Prepare to fight on Foot

[wavey1us]

I am looking the various drill manuals (Cookes', Pointsett's, Maury's, Patten's, Davis, etc.) in prep for the upcoming season. Have a question concerning "fighting on foot". Understand that the number 1, 2, and 3 man goes to ground and the number 4 man takes the ponies and takes off. The 1, 2, 3 men from each section of fours are in a long line (if using the double rank formation manual, one line behind the other). Questions:
1. Once on the ground are the men re-numbered to reflect a "set of fours"? Or do they keep the same number as previous prior to dismounting?
2. How does the line advance? If you are moving via a skirmish drill then the 1's and 3's move forward, fires; then the 2's move forward.
3. How about moving from one flank to the other? A wheel movement would take sometime for al the men to come on line. Is there another command (REFUSE THE..........) to move the men faster the whatever the threat there is?

Thanks in advance.
Bill Jordan

[CJSchumacher]

Re: Prepare to fight on Foot

I am looking the various drill manuals (Cookes', Pointsett's, Maury's, Patten's, Davis, etc.) in prep for the upcoming season. Have a question concerning "fighting on foot". Understand that the number 1, 2, and 3 man goes to ground and the number 4 man takes the ponies and takes off. The 1, 2, 3 men from each section of fours are in a long line (if using the double rank formation manual, one line behind the other). Questions:
1. Once on the ground are the men re-numbered to reflect a "set of fours"? Or do they keep the same number as previous prior to dismounting?
2. How does the line advance? If you are moving via a skirmish drill then the 1's and 3's move forward, fires; then the 2's move forward.
3. How about moving from one flank to the other? A wheel movement would take sometime for al the men to come on line. Is there another command (REFUSE THE..........) to move the men faster the whatever the threat there is?

Thanks in advance.
Bill Jordan

Bill,

1. No, there is no re-numbering...mounted/dismounted makes no difference.
2. There is no re-numbering or working in "ranks." It is similar to infantry skirmish in that you simply work with your file mate. There are no commands to move by number or rank. You simply use the commands foward, halt, retreat, right wheel, left wheel, etc. The rear rank man comes to the left of his file mate in skirmish order. When skirmishing, the only commands for firing should be commence and cease firing. These commands are noted in the manuals and can also be found in the bugle call section of Poinsetts, Cooks, etc. Dismounted cav being ordered to move or fire by "ranks" or by "file numbers" is a reenactorism. Completely made up and nowhere to be found in the manuals.
3. You don't have to be in skirmish order everytime you are dismounted! Cavalry does operate in close order marching and marches in column as well as platoon/company/squadron fronts. You can change fronts by ordering a right or left about. You could even do this by fours/platoon. When moving in column and needing to front to face an enemy on either the right or left flank, you can simply order "on right into line" or "left into line", respectively.

[wavey1us]

Re: Prepare to fight on Foot

Thanks. So fighting on foot, for cavalry, is somewhat similiar to skirimish drill, for infantry, and the "comrade in battle" concept.

Bill

Bill,

1. No, there is no re-numbering...mounted/dismounted makes no difference.
2. There is no re-numbering or working in "ranks." It is similar to infantry skirmish in that you simply work with your file mate. There are no commands to move by number or rank. You simply use the commands foward, halt, retreat, right wheel, left wheel, etc. The rear rank man comes to the left of his file mate in skirmish order. When skirmishing, the only commands for firing should be commence and cease firing. These commands are noted in the manuals and can also be found in the bugle call section of Poinsetts, Cooks, etc. Dismounted cav being ordered by "ranks" or by "file numbers" is a reenactorism. Completely made up and nowhere to be found in the manuals.
3. You don't have to be in skirmish order everytime you are dismounted! Cavalry does operate in close order marching and marches in column as well as platoon/company/squadron fronts. You can change fronts by ordering a right or left about. You could even do this by fours/platoon. When moving in column and needing to front to face an enemy on either the right or left flank, you can simply order "on right into line" or "left into line", respectively.

[CJSchumacher]

Re: Prepare to fight on Foot

Thanks. So fighting on foot, for cavalry, is somewhat similiar to skirimish drill, for infantry, and the "comrade in battle" concept.

Bill

That's exactly right!!

