Using the Bayonet

The Toronto World, 2 May 1915

Of all the weapons employed in modern warfare, the most useful is undoubtedly the bayonet. The rifle may be more effective at 100 yards; the heavy artillery more adaptable for knocking down a Dardenelle the Maxim gun for shooting small game for the pot. But, for general utility, give my kind regards to the bayonet, says Ashley Stern in London Opinion.

In order to fully appreciate its manifold beauties, the best plan is to procure one and gaze long and earnestly at it. This may be done in two ways: by enlisting, and thus obtaining the loan of one for the period of the war or three years; or by asking the sentry outside Buckingham Palace to lend you his rifle.

For argument's sake, I will assume that you have failed to pass the censor for the army, and have had perforce to adopt the second method. A close examination of the rifle will now reveal to you that at the end of the barrel there is affixed a long spike made of steel. In this spike there is a groove, and if you run your finger—any finger will do—along this groove in an upward direction you will come to the end of it. This end is called the point, and is very sharp. It will go through anything. I once saw one that had gone through the entire South African war. The point broadens downwards into edges, which are also very sharp, and will cut through a slab of unadulterated margarine as if it were so much fresh butter as per contract. This, then, is the bayonet.

Contrary to what you may expect it is not fired from the rifle. Neither is it hurled through the air like a javelin, nor yet detached and used as a dagger. When required for action it remains indelibly fixed to the end of the barrel, and is manipulated by grasping the rifle in both hands and jabbing the sharp point into whatever it may be into which you desire to jab it. I am told by those who have experienced a bayonet jab that it is exceedingly uncomfortable; and one doughty warrior of my acquaintance, who is at present engaged in growing a moustache—if not exactly for England and home, at any rate for beauty—and whose fatter calf was punctured at bayonet practice by the energetic gentleman immediately behind him, has informed me that on future occasions, unless he be permitted to rehearse alone in the centre of the parade ground, he will pay an extra half-crown and have gas.

So much for the bayonet from the offensive point of view. As such you will probably have observed that its scope is somewhat limited. In short, it can merely be jabbed in and pulled out. But it is an article of general utility, rather than as a weapon, that its remarkable versatility is displayed. It makes, for example, an excellent toasting fork. Practically any sort of provender may be thus treated at the bayonet's point. A notable exception is the domestically constructed crumpet of the kind that Cousin Connie's constantly cooking for corporals. More bayonets have been blunted by attempts to impale these delicacies than by any other means, and there is a large staff at Woolwich Arsenal ceaselessly employed with their noses to the grindstone in repointing them.

As a tin-opener the value if the bayonet would be hard to over-estimate. Anybody who has had experience of the elusive and untrustworthy habits of tin-openers can testify to their inability to cope with anything made of more robust material than cigaret-paper. This has long been a national disgrace; but the war office, I am happy to say, has now recognized the inefficiency of the ordinary implement, and had approved the appointment of the bayonet to the honorary post of official tin-opener to the army. Thus there is no longer any fear that when Sister Sarah's sending sardines off to sergeants there will be any reluctance on the part of the tin to disgorge its oleaginous contents.

Then, too, as a pencil sharpener, a letter-opener, a hat-peg, a croquet-stick, a meat-skewer, and (when heated to red-heat) a salamander, the bayonet has been known to do yeoman service. A couple of them affixed to the heels of a cavalryman's boots will even—at a pinch—make very effective emergency spurs. But probably the most unique office ever filled by a bayonet is that shown in the following incident.

When the Honorary Infantry Company (known as the H.I.C., and not to be confused with the H.O.C. or H.A.C.) acted as a guard of honor on the occasion of the unveiling of a new section of the Tube, a strong wind was blowing, causing one unfortunate man's busby (which only fitted his head at rare intervals) to assume and angle of 45 degrees to the horizon. Twice had the officer in command threatened to mention his in dispatches for slovenliness of headgear, and a third caution he knew would means his being led out in front of the ranks, deprived of his watch and chain and loose cash, and riddled with blank cartridges as per King's Regulations, Vol. 3, Act 2, Scene 4. However, when the officer had gone to lunch, the owner of the recalcitrant busby was seized with a bright idea. Snatching his bayonet from its socket, he thrust it through his busby in such a manner as to gather up with it a quantity of his hair, which fortunately chanced to be standing on end through fright. The result was that his busby remained for the whole of the performance in a state of stable equilibrium, and although this is the only recorded instance of the use of the bayonet as a hatpin, the incident serves, I think, to show that its uses are not yet exhausted. Indeed, I quite expect to hear before very long that some ingenious soldier at the front has split the point of his and converted it, with the aid of a set of bagpipes, into a fountain pen.

Posted by regimentalrogue at 12:01 AM EDT

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Feeding Uncle Sam's Big Army

Hot Meals at All Hours

Illustrated Sunday Magazine, The Gazette Times, Pittsburgh, 23 June 1907
By: Brig.-Genl. Henry G. Sharpe, Commissary General, U.S.A.

The Commissary Department of the Army of the United States has been brought to perfection and the American soldier is better fed than the man who bears arms under any other flag on earth.

Veterans of the Civil War will recall the doggerel in which the fare of the boys who wore blue was designated. It was:

The men who followed the stars and bars were not so fortunate as to have a regular diet of even beans. The frequently subsisted for weeks at a time on a few pounds of parched corn, and they fought well under that diet, too. But for years now the best thought of the commissaries of the army has been devoted to the improvement of the food conditions and Brigadier-General Henry G. Sharpe, Commissary-General of the Army, has prepared the following article for the Illustrated Sunday magazine on the food of the Army, in which he gives some interesting data concerning the method of feeding Uncle Sam's defenders,

While in garrison the enlisted man in the United States Army is entitled to draw each day twenty ounces of fresh beef or mutton, or twelve ounces of bacon. Should it be found impracticable to obtain fresh meat he has in lieu thereof sixteen ounces of canned meat, or canned fish, fourteen ounces of dried fish, or sixteen ounces of pickled fish. He may, on occasion, draw from the commissary and can of beef and vegetable stew containing twenty-eight and one-half ounces. He is entitled each day to eighteen ounces of flour or its equivalent in bread, or in lieu thereof twenty ounces of corn meal.

Of vegetable components he has his choice of beans, peas, rice and hominy and a pound of potatoes, onions or canned tomatoes. In addition thereto he is supplied each day with about an ounce and a half of prunes, evaporated apples or peaches. An ounce and a third of roasted coffee or a third of an ounce of tea is given to each man we well as a little more than three ounces of sugar, and a sufficient quantity of vinegar, pepper and salt.

This is the ordinary garrison ration. When located at army posts convenient to city markets the mess may exchange any portion of its rations for fresh vegetables, fruits or other delicacies which strike the fancy.

The field ration differs in its essential particulars only slightly from that issued in garrison. Jam takes the place of dried fruits and with each portion of flour is supplied baking powder or yeast.

It has been the aim of the Department for some time past to improve the method of feeding the troops in the field. With this end in view a school of cookery has been established at Fort Riley, Kansas, with branches at the Presidio in California and at the Washington Barracks, District of Columbia. The men at these schools are instructed in the art of baking bread of various kinds and in general plain cookery, the idea being to establish a corps of army cooks who can take the ordinary rations and prepare them in such a manner as to tempt the appetite of the enlisted men. The result of this training is that the army cooks today are able to prepare meals out of the supplies furnished to each mess which would do credit to an ordinary hotel. The receipts used in these cooking schools embrace a dozen different soups, five or six methods of preparing fish and oysters, ten or twelve sauces and gravies, besides fifty or more ways of serving the various meals and vegetables which are furnished as regular rations, to say nothing of the numerous methods of making different kinds of breads, cakes, muffins, puddings and pies. In short the men of the army today, when in garrison, are better served than the men in civil life in like conditions.

The army cooking schools will result in the ultimate establishment of a corps of cooks and bakers capable of preparing appetizing meals at all times for the troops of the Unites States and will assure to them better and more varied food than the soldiers of any other country can hope to have. Still we are up to the present time behind the European armies in the matter of movable ovens. At the outbreak of the Spanish War such contrivances were practically unknown to the Army. Out soldiers were compelled to depend largely upon hard tack for their bread, although the German and French armies had adopted the movable oven long before that time. And even now we have few of these very necessary adjuncts to the Commissary Department although it is likely that under new regulations, recently adopted, these will soon be supplied.

