The Problem
Situation No. 3:
You, Corporal Canes, the leading man of your visiting patrol, have arrived at this point. Outguard No. 1 is right there (indicate); the double sentinel post is there (indicate).
Required:
What do you do?
Procedure
The class is conducted to the point selected for Situation No. 3, which should be located between the outguard and the sentinel post if practicable. The Director reads the situation aloud and points out the position of the outguard and that of the sentinels posted from the outguard.
Solution
The Director: “Captain Hall, let us assume you are Corporal Canes. You have arrived right here, the other members of your patrol are in the original formation behind you. Now just what would you do under the circumstances?”
Captain Hall: “I would go to the sentinel post and ask the men.”
The Director: “Wait a minute. Let us not go too fast on this proposition. You have the other men of your patrol with you. What are you going to do with them?”
Captain Hall: “That’s right. I would have to tell them what to do. I would say to Manley in a low tone;
“‘Have the patrol halt and remain in place.’
Which means the men would halt where they are and stay there until I return.”
The Director: “We will assume that you have halted the patrol. Would you go to the sentinel post without first notifying the outguard that you are going to do so?”
Captain Hall: “No, sir. I had forgotten about that. I would go to the outguard and tell the outguard commander that I am going out to see his sentinels and would get him to come along with me.”
The Director: “Reflect a moment. Remember, yours is not the only visiting patrol that comes along the route tonight. There is one every two hours. The outguard commander has to be up every two hours to post his reliefs. The support commander has arranged his visiting patrols so that they will come along the line of observation when the sentinels on post are about in the middle of their tour. If you get the outguard commander out at this time, he will be up practically all night and will not be fit for much service tomorrow. I do not think you would insist on seeing the outguard commander unless he happened to be awake at this particular time. It would be sufficient to tell the outguard sentinel what you are going to do.”
Captain Hall: “I would go to the outguard and notify the man on duty there that I am going out to the sentinel.”
The Director: “Don’t go too fast. What I want to bring out at this time is just how you are going to approach the post of the outguard. Tell us in detail how you would do it.”
Captain Hall: “I will go up to this point. (Captain Hall advances to the point indicated). I will call in a low tone of voice ‘Visiting patrol.’ If I get no response I will advance a little closer and repeat my recognition signal and would continue until I am recognized. When the man on duty hears my call he will probably say to me ‘Give the countersign.’ I will give the countersign in a low tone of voice. He will tell me to advance and I will then go to the post of the outguard.”
The Director: “Those are the details I wanted to bring out. And that is the value of the Terrain Exercise. We come out here and learn to do the things that we must do in actual campaign when we do not have to pay for the mistakes with our own lives or the lives of our men. You have to draw upon your imagination to picture the situation that confronts you. You have to use your gray matter to figure out and decide just what you are going to do. Finally, you have to draw upon your power of speech to put your decision into words and express it in a clear and intelligent manner.
“When you get up to the outguard you find that the outguard commander is asleep. You decide not to awaken him. You tell the man on duty that you are going to the sentinel post. Now Lieutenant Barry I want you to tell us and show us just how you do it.”
Lieutenant Barry: “I would proceed cautiously in the direction of the sentinel post. When I figure I am within hearing distance I will give the recognition signal. The sentinel will give me the return signal and I will know everything is all right and be free to go up to him.”
Lieutenant Hunt: “I do not understand this recognition signal proposition. Can the director enlighten us on that?”
Explanation
The Director: “Yes, we will go into that in a few minutes. Before doing so I wish to review and consider in detail this comparatively simple proposition of approaching a sentinel post at night. You must remember that the line of observation of an outpost is a ‘spooky’ place at night and that outpost sentinels are as easily flushed as a pheasant. Their nerves are strung to the breaking point. In every shadow an enemy lurks. They soon learn to take no chances. It becomes the rule to shoot first and challenge afterwards. If one makes a practice of running headlong into sentinel posts on dark nights he may get away with it a few times, but you are taking serious chances and the game will finally get you. Having these things in mind, let us review the process of approaching the sentinel post.
“1. The patrol leader halts his patrol some little distance from the post. He gives the orders for the other members to stand fast until he returns. He then goes to the outguard and notifies them that he is going out to the sentinel. There is no necessity for any other person than the patrol commander going up to the post. If others go it makes just that much more confusion and adds that much more chance for lurking scouts to locate the post and get information.
“2. The patrol leader advances towards the post and when he is near enough he calls in a low tone, ‘Visiting patrol,’ and continues to call until he is recognized. We never approach a sentinel post from the front at night and, if it can be avoided, never from a flank, always from the rear.
“3. When the sentinel discovers the presence of the patrol leader he will verify his identity by calling upon him for the countersign. Corporal Canes gives the countersign, and the sentinel directs him to advance.
