| 1. To the left (or right) 2. On the right (or left) 3. Forward, by deployment, 4. Faced to the rear, | } | into line of battle. |
1st. Column at half distance, to the left (or right) into line of battle.
492. A column at half distance having to form itself to the left (or right) into line of battle, the colonel will cause it to take distances by one of the means prescribed, Article IX., Part Third, of this school; which being executed, he will form the column into line of battle, as has been indicated, No. 464, and following.
493. If a column by company, at half distance be in march, and it be necessary to form rapidly into line of battle, the colonel will command:
1. By the rear of column left (or right) into line, wheel. 2. MARCH (or double quick—MARCH).
494. At the first command, the right general guide will move rapidly to the front, and place himself a little beyond the point where the head of the column will rest, and on the prolongation of the guides. The captain of the eighth company will command: Left into line, wheel; the other captains will caution their companies to continue to march to the front.
0-495. At the same command, each chief of platoon of the companies of skirmishers, will caution his platoon to continue its, march to the front.
496. At the command march, briskly repeated by the captain of the eighth company, the guide of this company will halt short, and the company will wheel to the left, conforming to the principles prescribed for wheeling from a halt; when its right shall arrive near the line, the captain will halt the company, and align it by the left. The other captains will place themselves briskly on the flank of the column; when the captain of the seventh sees there is sufficient distance between his company and the eighth to form the latter into line, he will command: Left into line, wheel—MARCH; the left guide will halt short, and facing to the rear, will place himself on the line; the company will wheel to the left, the man on the left of the front rank will face to the left, and place his breast against the left arm of the guide; the captain will halt the company when its right shall arrive near the line, and will align it by the left. The other companies will conform successively to what has just been prescribed for the seventh.
497. Each captain will direct the alignment of his company on the left man in the front rank of the company next on his right.
498. The lieutenant-colonel will be watchful that the leading guide marches accurately on the prolongation of the line of battle, and directs himself on the right general guide. The senior major, placed in rear of the left guide of the eighth company, will, as soon as the guide of the seventh company is established on the direction, hasten in rear of the guides of the other companies, so as to assure each of them in succession on the line. The junior major, will hold his position abreast with the color company.
0-499. At the command march, by the colonel, the chief of each platoon of the platoon columns will place himself on its directing flank; the chief of the second platoon of the second platoon column, will command, left into line, wheel, and he will add march, as soon as his guide is abreast with the left file of the last battalion company; at this the guide of the platoon will halt fast, the platoon will wheel to the left, and will be aligned to the left by its chief; when the chief of the first platoon of the same column judges there is sufficient distance between his platoon and the second to form the latter into line, will command, left into line, wheel—MARCH; the guide of this platoon will hasten to the right of the company, and place himself abreast with one of the three right files, face toward and cover the left guide, the captain will then dress the company to the left. When the chief of the second platoon of the first platoon column arrives abreast with the left file of the first battalion company, it will be wheeled into line, as also its first platoon, in the manner prescribed for the platoons of the second platoon column.
2nd. Column at half distance, on the right (or on the left), into line of battle.
500. A column by company, at half distance and right in front, having to form itself on the right into line of battle, the colonel will indicate to the lieutenant-colonel a little in advance, the point d’appui, or rest, for the right, as well as the point of direction to the left; the lieutenant-colonel will hasten with two markers, and establish them in the following manner on the direction indicated.
501. The first marker will be placed at the point d’appui for the right front-rank man of the leading company; the second will indicate the point where one of the three left files of the same company will rest when in line; they will be placed so as to present the right shoulder to the battalion when formed.
502. These dispositions being made, the colonel will command:
1. On the right into line. 2. Battalion, guide right.
503. At the second command, the right will become the directing flank, and the touch of the elbow will be to that side; the right guide of the leading company will march straight-forward until up with the turning point, and each following guide will march in the trace of the one immediately preceding.
0-504. At the same command the chief of each platoon column of the companies of skirmishers will command, company, by the left flank.
505. The leading company being nearly up with the first marker, its captain will command: 1. Right turn, and when the company is precisely up with this marker, he will add: 2. MARCH.
506. At the command march, the company will turn to the right; the right guide will so direct himself as to bring the man next to him opposite to the right marker, and when at three paces from him, the captain will command: 1. First company. 2. HALT.
507. At the second command, the company will halt; the files, not yet in line, will form promptly; the left guide will retire as a file closer; and the captain will then command: 3. Right—DRESS.
508. At this command, the company will align itself; the two men who find themselves opposite to the two markers, will each lightly rest his breast against the right arm of his marker; the captain, passing to the right of the front rank, will direct the alignment on these two men. These rules are general for all successive formations.
509. The second company will continue to march straight-forward; when arrived opposite to the left flank of the preceding company, it will turn to the right, and be formed on the line of battle, as has just been prescribed; the right guide will direct himself so as to come upon that line by the side of the man on the left of the first company.