One of the longest steps forward in the way of providing for the men of the army on the march is now being perfected by this department. That is the construction of what is generally known as "the fireless cooker," a modification of the Norwegian hay-oven. For two or three years past we have been experimenting with a view to the adoption of the best possible method for supplying hot meals to the troops in the field in the quickest possible time. The fireless cooker, or hay-oven, is no new thing. It has been used in Europe for a great many years. The main idea is to partially cook a meal and then to place the food in a receptacle that will retain the heat, with as little loss as possible, and to permit the retained heat to finish the coking operations. Everybody knows that water boils at two hundred and twelve degree Fahrenheit, but very few people realize that water never gets any hotter than that and few even seem to know that it is unnecessary to bring food up to even the degree of temperature required to boil water provided the heat can be retained, to insure perfect cooking.

Experiments have shown that partially cooked food can be thoroughly cooked if kept at a temperature anywhere above 170 for a certain period of time and that is what is being done with the fireless cooker, which we hope to be able to perfect so as to make it available for the army.

There are in the market today a great many such appliances, ranging from wooden boxes, packed with asbestos of mineral wool, up to elaborate metallic contrivances, several inches thick in the rim packed with some sort of non-conductor of heat, such as wood fibre or asbestos. What the army wants is a contrivance of this character in which partially cooked foods may be placed which will retain heat for many hours and to this end our experiments are being made with a fair degree of success thus far. Not long ago a squad of men started on a march from Fort Riley, Kansas, followed by a wagon containing a partially cooked meal; sufficient for the entire squad. After a march of six hours the fireless cooker in which this meal was contained was opened and it was found that the meat, vegetables, and macaroni, contained therein was perfectly prepared and ready for dinner.

The theory is a simple on. It is that heat retained by a non-conductor and prevented from escaping will complete the operation of cooking food. The hay-box of Norway has been used for a generation or more and we want to adopt the idea into the army of the United States; when this is done a squad of troops started out on a day's march can be followed by supply wagons with fireless cookers, they have been packed when camp is broken in the morning, and will have a nutritious hot meal ready to serve to them immediately when camp is made again at night.

Heretofore it has been found necessary in order to give our soldiers hot food on a march to carry a supply of fuel from camp to camp. And even then a great deal of time is consumed in building the fires and in cooking the meals. It will be readily understood that any method which promises the elimination of the necessity of hauling large quantities of fuel and at the same time eliminate the loss of time will be of enormous advantage and that the result will be highly appreciated by the men to be fed.

Manufacturers have in many instances prepared devices which are entirely satisfactory in a small way and which appear to be excellent for domestic purposes but up to the present time none of them has designed a "fireless cooker" satisfactory for the needs of such a number of men as the Subsistence Department must provide for. We are looking for lightness in weight, combined with an absolute stability in construction. We want a cooker that will stand long travel over all sorts of roads and assure the perfection of the contents at the end of the journey. Each receptacle containing foods must be absolutely air tight, easily cleansed and readily adjusted. We have secured, through our own officers, several devices which seem to fill the bill and I am confident that before long it will be possible to start out a regiment of soldiers from camp in the morning with a wagon containing fireless cookers supplied with a full ration of partially cooked food which will be fit to serve in the form of a palatable well cooked meal by the time camp is reached at the end of the day.

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Control of Militia Arms

The following General Orders regarding the use, control, and storage of Militia arms were published in the Canada Gazette.

Headquarters
Toronto, 8th June, 1858

Militia General Orders

No. 1

His Excellency the Right Honorable the Governor General and Commander in Chief directs that no Corps of Volunteer Militia of the Active Force of the province, shall appear Armed or Accoutred, except when at Drill, at Target Practice, or required to act in aid of the Civil Power under due authority, unless permission for such Corps to appear under Arms has previously been applied for and granted by His Excellency's Orders.

Headquarters
Toronto, 4th February, 1859

Militia General Orders
Active Force

No. 1

With reference to General Order No. 1, of the 8th June last, His Excellency the Commander in Chief directs that all the Artillery Carbines, Cavalry Swords and Pistols, Rifled and Percussion Muskets, with Bayonets and Accoutrements complete of the whole of the Active Force, when not in use under the provisions of the said General Order, shall be kept in the Government Armory at all the stations where there is one, and in private Armories at all the other posts; and His Excellency will hold commanding Officer of Corps, and all others concerned, responsible that this Order is carried into effect.

His Excellency is persuaded that the Officers of the Force will see the propriety, and indeed the necessity, of strictly carrying out these instructions.

Posted by regimentalrogue at 12:01 AM EDT

Updated: Tuesday, 10 May 2016 12:02 AM EDT

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The Old Barracks

Off Parade; newsletter of No. 1 District Depot, Wolseley Barracks, July 1946
By: Colonel Francis B. Ware, D.S.O., V.D.

For more than two decades following the Rebellion of 1837, London was garrisoned by famous British regiments, and many are the stories told of the gay life of the young city, as its charming debutantes flirted, danced and married the dashing young soldiers of the Queen.

In those far-off days of a century ago, Victoria Park, Wellington Street to waterloo and Piccadilly south to Dufferin Avenue was all Government property, reserved for barracks, ordnance and supply depots and parade grounds, while there may be some who still remember the depression where the C.P.R. station and freights sheds now stand, for there the Royal Engineers created Lake Horne, as shown on the early maps of London, where in the summertime the troops enjoyed, with their civilian friends, boating, swimming, and aquatic sports.

And then with the withdrawal of the Imperial garrisons and the gradual transfer of the army property to the Corporation of London and to individuals for park and residential purposes, the Government purchased the old Carling farm and the south-east corner of Oxford and Adelaide Streets and there, for over three-quarters of a century, the Cavalry, Artillery and Infantry regiments of the district have carried out their annual training.

The increasing interest being shown in the various volunteer units of the district, and the activity accentuated by the departure in April, 1885, of the Seventh Fusiliers to the Canadian North-West to help quell the Riel Rebellion was no doubt a contributing factor in the decision that London, the capital of the prosperous and growing counties of south-western Ontario, was the logical spot for the establishment of the new military school, to be built on Carling Heights at the north-west corner of the farm.

The first sod was turned and the great building started on the 5th May, 1886. Two million bricks were made by the old London firm of Walker, Bros., for the general contractors, Messrs. Hook & Toll and, on Dominion Day, the 1st of July, the foundations were in and all was in readiness for the ceremony of the laying of the cornerstone.

It was a gala day in London, with the camp in full operation, and over 5,000 visitors thronged the streets of the young city.

Sir Adolphe Caron, the Minister of Militia, had come from Ottawa to officially lay the stone, the distinguished visitor and the senior officers attending camp were tendered a banquet at the City Hall and, at its close, the troops which had been on the route march escorted Sir Adolphe and his party, which included Sir John Carling, Mr. A. McKenzie, M.P.P., and Mr. W.R. Meredith, M.P.P., to the decorated platform on the Heights, where Mayor Hodgins read the address of welcome.

With the stone well and truly laid, the official party and the thousands of visitors witnessed a stirring Review of the three thousand men attending camp, and then came one of those old-fashioned sham fights with the opposing forces fighting in plain view of each other.

The plans of the building proved the architect of the day to be one of vision. The frontal section, which commanded a fine view of the camp and the city to the south-west, provided quarters for the Commandant, senior and junior officers, mess and lecture rooms and offices. The east wing contained the N.C.O.'s married quarters, men's dormitories and mess rooms, band and store rooms; while the west wing had married quarters, Sergeants' mess, guard rooms and the station hospital.

In 1867, there came to Canada, as the senior Staff Officer, a brilliant young soldier who, though but 34 years of age, had already seen service in the Crimea, at the Relief of Lucknow and in China, and who, in 1870, was chosen by Ottawa to command the Red River Expedition to the then almost unknown Canadian West, where the rebel Louis Riel headed an uprising to establish a Republic of North-West Canada.

After incredible hardships and difficulties encountered in moving the Force from the head of Lake Superior to the rebel station at Fort Garry (Winnipeg) the uprising was subdued, and a garrison left to prevent further trouble.

In 1882, as a reward for his distinguished service, this young officer was promoted to the rank of General, and raised to the Peerage with the title Baron Wolseley of Cairo and Wolseley.

