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LEADING IVAR BOOKS
LEADERSHIP AND MILITARY TRAINICloth, $1.00 By LT. COL. L. C. ANDREWS, U.S.A.
. FUNDAMENTALS OF MILITARY SERVBy LT. COL. L. C. ANDREWS, U:S. A.
FUNDAMENTALS OF NAVAL SERVIBy COMMANDER YATES STIRLING
COMPLETE U. S. INFANTRY GUIDA reprint of all the material contained in the 25 Go
books pertaining to Infantry
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OFFENSIVE
FIGH1-'ING
BY
MAJOR DONALD 1\1.McRAE', MINFANTRY RESERVE CORPS
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FOREWORD
MUCH has been written on different phas
Great. War.
Offensive Fighting has a message for the
and Raiding Officer.
It is the junior officers who are called
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PREFACE
THE object of this book is to place in theofficers and men of our new Army, some of th
of the work it took me months of labor and the
sacrifice of lives to learn. Some day you wil
do the same kind of work I had to do and I ho
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CONTENTS
CHAPTER
I", MINE CRATER CONSOLIDATION" ,
II. TRENCH RAIDS •••. , , .. , .. . .. . .. . ..
III. PATROLS AND THE CONTROL OF No MAN'S LA
IV. FRONT LINE OBSERVATIONS",.",.,.,
_
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oFFENSIVEFIG HTIN
CHAPTER I
MINE CRATER CONSOLIDATION
A. OCCUPATION OF MINE CRA:rER
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14 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
is enough to shake the most veteran troops. Tmay blow a crater under our lines for the sam
(b) A mine may be exploded as a defensi
ure, such as the blowing of Montreal Crater
Ridge. This is done when the enemy is placi
already placed a mine under our line and in th
entire object of our mine is to destroy the ene
galleries and thus prevent him from explo
mine. If we can destroy some of his line
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MINE CRATER CONSOLIDATION
tion Officers. This was the case at l\10ntrealThe crater post was about the only place al
Vimy Ridge from which any view could be
of the back side of the Ridge. Before this m
exploded the enemy had a fine view of all our d
While we had no. observation of his lines at al
result the Germans kept up a very nasty. artill
trench mortar fire that it was hard for us to
with any accuracy, as we were firing blind. After
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16 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
(b) The officer in charge marks out the
dug and sets the men to work. As a ruleare dug as in Fig. 1. These posts are. the
done, so the party will have some sort of cthe counter-attack comes.
(c) As soon as the posts are. done it isto establish communications with the old
First a trench is dug around. the inside of
at about ground level. This trench should
-
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MINE CRATER CONSOLIDATION
( e) \Vhen the work has been carried this
outs should be constructed. They should bethe slope of the crater and not at the b~tt'o
they will be safer from shells, drier and easi
There should be a gentle slope from the ba
dugout to the crater for drainage. If Frencmaterial is used these shelters can be quickly c
All trenches must be revetted, as dug, or
, not stand any time, in the newly turned ear
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18 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
officer, during the advance, leaves our last
the open he should lay a tape, as he goes, to
positions where he wants the sap, the Y and
dug. These tapes also help to guide carryin
and stretcher-bearers to the garrisons.
(c) A French dugout should be put in
(d) Special wiring parties must be destart work at once to put wire around the ins
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MINE CRATER CONSOLIDATION
(C) Conversion of a- Number of Crate
Strong Point.-This task is fully illustrated. 4. ARTILLERY,TRENCH MORTARAND
GUN BARRAGEsee Fig. 4).-The object ofrage is to silence the enemy's fire and to
counter-attacks. The explosion of the minezero and there should be no firing before th
enemy will be warned and lay down his barrag
the parties get out into No Man's Land and th
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OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
Auto rifles for 800 yards on each flank sh
up a rapid fire on the enemy front line to k
rifle fire as much as possible.
5. GENERAL REMARKS (Consolidation
lip).- The crater will probably be about 90 t
deep and 100 to 300 yards wide:
(a) Stonning Parties.-There should be
about 40 men detailed to capture, hold and c
the crater. This party should be compose
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MINE CRATER CONSOLiDATION
These men actually dig. The remainder
covering party.Each section should have a reserve secti.
same composition waiting at its dump to re
if necessary. Fairly heavy casualties are
pected in work of this kind, for the men are
in the open and no matter how good our
the enemy fire will not be completely sile
battalion blowing a crater will probably lose
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OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
Rifle and Bayonet170 Rounds S. A. A.
'3 Bombs
I Shovel
10 Sandbags
I Full Water Bottle
2 Days' Emergency Rations.
I Field Dressing (shell dressing, if availabl
wounds are shell wounds).
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MINE CRATER CONSOLIDATION
materials needed and help the stretcher bear
n.turn trip. They should come forward imafter the storming party and bring up twpicks and as many bombs as possible.
The officer and N. C. O. should eac
" Very" pistol and white and colored lightsfor S. O. S. signals. The officer should
a flashlight, as it can be used to signal withthing else fails.
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OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
and bury the party than one perpendicular to tThe direction of the push is of course along r
the crater.If another crater or a deep depression is
the mine and the assembly trench, it is very
absorb much of the shock.The majority of the debris falls very clo
crater, thus forming the lip with an ordinar
there is little danger from the falling earth at 3
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MINE CRATER CONSOLIDATION
starting. He must now be very careful to t
look around and make certain just how the lathen lay tapes to the points he selects for
His next move is to place his men in po
start them digging under direction of the
H,e then makes certain that the covering. in proper. positions and then goes back to
communication trench from the front line
started properly. From this point on there
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26 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
yards from the front line, as a greater distan
mean too long a trip through the enemy barrage
dumps should not be established until the nig
the operation, as enemy aircraft may observe
the carrying parties and surmise what was goi
then the dumps would be put out of action
thing on zero night. For the same reason th
should not approach their dumps in large
'although every man should be shown the lo
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MINE CRATER CONSOLIDATION
5 Boxes S.A. A. (5000 total)
28 Boxes Mills NO.5 Grenades (336 total)10. Packages White "Very," Light Cart
total)
2 Packages Red " Very" Light Cartridges
S. signals2 Packages Green "Very" Light Cart
S. O. S. signals
3 "Very" Pistols (I")
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OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
takes place at night, as it probably will do.
daylight visual signals (signalling shutters)relied upon if the. barrage of the enemy is
heavy to see through, but at night runners
the only resource and they are not certain.
practically no chance of a telephone wire lastthan a few moments, though it does no harm
It is a great waste of life to send runners
barrage and it should not be done except fo
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MINE CRATER CONSOLIDATION
out. The ground flare cannot be missed or
but it will draw machine-gun and artillery fi
dead give away of the' post's location unle
from a distance to one side.
All runners should wear a white armlet.so
readily recognizable and must have "right
over everyone.
(f) Sttpports and Reserves.-As so man
be taken from the battalion, in the line, for
ent parties, it will probably be found necessar
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80 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
shown the assembly point, the artillery conc
etc. In fact, the same action is taken as if•going to explode the mine ourselves, the only
being that the zero hour is uncertain. For th
the parties must continue to do trench duties.
as the mine explodes our barrage is 'laid deach man detailed gets to the assembly point a
as possible without further orders. From heaction is' the same as before, except that ther
Fig. 1.
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70.. Enemy
\
x x x )( x x ..
-\ .Blinded En-trance whenpossible
r
r;.;!"{"
TaX ,.j""h9R~~, 1lT'~';;"':::_---;'-Jo
Elevation
~ "
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M.G.
Farm
IE
Fig. 4.