510. At the distance of three paces from the line of battle, the company will be halted by its captain, who will place himself briskly by the side of the man on the left of the preceding company, and align himself correctly on its front rank.
511. The left guide will, at the same time, place himself before one of the three left files of his company, and, facing to the right, he will place himself accurately on the direction of the two markers of the preceding company.
512. The captain will then command: Right—DRESS.
513. At this command, the second company will dress forward on the line; the captain will direct its alignment on the front-rank man who has rested his breast against the left guide of the company.
514. The following companies will thus come successively to form themselves on the line of battle, each conforming itself to what has just been prescribed for the one next to the right; and when they shall all be established, the colonel will command: Guides—POSTS.
515. At this command, the guides will take their places in line of battle, and the markers placed before the right company will retire.
516. If the column be marching in quick time, and the colonel should wish to cause the movement to be executed in double quick time, he will add the command: Double quick—MARCH. At the command march, all the companies will take the double quick step, and the movement will be executed as prescribed No. 503 and following.
0-517. At the command march, by the captain of the first battalion company, and briskly repeated by the chiefs of platoon, the platoon columns will face by the left flank, and each chief will place himself by the side of his guide to conduct his platoon; the first platoon column taking the guide to the right will move straightforward, and when its head has arrived near the flank of the battalion column, it will be halted until the column has passed. When the last company has passed, the platoon column will be put in march. When the first platoon column shall have arrived at a perpendicular distance of thirty-three paces from, and abreast with the marker established on the right of the line, its chief will command: By file right; halt in his own person, and let his platoon file around him parallel to the line of battle, and when the last file has passed, it will be halted and faced to the front. The second platoon will pass to the rear of the first, and when its right file shall arrive abreast with the left file of the first, it will be halted by its chief and faced to the front. The company will be dressed to the right by its captain.
0-518. The second platoon column will move to the front, and when the chief of the first platoon shall arrive abreast with the right file of the last battalion company (when on the line of battle), and thirty paces from its file closers, he will halt in his own person and let his platoon file past. This platoon column will then execute what is prescribed for the first. The company will be dressed to the left by its captain.
519. The colonel will follow up the formation, passing along the front, and being always opposite to the company about to turn: it is thus that he will be the better able to see and to correct the error that would result from a command given too soon or too late to the preceding company.
520. The lieutenant-colonel will, with the greatest care, assure the direction of the guides; to this end, the instant that the markers are established for the leading company, he will move a little beyond the point at which the left of the next company will rest, establish himself correctly on the prolongation of the two markers, and assure the guide of the second company on this direction; this guide being assured, the lieutenant-colonel will place himself farther to the rear, in order to assure, in like manner, the guide of the third company, and so on, successively, to the left of the battalion. In assuring the guides in their positions on the line of battle, he will take care to let them first place themselves, and confine himself to rectifying their positions if they do not cover accurately, and at the proper distance, the preceding guides or markers. This rule is general, for all successive formations.
521. A column, left in front, will form itself on the left into line of battle according to the same principles: the captains will go to the left of their respective companies to align them, and shift afterward to their proper flanks, as prescribed No. 474.
522. In a column left in front, the platoon columns will be governed by the same principles as are prescribed for them in a column right in front.
REMARKS ON THE FORMATION ON THE RIGHT, OR LEFT, INTO LINE OF BATTLE.
523. In order that this movement may be executed with regularity, it is necessary to establish the line of battle so that the guide of each company, after turning; may have at least ten steps to take, in order to come upon that line.
524. In the first exercises, the line of battle will be established on a direction parallel to that of the column; but, when the captains and guides shall comprehend the mechanism of the movement, the colonel will generally choose oblique directions, in order to habituate the battalion to form itself in any direction.
525. When the direction of the line of battle forms a. sensible angle with that of the march of the column, the colonel, having changed the guide as indicated No. 502, will, before it arrives opposite the right of the line, give the head of the column a new direction parallel to that line; to this end, he will indicate to the guide of the leading company a point in advance, on which this guide will immediately direct himself, and the company will conform itself to the direction of its guide, at the command, or on a mere caution, of the captain, according as the change of direction may require; each following company will make the same movement, on the same ground, as it shall successively arrive. By this means the guides of all the companies in the column will have, after turning, nearly the same number of paces to take in order to come upon the line of battle.
526. Every captain will always observe, in placing himself on that line, not to give the command dress, until after the guide of his company shall have been assured on the direction by the lieutenant-colonel. This rule is general, for all successive formations.
527. Each captain will cause his company to support arms, the instant that the captain, who follows him, shall have commanded front. This rule is general for all successive formations.
528. When, in the execution of this movement, the colonel shall wish to commence firing, he will give the order to that effect to the captain whose company is the first in line of battle; this captain will immediately place himself behind the centre of his company, and as soon as the next captain shall have commanded front, he will commence the fire by file, by the commands prescribed, school of the company. At the command fire by file, the marker at the outer file of this first company will retire, and the other will place himself against the nearest man of the next company. The captain of the latter will commence firing as soon as the captain of the third company, in line, shall have commanded front; the marker before the nearest file of the second company, in line, will now retire, and the guide before the opposite flank will place himself before the nearest file of the third company, in line, and so on, in continuation, to the last company on the left or right of the battalion, according as the formation may have commenced with the right or left in front.