It was, therefore, most fitting that Ottawa should decide to call the new Military School "Wolseley Barracks," in recognition of the great service which that gallant officer had rendered to Canada during his tour of duty here.

The School was formerly opened on the 31st March, 1888, with Colonel Henry Smith, a veteran of the North-West Rebellion of 1885, as Commandant, and the barracks became headquarters of "D" Company, Royal Infantry (sic). The establishment of the School was six Officers and one hundred N.C.O.'s and men, many of whom were recruited locally; and then started the first courses of instruction.

Space will not permit me to dwell on the glories of the old barracks, which today stand strong, barely showing effects of the sixty years that have passed since the cornerstone was laid, but what a multitude of pictures pass in review before memory's eye — The Royal Canadian Regiment and the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry; the courses attended by officers and N.C.O.'s from all over Canada, many of whom distinguished themselves on the field of battle; the Permanent Force officers of other days, Smith, Dennison, Peters, Young, MacDougall, Hodgins, Shannon, MacDonnell, Carpenter, Gibsone, Uniacke, Eaton, Hill, Hemming, Balders and others; the brilliant dress uniforms of the officers, their dog-carts and horses; the band concerts on the terrace, and the drums on the Square; the stately mess dinners and receptions to Governor-generals, and other eminent Empire citizens; and through the years the thousands of men as the marched away through the arcade to fight for Queen or King and country.

But now the scene is changed: battle dress is the order of the day. No longer are the men going away to war but, instead, the Barrack Square rings to the tramp of returning heroes.

The old motto was "In time of peace, prepare for war," and so will Wolseley Barracks continue to train our young Canadian in the defence of our fair Dominion and those freedoms for which the whole Allied world has fought and must continue to guard.

Posted by regimentalrogue at 12:01 AM EDT

Updated: Monday, 9 May 2016 7:27 AM EDT

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War Establishment of an Infantry Battalion for Overseas Service, 1915-16

The Organization, Administration, and Equipment of His Majesty's Land Force in Peace and War, First Edition, by Lieut.-Colonel William R. Lang, m.s.c., General Stafff (temporary), 1916

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Regulations for the Annual Drill of 1874-75, Dominion of Canada

Pay

General Order No. 14, Canada Gazette, 6 June 1874

The following are the established rates of pay per diem for corps in Brigade Camp:—

Officers must bear in mind that in all cases of leave of absence from camp, no pay is to be drawn for the day or days any officer or man is absent on such leave.

Regimental officers who may be required to act temporarily in a higher position than their regimental rank, will only receive the pay of their actual rank.

No mounted officer will be allowed for more than one horse, actually used by him.

The pay for horses to cover any expense incurred for shoeing while at drill.

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The Militia Under Fire

The Toronto Daily Mail, 2 February 1893

As a rule the British general who settles in Ottawa as the commander of the Canadian forces opens his regime with a flattering description of his army and closes it with a deadly fire all round. It has sometimes been said that the changed attitude towards the country's defenders has resulted from a very slight circumstance. Sir Selby Smyth, for example, is reported to have lost confidence in the military because he was saluted by a subordinate with an everyday "how do?" instead of the regulation movement; and General Luard, after a quarrel about a towel, is alleged to have suffered his respect for the soldier-citizenry to diminish.

But possibly these trivial yet suggestive affairs were not the actual causes of the official outbursts. The various general may have found after a brief experience that there was a weakness in the organization and equipment of the militia that Ministerial responsibility was not sufficiently prompt to repair.

General Herbert is pursuing altogether different tactics to those adopted by his predecessors. He is commencing with an assault, in the hope, no doubt, that he will be able to terminate his command with a well-earned eulogy. The General's first report upon the militia was a severe criticism of the entire establishment. He pointed out, first, that the permanent corps were composed too largely of recruits and that the instruction these men received was too frequently wasted, seeing that they retired to make room for raw men after a very brief experience in the regular corps.

Then he turned his attention to the militia. He mentioned that the rural battalions suffered by comparison with the city corps, that their instruction was not efficient, and that the money voted for drill instruction went for other military purposes that ought to be separately provided for. The equipment moreover was inferior and the physique of the men, in some cases, "wretched."

This year's report is not less sweeping than that of last year; but it deals chiefly with the materials upon which the men have to work. Everything in use is obsolete and bad. The stores are filled with old and worn out material. The clothing is issued under an imperfect system; the leather of which the boots are made is of the consistency of paper. The rifles are useless; the ammunition manufactured at the Quebec cartridge factory is antiquated. The soldiery will not stand a twelve days' drill. The rifle ranges are, with one honorable exception, too small for practice with a modern rifle. The great guns are ancient, and the gun carriages cannot bear the strain of heavy firing. Altogether the War Department is in a very bad state, and it is a serious question with the General whether in a case of emergency we could defend ourselves.

There can be little doubt that the comments which dotted General Herbert's report of last year on the subject of the condition of various battalions were the result of the remarkably high standard he has set for the militia. He is accustomed to the discipline and the physique of the regular army, and he expects to find our battalions made up of middle-aged men exhibiting, as a result of their ten days' drill, all the military knowledge of the veteran who is answering to the word of command day in and day out for years. That the regulars should be made the standard by which to gauge a militia is unfair. But it is the more so when we come to reflect that in arduous service the volunteers who have not made so impressive a display on parade have shown themselves to be, upon the testimony of so good a judge as Lord Wolseley, excellent soldiers.

But there is a great deal to be said on General Herbert's side in relation to the equipment. Out militia is working with much of the cast-off material that was sent here after the Crimean war. That these old munitions ought to have been replaced goes without saying. But the fact is the General's predecessors have pressed upon us permanent establishments, as, for example, the Military College, which, however good in themselves, help to eat up the vote which otherwise might have been applied to the militia proper. Out of the $1,270,264 spent last year upon defence no less than $513,000 went to the permanent corps and the college. When it is remembered that of the balance only $325,000 was devoted to the drilling of the militia, and that nothing was spent upon war material, there is little room for surprise that the main body of the force is not up to the high standard of the regulars of that the equipment is getting out of date.

If the General can pursue the equipment question with the success which attended the efforts of the former Generals to supply us with a regular military establishment, he will not find it necessary at the end of his Canadian career to offer rasping criticisms touching the appearance of the rank and file at inspections.

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Sabre-Bayonet Manual

Close Fighting Guide being prepared

Boston Evening Transcript, 20 September 1905

Washington, Sept. 20.—The General Staff of the army is hard at work on the new manuals for the sabre and the bayonet for the army. Hitherto these manuals have called for much skill on the part of enlisted men, so much, indeed, that few of them can acquire the art of wielding either weapon in a satisfactory manner. It is proposed to omit from the manuals everything of a fancy fencing character, such as is taught in the private drillrooms. It is intended that there shall be a return to the simplest methods, and that everything shall be on the most practical and useful basis. Both weapons are meant for use in time of war, and especially is this so of the bayonet. The officers who have been on duty in Manchuria with the Russian and Japanese armies are furnishing special reports to the General Staff on the subject, and such experts as Captain Herman J. Koehler, the master of the sword at the Military Academy, and Civil Engineer Cunningham, of the navy, who is an expert swordsman, and who had charge of the Naval Academy fencing last year, are also giving valuable advice along the line indicated. The War Department recently adopted a new type of sabre, which will be kept with a sharpened edge and carried in a wooden scabbard. A new bayonet was adopted several weeks ago, based on the results of the observations of our military attaches with the troops in Manchuria. The sabre and bayonet are therefore of fighting value, and the manual will be of a kindred practical spirit.

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Canadian Cavalry (1916)

The Organization, Administration and Equipment of His Majesty's Land Forces in Peace and War, by Lieuet.-Colonel William R. Lang, m.s.c., 1916

Permanent Force :—

• The Royal Canadian Dragoons.
• Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians).

The headquarters of the Royal Canadian Dragoons is in Toronto, with a station also at St. Jean, P.Q., at each of which places are situated Royal Schools of Cavalry.

The headquarters of Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) is at Winnipeg, where is established a Royal School of Instruction at which officers and N.C.O.'s are trained for both Cavalry and Infantry qualifications.

Non-Permanent:

• Governor-General's Body Guard.
• 35 Other Cavalry Regiments and one independent squadron.

These are designated variously, as Dragoons, Hussars, Horse, Light Horse, and Rangers.