Barroge for J!jf;f -Canso/lei
c.%IM.6.
o
Rest/rve
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•CHAPTER II
TRENCH RAIDS
DEFINITION.-A raid is a minor operation
a limited number of men, either with or with
lery support, enter the enemy's lines, hold th
limited time to obtain information and inflict c
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;OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
the German lines at any time, kill the garrison
get away, is of great benefit in,raising their(d)" To lower enemy morale. Few thi
the morale more, or in other words" get up
more, of troops than suc~essft11raids against
raiding party shows no mercy and after takitwo prisoners kills all other enemy it can.few raids an enemy is very jumpy, throwing
his own wire, employing constant machin
rifle fire and 'firing many. flares. When tro
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TRENCH RAIDS
(i) As a retaliation for an enefllY raid
should be especially vicious and destructive aat least five Germans killed or captured for
the German raid got. The object is to m
realize that it does not pay to attempt to raid
On the British front in 1917, there welarge number of successful British raids and
successful German raids or even attempted
raids.
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OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
there should be numerous dugouts and a ma
or trench-mortar emplacement, if possible. Tbe favorable ground for the approach and wand no commanding ground in the immedia
from which machine-gunfire may be' direct
raiders. The enemy wire is of secondary imas, no matter what its condition, the artiller
stroy it. Besides the above there should
communication trenches as possible for, eith
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TRENCH RAIDS
and the local conditions, but the average or
raid consists of about 130 men. This size raabout 600 yards ~and has strong artillery supp
For about a year, from November, 1915, t
ber, 1916, the stealth raid was highly succe
since the latter part of 1916, the enemy haviered from his initial surprise, has adopted m
defence that cause a large percentage of thes
be a failure. A stealth raid is one made
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86 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
than a company one. The men of each comp
be assigned to the same sections tho~gh, s
fighting beside friends ..
Very often the two battalions, of a briga
line each furnish half of the party. Thi
division of losses, gives each battalion equaldistinguish itself. and leads to better coope
tween the battalions of the brigade, which wi
later in an offensive. They should not be
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TRENCH RAIDS
that are strange to many officers and men.
ing a raid a scout officer cannot be expectedon with his regular work.
In picking the men never, if it can be avo
men who have not had previous experience
rage. A barrage at night is a terrifying sinew man is simply paralyzed for a few qlo
usually unable to think or move. This feeli
but as dash is essential a man of this kind
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38OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
tions for the covering parties. The patrol
certain that there are no obstructions be" jumping off" position and the enemy wir
old trenches filled with water and wire, or o
in No :Man's Land .. After the wire cutting
menced patrols examine and report the renight. The~e reports must be extremely a
the lives of the raiders are liable to depen
directly. No effort,' regardless of risk, mus
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TRENCH RAIDS
sonal investigation of the enemy wire and
self it is p~operly cut before he takes the5. WIRE CUTTING.-(a) Artillery.-Th
should be notified three or four days befo
of the exact map locations of where they
cut gaps in the enemy wire. For a raid omen on a front of six hundred yards five ga
cient. These gaps should be at least ten yarclear of all ,wire. After breaking up the w
I. can be swept clean with high explosive shra
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iO OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
heavy wire or knife re~ts. This shell has li
and must rely on the actual explosion for ittive power. The heavier metalled 6o-poun
mortar is more efficient weight for weight.
6. BARRAGES (see Fig. 7).-(a) Artillery
an~ arty number of schemes for box barrages,description of more than one simply leads to
only one example will be cited. This ba
proved very satisfactory in every way. In thi
barrage the I8-pounder is the travelling por
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TRENCH RAIDS
For this part of the barrage it is much
use percussion high explosive shrapnel thanshrapnel. This form of shell is much more
izing to the enemy, as by hugging the parape
little danger from air-burst shrapnel, while
possible to escape from a well-placed percusAnother reason for using this form of shel
. is much safer for the raiders. In using
shrapnel, due to the high speed, a very sligh
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OFFENSIVE FIGHT~G
(b) 4.5"-Howitzers.-These howitzers o
zero 7 minutes, but do not change targemaintain a rapid fire on junctions of comm
trenches and all trenches from the support
serve line, on machine-gun and trench-mortar
ments, large dugouts and suspected headquartehelp the I8-pounders to fill out the standin
on the support line.
It is difficult to say how many guns would
as. this varies with the number of targets. No
-
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TRENCH RAIDS
point reached by the raiders .. Two guns on
are sufficient.In case the ground is sUl.:hthat the I8-poun
not fire accurately on the enemy front line, St
can put up a most effective and demoralizing b
the seven minutes before zero while the I8are firing on the support line. The barrag
case would probably be continuous on the fron
not lift, until zero, when the Stokes woul
targets and form the blocks as before. In
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OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
are a certain indication that infantry action i
take place. As many as fifty guns have beegreat advantage.
(d) Auto Rifles.-Two auto rifles per
front, for 1000 yards on each flank, should
sweeping fire along the enemy parapet to prfront line from giving the raiders an enfilade
For the same reason as for machine guns, t
should remain silent until zero.
With such a barrage as this there should
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TRENCH RAIDS
not recognize the set of trenches dug. T
mies must be marked and explainetl to thetrench' should be dug also to represent our
or the "jumping off" trench, if there is
parties should then have explained to the
what their duties are and then practise theafter time until every man becomes perfect.
rages can be represented by men with flags.
of opposition should be represented and
shown what to do in any contingency. The m
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46 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
Assume that the following party is going
4 Officers
18 Non-commissioned Officer
106 Privates
10 Scouts
6 Auto Riflemen
8 Stretcher Bearers
152 Total
and that the objective is something like that
Fig. 6.
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TRENCH RAIDS
Party B enters gap 3, turns to right and
gap 2.
Party C enters gap 3, turns to left and
gap 4.
Party D enters gap 4, turns to left and c
gap 5. .Parties X and Y. take up selected position
flanks as covering parties.
The objects of sending over so many pa
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48 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
NO.3 Sec.: I N. C. O.
4 Privates
sTotal
NO.5 Sec.:
NO.4 Sec.: 0 N
4 P
4 T
IN. C.O.
4 Privates
5 Total
8. DUTIES OF SECTIONS.-I Section.-
bombing section and advances down the ene
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TRENCH RAIDS
any temporary blocks are needed they are p
2 Section and covered by I Section.*2 Section enters the enemy trench and
Section as fast as possible until resistance is m
it will help I Section to overcome it. They ad
a bombing section with a bayonet man in flowed by the thrower and carriers. They kee
lookout for dugouts. and when they find one
Section to halt and then guard the entrance, e
ing to get out prisoners, until 3 Section arriv
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50 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
sides, a raid is supposed to be a merciless affa
enemy encountered after two or three pristaken should be killed. One of the main rea
Canadian raids are so successful is that the
know that they get no mercy and often lose th
and try to get away. Raids often receivebring back only three prisoners.
The officer is usually on the parapet op
leading man of 2 Section. He can best contro
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TRENCH RAIDS
lighter. These Noble lighters have often faile
needed; if they have not dropped off before tha. This section follows closely on the heels of 2
and as soon as a dugout is turned over to th
out what prisoners they can. at once (if non
already been taken) and then roll a charge dow
entrance. The la-pound charge will complete
stroy the dugout and any enemy in it. A six
fuse is sufficient.
4 Section is equipped with slabs of gun-cott
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OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
parties of the necessity of stopping and en
themselves with their casualties. When ahe is left where he falls until 5 Section com
One or two men of this section carry s
collect enemy equipment, documents, etc.
