Situation No. 7:
You have arrived at this point. You discover a cavalryman’s horse, fully equipped, tied to that tree. You reconnoiter the vicinity but can find no other signs of the enemy.
Required:
What action do you take?
Solution
The Director: “Lieutenant Williams, how do you size up the situation?”
Lieutenant Williams: “I have come to the conclusion that the enemy prisoner told the truth when he said he was lost. I do not believe there are any other men of the enemy in this immediate vicinity. Had there been other men with the prisoner he surely would not have dismounted and tied his horse to a tree. If there were more in the party one man would have been left out here to hold the horse while the prisoner went forward to reconnoiter on foot. I arrive at the conclusion that this is his horse and that he is a member of the enemy patrol that was operating over on the right of our line. He got lost and was trying to find some of the men of his own patrol when he ran into us. I do not think he realized that he was inside of our lines at the time he was captured.”
The Director: “Has any member of the class a different version of the affair than what Lieutenant Williams has just explained?”
Captain Hastings: “I do not think we would be justified in assuming that there are no more of the enemy in this vicinity. Two enemy scouts have been captured that we know of. These two men were not scouting around here alone. There must be more of them somewhere. It may be that others have come in contact with our outguards that we have not heard about.”
The Director: “Have you heard any firing tonight along our lines?”