A Regiment is commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel with a Regimental Staff consisting of a Major (second in Command), an Adjutant, a Signalling Officer, a Medical Officer, a Quarter-Master, a Paymaster, a Veterinary Officer, and a Chaplain. It is organized in 3 squadrons, each commanded by a Major with a Captain assisting him, and is divided into 4 troops each under a Subaltern. The distribution of the Cavalry Regiments in Canada into Mounted Brigades will be found in the Militia List.

The Cavalry of Canada is armed with a sword and with a rifle. Though shock-action and the use of the arme-blanche are considered to be the metier of the cavalry soldier, they have been almost entirely used as mounted riflemen during the wars of the past 15 years.

Higher Formations.

The higher formations of mounted troops are the Cavalry Brigade and the Cavalry Division. In Canada the former are known as Mounted Brigades, each comprising:

• Headquarters.
• 3 Cavalry Regiments.
• 1 Field Battery Canadian Artillery, and Cavalry Brigade Ammunition Column (not organized).
• 1 Field Troop C.E.
• 1 Wireless Detachment C.E.
• 1 Cavalry Brigade Transport and Supply Column (A.S.C.)
• 1 Cavalry Field Ambulance (A.M.C.)

Were Cavalry Divisions to be organized they would doubtless be based on the model of the British Service which allots to such a unit:

• Headquarters.
• 4 Cavalry Brigades.
• Headquarters Cavalry Divisional Artillery.
• 2 Horse Artillery Brigades with Ammunition Columns.
• Headquarters Cavalry Divisional Engineers.
• 4 Field Troops C.E.
• 1 Signal Squadron.
• 4 Cavalry Field Ambulances.

The inclusion in the cavalry division engineers, signal units, and mobile units of on it the power of acting independently and of its subdivision into self-contained constituted.

Regiments with 2 squadrons:— 36th

Regiments with 3 squadrons:— 1st, 6th, 8th, 11th, 13th, 15th, 18th, 19th, 24th, 26th, 27th, 38th, 32nd, 34th, 35th.

Regiments with 4 squadrons:— G.G.B.G., 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 7th, 9th, 12th, 14th, 16th, 17th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 25th, 29th, 30th, 31st.

One independent squadron at Victoria, B.C.

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ARTILLERY MATERIAL. - SECTION 1.

The Gun.

Manual of Field Artillery Exercises, Canada, 1884

Designation.—Ordnance, wrought Iron rifled, M.L. 9 Pr. 8 cwt.

• Length
  • nominal - 5 feet 8.5 inches.
  • total - 6 feet.
  • of bore - 5 feet 3.5 inches.
  • of rifling - 4 feet 11.8 inches

     

• Preponderance - 7 lbs.
• Calibre - 3 inches.
• Nominal weight - 8 cwt. 1 qr. 6 lbs.
• Grooves - 3. French modified.
• Twist of rifling, uniform - 1 in 30 calibres.
• Initial Velocity - 1,381 feet.

Construction.—The 9 Pr. Muzzle-loading rifle gun consists of two pieces — one shrunk over the other; the "A tube" or "barrel," and the "breech coil."

The "A" tube," which extends the whole length of the gun is formed from a cylinder, or ingot, of cast-steel, bored and turned to the proper dimensions, after being toughened in a "bath" of oil.

The "breech coil" is of wrought iron, and is composed of two pieces welded together, the part in rear of the trunnions being manufactured from bar-iron, which is coiled round a mandrill and welded, the fibre of the iron running round in the direction of the length of the bar, whilst the part from close behind the trunnions to the front, is forged solid, this latter piece, after being rough-turned and bored, is welded to the coil.

The "breech coil" takes the form of a jacket to the barrel barrel, the two pieces having been turned and bored to the proper dimensions, the "breech coil" is expanded by heat, and then lowered over the "barrel " which is placed in a vertical position to receive it, the coil, on being allowed to cool, contracts so as to grip the barrel, the two pieces, in a measure, thus becoming one.

Sighting —The gun is sighted centrally with a tangent scale or hind sight, and a dispart or foresight.

The tangent scale consists of a rectangular steel bar, with head also of steel, the bar is graduated in degrees, each cross degree being subdivided into twenty divisions, a division being equal to three minutes of elevation. The cross head is grooved on the top, and is fitted with a gun metal leaf, which can be moved either to the right or to the left, to compensate tor accidental deflection, caused by wind, one wheel being higher than the other, etc., the front of the cross head is bevelled, and graduated right and left of the centre, in divisions reading three minutes each. The leaf is moved or clamped by means of a thumbscrew working in a slot in the back of the crosshead. The tangent scale works in a gun metal socket inserted in the breech of the gun at an angle of 1 deg. 30 mins. to the left, that being the angle which compensates for the derivation of the projectile, caused by the rifling. The cross head is fixed on the bar with a corresponding dip to the right so as to be horizontal when the scale is in use. When the tangent scale is lowered to zero its apex is flush with the upper surface of the gun this protects it from injury when not in use; when raised it is kept in position by a gun metal thumb screw.

The dispart sight is a small steel "leaf," screwed into the gun near the muzzle. The metal of the gun at this part is made the same thickness as at the breech, so as to form a dispart patch," and give a line parallel to the axis of the gun. This sight, also, is protected from injury in mounting, discounting, etc., by being fixed in a recess

Trunnions — The trunnions are 3.5 inches in length and diameter, and their axis coincident with that of the bore.

Vent — A hardened copper cone vent is screwed in so as to strike the curve at the bottom of the bore, both to ensure that the whole of the unconsumed portion of the cartridge may be blown out, and also for the purpose of firing very reduced charges. The highest initial velocity would be given by striking the cartridge at a point four-tenths of its length from the base, but the strain on the gun would be proportionately greater.

Posted by regimentalrogue at 12:01 AM EDT

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The Bayonet in Battle

The Journal of Commerce, Montreal, 30 September 1914

The bayonet is proving to be the last argument of battles in the present war. Previous to the war, military critics in various countries declared that the day of the bayonet was past, and that in future wars artillery and rifles would settle the day. It is undoubtedly true that artillery and rifles are playing a very important part in the present war. Heavy siege guns, field artillery, rapid fire guns of every description, as well as the latest and best rifles, thunder out their messages of death to the opposing force. Apparently, however, the two sides are so evenly matched in artillery that no progress can be made either way, Whatever gains have been made by the Allies have been accomplished at the point of bayonet.

The bayonet has always been a favorite with the British soldiers. The big, brawny Scots, and the other stalwarts who constitute the backbone of the British army, have always loved to fight at close quarters. Despatches from the front tell of a hundred occasions when the Germans gave way before the furious bayonet charges of the allied troops. Every soldier back from the front tells the same story of the Germans being unable to face cold steel. In addition to the terrible loss which can be inflicted by the bayonet, there is a psychological reason why me should be unable to withstand a bayonet charge. Men cannot see a bullet coming, and know nothing of it until they are hit. With bayonets it is different. Soldiers can see a long line of glistening steel, which wavers, falters, comes on faster and faster. They see the determined faces of the men behind the bayonets, can read he lust for blood in their eyes, and know that in a few minutes these visible instruments of death will be buried in their bodies. The psychological effect of a bayonet charge is enough to unnerve any but the very bravest and most fearless fighters. In every battle where the Allies have gained ground, it has been done by means of the bayonet, which forced the Germans out of their entrenched positions.

There is perhaps an added reason why the Germans fear the bayonet attacks of the Allies. Both the British and the French bayonets are longer than those in use by the Germans, and a few inches in length in a hand-to-hand fight makes all the difference between life and death. Added to this, it is undoubtedly true that the British have always excelled in bayonet work, which the scientifically trained German was taught to rely entirely upon artillery and rifle fire. As a result of the fighting in this war, and the splendid results achieved by the bayonet, it is likely to retain its place as an effective arm.