German body is found all articles are remo
shoulder straps and identity disc especially
taken. Most Germans have a pocket in the
coats where they carryall their documents.
that cannot be carried away should either. be
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TRENCH RAIDS
repaired as soon as things quiet down. The whi
about I inch wide are put out to act as guides.
are on a tape and don't know which direction to
it our barrage fire should be a good enough gu
Covering Parties X and Y.-These parti"e
their auto rifles, move out at zero to the pselected for them. They usually form a li
. facing the flank and get jnto shell holes with
in the centre and bombers on each side. Their
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OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
Six Mills bombs by remainder of party,
covering party.
One field dressing per man.
Bomb throwers do not fix bayonets.
Bombs are carried in the haversack.
If possible" sawed off" rifles, with bayare used, as they make a very handy treri
and fire accurately enough for the close-rang
in a bay. These rifles are sawed off at the
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OFFENSlVE/dFIGHTING
must be taken to have the parties and sectio
proper order. The officer must plan out the
in No Man's Land, so that when the differe
start off I Section will be leading. This seem
point, but one often forgotten, and the direct
confusion that has resulted in failure. Th
must be in line when in No :Man's Land, for
long and at zero they must form file to get th
gap. Sketch" F" shows the proper order
when waiting for the barrage to lift.
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TRENCH RAIDS
trench coat thrown over the wire is often a gr
12. ACTION IN ENEMY LINEs.-After ente
enemy lines there should be no loitering or th
will have time to escape or form up a defense;
does not mean to rush the work and do it imp
. By not loitering is meant not wasting time
enemy out of dugouts and n9t being excessivtious ~n moving forward. Dash is what co
not caution. If a large party of enemy cry
another bay that they will surrender, make th
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58 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
horns in No Man's Land, and rockets from
are never noticed with so many lights up.flare cannot be missed or mistaken.
If there is an intense artillery or machin
rage on our front line it is wise to stop out in
Land until it is over. Sentinels are postedone takes cover. After things are quieted do
, can go in, in small numbers, and proceed to
bly point well in rear. They should not be
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58 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
horns in No Man's Land, and .rockets from
are never noticed with so many lights up.flare cannot be missed or mistaken.
I f there is an intense artillery or machine-
rage on our front line it is wise to stop out in
Land until it is over. Sentinels are posted aone takes cover. After things are quieted dow
. can go in, in small numbers, and proceed to.
bly point !Well in rear. They should not be
Aoto R0=.:::== Borrog
o MomentIn5tarr
.KEYT.M.2 Trench M0rt:0r
M6. Machine 6un*' 8"or 9.2" Howitzer
Fig. 6. - -
= = =
=
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0-7 7minutesDefore ZQ
0"'35~5 minutesofl~rZQro
D. 6"6un
l8J 4.5"HowitzQr
0= 3"6un
5 Stokes T.M.
.A a 0" ffowitzert10chint l ( jun
Borro91Z ,
Germ on
Toptl
t
; :~~'"4 I~
Sections ..3 I..2 I :.., '1
Tope ,;:~.~:~(I/",,~.
Topu
= = = =
__ --- -
~
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CHAPTER III
PATROLS AND THE CONTROL OF NO
LAND
1. There should be drawn a more or less
line between observation and reconnaissance.
duties are performed by the battalion Intelligen
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60 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
procedure is to get the information to the In
Officer at once. He will know the best use to m3. The organization of the Intelligence
varies in different British battalions; but the
is one that has proved successful:
1 Intelligence Officer (0. C.)1 Scout. Officer
'1 Sergeant (Scout)
1 Corporal (Observer)
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PATROLS AND CONTROL OF NO MAN'S LA
.. patrol is needed, the two reliefs can be jobombers borrowed from the companies.
In order that these men shall be prope~ly
they should be excused from all duties exce
actually pertaining to their work. For train
discipline they should be under the direct com
the Scout Officer.During training special attention must be
the following subjects: Night firing with revo
bomb, map reading, use of prismatic compass
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OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
is not put down in map form and is carried
the heads of the bJ.ttalion being relieved. Aeach battalion is forced to duplicate work alre
any number of times before, and ha:s not time
do the work properly. If each scout officer
on a map, specially constructed for the purpo
1/2,500) all information he gathers, with the
gressive .work could be done and in a very
accurate maps_could be obtained of all the
Land in France. A log book should be kept
PATROLS 'AND CONTROL OF NO MAN'S LAN
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Under ordinary conditions it worked out afollows:
6. During the first and second days three obmake a detailed map of our lines as far back
talion headquarte~s. During this time the bhas the 'use of observers from the outgoing ba
as explained under partial reliefs, and therefosome spare men. During the same time all scou
.a complete tour of all our lines and study the ob
maps. This is necessary, as the scouts are gui
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OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
points seen on patrol, can be given, the info
of little or no value. If a patrol knows allin our parapet (usually a sky line) such
sandbags from a mine sap, high points in t
isolated wooden posts, etc., or knows the
buildings, mine shafts, haystacks, hills, clum
etc., in the back country, it. can take bearin
or more of these, and these bearings when
show exactly where the patrol was at the
is the reason for spending the first night c
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PATROLS AND CONTROL OF NO MAN'S LAN
, When working down our wire it is necess
have a flanking party, of say three men, about tfive yards out in No Man's Land to prevent su
8. SECONDNIGHT.-On the second night the
examine all mine craters and det~rmine the follpoints:
I. Whether occupied by enemy
2. If so, strength and location of post.
3. State of wire protection.
4. Whether it would be practical to raid the p
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66 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
From this point head straight towards the
advantage of approaching from this direthe fact that the crater party will be loopposite direction, and that if seen from t
they will hesitate to use a machine gun
hitting their men in the crater, or they maythey saw was their own post. It is very
there will be no post in the front line dir
the crater post, as this would put too many
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68 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
lip is manned. Another sign is the firing of f
the lip and is a better indication than the a'9. THIRD NIGHT.-During the third
patrols examine all trenches running across
Land. The points to be observed '.are:
I. ,Whether trench is passable for our owraiding parties.. ,
,2 . Its direction, point of entry into our
enemy's, if possible.
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In following a trench of this kind it is usua
to place half the patrol on each side with o
actually in the trench. If the trench cannot b
crossed it is better to keep the entire patrol on
except for the one man in the trench. The
should be well ahead as usual. This is compa
easy and safe work, as cover is always handy,
enemy likely to be met, exc.ept from the front.
10.: REMAINDEROF THE TouR.-The remai
the tour is- spent investigating the enemy wire
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70 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
1. Strength.
(a) Height.(b) Depth.
(c) Thickness or density.
(d) Number of lanes of wire.
2.
Position.(a) Of inner lane from enemy fro
( b) Distance between lanes.
(c) Map location of portion exami
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PATROLS AND CONTROL OF NO MAN'S L
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fixed times, say every five minutes after the f
five minutes. -During this first three-quarters
hour no lights should be fired, as the patrol
.into position to observe .. When the time c
the flare to be fired the entire patrol must b
holes and no one allowed to look out except t
and N. C. O. One should look to the rightto tpe left and conceal themselves as describe
crater investigation. It is, necessary that the
watch and that of the man firing the flares
74 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
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knows his instructions. While the patrol i
other flares must Le fired anywhere near whare working or any at all if it can possibly b
Usually the most dangerous kind of a flare is
away off to one flank, maybe half a mile away.
lie quiet when a flare goes up, no matter how
.it is.Wa.rning.-Although patrols are more or
. pendent, there must always be perfect coopera
tween them, the infantry and the artillery.
PATROLS AND CONTROL OF NO MAN'S LA
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no warning has been given, he is presumably an
Conversely, it is just as important that the scou
notify all parties concerned before any 9f
go out.
