FOOTNOTES:
[1] 1 British infantry battalion; 3 Native infantry battalions; ½ British field hospital; 1½ Native field hospitals; 1 Field post office; Brigade supply column.
MARCHES AND PROTECTION.
A body of troops moving in an enemy's country is liable to be attacked at any time, and from any direction, and must, therefore, always take measures for the protection of its front, flanks, and rear.
In warfare in civilised and highly developed countries, when the enemy's object is rather to defeat the fighting force than to harry the convoy, and when troops can march on broad frontages, the protection given by bodies of cavalry with horse artillery, flung far to front and flanks, and supported, if necessary, by infantry, is usually adequate.
But when the line of march leads along a single file track, winding through narrow valleys, and over rugged mountains, when the column, compared to its strength, occupies an inordinate length of roadway, and is therefore especially vulnerable to flank attack, and when the enemy, or at any rate a portion of his warriors, prefer plunder of baggage to pitched battles, other measures to safeguard the force must be taken.
Flankguards can rarely make their way over the steeply scarped hills enclosing the North West Frontier valleys, and since the advanced guard can, in such conditions, effect no more than the clearance of the valley in which it is moving, it becomes necessary to adopt a sedentary form of protection for the flanks of the force. This consists of picquets, posted along the route, in localities commanding approaches to the roadway, or from which the enemy can fire on the column.
These picquets, together with the advanced and rear guards, secure the movement of the remaining troops; they are, as a rule, found by the units composing the advanced guard, and withdraw under the supervision, and if necessary with the assistance of the rear guard.
The order of march of a column, in border, as in other campaigns, is conditioned by the proximity, strength, and probable action of the enemy, by the topography of the district to be traversed, by the object to be attained, and by the composition of the force.
The first duty of the staff officer to whom is confided the drafting of orders for a march, will therefore be, by personal observation, and from intelligence and other reports, to find out as much as possible of the country, and of the enemy's dispositions and probable tactics. Armed with this information he will be in a position to arrange the order of march of his column according to the circumstances of the case.
When the enemy, for instance, is in force in the vicinity, and his actions, such as throwing up of entrenchments, harassing camp in large numbers, imply that he will offer vigorous resistance to the advance, it is probable that the baggage and supply column will be best parked, under sufficient guard, either in the camp, or in some other locality easy of defence, whilst the remainder move off, in preparatory formation for action.
If the clansmen are reported to be inclined to dispute the advance in force, but are some distance from the camp, the most suitable order of march may be deduced as follows.
The enemy being in strength, the column should move in compact formation, and deliberately, the advanced guard being pushed only so far forward as to secure the troops from surprise, and as few road picquets sent out as may be, in order that the fighting force may be reduced as little as possible.
The method of posting and withdrawing picquets will not materially differ from that which will be described later.
The tribesmen being known to be in force and prepared to resist, it follows that the bulk of the fighting men must be at the head of the column; and as the advanced guard will be near the remainder, it need be only sufficiently numerous to insure that the duties of protection are adequately performed.
Suppose the tribesmen five miles distant, and that, as a rough basis for calculation, two companies can secure about one-and-a-half to two miles of roadway; then about three companies will be required for picquetting.
If three companies be added for other purposes, the advanced guard infantry should be of sufficient strength.
The advanced guard will require a proportion of technical troops for road making and repair, and for this purpose two companies of pioneers, or the bulk of a company of sappers and miners may be allotted.
Cavalry are not, it is considered, in place with an advanced guard moving in an enclosed and intricate country, nor, since the main body will be close behind, need any special medical details be included.
Whether artillery should be allotted is a more open question. In favour of placing guns with the advanced guard, it can be argued that they may be of assistance in clearing the hills to be occupied by picquets or vanguard; against their inclusion it may be urged that artillery ammunition will necessarily be scarce, owing to the difficulty of carriage, and should only be employed when an advantageous opportunity for inflicting loss occurs, but that advanced guard commanders are prone to make too much use of their guns.
On the whole, when the advanced guard is not far from the main body, it would seem that the inclusion of guns in the former is unnecessary.
The organisation and order of march of the main body may be as under.
It is clear that the numbers available for action will be those left over after suitable deduction has been made for baggage and rear guards. These, therefore, must first be allotted.
Light duty men, officers' servants, cooks, etc., should suffice to secure the regimental transport, and for policing the drivers, but the supply column, hospitals, and reserve ammunition, require special escorts, and perhaps one company each may be adequate for the two first mentioned, and one or two companies for the ammunition.
The strength and composition of the rear guard is the next item, and this is regulated by its function of supervision of the retirement of the picquets.
Such being the case, it appears that, in no circumstances, should a large force be detailed as a rear-guard. There is not space in a narrow valley for a strong rear-guard to manœuvre, so that it will merely afford the enemy a good target, without corresponding advantage; besides, the rear-guard can, if necessary, be continually reinforced by incoming picquets.
A rear-guard, then, should rarely include more than four companies of infantry, and in the circumstances under consideration, may be weaker.
Though cavalry may be useful for the delivery of a counter-attack, the horses afford an easy mark, whilst its presence with the rear-guard may cause the enemy to keep to the hills instead of descending into the valley, where they will be more vulnerable. Cavalry, it seems, should, therefore, not be added to the rear-guard infantry.