Posted by regimentalrogue at 12:01 AM EDT

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Active Militia; Cavalry (1868)

The Canadian Volunteer's Hand Book for Field Service, Major T.C. Scoble, 37th Battalion (Haldimand Rifles), C.V.M., 1868

Cavalry.—The horse moves 400 yards at a walk, in about 3.9 minutes; at a trot in about 2 minutes; at a gallop in 1.4 minutes. His stride in walking is about 0.917 yards; at a trot 1.23 yards; at a gallop 3.52 yards. He occupies in the ranks 3 feet; in file 9 feet; in marching 12 feet. The heavy dragoon horse actually carries 270 pounds; if provided with one day's rations, 296 pounds, The light cavalry horse carries from 250 to 260 pounds, rations included. A cavalry horse should weigh about 1,000 pounds; height about 15.3 hands; girth round chest 80 inches. A day's rations for a horse is 10 pounds oats, 12 pounds hay, and 8 pounds straw in stable; 8 pounds oats, 18 pounds hay, 6 pounds straw, in billets; 32 pounds hay where no oats or bran are given; 9 pounds of oats are equal to 14 pounds bran. He will drink about 7 gallons of water daily. A horse should not be watered too early in the morning in cold weather. Horses' backs should be examined closely on saddling and unsaddling the least flinching should be taken notice of, and hot fomentations applied constantly. Kicks and contusions should be treated by hot fomentations, poultices, and cold water. A dose of physic may be necessary, depending on extent of tumefaction and pain. Sprains should be fomented; a dose of physic given, and cold water bandages applied. Cough and cold: soft diet, a fever ball with a little nitre; stimulate or blister the throat, if sore. If bleeding is necessary, rub the neck on the near side close to the throat, until the vein rises; to keep it full, tie a string round the neck, just below the middle; strike the fleam into the vein smartly, with a short stick. If the blood does not flow freely, the blow being properly struck, it may be made do so by holding the head well up, and causing the horse to move its jaws. After a march, first take off the bridles, tie up horses by headstall chains; loosen girths, turn up crupper and stirrups; sponge nostrils and eyes, and rub the head with a dry wisp; pick and wash feet, and give hay; wipe bit and stirrups. After the men have had their meal, saddles are taken off and the horses cleaned, watered, fed, and bedded. Upon the vigour with which grooming is performed, greatly depends the condition of the horse, when exposed to fatigue or exposure to the weather. Hand rubbing the legs and ears, not only till they are dry, but until the blood circulates freely, should be particularly observed.

In forming for attack upon infantry, a regiment of cavalry should be divided into three bodies— distinguished as "First Line," "Support," and "Reserve" — with intervals of 400 yards between each. The "First Line" should not be more than one-third of the force. They generally advance the first 400 yards at a walk, approaching to a gentle trot the next 400 yards at a round trot and the last 200 yards at a gallop —the time consumed being about seven minutes and three seconds.

The "Support" and "Reserve" follow the advance at the same pace as the "First Line," checking the pace when the "First Line" commences to charge, but prepared to follow up the success, or protect the reforming of the First Line. The "First Line," if unsuccessful, should rally behind the "Reserve," instead of falling back on the "Support," and thus destroying the steadiness and order of its attack.

When cavalry act in support of artillery, they are formed up 400 yards in rear. When cavalry and artillery act together against infantry, the cavalry harass and manoeuvre on the flanks, in order to induce the enemy to form square, in which formation they would suffer most from artillery fire. In a cavalry attack, guns come into action on one side of the cavalry they support; in order to have a clear front, and to cover a retreat more effectually.

In advanced guards, and piquet duty, the same general rules apply to cavalry as to infantry; it being borne in mind that they can communicate more quickly than infantry, and consequently need not be so near the main body.

Posted by regimentalrogue at 12:01 AM EDT

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Motivating the Saboteur

Strategic Services Field Manual No. 3, Simple Sabotage Field Manual (provisional), Office of Strategic Services, Washington, D.C., 17 January 1944

a.     To incite the citizen to the active practice of simple sabotage and to keep him practicing that sabotage over sustained periods is a special problem.

b.     Simple sabotage is often an act which the citizen performs according to his own initiative and inclination. Acts of destruction do not bring him any personal gain and may be completely foreign to his habitually conservationist attitude toward materials and tools. Purposeful stupidity is contrary to human nature. He frequently needs pressure, stimulation or assurance, and information and suggestions regarding feasible methods of simple sabotage.

(1) Personal Motives

(a)     The ordinary citizen very probably has no immediate personal motive for committing simple sabotage. Instead, he must be made to anticipate indirect personal gain, such as might come with enemy evacuation or destruction of the ruling government group. Gains should be stated as specifically as possible for the area addressed: simple sabotage will hasten the day when Commissioner X and his deputies Y and Z will be thrown out, when particularly obnoxious decrees and restrictions will be abolished, when food will arrive, and so on. Abstract verbalizations about personal liberty, freedom of the press, and so on, wi1l not be convincing in most parts of the world. In many areas they will not even be comprehensible.

(b)     Since the effect of his own acts is limited, the saboteur may become discouraged unless he feels that he is a member of a large, though unseen, group of saboteurs operating against the enemy or the government of his own country and elsewhere. This can be conveyed indirectly: suggestions which he reads and hears can include observations that a particular technique has been successful in this or that district. Even if the technique is not applicable to his surroundings, another's success will encourage him to attempt similar acts. It also can be conveyed directly: statements' praising the effectiveness of simple sabotage can be contrived which will be published by white radio, freedom stations, and the subversive press. Estimates of the proportion of the population engaged in sabotage can be disseminated. Instances of successful sabotage already are being broadcast by white radio and freedom stations, and this should be continued and expanded where compatible with security.

(c)     More important than (a) or (b) would be to create a situation in which the citizen-saboteur acquires a sense of responsibility and begins to educate others in simple sabotage.

(2)     Encouraging Destructiveness

It should be pointed out to the saboteur where the circumstances are suitable, that he is acting in self-defense against the enemy, or retaliating against the enemy for other acts of destruction. A reasonable amount of humor In the presentation of suggestions for simple sabotage will relax tensions of fear.

(a)     The saboteur may have to reverse his thinking, and he should be told this in so many words. Where he formerly thought of keeping his tools sharp, he should now let them grow dull; surfaces that formerly were lubricated now should be sanded; normally diligent, he should now be lazy and careless; and so on, Once he is encouraged to think backwards about himself and the objects of his everyday life, the saboteur will see many opportunities in his immediate environment which cannot possibly be seen from a distance. A state of mind should be encouraged that anything can be sabotaged.

(b)     Among the potential citizen-saboteurs who are to engage in physical destruction, two extreme types may be distinguished, On the one hand, there is the man who is not technically trained and employed. This man needs specific suggestions as to what he can and should destroy as well as details regarding the tools by means or which destruction is accomplished.

(c)     At the other extreme is the man who is a technician, such as a lathe operator or an automobile mechanic. Presumably this man would be able to devise methods of simple sabotage which would be appropriate to his own facilities. However, this man needs to be stimulated to re-orient his thinking in the direction of destruction. Specific examples. Which need not be from his own field, should accomplish this.

(d)     Various media may be used to disseminate suggestions and information regarding simple sabotage. Among the media which may be used, as the immediate situation dictates, are: freedom station or radio, false or official leaflets. Broadcasts or leaflets may be directed toward specific geographic or occupational areas, or they may be general in scope. Finally, agents may be trained in the art of simple sabotage, In anticipation of a time when they may be able to communicate this information directly.

Posted by regimentalrogue at 12:01 AM EDT

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Summary Punishment (1884)

Manual of Field Artillery Exercises, Canada, 1884

A commanding officer in dealing summarily with a case may award a private soldier the following punishments, subject to the soldier's right of trial by court-martial, instead of submitting to the award:—

(a.)     Imprisonment, with or without hard labor, not exceeding seven days.

In the case of absence without leave exceeding seven days the imprisonment may be extended to the same number of days as the days of absence, not exceeding twenty-one days in the whole.

(b.)     In the case of drunkenness a fine not exceeding ten shillings, according to scale. The award, when prescribed by the scale, is compulsory.

(c.)     In the case of absence without leave, not exceeding five days, deprivation of pay for every day of absence.

Note.—If the absence exceeds five days the commanding officer will make no award, as, in such case, all ordinary pay for every day of absence is, under the provisions of the Royal warrant, forfeited without award.

(d.)     Any deduction from ordinary pay allowed by sec. 138, sub-sec. 4 or 6, Army Act, 1881, to be made by a commanding officer.

A commanding officer may also award the following minor punishments:—

(e.)     Confinement to barracks for any period not exceeding twenty-eight days, which carries with it punishment drill to the extent of fourteen days, the taking of all duties in regular turn, attending parades, and being further liable to be employed on duties of fatigue, at the discretion of the commanding officer. Every award of confinement to barracks for fourteen days, and under, is to carry with it punishment drill, which in the mounted service, is to be "kit drill" and in the infantry "marching order."