It is not sufficient to simply notify the c
commanders in the afternoon that a patrol
out. Every man on the front affected, the bon the flank, trench-mortar' people and the
liaison officer must be given the following fa
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78 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
posts are best for this, as they are perfectly
their ear near the ground. Besides, they armunication with the front line, by means of
while patrols have no -communication wha
listening post does not mask the fire of the
Equipment of Patrols.-Patrols should nsteel helmets, as they clink when they hit
barbed wire, show an unmistakable outline
crawling with the face on the ground, and it
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80 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
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number of different formations, but the best
eral purpo.ses is the "wedge formation."The main advantage of the" wedge form
that it can be fonned into a defensive formatio
any direction in the shortest possible time.
defensive formation for bombing of this naline facing the enemy; first you have all you
action, se<;ondit is the most difficult target.
for the enemy to get the direction at. night
PATROLs AND CONTROL OF NO MAN'S LAN
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from a German" potato masher," while it is
certain death to be standing twelve yards from
bomb. Immediately on throwing the Mills the
should lie down and start revolver fire until the
have exploded. To. be standing is to court dangeour own bombs. .
Action for a Patrol if it is Seen from
Line.-If seen from the enemy line one of tw
ditions exist. Either the patrol is within bomb
.say forty yards, or it is not. I f within bombing
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, Method of Crawling.-It is difficult to d
way to crawl without giving a demonstration.
necessary to get. down and crawl until w
yards of the enemy lines, unless it is a v
night, or an unusual number of lights are b
To do so wastes too much time and needlessly
men. Up to within this distance the'patrolca
by crouching or on its hands and knees. Aft
t~e hundred-yard mark increasing care mus
until when, within fifteen or twenty yards, w
PATROLS AND CONTROL OF NO MAN'S LA
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necessary to look keep one cheek on the groun
doing it and usejust one eye. Before starting
you should have decided 'where you are goin
move is usually not more than from one to fiv
when a pause' of two or three minutes is m
observe.
When a light goes up every man must rem
solutely still no matter what p6sition he is in
if he is standing up in the enemy's wire the
are that he will not be seen, if he does not make
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84 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
post and bombed out at leisure. The only t
this kind of thing is practical is when therearound the .sap leading back to the front line
can slip up the sap into the post. It is almo
sible to approach close enough above ground
surrender without a bomb being thrown or'given. In most cases it is simpler to chance
post and endeavor to enter the front line
remain hidden behind a traverse until someo
t-0
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o00
o .0
~/QyJs.~
Trove/in9
Formation ("Wqo'ge
1.
Formdtion
Ri9ht.3.
Q
'
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FRONT LINE OBSERVATION
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Under the subject o{observation only the
and snipers are considered. These are u
direct command of the Intelligence Officer
attached to battalion headquarters for rati
accommodation.
(b) The Brigade Intelligence Section con
I Officer (Capt. Staff)
2 N. C. O.'s
18 Men'
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.any obstacles in that area, for locating the
. front line and for the information concerning
and the immediate 'support line. Any obs
made in rear of these lines are reported and
check on the data obtained by the Brigade O
(c) Brigades are responsible for loca
enemy's approaches, support and secondaryfor the information pertaining to those lines,
the direction from which the enemy's batte
firing, the positions of any forward batteries
FRONT LINE ORSERVATION
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supervision of the keeping of the Observatio
Log Book, and patrol Book.
_ (e) The Brigade Intelligence Officer issible for the following:
I. Disposition, training, administration an
line of the Brigade Intelligence Section.
2. Collating and forwarding of the informatained from the Brigade and Battalion Sect
the Artillery Forward Observation Officer.
3. The issue, supply and correction of m
90 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
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'u.:ire. (It is not necessary to forward more
identification per unit encountered during e
of the operation.)
Any man securing identifications should
at once to the nearest officer, who will see tha
sent to battalion headquarters. .
. All captured equipment (which includesrifles, identity discs, portions of uniform, d
letters, and any article of military value whats
the property of the government and must be f
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FRONT LINE OBSERVATION
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large sign boards leaning against our front l
does and main communication trenches so
servers can locate themselves. There are two o
on duty in each O. P. at all times when it is
to observe. These men must be relieved ev
hours, as it is a considerable strain to be co
looking through a telescope.
The following are some of the objects that o
are on the lookout for. List of Observations
94 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
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Enemy's M ovemenJ and o.rganization.
1. Routes and Tracks Used by Enemy.2. Trench Tramways.
3. Light Railways.
4. Dumps.
s. Movements Observed.6. Reliefs.
7. Location of Headquarters.
8. 'Miscellaneous Occurrences, Ruses, E
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96 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
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believe that a relief has taken place or is o
time. If going on at the time the Intelligence
at once notified and the artillery given the da
they can use to great advantage. The pack
municating trenches offer a fine enfilade ta
the guns.(g) Enemy working parties, patrols, etc.(h) Time and position of any horse
heard. (Can use artillery next night.)
FRONT LINE OBSERVATION
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No sniping post should be allowed within
yards of an observation post,. as it attracts a
that may lead to the discovery of the O. P.At present there are few really good snipin
in the. front line and Intelligence Officers shoul
it a point to have their sections make as many
sible. Except under exceptional cases snipinshould not be relieved during daylight and gre
must be taken not to make a path that can
from an aeroplane. Of course if the post is
98 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
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cannot be seen from the battalion O. P. and
port is a material help in drawing up the bat
telligence report.
(6 ) PARTIAL RELIEFS.- When a battali
over a new sector or one from which they have
of for a time the observers see a great many 't
.ing the first few days and hand in very lengthywhich usually contain nothing that was not re
the previous battalion. In this way they waste
and that of their brigade. Besides this, it ta
FRONT LINE OBSERVATION
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and practise firing at moving figures, silhouette
and in calibrating their telescope sights. If t
mits they should be given a chance to construct
posts.
It is a rather more difficult matter to proper
the observers. They should be given a thoroug
ing in map reading, use of prismatic compass,
ing, and have frequent lectures and .practices
ing out reports. Besides this, it is important
100 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
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When in resene or support it is a good plan
them in their dugouts and ask them over to your
who know and like each other work togethe
better than strangers, and the artillery Liaison
in the line and the Battalion Intelligence Office
be together all the time. The Intelligence Office
endeavor to learn what he can about the gunstroubles and limitations so as to be able to
intelligently for their fire. At the same time
lery officers can pick up a better idea of the d
FRONT LINE OBSERVATION
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completed, one copy is given to the artillery O.
draw the'~r zones of fire and range circles on
one copy is kept -in the battalion O. P. This
placed on a board and oriented so that the t
with a straight-edged stand acts as an alidade d
plane table survey. With the telescope sighted
ruler edge of. the stand passing through thethe map where the O. P. is, a line drawn a
ruler, which is parallel to the line of sight, w
the enemy trench at the proper point. If there
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, 104 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
\
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, 38. :Location of Roostile. Obse
I Balloons.
39. Effect of Our Artillery andFire.
G. Equipment (obtained) :
40. Shells Other than Gas Shell
41. Gas (and Lachrymatory) S42. Fuses.
43. Trench-Mortar Projectiles.
44. Rand and Rifle Grenades.
0
0
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106 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
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Diameter of fuse-holes at top .......•......................
Diameter of fuse holes, threaded portion .................•
Fuse markings ..............•........ ','
Fuse material
Nature of charge
Remarks ,'
... .. .. .. .
.........
.......................... (Signatu
.............. (date) (Unit)
List of
-
~
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110 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
INTELLIGENCE REPORT.
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14th Canadian Battalion, Royal Montreal Regiment.
DECEMBER ISth,
Enemy D'ejences.
Observation was poor owing
visibility.
1. S.IS.c.S.4.. Fresh earth is visible on parapet,has evidently deepened his trench
point.
