idea is that any information this patrol gets will be by avoiding the Red covering troops and not by fighting.”
345The Director: “I think you are correct. The smaller the patrol, within limitations, the better. I think a leader and four men is about right. Lieutenant Baker, tell us what you would include in your order to the patrol leader.”
Lieutenant Baker: “I would first tell the patrol leader all the information I have about the enemy and our troops. I would give him general direction as to where I want the patrol to go. I would tell him what information I want regarding the enemy. ”

“ The patrol which first sees the other wins. This is signified by the patrol leader holding up his patrol flag for the umpire to see, and sounding his whistle. A patrol need not keep together, but that patrol wins which first holds out its flag, so it is well for the scouts to be in touch with their patrol leaders by signal, voice, or message. ”

“ For this purpose each man must constantly keep within sight and hearing distance of the leader. A patrol moves cautiously, taking advantage of all available cover, seeking in every way to see without being seen. It halts frequently to listen and make careful observations of its surroundings. Except at night a patrol should not move on roads. Villages and inhabited places should not as a rule be entered. ”

“ I have been asked to administer a troop reprimand to a member of the patrol of the Silver Foxes for absenting himself throughout the day from urgent troop duties with no better excuse than a desire to play baseball. This I shall have to do. The new election is asked for in order that a patrol leader may be found who will not leave his patrol and his duties on a mere pretext and not return. ”

“ Our covering patrols sent out from the supports will keep the enemy away from the outpost line. They will soon discover that it is only a small 368patrol and will drive it off. We have only a few men with the patrol. If one is sent back with a message at this time it may leave the patrol leader shorthanded when there is something really important that must be sent back. ”

“ The scouts had been eagerly awaiting this motion with the hat on the part of the patrol leader. It acted on them about in the same way the bang of a starting pistol might with a string of nerve-strained sprinters, anxious to leap forward, with a prize in view to the first under the tape. ”

“ Figure 1 gives some examples of various ways of forming patrols. These are merely examples for the purpose of giving a general idea of the arrangement of the men. In practice common sense must dictate to the patrol leader the best formation in each case. ”

“ It is useless to obtain information if you cannot get it back where it will do some good. A little information sent in in time to be of use is clear gain to your side. A patrol that finds out all about the enemy 342and ends up by falling into the hands of the enemy is a dead loss not only in men but in time as other patrols will have to be sent out to get the same information on which important decisions may depend.”
Procedure The Director: “Lieutenant Wallace, one of the first questions that will present itself to the support commander is the selection of a patrol leader. ”

“ Thad went on, keeping a bright lookout while he talked. “Well, watch that place where I got my fellow, and I think you’ll soon see something moving.”
“You must mean the rest will be wanting to make a supper off the critter you killed; is that it, Thad? Are they such cannibals as all that?” asked Step Hen.
“Always said to be,” the patrol leader returned, and then quickly added. “Keep on the lookout, and if you see anything moving, tell me. Above all don’t waste ammunition by firing recklessly. We’re not trying to scare ’em off by noise; every shot ought to count for a wolf.” ”

“ This applies particularly to the information obtained by patrols acting as a point or flankers of advance, rear, and flank guards. Whenever the patrol gets any information, the leader must think whether the commanding officer would change his plans or issue new orders if he had the information. If he would, the information should be sent back at once. If the distance is great or the inhabitants are hostile, it is well to send two men with the message. These men should not travel side by side, but as a patrol of two men. ”

“ If your post consists of six men, leave four under the leader at A and tell them to conceal themselves in the ditch, and place two, also concealed in the ditch, forty yards in front of the mat B. If the enemy’s patrol comes along, the men at B should allow it to pass them and then give a signal and at the same time themselves take steps to cut off the patrol’s retreat, whilst the four men at A prevent it advancing farther. ”

“ Some are lighted, and occasional shadows flit across them, but none that are familiar. Suddenly he hears a sound that brings him back to himself—the tramp of marching feet, and the sudden clash of arms as they halt; a patrol from the provost-marshal's guard comes quickly around a corner from the soft dust of a side street, and the non-commissioned officers are sharply halting all neighboring men in uniform, and examining their passes. ”

“ Every member of a patrol should notice for himself the direction taken and all landmarks that are passed, and every man should keep his eyes and ears open all the time. Before leaving an outpost position or other place to which it is to return, the patrol commander should "co-ordinate" himself—he should see where he is with respect to certain mountains, high buildings and other prominent objects, and after the patrol has left, he should frequently turn his head around and see what the starting point looks [Pg 278] like from where he is. ”

