CHAP.
VII.

Secret marches by night, &c.

CHAPTER VII.

SECRET MARCHES BY NIGHT, ETC.

NIGHT marches should if possible be avoided by cavalry, since their horses suffer in consequence.

If the locality is not accurately known, a trustworthy guide is very necessary.

The strictest discipline must be maintained, and all the detachments must be kept on the alert. All detached parties, reconnoitrers, flankers, &c., should be nearer together than by day, and should be drawn in closer to the column; the requisite communication being maintained between separate detachments by means of intermediate posts. During night marches, reconnoitrers and flankers should frequently halt and listen, since the darkness prevents their seeing. The best view can be obtained against the horizon; hence it is a good plan for cavalry soldiers to dismount, place themselves under their horse's neck, and look upwards, for the objects to be observed thus appear higher to the spectator.

If the reconnoitrers or any detached parties come to bye roads, one man should remain halted until those that follow come up, so that no mistake may

Occur.

Bivouac-fires must be approached with the greatest caution, and every attempt made to find out who are at them-sometimes the language spoken may afford a clue; in order to hear this a man should dismount and crawl up near the fire.

СНАР.

VII.

observed.

If the march is to be kept secret, it will as a rule Rules to be take place by night. All noise must be avoided; soldiers should only be allowed to speak to one another in a low tone of voice, and should not be permitted to strike a light, or smoke. Main roads and inhabited places must if possible be avoided. People met on the road must be made to accompany the column until any information they may give can do no more harm. The parties detailed to secure the safety of the column should as far as possible be curtailed lest, by being seen, they should serve to betray the march to the enemy.

As rapidity of movement is always the object of a secret march, when possible those men should be selected to form the Advance Guard who are best acquainted with the art of mending roads.

CHAP.
VIII.

Patrols.
General

CHAPTER VIII.

PATROLS.

PATROLS are detachments sent out to obtain information regarding the enemy, the country, or any military matters, or to preserve communications. As a rule they are not intended to fight themselves, and principles. should avoid a collision with the enemy, unless they can only attain their object by this means, or are especially ordered to make prisoners. The strength of the Patrol depends on the duties they have to perform, and on the nature of the country in which they act.

Duties of the com

mander

The commander of a Patrol must be careful, cautious and intelligent; he must make himself of a patrol. thoroughly acquainted with his orders, and must clear up every doubt regarding them before he starts. The commander of a Patrol, whenever it is sent out, receives his instructions from the officer commanding the detachment, by which it is furnished; on his return he has also to report himself to this officer. He should be provided with written orders, and while conducting the Patrol should carefully observe anything that bears directly or indirectly on the instructions he

VIII.

has received. He should note everything that is of CHAP. interest, and furnish a complete and clear report of the same.

A commander of Patrols must be indifferent to danger, and must disregard his own comfort in the discharge of his duties. A false report is disgraceful, and entails punishment; an incomplete one is worse than none at all, as the officer in command may thereby be misled, and faulty dispositions made. He should also if possible himself test the capabilities of the men under his command, and turn them to the best account. The main object in view is to obtain Object of a information regarding the enemy; diligent enquiries patrol. must therefore be made as to when they were seen, and in what strength, of what description of troops their force was composed, how long they halted, in what condition they appeared to be, what they did, what were the questions they asked, by what road they withdrew, whether they took any guides with them, and whether they had yet returned, &c. Post office and other officials, clergymen, leading inhabitants, magistrates, hotel keepers, Jews, and gamekeepers, will generally be able to give Patrols the best information. Children should more especially be questioned, since they are less likely to tell what is untrue.

The most intelligent soldiers and the best horses Rules to be should be selected for patrol duty; the latter should observed. be spared as much as possible, in order that if required at some future time they may have some remaining strength available. As a rule, white horses,

CHAP.
VIII.

Precau

taken

greys, and those inclined to neigh, should not be used for this work.

The orders, and also any information which has been obtained, should be communicated by the commander to the men under him, so that if anything happens to him the duties may still be performed. In case any of the men should go astray, or the Patrol should be scattered, a spot ought to be appointed for a general rendezvous.

As a general rule Patrols should return by a different road from that by which they marched out; by this means they will collect more information, and are less likely to be surprised. If it is necessary to halt and feed the horses, this must not be done in inhabited places, least of all at public houses, but in a solitary and secluded spot, which should be guarded against surprise by the usual sentries posted in concealed positions.

Every Patrol should detach a reconnoitrer both tions to be before and behind, and under some circumstances flankers also, but at least half the entire strength must remain in the main portion of the Patrol. Any men who are detached in addition to the two reconnoitrers should be drawn in as soon as circumstances permit. At night the flankers must be always drawn in, if their communication with the main Patrol is not perfectly secured.

at night.

At night a Patrol must trust to its ears rather than to its eyes, and therefore must often halt and listen. In order to do this the more effectually, a man should