The supports constitute a line of resisting and supporting detachments, varying in size from a half company to a battalion. They furnish the line of outguards.
The supports are numbered consecutively from right to left. They are placed at the more important points on the outpost line, usually in the line on which resistance is to be made in case of attack.
As a general rule, roads exercise the greatest influence on the location of supports, and a support will generally be placed on or near a road. The section which it is to cover should be clearly defined by means of tangible lines on the ground and should be such that the support is centrally located therein.
The outguards constitute the line of small detachments farthest to the front and nearest to the enemy. For convenience they are classified as pickets, sentry squads, and cossack posts. They are numbered consecutively from right to left in each support.
A picket is a group consisting of two or more squads, ordinarily not exceeding half a company, posted in the line of outguards to cover a given sector. It furnishes patrols and one or more sentinels, double sentinels, sentry squads, or cossack posts for observation.
Pickets are placed at the more important points in the line of outguards, such as road forks. The strength of each depends upon the number of small groups required to observe properly its sector.
A sentry squad is a squad posted in observation at an indicated point. It posts a double sentinel in observation, the remaining men resting near by and furnishing the reliefs of sentinels. In some cases it may be required to furnish a patrol.
A cossack post consists of four men. It is an observation group similar to a sentry squad, but employs a single sentinel.
At night it will sometimes be advisable to place some of the outguards or their sentinels in a position different from that which they occupy in the day time. In such case the ground should be carefully studied before dark and the change made at dusk. However, a change in the position of the outguard will be exceptional.
Sentinels are generally used singly in daytime, but at night double sentinels will be required in most cases. Sentinels furnished by cossack posts or sentry squads are kept near their group. Those furnished by pickets may be as far as 100 yards away.