(1) Piquets must take up their night positions when it is getting dusk, the strengthening of the piquet and construction of obstacles being done in advance, secretly if possible, and towards evening the working party should withdraw and leave the intended night position empty till it is time to move into it, further work being completed by twilight.
(2) The provision of obstacles is more necessary than entrenchment, as securing the piquet from being rushed while completing the latter.
(3) Men must rest on their alarm posts, and bayonets may have to be kept fixed by all, if there is a possibility of a sudden attack (I.T., 151 (7)), to ensure instant readiness.
(4) All piquets must stand to arms one hour before light and remain ready for action till the patrols have found that there is no sign of an immediate attack. When relief takes place in the morning, night outposts will not return to camp till the patrols report all clear.
After this, let the non-commissioned officer in command withdraw the piquet from its day position and march it to the night position. On arrival ask the non-commissioned officers in turn where they would place the piquet exactly and where they would put their obstacles. Obstacles for a night piquet should be under close fire, i.e., ten or twenty paces, but, in addition, booby traps and alarms may be placed further in front. Barbed wire is the best of all obstacles. The actual defensive measures to be taken do not differ from those taken for the defence of any position not on outpost.
The position of the piquet and obstacles being decided on, let the non-commissioned officers mark on the ground the actual work they would undertake, having regard to the time available, which you should tell them, and, on the same lines as for the day piquet, let them as commanders in turn divide the men into reliefs of sentries and patrols, tell them off to their alarm posts, and order them to occupy them once as if on alarm.
A piquet by night, no matter how well entrenched, has a very limited field of action. Even with most carefully arranged night rests for the men’s rifles its fire effect is small except at close ranges, and to resist attack by relatively larger bodies it must in general keep behind its defences. Hence a well organised scheme of patrols is necessary to supplement the passive opposition which the piquet can offer. The patrols are charged with the duty of bringing news of any advance of the enemy to attack, and, if he is close enough, of spying out his movements on and within his outpost line, of preventing his patrols or scouts penetrating their own line, of watching any localities which are of particular importance and unoccupied by piquets, such, for example, as villages beyond the outpost line which the enemy might try to occupy by night, and, lastly, of keeping up communication between the various bodies of the outposts. The strength of patrols is limited by the necessity of their being able to do this work without making a noise, and a strength of three to eight men is advised. A patrol performs its duty of observation either by going from point to point, or by watching one particular place, when it is called a “standing patrol.” If a piquet posts any group sentries by night, away from the piquet, such groups have just the same work as standing patrols, except that they may be ordered to maintain their position in case of attack as they are near support, whereas patrols would fall back as soon as they had made sure the enemy was advancing, and possibly, if in accordance with their instructions, after treating him to a short burst of rapid fire. An ordinary patrol will also have to halt and listen perhaps for long periods, and so becomes for the nonce a standing patrol.
Form up the platoon at the piquet position, and let the commander tell it off into three patrols to practise this duty, disregarding reliefs, all three to be sent out at the same time in different directions, one man in each to be commander. Before they start off, tell them the following, which piquet commanders must see to:—
(1) If there is no countersign published for the force, piquet commanders must arrange either a word or a sign by which men may know their own side in the dark.
(2) Patrols going out are to tell the nearest sentry which way they are going (I.T., 156 (5)).