Manual for noncommissioned officers and privates of cavalry of the Army of the United States. 1917. To be also used by engineer companies (mounted) for cavalry instruction and training

381 Pages·1917·4.14 MB·English

by  United States. War Dept

The Project Gutenberg EBook of Manual for Noncommissioned Officers and
Privates of Cavalry of the Army of the United States 1917
to be also used by Engineer Companies (Mounted) for Cavalry Instruction
and Training, by U. S. War Department
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Title: Manual for Noncommissioned Officers and Privates of Cavalry of the
Army
of the United States 1917 to be also used by Engineer Companies (Mounted) for
Cavalry Instruction and Training
Author: U. S. War Department
Release Date: February 1, 2011 [EBook #35139]
Language: English
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MANUAL FOR
NONCOMMISSIONED ***
Produced by Chris Curnow, Christine P. Travers and the
Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
WAR DEPARTMENT
MANUAL
FOR NONCOMMISSIONED OFFICERS AND
PRIVATES OF
CAVALRY
OF THE ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES

1917
TO BE ALSO USED BY ENGINEER COMPANIES
(MOUNTED) FOR CAVALRY INSTRUCTION
AND TRAINING

WASHINGTON
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
1917
War Department,
Document No. 620.
Office of The Adjutant General.
ADDITIONAL COPIES
OF THIS PUBLICATION MAY BE PROCURED FROM
THE SUPERINTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
WASHINGTON, D. C.
AT
50 CENTS PER COPY
WAR DEPARTMENT,
Washington, June 28, 1917.
The following Manual for Noncommissioned Officers and Privates of
Cavalry is published for the information and guidance of all concerned.
[2582824 C.—A. G. O.]
By order of the Secretary of War:
TASKER H. BLISS,
Major General, Acting Chief of Staff.
Official:
H. P. McCain,
The Adjutant General.
TABLE OF CONTENTS.

Page.
Chapter I. Military discipline and courtesy 9
Section 1. Oath of enlistment 9
Section 2. Obedience 9
Section 3. Loyalty 11
Section 4. Discipline 11
Section 5. Military courtesy 13
Section 6. Saluting 13
Section 7. Rules governing saluting 15
Section 8. Courtesies in conversation 18
Chapter II. Arms, uniforms, and equipment 20
Section 1. The rifle 20
Section 2. Care of the rifle 21
Section 3. Cleaning the rifle 23
Section 4. Uniforms 27
Section 5. The service kit 30
Section 6. The surplus kit 32
Section 7. Assembling equipment 33
Chapter III. Rations and forage 36
Section 1. The ration 36
Section 2. Individual cooking 37
Section 3. The forage ration 41
Chapter IV. Personal hygiene and care of the feet 43
Chapter V. Extracts from Cavalry Drill Regulations, 1916 50
Section 1. Definitions 50
Section 2. General provisions, individual instruction 54
Section 3. School of the trooper, dismounted 57
Section 4. School of the trooper, mounted 112
Section 5. General provisions, elementary collective instruction 134
Section 6. Basic principles of the drill 134
Section 7. The school of the squad 139
Section 8. Tent pitching 176
Chapter VI. Field service 180
Section 1. Principles of training 180
Section 2. Combat 181
Section 3. Patrolling 199
Section 4. Advance guards 210
Section 5. Rear guards 212
Section 6. Flank guards 213
Section 7. Outposts 213
Section 8. Rifle trenches 219
Chapter VII. Marching and camping 223
Section 1. Breaking camp and preparation for a march 223
Section 2. Marches, camps 225
Chapter VIII. Target practice 233
Section 1. Preliminary training and marksmanship 233
Section 2. Sight adjustment 233
Section 3. Table of sight corrections 235
Section 4. Aiming 235
Section 5. Battle sight 236
Section 6. Trigger squeeze 237
Section 7. Firing positions 238
Section 8. Calling the shot 240
Section 9. Coordination 241
Section 10. Advice to riflemen 241
Section 11. The course in small-arms firing 243
Section 12. Targets 244
Section 13. Pistol and revolver practice 245
Chapter IX. Extracts from Manual of Interior Guard Duty, 1914 254
Section 1. Introduction 254
Section 2. Classification of interior guards 255
Section 3. Details and rosters 255
Section 4. Commander of the guard 258
Section 5. Sergeant of the guard 263
Section 6. Corporal of the guard 266
Section 7. Musicians of the guard 271
Section 8. Orderlies and color sentinels 271
Section 9. Privates of the guard 273
Section 10. Orders for sentinels 273
Section 11. Countersigns and paroles 282
Section 12. Guard patrols 283
Section 13. Watchmen 283
Section 14. Compliments from guards 284
Section 15. Prisoners 286
Section 16. Guarding prisoners 289
Section 17. Stable guards 292
Section 18. Flags 296
Section 19. Reveille and retreat gun 298
Section 20. Guard mounting 298
Section 21. Relieving the old guard 306
Chapter X. Map reading and sketching 309
Section 1. Military map reading 309
Section 2. Sketching 322
Chapter XI. Message blanks 325
Chapter XII. Signals and codes 326
Chapter XIII. First-aid rules 338
Chapter XIV. Laws and regulations 350
Section 1. General provisions 350
Section 2. The Army of the United States 351
Section 3. Rank and precedence of officers and noncommissioned
officers 351
Section 4. Insignia of officers and noncommissioned officers 353
Section 5. Extracts from the Articles of War 353
Chapter XV. English-French vocabulary 371
Appendix. Form for last will and testament 389
MANUAL
FOR
NONCOMMISSIONED OFFICERS AND PRIVATES Of
CAVALRY
OF THE
ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES.
CHAPTER I.
MILITARY DISCIPLINE AND COURTESY.