2. Enemy has been very. busy revet
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4. S.I5.c.%.7%.
5.
6.
7.
Enemy listening post observed rel
this point at' about five A.M. Th
fired upon, but it is unable to statSounds of horse transport
rapidly were heard behind the
lines opposite HARTUNG RIG
6.10 this morning.
A railway train was heard by theing post at ERSATZ CRATER
this morning.
An enemy observing plane~ shortl
I I A.M., appearing and flew over o
ll~ OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
Most of these shells came. from Bois De La Fo
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The enemy did no damage to our trenches excep
direct hits made at the junction of Vincent and
South.From the rapidity with which these shells wer
appears that the enemy's 4.1 artillery has been co
increased.
Our Artillery.
, Our eighteen-pounders were active betweenA.M. and from 3.30 to 3-45 P.M., shelling front an
lines. .
From 2.45 to 3.45 P.M. our 4.5s were active, firing
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CHAPTER V
COOPERATION BETWEEN INFANTRY
ARTILLERY
(I) LACK OF COOPERATIONIN THE EARLY
OF THE \VAR.-For quite a time after the war
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COOPERATION-INFANTRY AND ARTILLER
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perfect cooperation is the presence of .Artillery
Officers in the front line. There is one such w
British battalion and he doesn't just'-sit arou
headquarters dugout. He is supposed to be the
of the Battalion Intelligence Officer and follow
all over the frontage. These two work hand i
for the discomfort of the. enemy and the insafety of our troops. They compare maps and
correct any disagreement. The names. and lo
are checked of all sections of front line trench
118 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING.
front of us and a narrow trench along the top
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the post at the end was about on a line with
man front line way down below in No ManThe Germans also had a sap on top that ra
within ten yards of ours, but they were so clo
sort of " status quo" was established. From t
derful watch tower all surrounding country
seen. On the right clear down to. Vimy Ridge
the left to Laos.
There had just been a number of successf
COOPERATION-INFANTRY AND ARTILLER
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almost childish in the joy they take in letting o
guns at almost any target the infantry finds for
When the visiting officers had grasped the
systematic effort was made to locate all the
emplacements and have these accurately registered
the Crassier in the daylight. This regist-ation
done in such a way as to lead the enemy to be.lievjust desultory shelling. The brigade machine gun
then accurately registered on the path" taken-
uo OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
again and the same process was, repeated.
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never heard of again.
Practically the same thing happened to th
trench mortars, and then the German machin
started their nightly song. They received th
treatment as the trench mortars. Only three-inch
were used. A machine gun can't very well compe
a salvo of well-placed three-inch shells. There
more machine-gun fire for days an'd then. they
just fire testative bursts to see what would hap
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OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
(d) A Battalion is covered by (if two Batt
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Brigade are in the line, as is usually the case)
6 IS-pounders
3 4.5" Howitzers
1 Heavy Trench J\1ortar (152 Pounds)
2 ,Medium Trench Mortars (60 Pounds)
4 Stokes Guns (I3-pounder, Approximate
(e) In case an offensive is being planned
COOPERATION-INFANTRY AND ARTILLER
it is very difficult to tell our trench from the
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when looking from an O. P.
(c) Immediately send in any bearings ofMortars, Machine Guns, or batteries obtained,
map locations of point the bearing was taken fr
the time taken. You may only get one bearin
others with other bearings may send theirs in aenough data to locate the target.
(d) In calling for Retaliation the enemy
fire and calibre of his shells should be sent back
OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
, (f) Any movement of the enemy that any
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officer may detect or suspect, especially working
ration parties, or above all, reliefs, should be g
the artillery, through the Liaison Officer, just as
as possible. Thisis just the chance the artillery
ing for and at night the infantry are the on
discover these things.
(g) The following is the kind of thingInfantry Lieutenant may have to do any night
A German wiring party was seen and the
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Ji6 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
2. Err'or of guns (50 per cent. and 100
zone error).
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3. Heated or worn gun.
4. Prematures.
5. It may not be the guns covering your fro
(b) Immediate steps to be taken:
I. Do not lose your head.
2. Get men under cover if fault continues.
3. Advise artillery. Do not start the conv
by a flow of profanity. It will "take just th
COOPERATION-INFANTRY AND ARTILLE
teries, trench mortars, machine guns, O. P.'s,
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in reporting on the results of wire cutting. S
infantryman's life d.epends on the excellenceartillery, it is up to him to use every means,
night, of getting all the information possible
artillery. The trained scouts and observers do
portion of this work and just before an offensbattalion intelligence officer is one of the busi
most important men on the front. He is a
general information bureau for his frontage an
128 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
little sketches can all be drawn, except for
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line, before the attack starts, and take only
complete. Information of when and where
patrols are being sent out must be given to t
at the same time, otherwise they may be cuby our own fire.
A method of locating our lines that is
use now is by the use of air maps. A contactis assigned to a certain sized unit, usually abo
battalion or brigade, and it flies over low at
COOPERATION-INFANTRY AND ARTILLER
hour's reading' may very well mean the dif
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between success and failure in a few months' t
In conclusion of this subject of cooperationagain stated that it is the infantry who recei
'greatest benefits and whose very lives hang on
therefore they must not sit around and wait
'artillery to open negotiations, but must get ustart things. They should drop this banter at m
that is so noticeable at present. While dO~le o
fun, it tends to draw a line between the artillery
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CHAPTER VI
INFANTRY IN ATTACK
INFANTRY IN ATTACK AND NEvV W
FORMATIONTHE platoon is now the fighting unit a
. cess or failure of an operation often depe
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13~ OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
holding up part of the attack, companies,
and even brigades may be used for the encircli
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ment, though the principle is the same. In
of large encirclements it usually requires an
order and further artillery treatment.
In order. to obtain success it is first nec
impress on officers and men that the primary
of this formation is. its adaptability to suddenforeseen contingencies, its mobilityand the sco
to the initiative of the platoon, section, squad
INFANTRY -IN ATTACK
is found that the Artillery is unable to do
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completely the Infantry, on the front affected
fied and they arrange their attack accordinglysuch a condition exists on a company front
pany commander and his platoon leaders get
and arrange the waves so as to best meet
tingency. The platoon" commander who actuto capture the position should be allowed
how he wants to do it, the company comman
interfering where it is necessary to cooperate
134 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
Resistance" will be just a plain trench j unct
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the locality is strengthened to any degree
become evident on an air photograph and the
\ destroyed by artillery fire. In order to build a
point" that will not look strong the Germans o
ill a system of good dugouts all around a jun
two trenches. This gives cover for a strong
on a small front. There is likely to be a mac
or automatic rifle in one of the dugouts. I
some riflemen can get out of the dugouts a
INFANTRY IN ATTACK
very important. that this fire b~ opened at o
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from such a position that the line of fire
interfere with the subsequent encirclement. Orule is that the instant enemy fire develops t
rifles should jump, without waiting for orders
whatever position they are in to the flank from
the enemy fire is coming. I f they should ofrom the opposite flank the remainder of the
could not cross their line of fire.- The work
186 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
proper direction they use these for cover, but
be taken that all three bombing squads do no
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one trench and' thus cut their throwing capa
to that of just one squad. The ideal to be w
is to finally get the three squads into. such
that there will be bombs falling into the enem
from three directions, front, flank and re
bombers may be compared to the short-rangeor the trench mortars.