(f.)     Extra guards or piquets; but these are never to be ordered as a punishment except for minor offences or irregularities when on, or parading for, these duties.

Any of the above punishments may be awarded severally or conjointly, subject to the following provisions

1.     When imprisonment exceeding seven days is awarded for absence without leave, a minor punishment must not be given in addition to the imprisonment in respect of the offence of absence.

2.     Any award of imprisonment, up to seven days, inclusive, will be in hours; exceeding seven days in days.

3.     When an award includes imprisonment and a minor punishment, the latter will take effect at the termination of the imprisonment awarded.

4.     A single award of punishment, including imprisonment and confinement to barracks, will not exceed twenty-eight days.

5.     A soldier undergoing imprisonment or confinement to barracks may, for a fresh offence, be awarded further punishment of imprisonment, or a minor punishment, or both, to commence as above specified, provided that no soldier shall be imprisoned by summary award for more than seven consecutive days (except for absence without leave) and that the whole extent of consecutive punishment, including imprisonment and confinement to barracks, shall not exceed fifty-six days in the aggregate.

6.     Defaulters are not tmontreal_field_bty1.jpgo be required to undergo any portion of their punishment drill or confinement to barracks which may have lapsed by reason of their being in hospital or employed on dutv. Vide Q. R. sec vi., para. 42.

Attention is also directed to sec. 43 as to how punishment drill is to be carried out.

Non-commissioned officers, including acting non-commissioned officers, are not to be subjected to summary or minor punishments, but they may be reprimanded, or severely reprimanded, by the commanding officer. When an offence committed by a non-commissioned officer is of such a nature as to require admonition only, it should not be entered against him in the defaulters book. Acting and lance non- commissioned officers may be ordered by a commanding officer to revert to their permanent grade, but are not liable to a summary or minor punishment in addition.

A private soldier may be admonished, but is not to be reprimanded. Vide Q. R., sec. vi., para. 44.

The attention of commanding officers and others is also directed to paras. 45 to 69, Q. R. sec. vi. with reference to the administration of discipline, and also to the provisions of the Militia Act. sees. 75 to 90, and R. and 0. 1883, paras. 1041 to 1049.

It will be generally found that, except when corps are called out for continuous service, exceeding the ordinary period of annual drill, the provisions of the Militia Act, respecting offences and penalties will be found, in addition to such minor punishments as are above prescribed, most suitable for application in the case of ordinary offence.

Posted by regimentalrogue at 12:11 AM EDT

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London Company of Infantry

From the Orders-in-Council documents archives on line by Library and Archives Canada, we find this memorandum on the creation of new Permanent Force units of the Canadian Militia:

On a memorandum dated 28 April 1885 from the Minister of Militia and Defence, representing that the addition of the following Corps to the present Militia Force is of immediate necessity, and recommending that authority be granted for the establishment of:—

One Company of Infantry of 100 men to be stationed at London, Ontario.

Two Companies of Mounted Infantry of seventy-five men each, to be stationed at Winnipeg, Manitoba.

The Minister further recommended that authority be granted for the furnishing of the two Companies of Mounted Infantry, when organized, with 25 horses each; and that this number be increased, if required, so as to provide one horse for each man, whenever the necessity for their use shall arise.

The Committee advise that the requisite authority be granted as recommended by the Minister of Militia and Defence.

John MacDonald.

Countersigned: "Approved," Lansdowne, 4 May 1885

Posted by regimentalrogue at 12:01 AM EDT

Updated: Saturday, 16 April 2016 3:11 PM EDT

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Summary Punishment (1884)

Manual of Field Artillery Exercises, Canada, 1884

A commanding officer in dealing summarily with a case may award a private soldier the following punishments, subject to the soldier's right of trial by court-martial, instead of submitting to the award:—

(a.)     Imprisonment, with or without hard labor, not exceeding seven days.

In the case of absence without leave exceeding seven days the imprisonment may be extended to the same number of days as the days of absence, not exceeding twenty-one days in the whole.

(b.)     In the case of drunkenness a fine not exceeding ten shillings, according to scale. The award, when prescribed by the scale, is compulsory.

(c.)     In the case of absence without leave, not exceeding five days, deprivation of pay for every day of absence.

Note.—If the absence exceeds five days the commanding officer will make no award, as, in such case, all ordinary pay for every day of absence is, under the provisions of the Royal warrant, forfeited without award.

(d.)     Any deduction from ordinary pay allowed by sec. 138, sub-sec. 4 or 6, Army Act, 1881, to be made by a commanding officer.

A commanding officer may also award the following minor punishments:—

(e.)     Confinement to barracks for any period not exceeding twenty-eight days, which carries with it punishment drill to the extent of fourteen days, the taking of all duties in regular turn, attending parades, and being further liable to be employed on duties of fatigue, at the discretion of the commanding officer. Every award of confinement to barracks for fourteen days, and under, is to carry with it punishment drill, which in the mounted service, is to be "kit drill" and in the infantry "marching order."

(f.)     Extra guards or piquets; but these are never to be ordered as a punishment except for minor offences or irregularities when on, or parading for, these duties.

Any of the above punishments may be awarded severally or conjointly, subject to the following provisions

1.     When imprisonment exceeding seven days is awarded for absence without leave, a minor punishment must not be given in addition to the imprisonment in respect of the offence of absence.

2.     Any award of imprisonment, up to seven days, inclusive, will be in hours; exceeding seven days in days.

3.     When an award includes imprisonment and a minor punishment, the latter will take effect at the termination of the imprisonment awarded.

4.     A single award of punishment, including imprisonment and confinement to barracks, will not exceed twenty-eight days.

5.     A soldier undergoing imprisonment or confinement to barracks may, for a fresh offence, be awarded further punishment of imprisonment, or a minor punishment, or both, to commence as above specified, provided that no soldier shall be imprisoned by summary award for more than seven consecutive days (except for absence without leave) and that the whole extent of consecutive punishment, including imprisonment and confinement to barracks, shall not exceed fifty-six days in the aggregate.

6.     Defaulters are not tmontreal_field_bty1.jpgo be required to undergo any portion of their punishment drill or confinement to barracks which may have lapsed by reason of their being in hospital or employed on dutv. Vide Q. R. sec vi., para. 42.

Attention is also directed to sec. 43 as to how punishment drill is to be carried out.

Non-commissioned officers, including acting non-commissioned officers, are not to be subjected to summary or minor punishments, but they may be reprimanded, or severely reprimanded, by the commanding officer. When an offence committed by a non-commissioned officer is of such a nature as to require admonition only, it should not be entered against him in the defaulters book. Acting and lance non- commissioned officers may be ordered by a commanding officer to revert to their permanent grade, but are not liable to a summary or minor punishment in addition.

A private soldier may be admonished, but is not to be reprimanded. Vide Q. R., sec. vi., para. 44.

The attention of commanding officers and others is also directed to paras. 45 to 69, Q. R. sec. vi. with reference to the administration of discipline, and also to the provisions of the Militia Act. sees. 75 to 90, and R. and 0. 1883, paras. 1041 to 1049.

It will be generally found that, except when corps are called out for continuous service, exceeding the ordinary period of annual drill, the provisions of the Militia Act, respecting offences and penalties will be found, in addition to such minor punishments as are above prescribed, most suitable for application in the case of ordinary offence.

Posted by regimentalrogue at 12:01 AM EDT

Updated: Tuesday, 26 April 2016 12:02 AM EDT

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Roosevelt on Bayonets

The President's Personal Test of a Bayonet Newly Invented and Submitted for His Approval

Boston Evening Transcript, 20 April 1905

Springfield armory personnel and others will have a special interest in the following story sent from Washington to the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Since the departure of President Roosevelt for Texas a story has leaked out illustrating anew his versatility and physical energy. General Frazer of the British Army, who was a guest at the White House not so long ago, told of the incident after leaving Washington as the most remarkable thing he had so far observed in the United States. It seems that General Frazer sat in the President's office on a day when General Crozier, head of the Army Ordnance Corps, brought in his new rod bayonet to show the President.