529. In all the successive formations, the same principles will be observed for the execution of the fire by file. This fire will always be executed by the command of each captain of company.
3rd. Column at half distance, forward, into line of battle.
530. If it be wished to form a column by company or division at half distance, forward into line of battle, the colonel will first cause it to close in mass, and then deploy it on the leading subdivision.
4th. Column at half distance, faced to the rear, into line of battle.
531. A column being by company at half distance, right in front, and at a halt, when the colonel shall wish to form it into line faced to the rear, he and the lieutenant-colonel will conform themselves to what is prescribed Nos. 500 and 501, and the colonel will then command:
1. Into line, faced to the rear. 2. Battalion, right—FACE. 3. MARCH (or double quick—MARCH).
532. At the first command, the captain of the leading company will cause it to face to the right, and put it in march, causing it to wheel by file to the left, and direct its march toward the line of battle which it will pass in rear of the left marker; the first file having passed three paces beyond the line, the company will wheel again by file to the left, in order to place itself in rear of the two markers; being in this position, its captain will halt it, face it to the front, and align it by the right against the markers.
0-533. At the same command, the chief of the first platoon column of the companies of skirmishers will face his column to the right, and file it to the left, as prescribed in the S. C., No. 174; observing what follows, the chief of the second platoon will cause his platoon to mark time until the left of the first has arrived abreast with his right file. The company, conducted by its chief, will take position in rear of the first battalion company, as has been heretofore prescribed.
534. At the second command, all the other companies will face to the right, each captain placing himself by the side of his right guide.
0-535. At the same command, the second platoon column will face to the right, the chiefs and guides placing themselves as prescribed in the S. C., No. 174.
536. At the command march, the companies will put themselves in movement; the left guide of the second, who is nearest to the line of battle, will hasten in advance to mark that line; he will place himself on it as prescribed above for successive formations, and thus indicate to his captain the point at which he ought to pass the line of battle by three paces, in order to wheel by file to the left, and then to direct his company parallelly to that line.
537. As soon as the first file of this company shall have arrived near the left file of the preceding one already on the line of battle, its captain will command:
1. Second company. 2. HALT. 3. FRONT. 4. Right—DRESS.
538. The first command will be given when the company shall yet have four paces to take to reach the halting point.
539. At the second command, the company will halt.
540. At the third, the company will face to the front, and if there be openings between the files, the latter will promptly close to the right; the captain will immediately place himself by the side of the man on the left of the preceding company, and align himself on its front rank.
541. The fourth command will be executed as prescribed No. 513.
542. The following companies will be conducted and established on the line of battle, as just prescribed for the second, each regulating itself by the one that precedes it; the left guides will detach themselves in time to precede their respective companies on the line by twelve or fifteen paces, and each place himself so as to be opposite to one of the three left files of his company, when in line. If the movement be executed in double quick time, the moment it is commenced, all the left guides will detach themselves at the same time from the column, and will move at a run, to establish themselves on the line of battle.
0-543. At the command march, by the colonel, the second platoon column will be put in march; it will be filed to the left, and conducted by its chief to its position in rear of the last battalion company, according to means prescribed, No. 533.
544. The formation ended, the colonel will command: Guides—POSTS.
545. The colonel and lieutenant-colonel, in this formation, will each observe what is prescribed for him in that of on the right, into line of battle.
546. A column, left in front, will form itself faced to the rear into line of battle according to the same principles and by inverse means.
547. If the column be in march, and should arrive in front of the right of the line on which it is to form into battle, the colonel and lieutenant-colonel will conform to what is prescribed, Nos. 500 and 501.
548. When the head of the column shall be nearly at company distance from the two markers established on the line, the colonel will command:
1. Into line, faced to the rear. 2. Battalion, by the right flank. 3. MARCH (or double quick—MARCH).
549. At the first command, the captains will caution their companies to face by the right flank.
0-550. At the same command, the chief of each platoon column will caution it to face by the right flank.
551. At the command march, briskly repeated by the captains of companies, all the companies will face to the right; the first company will then wheel by file to the left, and be directed by its captain a little to the rear of the left marker; then pass three paces beyond the line, and wheel again by file to the left; having arrived on the line, the captain will halt the company, and align it by the right. The remaining part of the movement will be executed as heretofore explained.
0-552. At the same command, each platoon column will be faced, filed to the left, and marched into its new position as has been heretofore explained.
553. The foregoing principles are applicable to a column, left in front, and also to a column by division.
554. As the subdivisions approach the line of battle, it is necessary that their chiefs should so direct the march as to cross that line a little in rear of their respective guides, who are faced to the basis of the formation; hence each guide ought to detach himself in time to find himself correctly established on the direction before his subdivision shall come up with him.