[Tom Craig]

Re: Prepare to fight on Foot

Chris is right on! In addition there are the movement commands of "To the Right" and "To the Left" that can be used in skirmishing. I think a good analogy for cavalry skirmishing is to think of it like a swarm of bees. There is no definite shape to it and it doesn't have precision movement but it sure as heck can annoy and sting you!

Take care,
Tom Craig

[GeraldTodd]

Re: Prepare to fight on Foot

When skirmishing, the line is formed in a single rank. If firing on the advance, the file partners work together while maintaining their position on the line - generally. "Commence Firing" will be sounded, followed by "Forward." The troopers commence firing (by files) and moving forward until some other call is sounded dictating they do something else, like "Halt." They fire until "Cease Firing" NO LEAP FROG.

When retiring, then they do the alternating rank leap-frog thing.

The idea is a unified and full-forced front on the advance, but a measured and controlled retreat.

BTW: no walking backwards, not "turning the back to the enemy" reenactor nonsense - you turn about, fall back, turn about. Much less likely to break legs that way, and you're not wasting time.

Mounted skirmishing is different in that you move around in order to present a more difficult target whereas on foot - you don't have that problem to deal with. When retiring mounted, you move forward 5 paces or so to fire whereas you don't on foot. Same reasoning here.

On foot you take available cover. The line is a general, not a rigid thing. You're maybe 6 paces apart, but there a tree 1 pace to you left - get behind it!

When halted, everyone dresses the skirmish line up to the most advanced position. I think that's also when retiring - I'll have to check.

The two men of the same file work together in an effort to maintain a somewhat steady rate of fire and not have both of them unloaded at once - they support each other. You load quickly and pick your targets - your partner will have loaded by then - that's it. There's no calling out of "ready!" Again, it's not a rigid thing.

There is no such command as "Load and Hold" or it's many variants. There's "Cease Firing" where each man loads and stops shooting - period.

[RJSamp]

Re: Prepare to fight on Foot

Good stuff guys. Wavey, the key to me on this whole renumbering thing was to realize that your 1-2-3's file mate is the 1-2-3 from the 2nd Rank! I kept thinking in Infantry terms of 4 men, comrades in battle, forming a stack or stepping up on right flank. It's NOT like the infantry in the sence of their odd even file numbering. So you don't have to renumber!!!

Most skirmish work is on line, single rank. So the skirmish line looks like 1 - 1 - 2 - 2 - 3 - 3 - 1 - 1, etc.

As with infantry the skirmisher with the loaded weapon moves......but with breach loaders this is almost continuous with no stopping. And Upton's Spencer Rifled dismounts began to resemble the 'swarmiste' of the Franco Prussian War.


A quick note on 'not renumbering'. If you are dismounted and form a close order (infantry) battle line technically you have to renumber in order to march by the flank ( a column of 4's but this is not a period term). You can't execute a right turn by 4's because your number 4's are with the led horses...so you would form a column of 3's....OUCH. Remember that a right turn goes forward several paces as you wheel into column (those horsies are big even though they aren't there that's the evolution).

The way to march by the right flank without renumbering is simple: Right/Left Face turns the battle line of 2 facing right in the direction of the intended march. Forward March starts out the column of two's. Form 4's iis a little laggard (like a train pulling out of a depot), but you quickly see where your pair is suppose to go to form the fours.

Different than Infantry, but no renumbering necessary.
Right Face
Forward March
Form 4's..

RJ Samp

[Linneus Ahearn]

Re: Prepare to fight on Foot

By the book (Poinsett's Cavalry Tactics) Skirmishing...

http://9thvirginia.com/skirmishing.htm

Bugle:
For the service of skirmishers.

1. Forward.
2. Halt.
3. To the left.
4. To the right.
5. The about.
6. Rally of skirmishers on their chief.
7. Trot.
8. Gallop.
9. To commence firing.
10. To disperse.

Note. - To change to a walk from a trot, halt and forward are sounded.

There are many reenactorisms noted in cavalry skirmish. One not mentioned is when cavalry rides up to the position to be defended and then dismounts, requiring the mounts to move to the rear. There may be some cases of this happening historically but generally the idea is to keep the horses out of danger and march into firing distance dismounted. This also enables you to return to where the horses were left and not have to search all over for them. Another benefit is the horses are stationary and not moving so no circling linked horses.

The only similarity I see in cavalry skirmishing to infantry skirmishing is that you are in open intervals. It's easy to look across a field of infantry and cavalry skirmishers and note the difference.

