Drill Bits: Wheel versus Turn

[LibertyHallVols]

I have heard a "Turn" described as a "Fast Wheel".

Do you agree with this? How are they alike and how do they differ?

Again... Anyone can cut and paste from a manual... use your own words and break it down.

Thanks!

PS - There are a lot more intelligent folks out there than me, so feel free to jump in with your own question.

[Micah Trent]

Re: Drill Bits: Wheel versus Turn

So you are now saying we can cut and paste?:D

[lhsnj]

Re: Drill Bits: Wheel versus Turn

Wheel vs Turn

From Hardees 1855:
1. Right (or left) wheel. 2. MARCH.
395. The first command will be given when the rank is yet four paces from the wheeling point.

396. At the second command, the wheel will be executed in the same manner as from a halt, except that the touch of the elbow will remain towards the marching flank (or side of the guide) instead of the side of the actual pivot; that the pivot man, instead of merely turning in his place, will conform himself to the movement of the marching flank feel lightly the elbow of the next man, take steps of full nine inches, and thus gain ground forward in describing a small curve so as to clear the point of the wheel. The middle of the rank will bend slightly to the rear. As soon as the movement shall commence, the man who conducts the marching flank will cast his eyes on the ground over which he will have to pass.

397. The wheel being ended, the instructor will command:


1. Left (or right) turn. 2. MARCH.

401. The first command will be given when the rank is yet four paces from the turning point.

402. At the command march, to be pronounced at the instant the rank ought to turn, the guide will face to the left (or right) in marching, and move forward in the new direction without slackening or quickening the cadence, and without shortening or lengthening the step. The whole rank will promptly conform itself to the new direction ; to effect which, each man will advance the shoulder opposite, to the guide, take the double quick step, to carry himself in the new direction, turn the head and eyes to the side of the guide, and retake the touch of the elbow on that side, in placing himself on the alignment of the guide, from whom be will take-the step , and then resume the direct position of the head. Each man will. thus arrive successively on the alignment.


I understood it as a wheel is a gradual turning of the line (bold italics text above) while a turn is a very abrupt and quick change in direction. Almost like a company into line from a line rather than a column.

Since you are moving in forward in a line and want to change your front. You could do a left or right flank and then company into line.. or save yourself the one step and just turn.

[LibertyHallVols]

Re: Drill Bits: Wheel versus Turn

I understood it as a wheel is a gradual turning of the line (bold italics text above) while a turn is a very abrupt and quick change in direction. Almost like a company into line from a line rather than a column.

I think this is a very good description to conceptualize what is happening during a turn. Consider the quote from the manual, below...

402. At the command march, to be pronounced at the instant the rank ought to turn, the guide will face to the left (or right) in marching, and move forward in the new direction without slackening or quickening the cadence, and without shortening or lengthening the step. The whole rank will promptly conform itself to the new direction ; to effect which, each man will advance the shoulder opposite, to the guide, take the double quick step, to carry himself in the new direction, turn the head and eyes to the side of the guide, and retake the touch of the elbow on that side, in placing himself on the alignment of the guide, from whom be will take-the step , and then resume the direct position of the head. Each man will. thus arrive successively on the alignment.

In both the company into line and the turn, you see the verbiage about "advancing a shoulder". The net-effect of advancing the shoulder (say, advancing the left shoulder during a right turn) is that my right shoulder will be directly BEHIND the left shoulder of the man on my right, just as in a right oblique.

By maintaining this alignment as my file partners and I double-quick to face the new direction of the company, we keep the company close together.

If one were to execute the turn as a "fast wheel" (remember, in a wheel, you keep your shoulders square and do NOT advance a shoulder), it would be impossible to stay aligned with the man to your right. The company would be stretched out once everyone was facing in the new direction, resulting in a crushing "accordion effect" as everyone tried to dress quickly to the right.

If anyone has a copy of Gilham's Manual, there is a great illustration of a right turn in mid-execution in the school of the battalion... I think it is the illustration of a battalion deploying forward into line.

Thanks!

[7thNYcav]

Re: Drill Bits: Wheel versus Turn

I do cavalry but the main difference or better yet when you would use a turn vs a wheel. If you have more than 4 in the front rank you would use a wheel, anything more than 4 you can not do a proper turn. 4 and under you can make a turn. If you think doing it on the ground is fun try it on a horse.

[rebel7458]

Re: Drill Bits: Wheel versus Turn

John, you bring up a very important point about advancing the shoulder. By staying behind the shoulder of the man next to you, each man comes on line in succession and can dress much quicker. The movment coming onto line resembles more of a "whip" than a turning gate as with a wheel. Too many companies neglect the shoulder advancement and when they all arrive on line, you'll see all kinds of forward and backward motions as the left gets ahead of the right, the center, etc. This effect is amplified as the next company comes on line trying to dress to a company that's all out of sorts. One way we train during drill, especially with new people is to actually place a hand on the man's shoulder to the right and walk through it slowly until they get the "feel" of it, then gradually transition to the actual movement, then at actual speed. This seems to help the newer guys get a feel and not getting ahead of the man next to them.

[DougCooper]

Re: Drill Bits: Wheel versus Turn

Turns - fast, combat, double quick time. Wheels - slow, drill field, quick time.

[Silas]

Re: Drill Bits: Wheel versus Turn

Wheels - slow, drill field, quick time.

