Part 5

In peace, where there are no bullets, and prisoners may not be made, these methods lead to the best results, and to their being employed again and again, particularly if the superior commanders are inclined to praise such too complete information instead of condemning it. In truth, it is the worst system that could be conceived. Properly speaking, such protracted observation is only possible under certain circumstances; for instance, if the outer flank of the enemy's advance has been turned, then perhaps there might be a chance of sending reports round the flank of the hostile zone of security. It should, however, be quite inadmissible for a patrol to remain in this manner _between_ the hostile columns of the enemy's army. Unless it were unusually lucky, it would quickly be detected and captured; more particularly if the inhabitants were hostile. It is quite another matter where a hostile screen has to be broken through. This can generally only be accomplished by fighting; and it is the first duty of the reconnoitring squadron to break through the enemy's screen. Patrols also, which in such a case have succeeded in getting behind the enemy's outpost-line, cannot count upon sending back messages as they please. It will only be a question of a rapid offensive through the screen towards the main body of the enemy. The patrols will then be surrounded, and must at once proceed to effect their return, and only report what they have seen when they have successfully broken back again through the enemy's screen. Despatch-riders have, in such a case, small prospect of getting through. The less it is possible to observe and report, the more carefully must the points for breaking through be chosen, and attention must therefore be paid to reaching good points of vantage that command a view of places of probable importance.

The time chosen for observation is also of great importance. The enemy can best be observed, and his strength and intentions appreciated, when he is on the move. Marches are generally undertaken in the morning, and towards the evening one may expect to find the enemy in quarters. Under such circumstances observation is difficult. The patrol leader must therefore arrange to reach in the morning those points from which he expects to be able to observe the enemy on the march. He will then be obliged in most cases to fall back before the advancing enemy, and will endeavour to ascertain his halting-place and the approximate line taken up by his outposts. If a distant patrol should be successful in obtaining such information it will generally have done as much as is expected of it. It is for the tactical close reconnaissance to send in information as to details. From the distant reconnaissance it is only required to form the foundations on which the Head Quarters can base its decisions. This fact should be borne in mind while reporting on the enemy.

These duties can for the rest be only carried out under war conditions and against an enemy who is working to the same end, if undertaken in a regular and systematic way and with great boldness.

The patrol leader, therefore, should generally make his plan in the evening for the following day. It will be desirable for him to study the map very closely, and to impress on his memory the main roads and especially points which appear to be suitable for observation. He can thus obtain an impression of the succession of stages necessary for his advance, and judge how he can best spare his horses without prejudicing the success of the reconnaissance.

For a patrol to move _en masse_ without scouts, as unfortunately is often done in peace, is altogether out of the question. In war such conduct must often be paid for by the lives of the patrol and the complete failure of the enterprise. A point must always be sent so far ahead that the patrol will not come under fire at the same time with it. It should never happen that the point collides unexpectedly with the enemy. A rear-guard will also in most cases be found desirable. Circumstances must determine how the flanks can best be protected.

Should the patrol be obliged to ride through country where it might be surprised, it will be advisable first to make a halt and to send on scouts. Manoeuvres have repeatedly proved that the point is insufficient in such a case.

It is in most cases quite inadmissible, especially in hostile country, to divide the patrol and to arrange a meeting-place farther to the front. As there will usually be at most but one map available, the detached party will find themselves in the enemy's country without means of locating themselves, probably unable to make themselves understood by the inhabitants, and in any case will run the danger of being betrayed by them. It will not even be of much avail if they are given some kind of sketch if they meet with and are chased by the enemy.

I should therefore like to utter a warning against the custom of such division of patrols in peace which could not be carried out in the enemy's country. In friendly country they are possible, but always dangerous. The various detachments having insufficient fighting strength, the possibility of sending back information will be reduced and a junction will always be doubtful, while any collision with the enemy may make it impossible.

There is another error into which patrols frequently fall in peace manoeuvres, and that is, of leaving the road assigned to them for observation without sufficient reason, and of using other roads upon which other patrols are working. Even when a patrol has sure indication that it will not meet with the enemy upon the road assigned to it, it should still remain upon this road, and send back definite negative information, even if no instructions to this effect have been received.

