Let the men do their own judging distance, and let non-commissioned officers drop at once on any man who either fails to do so, or forgets, as they often do, to adjust the backsight.
Cultivate a habit among the men of looking about for different targets, not firing only straight in front of themselves, but on their right and left, so that when they come to fire collectively they may feel nothing new in being told to open the enfilade fire recommended by I.T., 116 (11), and also get the custom of watching for the enemy all along his front.
These two exercises of advancing with and without firing are the groundwork of the fighting efficiency of the soldier in the attack, and will be found to call for every natural and acquired qualification the individual possesses. Good shooting, quick judgment, activity, wind, and everything else are needed if the work is done with full observance of the conditions which would exist under fire. Put the men through exercises of this sort several times, and, if possible, on different ground, till they acquire quickness in choosing cover and the arts that make an expert fighter. Confidence in themselves will come with the skill they acquire, and with confidence comes decision of mind, which is really more important than bodily efficiency. If you have time, a useful rider to this exercise is to work the men by pairs, as is recommended in the Musketry Regulations for the observation of fire, and so introduce them early to the use of the file organisation which I have advised you to adopt.
EXERCISE II.
Retirement by Pairs.
A sound provision against panic among young troops is to accustom them to regard a retirement as all in the day’s work, and not as an exceptional undertaking which their anxiety may invest with possibilities of disaster. The essence of successful retirement in face of an enemy lies in the continuous opposition, or appearance of it, offered to the enemy by one portion of the troops, while others draw off to take post to cover the withdrawal of the rearmost portion. I.T., 137, gives the idea in few words. It does not mention individual training in this, but it is useful to put men through the movements, both to cultivate cohesion in the ranks, and as a tactical exercise. It may happen in war that an extended line has to give ground when engaged with the enemy, and this under so heavy a fire as to make movement except over short distances impossible without great loss. Such a withdrawal would mean that the troops are in a very tight corner, and would test them very highly, but that is another matter. It may happen, and should be prepared for. A withdrawal under these conditions might perhaps be carried out by the alternate movement of men in files covered by the fire of the others, until such a distance from the enemy had been obtained as to allow sections or companies to take up the alteration. Up to that distance it will be simply a reversal of what was done in Exercise I., but worked by files—a front rank man and his rear rank man, one going back a short distance, and the other firing to cover the movement. Again, men on patrol or otherwise detached may have to retire to avoid capture, or for many other reasons, when they might not be under close and heavy fire, but still would be under the necessity of preventing the enemy closing in on them or surrounding them. In this case, the length of each withdrawal would be much longer than in the former case; one man would fire while the other made off perhaps two or three hundred yards at his best speed. Train for both contingencies; it can be done in one and the same parade. Skeleton enemy as usual. For the withdrawal under heavy fire, let the sections sit down and fall out at BB´ (Diagram I.), and put out the non-commissioned officers between BA and B´ A´ as before. Call out the men by files, tell them to work back to A and A´, one firing, the other retiring. As a rule they should retire past each other before halting. The same points must be observed as in Exercise No. I, and the quicker they are in movement the better, but they must be taught to go in quick time also when so ordered (I.T., 137 (4)).
For the retirement of a file as on patrol, do exactly the same, but you should work over six hundred yards of ground or so to correct any tendency to import the short rush into this exercise, which would be out of place, and also to let men have more practice in looking for suitable fire positions from which they can both fire on the enemy, and from which they can get away when their turn comes, a point they often neglect at first. The different nature of the two exercises must be made quite clear.
At this exercise you should bring before your men the need of using all sorts of ruses in a retirement, the use of rapid fire just before withdrawing, the sham withdrawal acted by ceasing fire, and retiring a few yards, but only to halt and re-open fire after a few seconds if the enemy has been tempted to expose himself, thinking the coast clear, the real withdrawal effected so carefully that the enemy is not sure whether you are there still or not, and so on; and make them put their own ideas of these plans into action and tell them if they are doing what is feasible on service or not. Bar all “manœuvre slimness,” i.e., anything that could not be done on service.
EXERCISE III.
Individual Training in use of Fire and Fire Discipline.
Early lessons in fire discipline can be given in single rank on the parade ground, but the open country and extended order are wanted for training men to the fullest extent under service conditions. Only in the open country can be got the variety of targets, ranges and the visual training which are necessary for a complete education. Men must be taught, and taught again, that the taking up of extended order, and movement over all sorts of ground, in no way mean that they are to pass at once beyond the control of their unit leaders, or that it is optional to continue to take any sort of pains with their shooting just because their non-commissioned officers cannot stand over them, but have to shout orders from a distance.
This exercise consists in advancing and retiring in extended order with fire and the use of cover when halted; but to allow for more prolonged shooting practice and closer supervision than are possible when carrying out an attack or retirement as on service, the halts are longer and movements should at first be made in quick time.