2. Hand out Situation No. 4. Read and explain it to class.
3. Location of outguard. Defense. Field of fire. Cover. Strength of position. Obstacles commanding ground. Approaches and communications.
4. Number of sentinels supplied by outguard. Explanation of.
5. Tentative dispositions.
6. Orders for posting of outguards: Information of enemy and own troops; mission; disposition—division into reliefs; action in case of attack; messing; messages.
7. Write out orders. Collect. Distribute. Read.
Explanation
The Director: “We are now ready to proceed with the next step of the problem, the posting of the first relief. Before we go into that I want to make a few remarks about the location of sentinel posts.
“By day the sentinel must be able to see the whole of the ground allotted to him for observation. He should be provided with sufficient cover so that the enemy’s patrols will not be able to locate him. He should have good communication with the outguard and the adjoining sentinels. Excellent observation posts may sometimes be found in large trees, one of the sentinels of the double post being located in a tree and the other on the ground near the foot of the tree. It may be that the best location for observation is also the best for resistance, in which case the sentinels may be posted on or very near the actual locality to be defended by the outguard. There is no objection to this, provided the members of the outguard, as well as the sentinel, are well concealed from the view of the enemy.
“The location of the sentinel post at night requires the most careful consideration. It depends considerably upon the degree of darkness, and consequently the value of eyesight as compared with hearing. On a very dark night, when the sentinel can see only a few yards in front of him, it is evident that his ears will be more useful than his eyes. Furthermore, the difficulties of the enemy will be increased by the darkness, and he is likely to make more noise by stumbling over unseen obstructions. On a still night a sentinel posted on high ground can hear better than when on low ground, because there is likely to be less obstruction in the way of trees and other objects to interfere with the sound waves passing through the atmosphere. It therefore appears that on a very dark night, when the ears are more efficient than the eyes, the sentinel should be posted on high ground, with low ground to his front.