Mountain guns may be of assistance to picquets in distress, or in the delivery of a counter-attack, but they should, both for their own security, and to prevent waste of ammunition, be kept well back. In the present case the rear-guard is not likely to be harassed, so no artillery need be included.
A rear-guard does not require technical troops, but some hospital riding mules, etc., may be allotted for rapid transference of wounded.
The total deductions from the fighting force of the column will therefore be:—
Advanced Guard. Six companies Infantry, bulk of one company S. and M.
Escorts, etc. Three or four companies Infantry.
Rear-guard. Two or three companies, with machine guns.
In all about one and a half battalions, one company sappers and miners. There remain three and a half battalions, one mountain battery, one squadron, and the administrative services, at disposal.
The order of march of the main body can now be dealt with.
Perhaps half a battalion may move in front, then the mountain battery, which should not require a special escort, next the three battalions.
After these may follow the reserve ammunition, the hospitals, the 2nd line transport with B. echelon 1st line transport[2] of all troops, except the advanced and rear-guards, and then the supply column.
At the tail of the main body may move the B. echelon of the advanced and rear-guards, so as to be readily available in case any troops belonging to either are obliged to bivouac outside camp; and finally, since they are unlikely to be able to undertake effective pursuit, may come the cavalry, so as to be at hand in case they are required to assist the rear-guard to counter-attack, by charging any tribesmen who have ventured into the valley.
Though B. echelon 1st line transport of the advanced and rear-guards is placed at the end of the column, it is considered that all troops should be so equipped that they can be independent of camp and transport for at least two, and better still, for three days. It is a lesser evil to carry an extra, but in some degree decreasing load, even if it prejudices mobility, than to starve, or run undue risk of sickness from cold and damp.
The next case to be considered will be when the enemy is not in great force, and is more likely to harass than to seriously resist the advance of the column.
In such circumstances, the main objects will be to complete, as rapidly as may be, the proposed march, whilst inflicting on the enemy, should he give the opportunity, the greatest possible loss.
Since the distance is to be quickly traversed, and because a road picquet takes some time, even as much as an hour, to secure and establish itself on a hill, it follows that, unless risk is to be run of the march of the main body being delayed, the advanced guard must precede the main body by at least one hour, and may even move off in the twilight which precedes dawn.
This settled, the composition of the advanced guard may be dealt with.
If it is proposed to make a ten mile march, then, calculating from the data previously mentioned, about one battalion will be sufficient to picquet the roadway. To this force some four companies may be added, so as to leave a good margin for securing the camp site, and for unexpected contingencies.
Technical troops will, as before, be required, and as the advanced guard will be some way from the main body, a section of mountain artillery may be included. Neither cavalry, nor special medical units, seem necessary.
The composition of the advanced guard may, therefore, be:—one-and-a-half battalions infantry, one section mountain battery, the bulk of one company sappers and miners.
As already stated, before deciding on the order of march of the main column, the deductions to be made for escort and rear-guard duties must be fixed.
Light duty men, etc., should suffice to secure the regimental transport, three companies to safeguard the reserve ammunition, hospitals, and supply column, whilst the mountain battery hardly needs a special escort.
In respect of the rear-guard, in the case under consideration it is possible that the picquets may be harassed as they withdraw, the strength of the rear-guard may, therefore, amount to four companies of infantry, with machine guns, and one section mountain artillery, with some ambulance riding mules, etc., in addition.
The total deductions, for purposes of protection, from the fighting force of the column, therefore, amount to:—infantry, two battalions three companies; artillery, two sections; sappers and miners one company; and there remain, for disposal, infantry, two battalions five companies, artillery, one section, cavalry, one squadron, besides various administrative units.
No serious opposition being expected to the march of the column, the comfort of the troops may be considered in regulating the order of march.
As before, and for the same reasons, the cavalry, and the B. echelon 1st line transport of the advanced and rear-guards, and of the picquetting troops, may march at the tail of the main body.
It should hardly be necessary to place, in addition, a body of infantry at the end of the column, but, if desired, the remaining four companies of the battalion furnishing the rear-guard may move immediately in front of, or behind, the cavalry. The rest of the fighting force can march at the head of the main column, followed by the reserve ammunition, hospitals, B. echelon 1st line transport, with the 2nd line transport, and then the supply column.
In circumstances where little or no resistance is expected to the forward movement of a column, but serious opposition to the withdrawal of picquets, and to the march of the rear-guard, the following modification will be necessary in the order of march just dealt with.
The strength, composition, and time of march of the advanced guard need only be altered by the deduction of, say, one section of sappers and miners, and perhaps, too, the withdrawal of the mountain guns.
The escorts, etc., of the non-fighting portions of the main column may remain as before suggested, as may the strength and composition of the rear-guard.
The order of march of the main column will, however, require transposition somewhat as follows:
Since the principal opposition will take the form of pursuit by the enemy, the bulk of the fighting troops should move in rear of the main column, so as to be in position to undertake the offensive if required.
The units may, therefore, march as follows:
Two companies of infantry; the supply column; the B. echelon 1st line transport, (except, of the advanced and rear-guards,) with the 2nd line transport; the hospitals; the reserve ammunition; B. echelon 1st line transport of the advanced and rear-guards; the rest of the infantry, less four companies; the remainder of the artillery; one section of sappers and miners, the cavalry, and finally four companies.