When circumstances permit, it would be advisable to teach all the men of a company the use of all the arms, one after the other, so as to be able to re-establish after and even during a battle the exact proportion of specialists. There has been too great a tendency to neglect rifle practice. Soldiers ought to lose no occasion to perfect themselves in the use of the rifle, which remains the principal arm of the infantry. Its importance will be even greater in open warfare.
2. Instruction. To be a good infantry soldier a man ought to be very vigorous, sufficiently young, not more than thirty-five, well fed and well trained.
The individual instruction should be as thorough as possible, and perfected before the man is sent to the front.
The theoretical instruction of troops must be completed before they can be given the defence of a sector, and it is only in the lines and in the face of the enemy that they can acquire the practical experience. The more thorough their knowledge of theoretical details the sooner the company and battalion will become good fighting units.
La Bovelle
December 20, 1916—3. P.M.
The spirit of initiative should be specially encouraged in every soldier, as in the present war every man has an individual part to play, according to his duties, his rank, and his weapons. During the actual fighting the soldier can rely but little on the leadership of his superiors, who are merely expected to set the example, and who are frequently the first shot.
Duties of the Officers. Before ordering their men to advance and while still in the trenches, the officers, assisted by their non-commissioned officers, should, whenever time and circumstances allow, strive to explain fully to every man what are the objectives to be attained and what means are to be employed. No details should be neglected.
The Major’s duties will be to designate very clearly the fronts assigned to each of his companies, the objectives they are to reach, and the itineraries they are to follow. An assault is usually made in several waves, so the order of departure, the distance to be maintained between the successive waves, the place to station the reserves, and, if need be, the instructions relative to the juncture and reforming of the elements of the various companies, form so many points that must be settled beforehand in their minutest details. The Major will have to decide beforehand how the battalion as well as the several companies will hold the objectives after capturing them, how they will organize these objectives in the shortest time possible, and how they will resist the counter-attacks. The officers in command of battalions and companies must not forget that, once the action has commenced, and often even before it is begun, all communications become difficult and frequently impossible, and that consequently all possible eventualities, within the orders received, must have been thoroughly studied in advance. So it is indispensable to give every man minute instructions.