Patrolman

“ 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. ”

“ The patrollers, distinguished from their fellows by leggins, belts, white hats, and police billie, descend first, form in line, and march off to their ungrateful task of keeping order where there is no disorder ”

“ The patrol leader assembles the men detailed for the patrol. He inspects their arms and ammunition and satisfies himself that they are in suitable condition for the duty. He sees that none has any papers, maps, etc., that would be of value to the enemy if captured. He sees that their accouterments do not glisten or rattle when they move. He then repeats his instructions to the patrol and assures himself that every man understands them. He explains the signals to be used and satisfies himself that they are understood. He designates a man to take his place should he be disabled. ”

“ Describe briefly the formation of your patrol while it is moving in the dark.
Sergeant Allen: One man will lead. A second man will follow about fifteen yards in rear of him. I will follow the second man at the same distance with three more men, and the last man will be about twenty yards in rear of me. All will have bayonets fixed, loaded and pieces locked. One short, low whistle will mean, Halt, two short whistles will mean, Forward, and the word "Sandy" will be the countersign by which we can identify each other. ”

“ The larger the patrol the greater the probability of the enemy seeing it. On the other hand, if it is too small, it will not have sufficient members to send in important information and continue operations. Captain Waldron in his book, "Scouting and Patrolling," recommends a patrol of a leader and six selected men for ordinary reconnaissance. This number makes it possible for the patrol leader to place a man out on each flank, a man in advance, two to remain with him and one to remain in the rear as the get-away man. The officer who sends out the patrol determines its strength. ”

“ The patrol leader has been selected for this particular line of work. The officer who sent him out is depending on him to carry out the mission upon which he has been sent and to get information back. He should not, therefore, needlessly make himself a target for the enemy marksman who may be lying in concealment at the turn of a road or trail. If he is the leading man he will be so busily occupied with the task of observation, that he will have little time available for conducting the operations of the other members of the 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. ”

“ Solution Lieutenant Barry: “I will try, sir. I will order:
“‘Sergeant C (platoon Sergeant) turn out a reconnoitering patrol of four privates, with Sergeant B (section leader) as patrol leader. Have the men carry a ration and 40 rounds of ammunition. Leave bayonets here. Have Sergeant B report to me as soon as he is ready to go out.’
“I will frame up my orders to the patrol leader, and as soon as he reports to me I will give them to him:
“‘I have just received information that there is a Red force in the vicinity of (h) . Here is the point. Here is the road leading in that direction. ”

“ 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 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ There is an objection in capturing them that he will have to send one or two men to take them to camp. The patrol is placed as described above so as to have the two men opposite each of the enemy, except for Sergeant Jones, who is alone. By thus covering each man of the hostile patrol by two of our men, they will at once see the folly of an effort to escape and no shot need be fired. One man is holding the horses. ”

“ He knows the ins and outs of the police department better than one or two of the billy-toters that pass for policemen. For patrol duty he is first-class. He can run with the flying thief, or jump fences with the light-footed crap-shooter, and is always handy and willing. ”

“ There's a creepy kind of excitement about patrol work which makes it fascinating. If there's any light at all, you never know who's drawing a bead on you. If there's no light, you never know what you're going to bump into at the next step. It's very largely hands-and-knees' work, and our chaps just revel in it. My first, as you know, landed me in the Boche trenches; and that's by no means a very uncommon thing either, though it ought never to happen if you have a good luminous-faced compass and the sense to refer to it often enough. My second patrol was a bit more successful. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Now, a listening patrol, which is what I began [Pg 318] to tell you about, is a patrol generally consisting of four men, under an officer, which creeps out on No Man's Land during the night. By approaching near the enemy trenches, listening with their ears to the ground, the men can hear if there is any one at work under them. The earth—as you ought to know, being a telephonist—is a good conductor of sound, and if there's any tricky business going on, a listening patrol can find it out. ”

“ Find a patrol warehouse and steal your food there.
The question of course, was where and when. There was a patrol station near where Nelson now was, and that was the natural target. He had a few furnace beam guns—three, to be exact—and since the patrol could detect the residue from a furnace beamer a mile away even at low force, the only safe thing to use one on was the patrol. And to be frank, he rather enjoyed his brushes with the patrol. Like him, they were wakers—people who had never known the electronic dreams which were fed to all but a few of Earth's peoples. ”

“ In the following cases a patrol should be employed: When information has to be sent in at intervals; when it is desired to capture prisoners; when concealment is deemed impossible; when the reconnaissance is to be extended over such a period of time that relief of scouts will be necessary; when an urgent mission has been assigned and it is necessary to push through the enemy’s covering troops.
“In some cases it may be advisable to employ a patrol for the first part of the reconnaissance and at a certain point break up into scouting parties of a single scout or pair of scouts. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Consists generally of a pretty considerable force, to be enabled to defend themselves against a small hostile party or patrol, and are sent for the purpose of ascertaining whether a certain place is in the Enemy's possession, whether he is on the move against us, or whether a certain district is occupied by him. Such a Patrol marches, after having passed the chain of Videttes, with the ordinary precautions of having three men for Advanced, and two for Rear Guard, and sends, in case the country requires it, one man to the right, and another to the left, on the heights. ”

“ The size of a patrol depends upon the mission it is to accomplish; if it is to gain information only, it should be as small as possible, allowing two men for each probable message to be sent (this permits you to send messages and still have a working patrol remaining) ; if it is to fight, it should be strong enough to defeat the probable enemy against it. For instance, a patrol of two men might be ordered to examine some high ground a few hundred yards off the road. ”

“ 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. ”

“ The men can then go about the work so much more intelligently.”
Flank Guard Card No. 3
Director’s Key 1. Distribute Situation No. 3. Read and explain.
2. Explain that no member of class will be called upon to lead a patrol of this kind, but they must know what happens when they send one out. Necessity for training of non-commissioned officers.
3. Action of Sergeant Wilkins. Get squad out of column and halt it.
4. Orders to patrol: Information of enemy and own supporting troops; plan of commander; tactical dispositions; signals.
5. Comment: How long to stay out; halting patrol for orders. ”

“ 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. ”

“ We think our worst is better than his best in all that sort of work. I'm perfectly certain that, man for man, the British and French troops are more formidable, harder to beat, better men all round, than the Boche.
The first kind of patrol I mentioned—observation—is part and parcel of our everyday routine in the firing line. This kind goes out every night, and often several times during the night, from every Company. Its main objective is observation: to get any information it can about the doings of the Hun, and to guard our line against surprise moves of any sort. ”