General Crozier was responsible for the rod bayonet, which was simply a modification of the end of the new Springfield rifle's cleaning rod, about the thickness of a lead pencil, with a rounded, sharpened point. This bayonet end on the cleaning rod could be pulled out 12 or 14 inches, clamped in place, and there you were. The soldier needed no longer to carry a bayonet at his side. He could tote an intrenching spade instead.

When officers, who had been observing the war in Manchuria, returned with their reports of bayonet charges by Jap and Russian, a storm of criticism developed against the Crozier rod bayonet. Army officers wanted to retain the present substantial savage-looking knife bayonet. The manufacture of the new Springfields, all equipped with rod bayonets, was stopped while the question hung in abeyance. President Roosevelt threw the weight of his influence in the scale against the new rod bayonet. On the morning of which General Frazer told his friends General Crozier had brought one of the new Springfields, equipped with the rod bayonet, to show the President how practical a tool it was. General Crozier had a pine plank with him and he drove the rod bayonet several times through the plank with the triumphant air of a magician doing a card trick.

"There!" he said. "You see."

"I don't know whether I do or not," said the President, and took a hand himself. He drove the bayonet through the pine plank, but that did not satisfy him. He then demanded to know how the rod bayonet would stand up in a contest against a soldier equipped with the present knife bayonet. General Crozier insisted that the man armed with the knife bayonet would have no advantage.

"Let's see about that," exclaimed the Chief Executive.

He sent a messenger out for a Krag-Jorgensen rifle equipped with a knife bayonet. It came.

"Now you stand over in that corner, Crozier," directed the President. "I'm attacking you, you know."

Swinging the heavy Krag in practised hands, the president danced across to the chief of the ordnance corps, who held his rifle loosely in his hands and looked at him in a rather bewildered way. It is a rather sudden shock to find yourself involved in a bayonet fight with the Chief Executive of the Government.

"Stand up to it, Crozier!" cried the President. "On guard, man!"

General Crozier thereupon fell into position and guarded. The President made half a dozen quick passes with his rifle, then a wild whoop. There was a clatter of steel, and half of Genetral Crozier's rod bayonet fell to the floor. With an old fencing trick, the President had caught it under his bayonet's guard and over its blade. With one twist of his powerful wrists he had broken the rod bayonet in halves.

"I don't think your rod bayonet is much good, Crozier," he said with a laugh. General Crozier could not think of anything more to say just at that time. He stood, bewildered, with his rifle in his hands and looked from the jagged remains of his bayonet on the end to the half of it lying on the floor.

Pretty soon he departed.

It made a great hit with General Frazer of the British Army. "Now there is a man for you," he told his friends. "My word! Think of it! That's the kind of President to have, a man who not only understand technical military business, but who can stand up and demonstrate his views. My word! But he's a man!"

The readers have probably noticed recent despatches that told not only of the knife bayonet's retention, and the rejection of the Crozier device, but also of the decision to materially lengthen this knife bayonet so that the reach in cold steel of the American soldier may equal that of any soldier in the world.

Posted by regimentalrogue at 12:01 AM EDT

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Our Militia System (1892)

Some Comments on the General's Criticism
Increased Interest in Drill is Looked For—The Government gets a Severe rap for Allowing such Wtretched Arms and Equipment to be Used—An Expression on County Corps

The Montreal Herald, 11 April 1892

The publication of Major General Herbert's report in The Herald on Saturday caused a genuine sensation in military circles in this city, and many were the compliments paid to the herald for its enterprise in first laying this important criticism upon Canada's militia system before the public. Of course it formed almost the sole subject of conversation among our local soldiery and many and varied were the comments upon its details.

"Major General Herbert," said an officer of the highest rank, "is a born organizer. He has made the militia system of Canada the subject of most exhaustive study, and he understands it as no other General has ever done. Besides this, he has the full courage of his convictions, and is not afraid to award blame where it is deserved. It is this fact that has so astonished volunteer officers. In the past they have been so accustomed to receiving what is vulgarly termed "taffy," that the plan statements of General Herbert came upon them like a shock. Will it do our local corps good? Of course it will. The fact that the general is prepared to single out corps for praise or blame will undoubtedly arouse a spirit of emulation that must have the most beneficial results. I look for increased interest in drill, and expect a marked improvement in the coming inspections."

"As to whether any improvement in the working of the Militia Act will result from the report it is difficult to say. Political exigencies will have to be considered. Every one recognizes the fact that unless country corps are fully drilled every year it is no use drilling them at all. To allot money for the drilling of corps for twelve days every second or third year is simply throwing it away, from a military point of view, and yet, what is to be done? No doubt 10,000 men in good city corps would be more valuable to the country than our present horde of half-drilled bumpkins; but what country member would not rebel against the withdrawal of the amount of the pay from his district? No; from a political standpoint any improvement is impossible, but at the same time, the fact that the General has boldly pointed out the defects of the Act, may possibly klead to the elimination of some of its most glaring absurdities."

"Am I satisfied with the General's report?" said an officer of the Sixth Fusiliers. "Why, of course I am." He distinctly says that the Sixth are the best corps in drill and appearance of any corps in Montreal and coming from so stern and practical a soldier as General Herbert that is praise enough. I attribute his appreciation of our drill to the fact that in Lieut.-Col. Massey we have one of the fastest drills in the country. Look at him on parade, and see how he keeps the men constantly in motion! There are never any waits with him. Naturally the men become bright and alert in every movement and this was precisely the trait which so delighted General Herbert."

"The general hit upon our weak spot," said an officer of the Scots who was approached by The Herald man. "We were a trifle slow at inspection. This was due to the fact that there are in the ranks on inspection day many men who never attend any other drill. They just turn up for inspections and that is all. Naturally they are rusty, and the necessity of waiting for them, and nursing the companies in which they are, makes the more complicated movements slow. I am glad he praised the Cadets though. They thoroughly deserve it, and are a credit to the regiment."

"I think General Herbert was a little hard upon us," said an officer of the Vic's, "probably the men were a little cramped; but you remember what a fine body of men we paraded. Why in a few days our fellows would have been able to go anywhere and do anything! And yet, because we did not do as well at inspection as we did st many previous drills, the general dismisses us with the remark that our drill was indifferent! I don't think that was the verdict of the military critics at the time, if I remember right."

"The General could not go too far in his condemnation of our arms and equipment," said another officer. "Look at our rifles. The Snider at best is an obsolete weapon; but ours are not even good Sniders. In nine out of every ten the foresights are so worn down that they are practically worthless for accurate shooting, and the grooves so damaged by constant usage that a man desirous to shoot must either purchase his own Snider, as most of our good shots do, or search over a whole arm-rack before he can find a decent shooting weapon. And then look at our accoutrements! Cartouche boxes of the date of the Crimean war! Broad old-fashioned cross-belts, and antiquated ball-bags like our grandfathers carried in the Peninsula! Look at our knapsacks, with their straps still marked with the numbers of the English regiments who cast them aside fifteen years ago. We have neither valises nor water bottles and if we want a forage cap of fatigue jacket we must buy it ourselves. Do you call that equipment for a modern regiment? How do you suppose we could take the field against a well equipped opponent? The General cannot lay too much stress upon these points although few officers expect that his strictures will have any effect upon the officials at Ottawa. Not a single General has ever come here but has made the same complaints, and yet not the least step has ever been taken towards remedying the deficiencies, nor is there likely to be until the Militia Department is thoroughly overhauled and a man who has the interest of the militia at heart is placed at the head of it."

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Wound Statistics 1883

"Military Matters," The Toronto Daily Mail, 2 June 1883

One of the most valuable contributions to the progress of medical science is undoubtedly the series of volumes recording "The Medical and Surgical History of the Rebellion, Part III., volume II," which was partially compiled under the direction of the surgeon general by the late Surgeon G.A. Otis, U.S. Army, and completed by Surgeon D.L. Huntington, U.S.A., contains some very interesting statistical tables.

From this it appears that during the Crimean War out of a total of 7,660 British wounded, 2,396, or 31.2 per cent., received their wounds in the lower extremities. Among the French troops the ratio was a little higher. The percentage in the Franco-German war was 30.5, or 7,360 wounds of the lower extremities out of a total of 24,788 wounded.