On collision with the enemy's patrols, action must be taken in as offensive a spirit as possible, but after due reflection. Should a charge promise any kind of success, the opponent must be attacked in the most determined way. It will also often be possible to defeat an enemy of superior numbers by a carefully laid ambush. Every success of this kind will increase our own moral superiority, paralyse the enemy's reconnaissance, and facilitate the transmission of information. Before attacking, however, it should always be ascertained whether the enemy is followed by any close support which might turn an initial success into a worse defeat. Thus it does not, for example, promise success to attack the point of an advancing squadron under the apprehension that it is a single patrol. Making prisoners and carrying them off, or sending them back under escort from the patrol, is to be deprecated. They can generally be rendered harmless by depriving them of their horses, arms, and boots. Good captured horses, however, should be always used, either to replace the tired cattle of the patrol, or lead with it in reserve.

Should the patrol meet with a superior force of cavalry, it must endeavour to extricate itself and to get round the enemy's flank. Under such circumstances the ability to ride quickly and safely across country will be of great service. But it is important, as soon as the patrol is in safety, that it should again reach the road detailed to it, and also that the men should be instructed as to how to avoid the enemy, when carrying messages to the rear, without losing their way.

When a patrol has been successful, by judicious riding, determined fighting, and clever avoidance of the enemy, in obtaining information as to the enemy, it is of the utmost importance what information is to be sent back, and when and how it should be sent.

As I have already indicated above, the patrol must be perfectly clear as to what facts are most important from the Head Quarters' point of view. If the opposing armies are still so far apart that a collision cannot be expected, only those matters that are of strategic importance need be ascertained and transmitted: _e.g._ number of the hostile columns, objective of the day's march, any circumstances that lend themselves to a conclusion as to alterations in the enemy's direction of march or the combination of his forces. In such a case there is no need for information as to details. The closer, however, the opposing armies approach one another, the more does information which is of tactical significance increase in importance. It is not always advisable to confine oneself to reporting the bare facts. It will often be desirable to indicate also the process of reasoning by which the reporting officer arrives at his impression, for this originates from a number of _imponderabilia_ which cannot always be detailed in a report. When this is done, it must be thoroughly and carefully considered how far this personal impression is dependent upon facts, or if it does not rather rest upon certain feelings, as to the cause of which no clear account can be given. Should the latter be the case, the personal point of view is best left out. Preconceived opinions originate but too easily in war, and may lead to a biassed interpretation of reports, and, consequently, to faulty dispositions. The facts must always be weighed with sober impartiality. Only thus can a true and definite appreciation be arrived at.

The same naturally holds good for those reports which are sent in from the reconnoitring squadrons or other reporting centres. The method in which such information is sifted for passing on brings into play, in a certain sense, personal conceptions. It is therefore all the more necessary to reflect seriously over their preparation.

It is imperative that any important information should reach the Head Quarters of the army or the Great Head Quarters as early as possible, at all events, early enough to allow of the measures rendered necessary by the enemy's movements to be initiated and carried out. The patrol leader must therefore consider the time requisite for a wheel or other such movement of a modern army in order to calculate what is the latest time, under any circumstances, that his information must be sent in. It is obvious, and has already been demonstrated, that he should be instructed as to the advance of his own army in order that he may be able to appreciate these matters.

As already stated, it will, as a rule, be necessary for a distant patrol only to send in two messages daily. The first contact with the hostile infantry must always be reported. It will generally suffice if the direction of march of the enemy and the march-objective reached by him are reported. It will often be desirable to send back only a single report, setting forth the events of the day. On the other hand, the method of despatch of such messages must be most carefully prepared. During the advance of the patrol the leader must call the attention of his men, more especially from any good look-out points, to any prominent features passed. He must make marks at difficult places, and where the main roads have to be left, to assist them in finding their way back.

Reports should only be sent from some point from which the despatch-riders have, at least to a certain degree, a safe route, where they will not have to pass through any hostile outposts, occupied localities, or defiles. It is highly desirable to continually instruct the patrol as to the route to the rear, and as to its conduct under special circumstances, and to give it a sketch of the road. The latter should contain not only names, which will not be of much use to the patrol, but characteristic marks which may be used as points of orientation--forked roads and the like--to assist the men in choosing the right road. Orderlies should be told the general contents of messages which they carry.

