239. A column in route, ought never to have, a depth greater than about the front it had occupied in the line of battle, less the front of a subdivision.
240. The observance of this principle requires particular rule; as a column in route may have hourly to pass narrow ways, bridges, or other defiles, rendering it necessary to diminish the front of subdivisions, it becomes important to give rules and means by which the column may, for any length of march, preserve the ease of the route step without elongation from front to rear.
241. A column in route will be habitually formed by company.
242. When a column in route shall arrive at a pass too narrow to receive the front of a company, the column will diminish front by platoon before entering. This movement will be executed successively, or by all the companies at once.
243. If, however, the defile be very short, and it may be passed by the diminution of a few files, it will be preferable to break to the rear the limited number of files.
244. The column being by platoon, and the want of space rendering a further diminution of front necessary, it will be diminished by section, if the platoons be of twelve or more files.
245. The column being by section, will continue to march by that front as long as the defile may permit.
246. If the platoons have less than twelve files, one or two files will be broken to the rear, according to the narrowing of the defile, and the route step continued as long as six files can march abreast.
247. What has just been explained for breaking files to the rear in a column by platoon, is equally applicable to a column by section.
248. If the defile be too narrow to permit six men to march abreast, the subdivisions will be marched successively by the flank, conforming to what is prescribed in the S. C., Nos. 319 and 320.
249. The battalion marching by the flank, will be formed into column, by section, by platoon, or by company, as soon as the breadth of the way may permit; the several movements which these formations include will be executed by the commands of the captains, as their companies successively clear the defile, observing the following rules.
250. As soon as the way is sufficiently broad to contain six men abreast, the captain will command:
1. By section (or by platoon) into line. 2. MARCH.
251. At the command march, the subdivisions indicated will form themselves into line; the files which have not been able to enter, will follow (by the flank) the last four files of their subdivision which have entered into line.
252. The column marching in this order, the files in rear will be caused to enter into line as the increased breadth of the way may permit.
253. The column marching by section or by platoon, platoons or companies will be formed as soon as the breadth of the way may permit.
254. The leading subdivision will follow the windings of the pass or defile; the following subdivisions will not occupy themselves with the direction, but all, in succession, pass over the trace of the subdivisions which precede them respectively. The men will not seek to avoid the bad parts of the way, but pass, as far as practicable, each in the direction of his file.
255. Changes of direction will always be made without command; if the change be important, a caution merely from the respective chiefs to their subdivisions will suffice, and the rear rank, as well as the files broken to the rear, will execute successively the movement where the front rank had executed it.
256. The colonel will hold himself at the head of the battalion; he will regulate the step of the leading subdivision, and indicate to its chief the instant for executing the various movements which the nature of the route may render necessary.
257. If the column be composed of several battalions, each will conform itself, in its turn, to what shall have been commanded for the leading battalion, observing to execute each movement at the same place and in the same manner.
258. Finally, to render the mechanism of all those movements familiar to the troops, and to habituate them to march in the route step without elongating the column, commanders will generally cause their battalions to march in this step, going to, and returning from, fields of exercise. Each will occasionally conduct his battalion through narrow passes, in order to make it perceive the utility of the principles prescribed above; and he will several times, in every course of instruction, march it in the route step, and cause to be executed, sometimes at once, and sometimes successively, the divers movements which have just been indicated.
0-259. On marches, the companies of skirmishers, if present, will habitually take post in the column, the first company in front of the first, and the second company of skirmishers in rear of the last battalion company. The junior major will in this case take post abreast of the color company, and six paces from its reverse flank.
GENERAL REMARKS ON THE COLUMN IN ROUTE.
260. The lesson relative to the column in route is, by its frequent application, one of the most important that can be given to troops. If it be not well taught and established on right principles, it will happen that the rear of the column in route will be obliged to run, to regain distances, or that the front will be forced to halt till the rear shall have accomplished that object; thus rendering the march greatly slower, or greatly more fatiguing, generally both, than if it were executed according to rule.
261. The ordinary progress of a column in route ought to be, on good roads or good grounds, at the rate of one hundred and ten paces in a minute. This rate may be easily maintained by columns of almost any depth; but over bad roads, ploughed fields, loose sands, or mountainous districts, the progress cannot be so great, and must therefore be regulated according to circumstances.
262. The most certain means of marching well in route, is to preserve always a regular and equal movement, and, if obstacles oblige one or more subdivisions to slacken or to shorten the step, to cause the primitive rate of march to be resumed the moment the difficulties are passed.
263. A subdivision ought never to take more than the prescribed distance from the subdivision immediately preceding; but it is sometimes necessary to lessen that distance.
264. Thus: the head of the column encounters an obstacle which obliges it to relax its march; all the following subdivisions will preserve the habitual step, and close up in mass, if necessary, on the subdivision nearest to the obstacle. Distances will afterward naturally be recovered as each subdivision shall successively have passed the obstacle. Nevertheless, if the difficulty be too great to be overcome by one subdivision, whilst the next is closing up, so that distances cannot afterward be recovered without running, the chief of the column will halt the leading subdivision beyond the obstacle, at a distance sufficient to contain the whole column in mass. He will then put the column in march, the subdivisions taking distances by the head, observing to commence the movement in time, so that the last subdivision may not be obliged to halt, after having cleared the obstacle.
265. When the chief of a column shall wish to change the rate of march, he will cause the leading battalion to quicken or to relax the step insensibly, and send orders to the other battalions each to regulate itself by that which precedes it.
266. The column being composed of several battalions, the general will always leave an aid-de-camp with its rear to bring him prompt information if it find a difficulty in following.
267. Subdivisions ought always to step out well in obliquing, both in breaking and forming companies or platoons. When either is done in succession, it is highly important that no subdivision slacken or shorten the step while that which precedes it is engaged in the movement. The observance of this principle can alone prevent an elongation of the column.
268. If the battalion, marching by the flank, encounter a pass so narrow as to oblige it to defile with a front of two men, the colonel will order support arms, take the cadenced step, and undouble the files, which will be executed as pre scribed in the S. C., No. 331; the files will double again as soon as the breadth of the way will permit.
269. If the defile be only sufficient to receive a front of one man, the colonel will cause the men to pass one at a time, which will be executed as prescribed in the S. C., Nos. 334 and 335. The men of the same file should follow each other in their order as closely as possible, and without loss of time. As soon as the defile permits a front of two or four men, the battalion will be reformed into two or four ranks, as prescribed in the S. C., Nos. 336, 337, 338, and 339, and will march in this order until there be space to form platoons or sections, as indicated No. 250.
270. In both cases, just supposed, the head of the battalion, after having passed the defile, will march till sufficient space be left to contain the whole of the subdivisions in mass; afterward it will be put in march by the means indicated No. 264.
271. When a command has to move rapidly over a given distance, the movements prescribed in this article will be executed in double quick time; if the distance be long, the chief of the column will not allow the march at this gait to be continued for more than fifteen minutes; at the end of this time, he will order the ordinary route step to be marched for five minutes, and then again resume the double quick. If the ground be uneven, having considerable ascents and descents, he will reserve the double quick for those parts of the ground most favorable to this march.
272. A column marching alternately in double quick time and the ordinary route step, in the manner stated, can easily accomplish very long distances in a very short space of time; but when the distance to be passed over is not greater than two miles, it ought to be accomplished, when the ground is favorable, without changing the rate of march.