(d) Under cover of the above bombardm
INFANTRY IN ATTACK
beginning, but more often it is from a range o
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IS0 yards to 500 yards. In the former case
grenadiers will be within range and can openonce; in the latter case they will have to go forw
rushes until they are close enollgh to open fire.
the ~nemy opens fire the men will take cover
and then the encirclement will begin. The, mawhich the advance is made is of vital importanc
is based on the principle that as few men as pos
exposed at anyone time and then remain expos
188 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
point one would think that there were only
men in the attack instead of about sixty. The
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work with this perfect cooperation between th
and teams only comes after long and hard ttraining that is longer and harder than a m
think who has not' been through .it. It is d
get sections so trained that, even on the parade
they will be able to almost sense what the otheare going to po, and it can be imagined how m
difficult it is to train them to do it under a
INFANTRY IN ATTACK
first exercises should deal only with forecaste
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ance, in which the platoon is already atrange
proper order, before leaving the trench, and thing up to training the men to get into the pro
tions when an unexpected resistance is met.
case situations must b-eassumed in which the
comes from the flank (right Of left), fromor from both flanks at once, or just plain f
sistance along the entire platoon frontage.
these drills must be practised over and ove
140 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
It will be noticed that a platoon is in two
forms a complete part of one of the waves.
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point to be noticed is that the company is a
depth and that only three platoons per co
shown. The fourth platoon is usually left at
port lines to form a base on which to build
battaliolJ, or, as often happens, the fourth
used to bring the other three up to full strengof NO.3 company is used to form" moppers
No. I company and the remainder' forms
INFANTRY IN ATTACK
platoons following. Rega.rdless of this disa
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it is the latter method that is usually employe
, first two objectives.The following are suggestions for the arra
of platoons to meet some of the different
resistance that may be met. It is assumed t
resistances have been forecasted and that ipossible to arrange the platoon before startin
only difference in meeting the u~expected
lies in the fact that instead of making these
OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
and practically unlimited ~upport from th
must be assumed that trench X will offer no
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at all and that "R" is the only point in
w here there will be any enemy. If resistanceall along Y it would be too big a matter to h
one platoon and a much larger operation woul
Points to be noted are:
I. The auto rifles are on the flank nearest"their fire will not interfere with the other s
2. Bayonet men are placed on "each fla
INFANTRY IN ATTACK
7. Scouts are placed as shown so that
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proceed down the trenches captured and ge
with the platoons on the flanks.8. Sergeants are placed about two pac
the centre of their sections. They can see
this position the action of their section.
9. A space should be left in the line inthese Sergeants and one behind the platoon co
for otherwise it will appear to the enemy
144 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
12. After "R" is captured the platoon
and' proceeds to the objective beyond and
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in the consolidation.
13. When the platoon is encircling
platoons in rear will very likely pass on arou
flanks and leave the first platoon to handle th
If the resistance develops on the left
arrangement. of the wave is just the reverone shown, and the encirclement goes toinstead of the left. -
INFANTRY IN ATTACK
plain themselves. One. of the important t
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I
notice is that the arrangement of the spec
Fig. 14 is different than in Fig. 12. This ithe important fact that for different forms of r
. different formations are used. It is not imposs
every platoon in a battalion will go over with
different for~ation from any other. In thisthere are no trenches for cover, so the auto rifl
takes cover in a' shell hole and all movement
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INFANTRY IN ATTACK
with heavy casualties. Team work is what c
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not tactics. You don't have to be Napoleon
men work together and believe in you and thThe officer with- just plain common sense- a
trained unit is much better off than a really
. officer who has neglected his team training wh
ing out fancy plays. Success hinges on getto the enemy, getting there quickly with no
and every man knowing perfectly what he
148 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
The three examples just given are sufficie
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a clear conception of the general. principles
and to give a mental picture of a wave andposition. That is all the assistance ,that can
anyone. More details might make a beginner.
to a certain form of action which would be b
officer should think out his own scheme andgreat pride and pleasure in making his men p
must be perfection that is attained, anything
absolute perfection in team work means that
INFANTRY IN ATTACK
attack. (The attack is to be successful a
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first stage of an offensive, being made from
organized system of trenches against a highly
defens,ive position.)
, I. About a month previous to zero day
talion will be ordered to move into the back
behind the front to be attacked .. They willfind that a large number of hutment villages
put up to accommodate the extra concentr
150 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
location of his objectives and dangerous poin
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frontage, places where halts will be made, pla
the ground offers cover, etc., During thisofficer will be given a complete set of say tw
air photographs and from these, the ordnan
and his personal observation. under the In
Officer he should be able to form a very goodof the situation. The battalion intelligence se
makes a very thorough examination of No M
_
INFANTRY IN ATTACK
4. Before going out of the line the bat
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very likely have to send over a raid to es
identity of the German unit opposite and twhat the enemy barrage lines are. This
very valuable piece of information, and if
observed and the barrage lines plotted, mu
enemy artillery fire may be dodged on theattack. Trenches that the enemy covers with
should not be used for H jumping off" tren
can be avoided, unless it is practically certain
~
15~ OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
part applying to each officer or man must be m
until even under the most intense fire every
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be recalled, and a regular picture of the pag
tion can be visualized, down to the very comm
rule the battalion will find a set of trenches d
one or two feet deep) that is an exact du
the German trenches to be atta'cked. If n
dug the unit does this work at once and
practice the attack in all its details. The pla
mander arranges his platoon, along the'lines
INFANTRY IN ATTACK
The training starts with each platoon worki
its own frontage, then the company works as
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then the battalion, and finally the brigade. Du
rehearsals of the larger units the barrage is us
dicated in some manner, such as having mount
moving forward with flags. It is a very good
these final drills to have the aeroplanes, that w
with the unit in the attack, actually fly over th
and take the messages, etc., that will have to bes
ing the real fight. This gets both the Infantry an
154 OFFENSIvE FIGHTING
In order to get the men used to what a b
looks like there have been cases where a fu
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barrage has been put on, before the men coth,e line for their training. During this b
men can look over the parapet with more o
punity, for the Germans will be too busy g
dugouts to do much sniping. If the ammun
ply warra~ts this display it is a very good
the men will know what kind of protection
going to have and will also not be so star
INFANTRY~' IN ATTACK
line a minute before it is necessary; besides
is very trying to have to stand around and w
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the time to go over. While out of the line the
attack seems more or less of a bad dream, bu
you have actually moved in for the last time it b
a very real affair and there should be no morearound than is necessary.
During the last few minutes the officers. avoid all those signs of nervousness that are
for the men to see. I t is very common to see
156 . OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
ance and that they will look to him for their
and example.
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. Just before zero hour, say ten minutes
very likely to be a decided lull in the artillery
. is caused by our guns being stopped to all
and for them to relay on the barrage lines,
everything arranged for the big show. Abou
the men will be getting up and giving a finment to their equipment, looking over t
bombs, etc. It is a good thing for officers
INFANTRY IN ATTACK
In this first start it is advisable to get all the
ent waves out into" No Man's Land" as, quic
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possible, and in this way dodge the enemy barrag
will shortly fall on the old front line. Very of
the waves start out together and then sort out
l\1an's Land by having the first wave move ahea
, the others 'kneel until the proper distance ha
gained. Noone should be' allowed to lie downmay be hard to get them up again.
With the intense bombardment that is now
158 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
may start off at one pace and then change
hundred yards, as the nature of the groun
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\\Then making up an Artillery time tablefactor considered is the rate that the Inf
move forward. After the attack has once
rate of the barrage can not be changed and
time the Infantry must keep up to their bar
costs.. I f once lost it is impossible to call tback, and the attack will probably fail w
losses. The object of this creeping barrage
INFANTRY IN ATTACK'
ered, all suspected headquarters, emplacements,
observation posts, signal posts, etc., etc. This
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stroys all enemy communications, prevents rei
ments coming up trenches, destroys most of the
guns, and practically paralyzes the enemy for th
being. The time table for this barrage is so ar
that the guns will cease fire on targets as' the In
come close to them and will then change to atarget.