“This countersign is the recognition signal that Lieutenant Hunt asked about. It may be given by word of mouth. It may consist of whistling a few bars of some familiar service call. It may be made by tapping with the knuckles on the stock of the rifle. The number of taps to represent a number, for example: The countersign or recognition signal is 22-33. Corporal Canes would approach the sentinel post and strike his rifle, tap, tap (pause) tap, tap. The sentinel will answer in the same manner tap, tap, tap (pause), tap, tap, tap. He would then know that he had been recognized as a friend and proceed to the post. If the sentinel discovered Corporal Canes first he would keep him under observation and when he is close enough to hear would challenge him, tap, tap (pause), tap, tap. Corporal Cane’s answer would be tap, tap, tap (pause), tap, tap, tap. The system is interchangeable. The first number may be said to be the challenge or inquiry signal and the second number the recognition.
“It is not well, however, to confine ourselves to any one set of signals or method of identification. They should be changed frequently, so that the enemy will never know what system is being used on any particular night.
“When the countersign is a word it should be spoken in a very low tone of voice for fear of betraying it to the enemy’s scouts who may be near by. History is replete with incidents of disaster to covering detachments arising from the enemy’s knowledge of the countersign.”
Solution
The Director: “Now, Lieutenant Hunt, let us assume that you are at the sentinel post and ready to make your inspection. Just what would you say to him?”
Lieutenant Hunt: “Well, sir, I am free to confess that I do not know just what I would say, but I would make a stab at something.”
The Director: “That is just the point. Our text-books are here deficient again. They assume that this is so simple that we just naturally know what to do and what to say. Have you ever seen in any text book, any where, detailed instructions as to just how to inspect a sentinel on post. They say: ‘The officer of the day will inspect.’ I should like for you to be in a concealed position and hear some ‘Officer of the day’ make his inspection of a sentinel. Try it sometime and see the results.
“During the time that Corporal Canes is with him the sentinel will not cease his vigilance. The inspection will be conducted in a low conversational tone. ‘I am Corporal Canes of visiting patrol No. 3 from Support No. 2.’ ‘What is the number of your post?’ ‘What is the number of your outguard?’ ‘Where is it located?’ ‘Do you know the location of the sentinel posts to your right and left?’ ‘In what direction is the enemy?’ ‘Where does that road (trail) lead to?’ ‘Do you know what that light is (pointing)?’ ‘Have you observed any signs of the enemy since you have been on post?’ ‘What is the countersign (recognition signal) tonight?’ ‘What would you do if you saw any signs of the enemy out in front?’ ‘How would you alarm the outguard?’ ‘I have no information of the enemy on this immediate front.’ ‘When I was at outguard No. 3 of Support No. 1 the outguard commander told me that an enemy scout had been picked up near the Outguard No. 1 of their support about an hour ago?’ ‘Notify your outguard commander when you are relieved that I was here at —— o’clock.’
“These are some of the things that would be included in the inspection by the patrol commander.
“Corporal Canes would now go back to the outguard and tell the man on duty that he is going on with the patrol. If, in his inspection of the sentinel on post, anything happened that the outguard commander should know about Corporal Canes would wake him and tell him about it. He will then join the other members of the patrol and proceed along the route selected before dark.”
(Note.—To give the Terrain Exercise added interest it may be well to send two of the members of the class ahead to represent sentinel post No. 2 and one to represent the outguard. They will take post in the normal location of those elements of the line of observation. Then have four members of the class represent the visiting patrol. Have the leader conduct them just as he would under actual service conditions. Make the approach to outguard No. 2 in the same manner as indicated herein and carry out all the details of the situation.)
Visiting Patrol Card No. 3
Director’s Key
1. Conduct class to point near location of Outguard No. 1.
2. Distribute Situation No. 3. Point out location of the outguard and Sentinel Post.
3. Details of approach to outguard. Halt patrol. Recognition signal. Do not disturb outguard commander. Explain necessity for details.
4. Approach sentinel post. Necessity for caution.
5. Review problem up to this point. Explain recognition signals.
6. Corporal Canes inspection of the sentinel. Identify himself to sentinel. Number of post, outguard, location. Posts on right and left. Road lead to. Light. Any signs of enemy. What he would do if he saw enemy. How alarm outguard. Give sentinel any news. Notify outguard commander of time of inspection.
7. Corporal Canes goes back to outguard and then joins patrol.
8. Send members of class out to represent Outguard No. 2 and sentinels posted from it. Detail a patrol from among class and conduct it to Outguard No. 2.
Procedure
On completion of the problem at Outguard No. 2 the class is conducted to a point somewhere between Outguard No. 2 and Outguard No. 3 where the following situation is distributed: