The exercise portrays what men will have to do when the rifle fire of the enemy becomes effective, and necessitates extension of the small columns which are used to dodge his shell fire (I.T., 118 (3)). This will be somewhere over one thousand yards from the enemy, and perhaps fourteen hundred may be taken as a maximum. From the point at which extension from the small columns is made up till the time of the assault, a line of men in extended order is the suitable formation, unless there is some covered way leading forward which can be traversed in file or other formation. Once the advance has begun it should be carried through as quickly as possible without exhausting the men too much, and fire should not be opened until it is absolutely necessary to neutralise that of the enemy, firstly, because it lessens the speed of the advance and so increases the time during which the attackers are exposed to the enemy’s fire; secondly, because once men start firing it is more difficult to lead them forward; and, thirdly, because it uses up cartridges whose value and difficulty of replacement increases at every yard nearer the enemy’s position.

The exercise is then to train men to gain ground to the front with the minimum of exposure to the enemy’s fire, and as quickly as may be, firstly, without firing, and, secondly, while firing themselves, but in the latter case speed must be subordinated to the development of a fire of sufficient accuracy and volume to largely neutralise that of the enemy, for at this stage of the battle advances under fire will only be possible if it is inaccurate; and the only certain means of causing it to be inaccurate is by disturbing the enemy’s nerves and aim by bringing to bear on him the fire both of supporting troops and of the firing line itself (I.T., 118 (6)).

The regulations do not encourage the opening of fire by units less than two platoons at ranges over one thousand yards as the results do not compensate for the delay. Under one thousand and up to six hundred it is desired that fire should be controlled and directed, i.e., the amount, and the target should be specified by commanders (I.T., 116). Under six hundred yards it is recognised that individual fire gives good results, and, moreover, control becomes almost impossible.

Divide your exercise accordingly. First, teach merely the advance without firing, letting the men know that they are not to fire, as a rule, without orders under six hundred yards, and then let them advance firing at each halt behind cover, choosing their own target and times of firing as they would do in the stage of “close fire,” i.e., six or perhaps eight hundred yards up to assaulting distance, which latter is about two hundred yards from the enemy’s line of defences.

This parade is one that can be done with very few men present, but it is necessary to form them up into sections with a large proportion of non-commissioned officers. Keep the men in their proper sections, but, if necessary, join two or three together, so as to form sections with three or four non-commissioned officers to each. Thus, if you form four sections, they should each be in reality a boiling down of the platoons. In future exercises I will also suppose that you thus concentrate your men, keeping the members of each section together, and form them into sections of size suitable to the work of the day, and no further allusion will be made to this.

Before taking the men on to the exercise ground, you should choose a point on it from which you intend to start your advance. Some fourteen hundred or less yards from this choose a position for your skeleton enemy, who will consist of three or four old soldiers with forty rounds of blank each. If men are not available, put up a few red range flags. Whichever are used, put them into some position that an enemy might reasonably occupy; do not simply dump them down on to the ground. The skeleton enemy must be told to show up occasionally, and to open a slow but regular fire as soon as they see your men advancing, but only to keep it up as long as your men show themselves in making their advance. A complete cessation of fire will denote that your men are making such good use of cover as to be invisible to the enemy. Let your men also know that these instructions have been given, and that such an advance is the ideal to be sought for, provided always that it is not absurdly slow. If neither men nor flags are available you must make believe and point out a supposed position at a supposed distance. I have already pointed out the advantages of having a skeleton enemy to work against.

In front of your starting point, and about four hundred yards from it, decide on some point at which you will let the men halt after they have made their way across the intervening space. Here I will refer you to the diagram. The line AA´ is your starting point, CC´ the enemy’s position. Your exercise consists in showing individual men how to gain ground from AA´ as far as BB´, distant about four hundred yards from AA´, with the minimum of exposure to the enemy’s aimed fire. Draw up the sections, supposing there are two, on the line AA´, fifty to one hundred yards apart, and let the men sit down facing away from CC´ and, if possible, under cover, so that they may not see how their comrades negotiate the course. Space the available non-commissioned officers of each section along the course from A to B and A´ to B´, with orders to supervise and criticise the advance of each man within the limits of their beats. Allow a belt of twenty to thirty yards broad from A to B and from A´ up to B´, within which men must seek their cover. This belt is made broad here to afford instruction, but when the men work together in their sections, it will be much narrower, as they will then be extended at intervals of five or six paces only. Start off one man at a time from each section to cross from AA´ to BB´, to move as if under fire from the enemy in rushes from one cover to another. As soon as a man reaches BB´ he may fall out and watch the movements of the remainder. Do not send off a fresh man until the preceding one has nearly reached BB´, so that your non-commissioned officers may have good opportunity to look at each man as he goes. As for yourself, be active in supervising both sections, using your horse if you have one.

DIAGRAM I. FOR EXERCISES I. & II.

The following are points to be attended to:—Before leaving their cover, men must decide where their next halting place is to be, and make for it quickly, and with decision. There must be no emerging into the open, and then looking about for a bit of cover to go for. The length of each rush should not be enough to let the enemy have time for deliberate aim—fifty yards or so is quite the limit for this. If there is no cover the men must lie down flat between each rush. Occasionally it is advisable to make a long rush from one good position to another at sprinting pace without stopping at all (I.T., 121 (12)), so this should be practised sometimes, the non-commissioned officers at that part of the beat being ordered to tell the men what is needed. Once a man has decided on his next halting place, and is in wind, he should leave his cover with a jump. The slow uprising of a figure is sure to draw the enemy’s attention, and make his fire more accurate than it would be if no intimation were given him. Similarly, on reaching cover, men should fall down quickly, and not lower themselves slowly to earth.

Insist on a careful choice of cover, a very small depression or elevation, even six inches, is enough to give cover from view, and therefore helps in escaping aimed fire, but in peace time men will not take trouble over apparently trifling things like this unless it is rubbed into them by close supervision. Noticeable objects should be avoided as the enemy may have taken their range, and they help him to define a point on which to concentrate fire. If a man makes mistakes and shows indecision at any part of the course, call him back to the last cover he left, and let him start again from there after pointing out what he has done wrong.

II. The advance combined with individual fire.

The second part of the exercise is done in the same way as the first, the men advancing and taking cover as before, but now using their rifles. They have to be taught to use the cover to advantage, both as a protection and as an aid to their shooting, and to take pains in searching for a good target, and in their sighting, aiming and firing. For purposes of instruction, six hundred yards is rather a short range to open fire at, and I recommend your making a start at eight hundred or so, i.e., two hundred yards beyond BB´ towards the enemy, working up to four hundred. This necessitates judging distance at beyond the practically point-blank ranges of the Lee-Enfield rifle, and makes the men use their eyes keenly to spot the enemy, while it avoids a certain amount of unreality which is apt to attach to instructional movements carried on in front of a skeleton enemy at the deadly short ranges under three hundred yards.

Points which should be considered are:—

To fire from the right and lower edge of any cover, not over the top.

Make the men keep a count of the number of times they snap over the course (i.e., cartridges used), and report to the non-commissioned officer at the finish of their course.

Let the men do their own judging distance, and let non-commissioned officers drop at once on any man who either fails to do so, or forgets, as they often do, to adjust the backsight.

Cultivate a habit among the men of looking about for different targets, not firing only straight in front of themselves, but on their right and left, so that when they come to fire collectively they may feel nothing new in being told to open the enfilade fire recommended by I.T., 116 (11), and also get the custom of watching for the enemy all along his front.

These two exercises of advancing with and without firing are the groundwork of the fighting efficiency of the soldier in the attack, and will be found to call for every natural and acquired qualification the individual possesses. Good shooting, quick judgment, activity, wind, and everything else are needed if the work is done with full observance of the conditions which would exist under fire. Put the men through exercises of this sort several times, and, if possible, on different ground, till they acquire quickness in choosing cover and the arts that make an expert fighter. Confidence in themselves will come with the skill they acquire, and with confidence comes decision of mind, which is really more important than bodily efficiency. If you have time, a useful rider to this exercise is to work the men by pairs, as is recommended in the Musketry Regulations for the observation of fire, and so introduce them early to the use of the file organisation which I have advised you to adopt.