Patrolling
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Commander
The leader should be an officer or a noncommissioned officer. He must have good judgment, be cool, be quick in making a decision, be strong in physique, have initiative, and be brave, but not to the extent of rashness. Besides his regular equipmen... Conduct Of The Patrol
In communicating with each other for ordinary purposes the members of the patrol use signals agreed upon before the start. For this purpose each man must constantly keep within sight and hearing distance of the leader. A patrol moves cautiously, t... Duties Of A Patrol
Each reconnoitering patrol is given a certain mission (duty) to perform. The name, reconnoitering, meaning to survey, to view, indicates that its first duty is to get information, and information is always greatly increased in value if the enemy d... Encountering The Enemy
If a small hostile patrol is encountered it is generally better to remain in concealment and let it pass than to attack. The noise of a fight may be heard by the enemy, the presence of the patrol therefore indicated, and the enemy will take furthe... Formation
It is impossible to lay down any hard-and-fast rule governing the formation and conduct of the operations of a patrol. Each situation will have to be worked out by itself. The patrol should assume the general formation of a column of troops on the m... Instructions
The officer sending out a patrol should give it instructions on the following points: 1. Information of the enemy and of friendly supporting troops. 2. The mission of the patrol. This will include the general direction in which it is to go. ... Patrolling
Everything else being equal the army that possesses the most accurate information about the enemy will win. Military history recites the fact that almost every important battle has been either lost or won because of information or lack of inform... Preparation
Before going out the patrol commander will make a careful inspection of the members of his patrol in order to see: 1. That the members are in a suitable condition for the duty to be performed. (Not drunk, sick, lame, having a bad cough, etc.) ... Strength
The strength of the patrol will generally depend on its mission and on the number of messages that it will probably send back. The larger the patrol the greater the probability of the enemy seeing it. On the other hand, if it is too small, it will... The Actual Defense
Let us suppose now that our battalion, occupying this defensive position, is a part of a larger force which is supported by artillery. You see small objects one and a half to two miles to your front. You know they are the enemy's troops because yo...