Also, the about is always done with the weapon on the side of the enemy. So when you retire initially from the skirmish line you will do a left about while loading your piece, then when you hear the bugle (#5) you do a right about and halt.

OOPS! I forgot to mention that if you have a reserve force it moves behind the active skirmishers and really does come in handy for those flank attacks!

[GeraldTodd]

Re: Prepare to fight on Foot

I see where you're going RJ, but let's spice up the situation a little...

Mounted or otherwise, the troop/platoon/regiment whatever is recently rallied into it's ranks, so...

Maybe the 4's are off with the horses, some men are casualties or dealing with casualties, and after a rally - your little group is nothing at all like being counted off. You need to get this line into a column of fours and moved out to the right - no time to count-off, no time to dally.

Dealing with real numbers, not little reenacting groups, the problem becomes, as you appear to be pointing out, that to go right by 4s, all the 4s move at once and no one in the line knows where the breaks should be - ie instant cluster.

There's a very simple way to deal with this situation. You see, they didn't have the fear of left-in-front formations that reenactors do and since there is no parade ground counted formation to preserve anyway, you simple order "From the left, to the right, by fours, march"

As eash set of fours pulls out and marches down the face of the line, the next set of fours is revealed - no time wasted counting, instant movement, no cluster.

And thank you RJ for pointing out a prime example of a situation where left-in-front formations can truely make the difference.

He's one for you:

Your mounted column of fours is in a tunnel with only room for 4 across. A message comes up from the rear of the column - you must turn about at once, read that as NOW, and return the way you came - period.

How do you do it without wasting a moment, or even stopping the column?

(I'd attach the Jepardy theme but I couldn't find the file)

[tboyd]

Re: Prepare to fight on Foot

He's one for you:

Your mounted column of fours is in a tunnel with only room for 4 across. A message comes up from the rear of the column - you must turn about at once, read that as NOW, and return the way you came - period.

How do you do it without wasting a moment, or even stopping the column?

(I'd attach the Jepardy theme but I couldn't find the file)

By twos - MARCH followed by Left About Wheel - MARCH?

-Tom Boyd

[CJSchumacher]

Re: Prepare to fight on Foot

I'll take a stab...can you order a by fours, right or left about, wheel?? Maybe b/c of space, you would have to break into a column of twos first, then each two wheel in place...

Haven't read the manual in some time so.....I could be way off and just slammed some horses into a tunnel wall!!

[Tom Craig]

Re: Prepare to fight on Foot

Chris,
You may have slammed your horses into a tunnel wall but we might ask what in god's green earth they were doing in a tunnel in the first place? Trying to beat the bridge traffic?

On a more serious note my guess would be a right about wheel.

Take care,
Tom Craig

[CJSchumacher]

Re: Prepare to fight on Foot

Chris,
what in god's green earth they were doing in a tunnel in the first place?

On a more serious note my guess would be a right about wheel.

Take care,
Tom Craig

We agree on the "about wheel", but hey...Gerry was the one in the tunnel. Evidently, extemists aren't the only thing moving in the mountainous afgan/paki boarder region!!

[GeraldTodd]

Tunnel Vision

Listen, I can hear RJ shuffling through Cooke's! :)

That was one Elsworth sprung on me a few years back, well his wasn't in a tunnel, I added that for spice.

The first thought is by twos and wheeling, it was mine too, but the time it takes the command to get to the rear of the column you'll have a major jam-up unless you halt the column to do the wheels.

So, break by twos and continue for a space, then counter-march to the left with the column passing itself and when clear form fours. You might not do it faster than a slow trot, but you keep moving non-the-less.

[CJSchumacher]

Re: Tunnel Vision

Listen, I can hear RJ shuffling through Cooke's! :)

That was one Elsworth sprung on me a few years back, well his wasn't in a tunnel, I added that for spice.

The first thought is by twos and wheeling, it was mine too, but the time it takes the command to get to the rear of the column you'll have a major jam-up unless you halt the column to do the wheels.

So, break by twos and continue for a space, then counter-march to the left with the column passing itself and when clear form fours. You might not do it faster than a slow trot, but you keep moving non-the-less.

A countermarch is one way...but slower overall than by twos or fours, right/left about, wheel. If you are working with well-drilled troops, (which these guys were) then this shouldn't be too hard. This also assumes the entire command heard the order by voice, or bugle.

As a tactician, that is the best command to execute this manuever.