Section 1. Oath of enlistment.

Every soldier on enlisting in the Army takes upon himself the following
obligation:
"I, ——, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will bear true faith and
allegiance to the United States of America; that I will serve them honestly and
faithfully against all-their enemies whomsoever; and that I will obey the orders
of the President of the United States, and the orders of the officers appointed
over me according to the Rules and Articles of War." (109th Article of War.)
Section 2. Obedience.

The very first paragraph in the Army Regulations reads:
"All persons in the military service are required to obey strictly and to
execute promptly the lawful orders of their superiors."
Obedience is the first and last duty of a soldier. It is the foundation upon
which all military efficiency is built. Without it an army becomes a mob, while
with it a mob ceases to be a mob and becomes possessed of much of the power
of an organized force. It is a quality that is demanded of every person in the
Army from the highest to the lowest. Each enlisted man binds himself, by his
enlistment oath, to obedience. Each officer, in accepting his commission, must
take upon himself the same solemn obligation.
Obey strictly and execute promptly the lawful orders of your superiors. It is
enough to know that the person giving the order, whether he be an officer, a
noncommissioned officer, or a private acting as such, is your lawful superior.
You may not like him, you may not respect him, but you must respect his
position and authority, and reflect honor and credit upon yourself and your
profession by yielding to all superiors that complete and unhesitating obedience
which is the pleasure as well as the duty of every true soldier.
Orders must be strictly carried out. It is not sufficient to comply with only
that part which suits you or which involves no work or danger or hardship. Nor
is it proper or permissible, when you are ordered to do a thing in a certain way or
to accomplish a work in a definitely prescribed manner, for you to obtain the
same results by other methods.
Obedience must be prompt and unquestioning. When any soldier (and this
word includes officers as well as enlisted men) receives an order, it is not for
him to consider whether the order is a good one or not, whether it would have
been better had such an order never been given, or whether the duty might be
better performed by some one else, or at some other time, or in some other
manner. His duty is, first, to understand just what the order requires, and,
second, to proceed at once to carry out the order to the best of his ability.
"Officers and men of all ranks and grades are given a certain independence
in the execution of the tasks to which they are assigned and are expected to show
initiative in meeting the different situations as they arise. Every individual, from
the highest commander to the lowest private, must always remember that
inaction and neglect of opportunities will warrant more severe censure than an
error in the choice of the means." (Preface, Field Service Regulations.).
Section 3. Loyalty.

But even with implicit obedience you may yet fail to measure up to that high
standard of duty which is at once the pride and glory of every true soldier. Not
until you carry out the desires and wishes of your superiors in a hearty, willing,
and cheerful manner are you meeting all the requirements of your profession.
For an order is but the will of your superior, however it may be expressed.
Loyalty means that you are for your organization and its officers and
noncommissioned officers—not against them; that you always extend your most
earnest and hearty support to those in authority. No soldier is a loyal soldier who
is a knocker or a grumbler or a shirker. Just one man of this class in a troop
breeds discontent and dissatisfaction among many others. You should, therefore,
not only guard against doing such things yourself but should discourage such
actions among any of your comrades.
Section 4. Discipline.

"1. All persons in the military service are required to obey strictly and to