Manual for Noncommissioned Officers and Privates of Infantry of the Army of the United States, 1917 Part 8

[Corrected to April 15, 1917.]

SECTION 1. DEFINITIONS.

ALIGNMENT: A straight line upon which several elements are formed, or are to be formed; or the dressing of several elements upon a straight line.

BASE: The element on which a movement is regulated.

BATTLE SIGHT: The position of the rear sight when the leaf is laid down.

CENTER: The middle point or element of a command.

COLUMN: A formation in which the elements are placed one behind another.

DEPLOY: To extend the front. In general to change from column to line, or from close order to extended order.

DEPTH: The s.p.a.ce from head to rear of any formation, including the leading and rear elements. The depth of a man is a.s.sumed to be 12 inches.

DISTANCE: s.p.a.ce between elements in the direction of depth. Distance is measured from the bark of the man in front to the breast of the man in rear. The distance between ranks is 40 inches in both line and column.

ELEMENT: A file, squad, platoon, company, or larger body, forming part of a still larger body.

FILE: Two men, the front-rank man and the corresponding man of the rear rank. The front-rank man is the FILE LEADER. A file which has no rear-rank man is a BLANK file. The term FILE applies also to a single man in a single-rank formation.

FILE CLOSERS: Such officers and noncommissioned officers of a company as are posted in rear of the line. For convenience, all men posted in the line of file closers.

FLANK: The right or left of a command in line or in column: also the element on the right or left of the line.

FORMATION: Arrangement of the elements of a command. The placing of all fractions in their order in line, in column, or for battle.

FRONT: The s.p.a.ce, in width, occupied by an element, either in line or in column. The front of a man is a.s.sumed to be 22 inches.

Front also denotes the direction of the enemy.

GUIDE: An officer, noncommissioned officer, or private upon whom the command or elements thereof regulates its march.

HEAD: The leading element of a column.

INTERVAL: s.p.a.ce between elements of the same line. The interval between men in ranks is 4 inches, and is measured from elbow to elbow. Between companies, squads, etc., it is measured from the left elbow of the left man or guide of the group on the right to the right elbow of the right man or guide of the group on the left.

LEFT: The left extremity or element of a body of troops.

LINE: A formation in which the different elements are abreast of each other.

ORDER, CLOSE: The formation in which the units, in double rank, are arranged in line or in column with normal intervals and distances.

ORDER, EXTENDED: The formation in which the units are separated by intervals greater than in close order.

PACE: Thirty inches; the length of the full step in quick time.

POINT OF REST: The point at which a formation begins. Specifically, the point toward which units are aligned in successive movements.

RANK: A line of men placed side by side.

RIGHT: The right extremity or element of a body of troops.

PART I.--DRILL.

SECTION 2.--INTRODUCTION.

1.[4] Success in battle is the ultimate object of all military training; success may be looked for only when the training is intelligent and thorough.

[Footnote 4: The numbers refer to paragraphs in the Infantry Drill Regulations, 1911.]

2. Commanding officers are accountable for the proper training of their respective organizations within the limits prescribed by regulations and orders.

The excellence of an organization is judged by its field efficiency.

The field efficiency of an organization depends primarily upon its effectiveness as a whole. Thoroughness and uniformity in the training of the units of an organization are indispensable to the efficiency of the whole; it is by such means alone that the requisite teamwork may be developed.

3. Simple movements and elastic formations are essential to correct training for battle.

4. The Drill Regulations are furnished as a guide. They provide the principles for training and for increasing the probability of success in battle.

In the interpretation of the regulations, the spirit must be sought. Quibbling over the minutiae of form is indicative of failure to grasp the spirit.

5. The principles of combat are considered in Part II of these regulations. They are treated in the various schools included in Part I only to the extent necessary to indicate the functions of the various commanders and the division of responsibility between them. The amplification necessary to a proper understanding of their application is to be sought in Part II.

6. The following important distinctions must be observed:

(a) Drills executed AT ATTENTION and the ceremonies are DISCIPLINARY EXERCISES designed to teach precise and soldierly movement, and to inculcate that prompt and subconscious obedience which is essential to proper military control. To this end smartness and precision should be exacted in the execution of every detail.

Such drills should be frequent, but short.

(b) The purpose of EXTENDED ORDER DRILL is to teach the mechanism of deployment, of the firings, and, in general, of the employment of troops in combat. Such drills are in the nature of disciplinary exercises and should be frequent, thorough, and exact in order to habituate men to the firm control of their leaders. Extended order drill is executed at ease. The company is the largest unit which executes extended order drill.

(c) FIELD EXERCISES are for instruction in the duties incident to campaign. a.s.sumed situations are employed. Each exercise should conclude with a discussion, on the ground, of the exercise and principles involved.

(d) The COMBAT EXERCISE, a form of field exercise of the company, battalion, and larger units, consists of the APPLICATION OF TACTICAL PRINCIPLES to a.s.sumed situations, employing in the execution the appropriate formations and movements of close and extended order.

Combat exercises must simulate, as far as possible, the battle conditions a.s.sumed. In order to familiarize both officers and men with such conditions, companies and battalions will frequently be consolidated to provide war-strength organizations. Officers and noncommissioned officers not required to complete the full quota of the units partic.i.p.ating are a.s.signed as observers or umpires.

The firing line can rarely be controlled by the voice alone; thorough training to insure the proper use of prescribed signals is necessary.

The exercise should be followed by a brief drill at attention in order to restore smartness and control.

7. In field exercises the enemy is said to be IMAGINARY when his position and force are merely a.s.sumed; OUTLINED when his position and force are indicated by a few men; REPRESENTED when a body of troop acts as such.