In addition to the Artillery 'creeping barrage
° °
160 DFFENSIVE FIGHTING
completely destroyed and so no trouble is
there. The wire may not be totally destr
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blown off the face of the earth, but there
many holes that it is a regular sieve that
can pass through with no trouble.
The last ten or so yards should be done
When arriving on the enemy parapet don't s
in with your bayonet out in front. The man, tates here is lost, if there. happens to be
German in front of him. Nothing is easi
INFANTRY IN ATTACK
will let you hold. Every little piece of grou
means just that much l<:;.ssdistance for the nex
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to go. Just as in a football game, a few yards
at the very kick-off may later mean the di
.between a touchdown or no touchdown.
After leaving the first trench the resistance
to become stiffer and stiffer until the Germa
line of resistance is reached (see Fig. 16). F
given as an example of what might be the
objectives on a Regimental Sector .. Three ba
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INFANTRY IN ATTACK
in rear by communication trenches. Thusbody is really, digging what is destined to b
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support line, while the advanced covering tdigging our new front line.
A thing of vital importance is to get up so
at .once, before the deliberate counter attack
This may happen any time after one-half hour
this time there may be numerous purely localjointed counter attacks that should be easily ha
our advanced auto rifles. It is a good policy n
164 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
utilized for this. .The trained stretcher be
the Infantry are used to do nothing but
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Besides this. work there are carrying parti
up to the new line with supplies, ammunitio
food, water, wire, revetting. material, etc
machine gun companies are moving up to
" strong points" and Engineers are going
in these "strong points" just behind the
Signalers are laying buried cables and su
artillery is moving forward, etc., etc. Eac
INFANTRY IN ATTACK
will cover the bombers who will work down t
The auto rifles will prevent any enemy fro
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fering, across the open. The rifle 'grenadiers
grenades ahead of the bombers and be of th
assistance. When engaged with a hostile
party and barely holding your own, with heav
r
166 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
draw in an attack of this kind. The enevery much awake at this junction and will h
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bombers, auto riflemen, etc.The trench will be cleared for about 60
to B-B, where the bombers will put in a
block and hold the enemy off for a few min
ing this pause each man in rear will scoop
, excavation as shown in NO.2. This need
foot or so deep.The second bombing team carry extra b
f
INFANTRY IN ATTACK .
too long to shovel in the whole trench, besides
the men. Sandbag blocks are temporary at
and must be held by bombers.' If these bom
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. out-bombed the block is captured. With aabove described, to all intents and purposes
no trench for the Germans to use. It will
easier for them if they try to come over the o
men or material are short, sections of the treevery ten or twenty yards, qnly, need be block
will make the enemy come up into the open
168 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
them. These may have a number of Germans
~ho will get out and fire into your back. A
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best way to handle this is to turn the trench
to your bombing teams and let them clear th
as was described in the chapter on "Raids."
one team in the trench and one outside. The
must keep up with the waves which must ke
so as not. to lose the barrage. Sentries can
at dugout entrances to guard them until the"
up" come along, or mobile charges can be put
Battalion Front
300>""S
*1 Coy '
#1 Platoon
IH Line
2~LineT.M.
KEY
.:: 4 i'Howlfzer
0= 3"GunT.M. Trench Mortar
EmplacementM.G.:: Machine Gun
EmplacementQP. Observation Post
Fig. 9:
=
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Id"LiI'UI
2 PI.
2dLine
#tLin12
3 PI. #
2dline
----
~---------- ----------
----
Fig. 15.
} 3!!! Wavet
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"'X'll. ,,>< x
German Front Lin~
c::::::J- Rifleman
t Auto-nfle
• Bombers
6 Rifle-'1renadiers
.. Moppers Up
} I~ Wove
l 'tLine Mappers Up
} 2e1 Wave#/ Coy.
R
"" ""
-
-
-
-
Fig. 11.
1KEY
Close SU
trench y
• Autor if lemen
• Bomber0 - R ifle me n
6 Rifle 6renadiers6::- s.couts ).o -.Platoon Commander "i121- Serr;eants0 - Corpora ls
t .Autorifle
To 1ST Objective
-
-
- ~ ~
-
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No Man's -Land
f " . .. . .. . '"'!yr!&.SCO/Q
German Front I.,,,eTrench X
Our Front Line
Trench W
O ther P la foons on each f 'Jan l<
Riflf lmtln_RiflQ6rflnodiers
Pfafoon 'Front0'P lS0"d8
~ ~
CHAPTER, VII
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TRENCH ROUTINE
RELIEF OF TRENcHEs.-NoTE: The details
following chapter differ in nearly all armies a
even different in numerous units of the same
This is written to give a general idea of one
that has worked successfully. By comparison
other methods or by original changes a better
170 OFFENSIVE FIGHTIKG
5. Dugout Accommodation.6. State of Own and Enemy's Wire.
7. Communication Trenches.
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8. Listening Posts.
9. Dressing Stations.
10. Reserve Rations.I I. Reserve Small Arms Ammunition.
12. Reserve Signal Lights, Rockets, ,Etc.
13. Ration Dumps (Where Transport has14. Where Water is Obtained.
15. Engineer Dumps.
TRENCH ROUTINE
A copy of the above is usually given to t
going up and they make notes and sketches o
own company frontage, which are handed in to
talion commander, who has the intelligence offic
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from them a rough sketch of the front. Cothen given to the officers.. On the day of the relief the usual procedure
each company to send up an advance party
the First Sergeant and one man) to take over alstores and to sign for them (periscopes an
pistols are not trench stores and are taken ou
17~ OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
ducted by them to the right flank of the plato
relieved. No unit being relieved can go
troops from the rear take their places. All
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from rear to front. The outgoing platoon"standing to" and the incoming platoon w
along in file from the right flank. The office
leading and when he comes to a post to be
will simply put an equal number of his men in
and tell the outgoing men: to move off ahead
As he goes along there will be fewer and fe
TRENCH ROUTINE
As soon as the platoons going into the supp
have gotten into their dugouts and had a ch
remove their equipment they are detailed for the
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sary ration parties.The Company Commander, as 'Soon as he ar
the trench, proceeds to the headquarters and the
any information possible from the outgoing C
Commander. He also takes over the log book
maps and air photographs.
When the sentries, in the front line, hav
posted and their positions- have been checke
174 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
tunity to check up the men and to see that the
absentees. (b) Because this is a favorite timattack or raid. ( c) Rifles can' be inspecte
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time. (d) After a man's rifle has been pass
. be given his rum. (e) Affords a good time
the men's feet. This" stand to" is never
and is a most important function. All men anattend. As soon as it is dark enough at
.sentries put .their heads over the top, but thsense in exposing the men until there is little
their heing seen. It is not necessary to have
TRENCH ROUTINE
3. All men carry their rifles and two bombs
ever they step off the firing step for any purpose
ever. There are very strict orders on this subj
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it should never be disobeyed, as there are alwa
stretches of line that are unoccupied and som
the enemy has gotten in these places and captur
wandering along to a latrine, etc., without any wwhatever. This rule is enforced during dayl
well as at night.4. There should always be one officer on
the front line per company frontage, and at le
176 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
ship between the officer and his men that
army in suth good stead in all big offensi
Germans lack this feeling and their morale. h
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greatly as a result.(d) To see that there is no smoking
night and that there is n6 smoke coming
dugouts du.ring the days.