It is quite out of the question that in war, and especially in hostile country, despatch-riders will be allowed to ride about free from harm, as they are unfortunately allowed to do in peace. The endeavour to send many, and often superfluous, messages by a few men always eventually leads to the sending of single horsemen as despatch-riders. Such a custom, which in war must lead to disastrous consequences, cannot be too sharply reproved.

Single orderlies, in hostile country, cannot be sent, except where they know the district, and where collision with the enemy's patrols is out of the question. When long distances have to be covered, there is also the danger that a horse may succumb, or that the inhabitants may stop the man. The fact that, in the Franco-Prussian War, the custom of sending single despatch-riders proved itself generally, if not entirely, sufficient must not be regarded as of great significance, as at that time there was no question of having to reckon with the opposition of hostile cavalry. In a modern war it will certainly be different, and we may be quite sure that the cavalry of each army will strive its utmost not only to reconnoitre, but also to prevent the enemy reconnoitring. The distances to be covered, also, will be very different from those of 1870-71.

The single despatch-rider, therefore, especially in the case of the distant patrol, must be replaced by a reporting patrol. This can best be formed of three men, who can mutually support each other, and, should they meet with the enemy, have more chance of escape than a single horseman. For very important information, and against strong opposition, several such patrols must be sent by different routes. In friendly country, where the population will give all possible support, the single despatch-rider can, for short distances, be more often used, and the reporting patrols can be made weaker according to circumstances.

These circumstances must determine, as we have seen, the strength of patrols, and the time which they can stay out without relief.

Patrols must choose their accommodation for the night with great care. It is obvious that for them, as for the reconnoitring squadrons, it is of great importance whether they are in their own or hostile country.

In their own country it will often be safer to seek shelter for the night in the larger villages, because such places will, as a rule, be avoided by hostile troops. It is, however, not only a question of safety, but also of keeping the road confided to them in sight during the night, and of interrupting the transmission of the enemy's intelligence, which will, like our own, be most active after dark. His despatch-riders, however, will most probably endeavour to avoid villages. For the rest, patrols in their own country can choose their accommodation freely according to the situation, and can at least always get under cover, even when in the neighbourhood of the enemy.

In hostile country, however, the conditions are different. Isolated and far distant from support, the patrols run great danger, even from the inhabitants themselves, and should never try to spend the night in enclosed villages or farms. If they wish to get cover for the night, they must look for single houses close to the road, and take measures that the inhabitants do not betray them to any of the enemy's troops or to partisans that may be in the neighbourhood. They must also be careful to keep a good look-out and be ready to get away at a moment's notice. They should not, however, as long as it is possible, lose sight of the road detailed to them until absolutely forced to, but should watch it by an advanced post in order to interrupt the enemy's transmission service.

When in the presence of the enemy, it will be advisable not to seek shelter, but to spend the night in woods, or at all events distant from localities where forage or food has been requisitioned. Horses may then be off-saddled and fed, singly or by groups, according to circumstances. Special measures of safety are also necessary under such circumstances.

It is of great importance to establish communication with the reconnoitring squadron during the night halt and to adhere closely, when it is at all possible, to any arrangements made with it. It may very easily happen, as we have seen, that the task of the reconnoitring squadron may be changed, and that it may be required to operate in new directions. It is, therefore, important that the patrols do not get lost to the squadron, but are in a position to receive fresh instructions. The patrols can also utilise this opportunity for receiving reinforcements if necessary.

The patrol may sometimes lose connection with the squadron; it will then be generally most advisable for it to remain in observation of that portion of the enemy which has been found upon the road allotted to it. If this should entail a change of direction, reports should be sent direct to that portion of the army which is assumed to be the nearest according to the general situation. This must not, however, be regarded as a hard-and-fast rule. It should rather be left to the independent decision of the officer how he will act in the particular case. Independence of judgment and of character is of the highest importance, especially when on patrol. These qualities can, however, only be effective if cavalry officers are instructed as to the conditions of modern armies and are quite clear in theory as to the duties and methods of conducting patrols. It is to be hoped that they will in future realise the obligation of applying themselves most seriously to this branch of their important duties, that they may be thoroughly prepared and capable of the greatest effort when the call to arms resounds in bloody earnest through the land.