The following record of wounds received in foreign battle is given: —

• July, 1830, days in Paris and Lyon, Serrier's table784 wounded, 185 wounds lower extremities; ratio, 23.5.
• Crimean war, Matthew's return, 7,660 wounded, 2,396 wound lower extremities; ratio ratio, 31.2. Chenu's return, 34,306 wounded, 11,873 wound lower extremities; ratio ratio, 34.6.
• Italian war of 1859, Chenu's return, 19,672 wounded, 7,704 wound lower extremities; ratio ratio, 39.1. Demme's estimate, 17,095 wounded, 5,248 wound lower extremities; ratio ratio, 30.6.
• Danish war of 1864 (Heine), 1,907 wounded, 553 wound lower extremities; ratio ratio, 28.9.
• Franco-German war, consolidated returns, 24,788 wounded, 7,550 wound lower extremities; ratio ratio, 30.5.

This shows a ratio of 33.4, or 35,519 wounds of the lower extremities in a total of 106,202 wounded. The conclusion is "that the relative frequency of shot wounds of the lower extremities does not exceed that of wounds of the upper limbs to the extent that might be anticipated from the greater size of the lower limbs. This is doubtless due to the fact that, in all fighting in entranched positions, the lower part of the person is partially screened from injury."

The following interesting table is given showing the frequency of sabre and bayonet wounds: —

Accompanying this table we have this comment: —

"In comparison with the large number of shot wounds, the number of sabre and bayonet wounds seems insignificant, offering a striking commentary upon the advance of modern military science, and showing that, with the general adoption of long-range repeating firearms, the sabre and bayonet are rapidly falling into disuse, and that the time is coming, if it has not already arrived, when these old and honoured weapons will become obsolete, and when such wounds from these sources will be regarded rather as incidents of battle rather than as the results of regular tactical manoeuvres."

Posted by regimentalrogue at 12:01 AM EDT

Updated: Friday, 15 April 2016 9:10 AM EDT

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Roast All Round

The Canadian Militia gets it hard in Major General Herbert's Report
Hard on Local Corps
The General's Report to Parliament Yesterday was a Sweeping Criticism of the Whole System and Does Not Reflect Any Credit on Sir Adolphe Caron's Management of the Department

The Montreal Herald, 9 April 1892
Special to The Herald

Ottawa, April 8.—General Herbert's report upon the condition of the militia, presented to Parliament to-day is of more than usual importance and is worthy of the attention of every friend of the force. To use the words of Deputy Minister Panet, "The report that the major-general has made himself conversant with the minute details, good and bad, of our present system, and the changes in certain cases which are proposed as a remedy, deserve all possible consideration."

The Deputy Minister says: "The yearly training of the whole force is of great importance, and it is to be hoped the finances of the country will soon justify an increase in our estimates for that service, so that every man in the force may be put through his annual drill."

General Herbert's Report

General Herbert condemns the administrative system of the permanent schools as in many respects defective, and marked by a want of uniformity which produces an evident evil result in the active militia. He states that he appointed a committee of officers to elaborate a uniform, practical and sound system of instruction, both in drill and administration.

While not satisfied with the condition of the permanent force, the General bore witness to the excellent work done in spite of disadvantages. The faults are ascribed to primary defects of organization. His object is to make the schools of instruction, not simply places for the acquirement of an elementary knowledge of drill, but centres of military thought where officers of militia can find encouragement and assistances in the study of military history, tactics, administration and other subjects.

The working of the militia act is condemned throughout, the general saying: "A system has grown up which is neither the volunteer nor the militia system which partakes of the faults of both, while the militia act has in many particulars become a dead letter."

Artillery the Most Efficient

The General regards the artillery as the most efficient branch of the force, the cavalry second, and the infantry lowest. He urges more practical drill for the city corps and the establishment of a volunteer reserve for each battalion, as in the event of a national emergency there exists no ready means of completing the skeleton battalions to the strength of effective tactical units. Every battalion should have issued to it the arms and accoutrements for its full war strength. The custody of arms so distributed would not entail a heavier expenditure upon the Government than does the present system, and a great source of confusion would be removed in the case of an emergency.

An Increase Not Necessary

The general is opposed to any increase in the grant for drill purposes. On this subject he says: "Under the system hitherto followed no data are available on which to base a trustworthy estimate of the cost incidental to the training of the rural militia, but it is my belief that a considerably larger force could be annually trained than has hitherto been the case, without any increase in the vote for drill and training. I am not prepared at the present to recommend any such increase of expenditure. I am satisfied that in the past, the results obtained in the militia training has not been commensurate with the expenditure and I see only in improved organization a sufficient guarantee of practical results to justify such a recommendation. I shall submit the program I have prepared for the training of the present year, providing for training of an increased quota of rural militia without an increase of the vote for that purpose.

The Equipment No Good

The whole equipment of the militia force is condemned in sweeping terms. The rifles are condemned as obsolete and useless, while the equipment is described as obsolete in pattern and suffering from age and severe usage.

"There is not," he says "a battalion that could turn out in complete marching orders in a given day, though many have at their own expense provided some of the most necessary articles. Moreover the equipment does not exist in store, which it would be necessary to issue in the event of a grave emergency. I have not inspected a single battalion in which the men's boots would have stood one month's active service, or a regiment of calvary or battery of artillery in which the saddlery and harness could be expected to bear a similar strain.

Artillery Material Defective

In the matter of artillery Material, the militia is very deficient. The eighteen field batteries are armed with guns which are still good, but there is no reserve of guns, nor is there a spare gun wheel to be had nearer than Woolwich. Of heavy guns, the Dominion does not possess a single modern specimen of the armament handed over by the Imperial Government. A large portion could not be mounted, and a part could not be fired. Those at Victoria, B.C., loaned by the Imperial Government, are not at present fit for service. There is no sufficient reserve of ammunition.

Our Defences area Dilapidated

Coming to the question of the Dominion defences, the General says: "Numerous defensive works were handed over by the Imperial Government twenty-two years ago. In many cases they have fallen into a very dilapidated condition. I have submitted proposals during the past year for the appointment of a committee of militia officers to collaborate with me in the preparation of a scheme bearing on this question. These proposals have met with the approval of the Government, and I look forward, as soon as some departmental details have been settled, to the commencement of this important work. The problem involves the consideration of the measures to be adopted, not only for the protection of a very extensive frontier, but for that also of certain points on the Pacific Coast which has recently acquired a more than ordinary importance to the Dominion. Other matters intimately connected with the questions of defence, appear to me to demand enquiry by a higher body. In the year 1862 a Royal Commission enquired into the measures to be taken for the defence of Canada. The outcome of its report presented in that year, and of certain political events occurring about that time, was the embodiment in the militia act of a form of organization based upon the requirements and resources of the North American colonies as them existing. The immense progress which has raised the Dominion of Canada to its present position, has entirely altered the social, political and strategical conditions which then existed and formed the basis of calculation.

Comments on Our Regiments

The general's comments upon Montreal's regiments are interesting. He says:

"Sixth Duke of Connaught's Hussars—The first week in camp at Farnham was wasted, the instructions not being systematized as ordered. The drill, consequently, was indifferent. General appearance of men and horses good. The regiment has some good officers and non-commissioned officers, but they would be improved by a course of systematic instruction at the Royal School Cavalry.

"First P.W. Rifles—Drill fair. The arms are in bad order. This, as well as other defects, may be attributed to the difficulties under which this battalion labored, which being now removed considerable improvement may be looked for.

"Third Victoria Rifles—Drill indifferent, probably due to the drill having been done too much in the drill shed. Arrangements should be made to continue the drill to a later date, so as to get outdoor work. Officers set a good example by being all present, and all are well instructed.

"Fifth Royal Scots—drill good but too slow, and much impaired by weakness of companies. Physical drill of the Cadets under the adjutant was first rate. Physique good and arms well kept.

"Sixth Fusiliers—Drill good. Presentation of colors, involving the practice of purely parade movements, induced excessive attention to these to the exclusion of more practical drill. Physique very good and arms well kept. Generally the best in appearance and drill of Montreal corps.

"Sixty-fifth Battalion—No pioneers nor ambulance. Nine buglers of this battalion did duty with the Sixty-fourth Battalion in camp at Laprairie without charge to the Government.

"Eighty-fifth Battalion—General appearance of this battalion very good with the exception of No. 2 company. The adjutant, Capt D'Orsonnens, is a first rate officer, but there is a want of properly qualified officers to act as instructors. Many of the men had served in the Sixty-fifth battalion, and attention is recommended to guard against evasion of the law in such cases."

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