When the passage of a large river can be happily effected by means of a bridge, considerable advantages may be derived from it; most especially when the army is thereby enabled to reach a defile or pass, the possession of which enables a general to distribute his troops in desultory quarters. Marshal Turenne, in his famous passage over the Wesel in 1672, has afforded us a strong instance of this advantage. Marshal Saxe has written largely upon this important operation; and every general officer ought to be thoroughly versed in the ways and means of executing it under all the various circumstances that occur in the locality of ground, the peculiar nature of rivers, and the possible resources of an enemy, that is determined to dispute his passage. But the most memorable of all that is recorded in history are the passages of the Danube below Vienna, in 1809, which merit the study of every military man.
Soldiers should be frequently practised in the different evolutions which are required to pass a bridge in a safe and military manner. Bridges, defiles, &c. being obstacles that retard the movements of an army, whose object is to advance, we refer our readers for a full elucidation of the subject, under the article [Obstacle].
Passage, Fr.. a term which relates to the reception of a knight, in the order of Malta.
Passage of bridges or defiles when a battalion or line stands on narrow ground.
A battalion, standing in narrow ground, may sometimes be ordered to march in file for the purpose of forming open column; and passing a defile, either before or behind that flank, before or behind the other flank, or before or behind any central point of that line.
Received Rules.
1. If before the right flank—The right platoon will move on, the rest of the battalion will face to the right, and march in file, the divisions will successively front and follow the leading one, and each other.
2. If behind the right flank—The whole face to the right and march, the right division instantly countermarches to the rear, fronts, and moves forward, followed in the same manner by every other division, till the whole is in column.
But the following method of passing in open column, would save a great deal of time which is unnecessarily lost by countermarching each division separately, as they successively arrive on the ground where the right division stood before it marched off to the rear.
1st. Countermarch the whole of the divisions at the same time, and on the same ground which they severally occupy in the line.