4. _Close Reconnaissance and Reconnaissance during the Fight_

Within certain limits determined by the various crises of the fight the reconnoitring duties of the cavalry are continuous. As the hostile armies approach one another, distant exploration merges into close reconnaissance, and from the latter evolves the battle reconnaissance, when the heavily-charged thunder-clouds of war come into collision, and the brazen dice of battle are thrown.

Within these limits the arrangements made for reconnaissance should not require fresh dispositions, but merely supplementing as they gradually develop from strategical into tactical measures. This is a matter for consideration when detailing close patrols, as the tendency is to be too prodigal of the scanty force at disposal. When the army cavalry concentrates towards the flank of the army, the detachments of it which have been carrying out the reconnaissance against the enemy's front must be gradually relieved by the divisional cavalry. The army cavalry will only be able to assist the divisional cavalry in the close reconnaissance by the action of those portions of it which may fall back behind the front of their own army. In such a case all should be placed under a single command, to prevent useless expenditure of force and contradictory orders. Whether the divisional cavalry is to be reinforced by the army cavalry or _vice versâ_, or whether a separate sphere of action is to be assigned to each, must depend on circumstances.

It will, however, seldom happen that the army cavalry will fall back behind the front of its own army. It will nearly always be most advantageously placed on the flank of the army, and will therefore only have to carry out such reconnaissance as is possible from this position. Such reconnaissance, however, is generally the most important.

As already indicated, the reconnoitring squadrons will gradually fall back upon the army cavalry itself, or upon the advancing columns of the main army which will now be approaching them. The reconnoitring squadrons on the outer flank will, however, be well advised not to join themselves at once to the main body of the cavalry. They must rather seek to operate against the rear of the enemy, who is already deployed, or against his lines of advance, in order to be able to report the presence of any approaching hostile reserves as early as possible. As a single example of this, had the French at Mars la Tour acted in this manner they would very soon have discovered the approach of Wedel's Brigade and its approximate strength. They would not then have been surprised by the attack of this brigade nor would they have mistaken it for the advance-guard of the Third Army. One may well assume that after dealing with Wedel's Brigade the French would, under such circumstances, have proceeded to undertake a general offensive, and that the fortunes of the day might have been with them.

The close reconnaissance before the decisive battle must seek, above all things, to obtain an idea of the grouping of the hostile forces. Herein lie the conditions of success or failure. To this end endeavours must be made to get far round the front of the enemy and to observe as many lines of approach as possible. Rapid and distant patrol riding and the straining of every nerve must be demanded in such cases.

When the whole force is to be employed, the army cavalry must endeavour to pave the way for these patrols. If it has been possible to defeat the hostile cavalry before the decisive battle, this will be comparatively easy. Otherwise, every means must now be employed to bring about this decision and to carry it to a successful conclusion, as well as to deal with other troops which may seek to cover the enemy's flanks.

That the position of the army cavalry for such duties should not be in rear of a flank of its own army need scarcely be emphasised. It should rather strive with all energy to _échelon_ itself in advance of the wing of its own army and to maintain itself on the enemy's flank. It will thus be in a position during the period of close reconnaissance to support its own reconnoitring organs and either to join the battle, or operate against the flanks and rear of the enemy.[8]

As to the close reconnaissance patrols and the combat patrols, as clear and definite orders must be given them as to the distant patrols to operate in certain particular directions or block certain roads. The arrangements for their return or relief must leave no room for doubt if it is desired to be independent of the discretion of the patrol leader, and to be convinced that the observation in all important directions is being carried out.

It will often be necessary, especially during the period of close reconnaissance in flank or rear of the enemy, to make the patrols strong enough to be able to fight their own way, for it will generally be impossible to support them from the rear. Should it be found impossible otherwise to break through the thick screen of the hostile service of security, whole squadrons may operate as patrols, and must exert all their endurance and speed to attain their object.