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the outposts, and hands him the report of the new Piquet.

If from the report of the patrol, there is reason to expect some offensive movement on the part of the enemy, the old Piquet must remain some time in support of the new one; the same course must be adopted if, at the time of the relief, larger patrols than usual have been sent out from the support.

CHAP.

XI.

In case positions of

&c., have

changed.

If the officer commanding the new Piquet finds that there is anything defective in the position of the Piquet itself, or of the vedettes, he may alter it, but vedettes, must immediately report the circumstance to the to be officer commanding the outposts, at the same time explaining his reasons for doing so. Sometimes the relief of the Field-Piquet takes place in the middle of the day, after dinners have been cooked, so as to avoid the necessity of this being done by the FieldPiquet itself.

BY NIGHT.

the field

If the Field-Piquet is posted at night for the first Posting time, and the neighbourhood is not known, then its piquet position must necessarily be faulty, as there has been at night. no opportunity of examining the ground. The Piquet in this case is thrown forward on the principal road which leads towards the enemy; it remains as quiet as possible; when practicable surrounds itself with vedettes, sends out many patrols, and endeavours to keep in connection with the neighbouring Piquets; at the break of day its position will be corrected.

CHAP.

field

piquet by night.

The position which the Field-Piquet occupies in XI. the day-time must be changed at night this should be Position of done as soon as it is sufficiently dark to conceal this movement from the enemy. Similarly, for the like reason, it should resume its former position before daybreak. This alteration for the night takes place, first for the sake of security, as the Piquets are drawn nearer together and are placed closer to their supports; secondly, because the enemy, perhaps, knowing the position of the Piquet by day, might attempt to surprise it at night; and thirdly because the requirements of ground make such a change necessary.

Precautions to be taken at

night.

Duties of fieldpiquets.

Field-Piquets posted to watch a defile should at night be quite close to it; but they should never be placed in a wood, as this serves to conceal the approach of the enemy, and will prevent the Piquet deploying.

At night, or whenever by day there is thick mist or snow, the chain of vedettes should be reinforced, and patrols should be sent out more frequently; in such cases the officer commanding the outposts should reinforce the Piquets in proportion, or should send out new ones. If the country is enclosed, cavalry piquets should at night be entirely withdrawn, or should be replaced by infantry. At night the officer in command of a Piquet must remain constantly with it.

Duties of Field-Piquets.—At night, only a third of the men in a Piquet must be allowed to sleep; the sleepers should be kept separate from men who

are awake, in order that in case of an alarm there may be no confusion from one party being mixed with the other. Those awake must have hold of their horses' reins, and be in their proper order; towards morning all must be awake and have their horses bridled.

CHAP.

near.

XI.

If the enemy is near, and a surprise possible, half In case the the Field-Piquet must be constantly mounted, and enemy is advanced a little to one side; the other half must keep awake, and hold their horses' bridles dismounted; if a shot is fired by the vedettes they must mount; these detachments will change places every hour. Helmets, &c., ammunition pouches, and side arms, should not be taken off at night; the carbine should be kept constantly hooked to the swivel.

The

If the night is dark, and it appears advisable, several sentries must be posted round the Field-Piquet, so that nothing may approach it unperceived. commander of a Piquet must do his best to keep on the alert those of his men who have to remain awake; the best way to do this is to tell them some story which interests them; he must likewise take especial care that they do not drink too much.

At night precautions even greater than by day must be taken as regards passing the chain of outposts, and therefore the commander of the Piquet should at once ride forward to the vedettes as soon as it has been reported to him that any question has arisen regarding the propriety of allowing some one to pass.

CHAP.
XI.

Attack of the Enemy.-If a shot is fired by the vedettes, the Piquet should mount, and send out a Attack of patrol to learn the particulars.

the enemy.

How obstacles may be used.

At night Cavalry Piquets cannot always attack, but more frequently they may make use of the capabilities of the spot they occupy to form an ambush, from which they can suddenly fall on any advancing enemy, perhaps simultaneously in flank and rear. Should the firing among the vedettes be repeated, and should it be practicable to send out a portion of the Piquet, endeavours must be made to find out the strength of the enemy, so that the main body may not unnecessarily be caused to move by exaggerated reports. The enemy is only too glad to effect such alarms, so that the troops may be at the time harassed, and that an attack afterwards may be all the more effective. Exact reports of the strength of the attacking force, &c., should be sent as soon as possible to the officer commanding the outposts.

Frequently the ground occupied by the Piquet affords facilities for preventing a nocturnal surprise by means of barricades, &c. In this case care must be taken that the cavalry has the means of deploying, and has a secure retreat. Attacks are generally made shortly before daybreak, as then vedettes are supposed to be most fatigued. At this time, therefore, great watchfulness and much patrolling is required.

CHAPTER XII.

OF PATROLS FROM THE FIELD-PIQUETS.

THE security of Field-Piquets is secured by means of Patrols as well as vedettes.

The time of the day at which Patrols go their rounds, as well as the roads that they follow, must be continually changed; their strength also should vary, as otherwise the enemy will be enabled to ascertain their movements, and to cut them off. As a rule it will be so arranged that one Patrol starts when the other returns they must not be sent too far out; rather than this it is better to send them out more frequently. They should ride as noiselessly as possible, and perform their duties in the same manner; this more especially refers to those Patrols that are sent out at night by Field-Piquets, to ground occupied by the enemy.

The principles that have been already laid down regarding Patrols are equally applicable here. The Patrols sent out by Field-Picquets are of two kinds, namely:

Visiting Patrols,
Reconnoitring Patrols.

H

CHAP.

XII.

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