At manœuvres I have often seen an entire piquet peacefully asleep, trusting to the protection afforded by one or two groups 200 or 300 yards away, and the single sentry over the piquet. Any one who has had experience of the heavy sleep which overtakes tired men will know the difficulty there would be in quickly rousing a piquet under these circumstances. I remember on one occasion witnessing a night attack on a piquet by a company of the enemy, which charged, with loud cheers, yet some minutes after the assault had been delivered, two or three members of the piquet were found to be still fast asleep, with their heads enveloped in their blankets.
Cover for Groups.
When groups are posted in front of a piquet in open country, they should always have cover in rear to protect them from the fire of their comrades. Groups will remain out with much greater confidence if they feel that they are safe from the fire of their own side.
Marking of Route to and from Piquets.
The route from the support to its piquets, and from the piquets to their groups, should always be clearly marked; scraps of paper, or even green sticks, with the bark peeled off, may be used.
Sentries Challenging.
The Regulations provide that sentries shall challenge at night, but it is desirable to avoid any noise likely to disclose their position. It is easy to arrange a system of signals by which patrols, etc., can be recognised. The signal should be made by the sentry first and replied to by the patrol, but it must be an invariable rule that after the signal has been made one man, and one only, of the patrol shall advance up to the sentry to be recognised. If the signal is not replied to, the sentry will challenge, but in no louder tone than is absolutely necessary.
Sentries Firing.
Sentries must be taught always to allow persons to approach fairly near to them before challenging, and never to fire, except when it is absolutely necessary to give an alarm, unless they can clearly distinguish the object they fire at and can be fairly certain of hitting it. Every officer who has been on service knows well that at the commencement of a campaign sentries are continually firing at nothing, but as they gain experience shots at night become rare; it is really a question of training, and the training should be given during peace.