EXERCISE VI.
The Section and Platoon in Retirement.
For the general principles of retirements see I.T., 137. The platoon, when working with the company, will take its turn at being the rearmost portion of the troops, and will have the difficult task of getting away while in touch with the enemy, but its retirement will be covered by the fire of other portions of the company. On the other hand, if a platoon or section finds itself beyond support from other troops, as might happen often enough, it will have to act itself as a rearguard and retire by alternate parts.
In both cases great advantage is gained if the position held can be vacated so stealthily that the enemy shall not be aware of its having been vacated till the defenders are well on their way to the rear. For this reason it will be worth while to accustom the men to employ, when practicable, a procedure used in mountain warfare, withdrawing the bulk of men first and leaving only a few quick-footed men to keep up appearances and fire as long as possible and then retiring them at speed. Also all men must be taught to grovel backwards on their stomachs from the crest of their fire position till sufficiently under cover, if there is cover, to stand up without being seen, after which they rise and make off.
Send out the skeleton enemy with instructions to follow up the retirement slowly, and not to close in on the sections, as it is easy and tempting to do this when there are no bullets in the rifles.
(a) As a Section or Platoon Acting with the Company.
Do the practice first by sections and then in platoon. Draw up the unit on a fire position about eight hundred yards from the enemy, the men in extended order, lying down, and open fire on the enemy. Tell the commander to choose his next halting place and retire his unit on it, which he should do on the lines before indicated. The halting places should be chosen as far apart as two to four hundred yards; short retirements merely prolong the time exposure to fire and should not be used unless the enemy are very close or the fire very heavy. Once the men are clear of the position, they should move as fast as they can, trusting to escape casualties, by speed, the alteration of range, and the fire of the few men left on the position. As a rule, carry out all retirements at the double, so that the men shall not be confused by the hasty movement. As soon as the first party has reached the new position, the fringe of men left on the old one should creep back and go as hard as they can to rejoin their section or platoon, and they should be taught to judge the time of going for themselves, so as not to “let in” the section or themselves, by going too early or staying too late. Repeat the movement to one or two further positions. It is a strenuous practice and makes demands on the men’s limbs, wind, and willingness, but the rearguard is the post of honour and danger. Order casualties of leaders from time to time, and let the men be called to move in quick time sometimes, which they would have to do if there were signs of unsteadiness.
(b) As a Section or Platoon Acting Alone.
Act on the same lines as before, but let the commander run the show, which he should be able to do, after having done it under supervision. One party (a file or two in the case of a section, or one or two sections in that of a platoon) gets back to a fire position and opens fire to cover the retirement of the other. In general, it is better that both parties should not fall back on one and the same fire position; on the contrary, if they act on a wide front in ordinary country—say, three hundred yards apart—their fire is equally effective, but the enemy is broken up, and the danger of their being outflanked or surrounded is less. For the same reason it is good practice, if the platoon is strong, to send out groups of four or five men still further on the flanks, and a group to precede the whole on the line of retirement by six hundred yards or so, in order to occupy positions and deny them to the enemy, and after one or two turns of this exercise tell the skeleton enemy to follow on harder and try to work round the flanks. In this part also continue to order casualties of leaders.
EXERCISE VII.
The Section and Platoon in Independent Attack.
It is very important to secure the intelligent co-operation of section and platoon commanders in the operations in which their company or battalion is taking part. I have read that in the Russo-Japanese War the result of one of the battles—I think at Penlin, 31st July—turned on the action of an infantry section who gained a footing on the extreme flank of the Russian line, and drove off the defenders in the immediate vicinity, opened a way for the advance of the greater numbers, and led to the outflanking and retreat of the whole Russian force. If you give your unit commanders some chances of carrying out attacks, acting as if unsupported by other troops, they will find themselves faced with the same problems which confront commanders of larger bodies in the attack, and they will be more likely, when acting in combination, to look beyond just the limits of their own commands; they will be led to comprehend the object of operations and the difficulties in the way, and will become quick to seize any opportunity to further the general plan without waiting for orders. It is true that so small a body as a section would seldom be formally told to attack an objective single-handed, but there are often occasions on service when a platoon might have to carry out an attack on a small scale, as when a few of the enemy’s riflemen are making themselves unpleasant, while not in sufficient force to do more than “snipe,” or to require the diversion against them of a whole company. Though a section as now constituted is a very small unit to work with, I think no excuse is needed for performing the attack with the smallest unit, having in view the excellent training it forms for non-commissioned officers and men. However, for this practice, it is advisable to form sections somewhat above the usual strength, by joining two together, so as to give at least eighteen rifles in the whole. After having put the sections through the exercise, you will, of course, let the platoon commanders carry out the attack with their platoons.