“ As not unfrequently the safety, but also the attainment of the object for which the Patrol was sent out, depends upon its not being seen by the Enemy, before the Patrol has discovered him, it is of the utmost importance to instruct the men at the head very accurately, they must not merely be satisfied with looking before them, but look at the tracks of the cross-roads very minutely, and mount every hill with caution, &c. ”

“ The patrol commander as he goes out must fix these rallying places, usually one is enough over the whole of a patrol’s beat, and they should be outside the outpost line. Have the patrols moved so that on their beats they may meet each other once or twice, and use the sign to reply when challenge is made. As a second practice, direct one of the meeting patrols to consider itself hostile, and let the commander of the other patrol excogitate how he would deal with men who did not stand fast on being told to halt and could not give the countersign. ”

“ The duties of the distant patrols are just as difficult as those of the reconnoitring squadrons, as they are continually brought face to face with the necessity of forming independent decisions, and, in order to act and report efficiently, require a high degree of strategic insight. Apart from the personal capacity of the officer commanding the patrol, a thorough training emphasising the essential points in its conduct is necessary for the men. ”

“ Several parties in army overcoats shuffle uneasily up the street, only to fall into the clutches of a companion patrol that pops up as suddenly around the next corner beyond. "Rounding up the stragglers," thinks the colonel, with a quiet smile of approval, and, like the soldier he is, he finds time to look on a moment and watch the manner in which the work is done. The patrol seems to have possessed itself of both sides of the street at the same instant, and "spotted" every man in blue. ”

“ The patrol was a squad of eight privates under a sergeant or a corporal, often accompanied by an officer in the daytime. This patrol had authority to enter saloons and other places and search them for soldiers and demand their passes; every soldier on the street was halted, and if he had no pass or a poor excuse he was told to fall into the ranks and march with the patrol until it repassed or returned to the main guard, where he was turned over to the sergeant, who recorded his name, company and regiment and then locked him up. ”

“ MacMartree's teeth ground together. "Another obsolescent word I'll have to teach you," he said to them. "It is fear."
He went to work on Abner's broken arm, setting it and injecting the serum that would cause the fracture to knit in a matter of minutes. And as he worked, he tried to drive the nagging thought from his mind ... sickness for Phillips, hurt for Abner, fear for Cole ... what for MacMartree? He was the oldest. He was leader of the patrol. ”

“ The work of the expeditionary patrol should be taught in the same manner. The work of the visiting and connecting patrols can be taught during the exercises in advance guard and outposts. They require very little [Pg 93] effort. The company as a whole should be frequently exercised as a strong patrol. There is one form of patrol, often very strong, that is of great importance and yet its proper training is frequently neglected—the combat patrol. These patrols are always thrown out when a command deploys for action and upon their proper conduct much depends. ”

“ You will have one little difficult point that you must keep an eye on; when you are trying to lead the Patrol and at the same time to show them the way, don’t forget that you must not do the work of other girls. Give each one her job and see that she does it, but don’t do it for her, or else she will always be leaning on you and expecting you to do it.
A Patrol can specialise, that is, all members to take one special badge, or a bit of ribbon will do, that a Patrol may be a Despatch Riding Patrol, or a Signalling Patrol, First Aid Patrol, a Home Helping Patrol, or even an Entertaining Patrol. ”

“ And yet you know that over yonder there are thousands of men lurking in the trenches and shelters.
After dark these men, or some of them, crawl out like hunted animals and prowl in the black mystery of No Man's Land. They are the patrol.
The patrol goes out armed and equipped lightly. He has to move softly and at times very quickly. It is his duty to get as close to the enemy lines as possible and find out if they are repairing their wire or if any of their parties are out, and to get back word to the machine gunners, who immediately cut loose on the indicated spot. ”

“ Like a prudent officer, he suspends operations, gives the "stand-fast!" and sends out a cautious patrol to reconnoitre the position. He even cedes a little of the ground he has gained. Glancing at his music, I must admit that he is in a dangerous situation, heavily wooded in the treble, with sudden and sharp elevations and depressions in the bass, and the possibility of an ambush at every turn. His reconnoitring party returns; he starts to move forward again with scouts always in advance. ”

“ It should be impressed upon all that the protection afforded by groups and piquets, unless supplemented by a regular system of reconnoitring patrols, is altogether inadequate, and every commander should invariably satisfy himself that the proportion of men told off for patrol duty is sufficient to carry out the work properly. ”

“ Every Company in the Battalion is. (Boche patrols, one gathers, hardly ever include an officer.)
With us, it is decided during the afternoon just what we are going to do that night in the patrol line, and the officer whose turn it is chooses his own men and N.C.O.'s. And within limits, you know, "the Peacemaker" lets us work out our own plans pretty much as we like, providing there's no special thing he wants done. ”