(e) To see that men do not go into dug
in the front line. This is the most dange
to be, for if a raid or attack comes over,
TRENCH ROUTINE
(j) To generally supervise the firing of "
lights. As a rule, the officer on duty and the
sergeants have the ~'Very" pistols, with any re
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ones. being given to the Lewis gun crews. Th. of lights should also be held down as much as p
as they give away our posts and also indicate raw
Besides this, if the enemy sees a number of ligh
up he knows that we have no patrols or otherout i'n " No Man's Land" and will feel fairly
This is not good, for he should never feel sec
178 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
tailed every evening at "stand to" and im
go out and i11eet the transport limbers at a p
place. \;Vhenever possible the hot rations ar
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little .way behind the line and carried uporderlies. \Vhen these rations arrive th
want to prevent the men from gathering aro
in a crowd, for this makes a fine Artillery
many a platoon has been wiped out complegetting rations. As soon as the cold ratio
they °are divided and given to the nien fo
TRENCH ROUTINE
be neglected and even if strong, should bstronger, if possible.
Some battalions have a "Works" officer
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charge of all the work done by the battalion
runs all the work rosters, but in any case the C
Commander is responsible for the condition oftrenches and his wire.
Note: Rum issue takes place after" standin the morning and is one of the most importan
.of the day and must be carefully supervised
180 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
6. Make. arrangements for rations and
look after the comfort of the men as far as7. Always see that he has good comm
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with Battalion Headquarters, his flanks and
Artillery.8. He is responsible that the S. O. S. sig
place and in good condition, and that all ra
. what they are. A sentinel is posted at the eCompany Headquarters and is responsible foof these signals. He must be well trained i
TRENCH ROUTINE
a sentinel, one is sitting at his feet on the firi
and must be awake and the third may be asleep
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firing step, but must be within touch of the othThe third man should never be allowed in a
under any circumstances. Reliefs take place ac
to the state of the weather, in the coldest weath
about once every hour.
The number of the sentry posts is doubled
if possible. During the day there is normally
18~OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
In normal conditions a unit may stay in the
system (front line, close support and maybe
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for about seven days. It will then moveBrigade support, which may be about 1500
the rear and the men may either have to
trench or in the cellars of houses. During
days in this position every man will be sent u
hours a day or 9 hours at night, maybe as
close support line on working or carrying p
~
TRENCH ROUTINE
and an enemy raiding patty comes along, as th
do any night on a front held by a weak battali
4. To see that all messages are passed on.
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5. To . report anything unusual that. he
hears, at once, to the platoon N. C. O. or to th
on duty. If he thinks that his information is o
tance he should put his relief on duty and look
officer.
DIVISION OF TROOPS AND DUTIES.-
184 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
and in that c.3,secome under the command of
mander of the front line troops, regardless
respective ranks of the two commanders.
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responsible for the condition of tpeir own trenmay be called upon for working parties for
line.
Men in "Strong Points" will not rein
front line, but will hold out at all costs, ev
.rounded. This is a sacrifice position and
up the advance so as to give the troops in re
TRENCH!ROUTINE
Our trenches and Battalion Headquarters; our t
and trenches on the flanks; our trenches and A
---------------
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either via Battalion Headquarters, or direct linemeans of communication .is very likely to fail
critical time, due to the lines being cut by shell-
2. Runners (Most Important).- This is the o
isfactory means of keeping up communications awires are cut. When in a trench 'this is not
waste of life as in an attack, and the runner
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CHAPTER VIII
NOTES ON USE OF PRISMATIC CO
THE prismatic compass in the hands of aknows how to use it is one of the moslt deadly
we possess .. If it comes to a choice of wheth
NOTES ON USE OF PRISMATIC COMPAS
lucent scale B is read (see Fig. 18, A). With
close to the eye-piece both scales can be seen a
To read the compass, in daytime, turn up
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as in C, lift the cover aiId then hold the
by the ring, with the right hand .. Now kee
dial horizontal, raise the instrument to one
order to read, the prism must be placed so clo
eyes that the eyelid is touching the metal.
closing the other ,eye both dials can be seen, thr
glass prism, and also a view of the object s
188 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
march along and then set the compass. In
will be noticed, around the side of the com,pas
figures. These indicate d~grees. The zero
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(Fig. A) where the cover is hinged to thethe largest figure is 36,.the numbering being
clockwise. Therefore each full division is
'circle, or 10 degrees, and each of the half
5 degrees. In the milled edge of the m
which surrounds the glass over the dia
noticed a line marked in Fig. C, " zero mark
NOTES ON USE OF PRISMATIC COMPAS
explain magnetic variation. In most text-bo
very simple thing is so obscured by complicate
tific phraseology and rules as to get a beginn
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pletely confused. Don't try to remember runder fire you will forget them. Just get in yo
a picture of what this variation is and no c
can ever again exist Study the sketches here g
close the book and explain the whole thingyourself, drawing the little sketches, using
angles. The following description may not be
190 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
the true north line the magnetic north line
from where you are standing the magnetic
the east of the true north ithe variation is call
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Although this variation is different foparts of the world, the change is so gradua
anyone sheet of a map the magnetic variatio
considered the same. The local varia1tion isthe,border of all plaps.
. Where this angle comes into play, in mili
is in trying to draw on a map a bearing read
NOTES ON USE OF PRISMATIC COMPAS
the bearing, of "00," with a compass and t
this bearing on a map. When you read the
while sighting at "0" you read the -angle M
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being the magnetic North. You read this acause your compass needle points to 11 and y
is zero over the needle. What you are trying
is the true bearing TXO, T being the true Nor
want this bearing because the map you desirethe bearing upon is made with reference to true
Now just remember the little grammar school
19~ OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
(a ) You want magnetic bearing (M X
( b ) You have true bearing (TX 0) .
(c) You have magnetic variation (TXM
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MXO == TXO + TXM (see Fig.So far only a westerly variation has
sidered. I f this variation is easterly the pri
exa<;tly the same; though the arithmetic
different.To get a true bearing from a magnetic b
have taken on the compass (see Fig. D) :
NOTES ON USE OF PRISMATIC COMPAS
moment's inspection of the instrument will
use evident to anyone. After getting the bea
the compass the protractor is used to measure
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angle when drawing it on the map or conve
measure the angle on the map before setting
compass. The protractor should be transpare
should have a long string through the centre
as not to make it necessary to draw pencil line
n~ap. It is a good idea to have small cross-
194 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
a line on the map, through the point where
standing at the time, 'making the same angle
for variation, with the north that you read, t
of the object will be somewhere on this line
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you have taken a second reading from some o
to the flank and draw a second line, the posiobject' will be where these two lines inte
more 'bearings can be taken the intersections
ably form a polygon and the centre of thiwill be a more accurate location than the i
NOTES ON USE OF PRISMATIC COMPASS
Intelligence Officer. Just one bearing of your
very well cause a machine gun to be put ou
would cause a hundred deaths a few weeks or
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later. It is worth the trouble. It is at night thaopportunities for this work arise. At that time
firing gives a flash that you may see if it is not p
screened. Also it is safe to put your head abo
parapet and take a deliberate reading on yourreading instrument.
If it is desired to take a patrol to a' certain
-
196 OFFENSIVE FIGHTING
points where you were when you took the
These readings can be recorded by writing
note-book (with no other data in it). 'It is
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write down figures in the dark which can belater.
'. A unit can march in line, at night by s
compasses exactly alike on the bearing' yo
. march upon, and giving one compass to a mflank and the other to a man on the other f
will keep your unit from getting spread
c
.. !mns/L/ct'/ lf
NEEOi.£
luminous P
B . Se
A
-
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lamp (OrooIJO! luminous pinside orcoilJ~T({l17slucent [JIU
Plan
. , .
A
71Clynetic Bearinj
l10tjnetic North
I1tlt;l7etic Beori171
ObJeci
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0'
object
D
/
j
t
iI
t .