Not so sure about that. In every battalion command I can recall, there's a command of, "march" as well as 'double quick - march" in parentheses. I'd love to see some of the battalion movements done at double quick time. Unfortunately, it's really tough to see folks go beyond common time for wheels during battalion drill or during battle.

Some of the manoeuvers are designed to be done as turns while others as wheels.

How about marching in place at double quick time? That might seem silly, but to those at the inside of wheels for full sized companies, double time in place is about what it looks like.

[flattop32355]

Re: Drill Bits: Wheel versus Turn

Turns - fast, combat, double quick time. Wheels - slow, drill field, quick time.

Some of that concerning wheels may be due to our experience with reenactors, who rarely do wheels except during their basic training or company drills at events. We go slow because we aren't as well trained in the manoeuver as the originals.

The biggest difference to me is that the line breaks apart and re-assembles for a turn, and stays together during a wheel.

How often have we seen a 60-80 man company line do either manoeuver?

[LibertyHallVols]

Re: Drill Bits: Wheel versus Turn

In 2001 at Perryville, we did company drill with a 100-man company! It was quite an experience!

[Silas]

Re: Drill Bits: Wheel versus Turn

Joe, how big was your "company" at Mill Springs. The Medich Batt'n operated as one large company for the weekend. Y'all were certainly around that same 100 man size. I hadn't seen a group that large operating as a solitary company. It was a sight to behold. I kept trying to visualize nine more companies that size on that actual battlefield. It helped explain why there weren't too many regiments involved in the entire battle. There were still alot of folks blazing away at each other.

I second Bernie's thoughts. We're little better than prewar militia clubs that took to the fields in the morning than picnicked in the afternoon. It was more social occasion than military drill. We're not in the field for several days at a pop with doing several hours of drill per day. Being inexperienced, the general wheeling speed of reenactors is closer to common time than double time.

Compare the drill of reenactors at a multiday event. First thing on day one is usually pretty bad. By the end of day three, the level of everyone's drill has significantly improved. Even the companies at the lower end of the drill spectrum look much better. Imagine a week or a month's worth of drill. Wheeling at double quick becomes more likely. Still cracks me up thinking about the inside men practically having to double quick in place during a company wheel at a double quick step.

[Greg Renault]

Re: Drill Bits: Wheel versus Turn

The biggest difference to me is that the line breaks apart and re-assembles for a turn, and stays together during a wheel.

This is the most significant operational difference for me as well (the "how"). The important difference in tactical function (the "why") is speed. When performing wheels unit members maintain shoulder contact, but during turns the files come on line sequentially. This means that while wheels are performed by marching in an arc, turns allow for files to march diagonally to their new position--a shorter distance, and presumably faster to execute. Furthermore, wheels are more likely to be performed in quick time, while turns are required to be done in double-quick time. Turns sacrifice cohesion for speed.

Silas points out that wheels may also be conducted in double-quick time. True, but it is harder to maintain the elbow contact required at that rate of marching. The purpose of a wheel is to change the direction of a unit that is in line formation, while maintaining the line's close order; with wheels the integrity of the close-order formation is paramount. This suggests that wheels are more likely to be done at the slower rate of marching.

Secondly, even when done at double-quick time wheels take slightly longer to perform than turns. The speed at which the wheel is executed is a function of the pace of the guide on the outside as he traverses the arc of the wheel. When performing a turn, that same file traverses, not the curve of an arc, but the straight line of a chord; the shorter distance to travel means that at the same marching rate, turns are done faster than wheels.

Third, with wheels the unit maintains its cohesion throughout the move, which means that it arrives all at once at its new direction. The down side, however, is that this means that the unit is not in place until the guy on the end--who has the farthest to march—arrives. With turns, each file takes the most direct route to their new position, so that the line starts to form almost immediately. And, as we know, those files in position can commence fire if necessary, even while the rest of the unit is still coming into position--something that the wheel does not permit.

Here is a rough calculation to illustrate the second point above. Say we have a 100-man company. Allowing for 24" per man, company frontage for a two-rank line would be approximately 100'. If this formation were to wheel 90 degrees, the guide at the outside of the wheel would move through an arc of about 157' (which works out to 67 steps at a 28" step; 57 steps at a 33" step). At quick time (28" pace, 110 steps per minute, roughly 2 steps per second) this distance could be covered in 22 seconds; at double-quick time (33" pace, 165 steps per minute, roughly 3 steps per second) this distance would be covered in 19 seconds. Funny, feels like it takes longer in the field.

For the same company turning 90 degrees, the file at the outside of the line travels a chord (or hypotenuse) of approximately 141', versus 157' for a wheel. This is about 51 steps, so would be done in 17 seconds.

[flattop32355]

Re: Drill Bits: Wheel versus Turn

[QUOTE=Greg Renault;102373 At quick time (28" pace, 110 steps per minute, roughly 2 steps per second) this distance could be covered in 22 seconds; at double-quick time (33" pace, 165 steps per minute, roughly 3 steps per second) this distance would be covered in 19 seconds. Funny, feels like it takes longer in the field.

For the same company turning 90 degrees, the file at the outside of the line travels a chord (or hypotenuse) of approximately 141', versus 157' for a wheel. This is about 51 steps, so would be done in 17 seconds.[/QUOTE]

This probably assumes ideal conditions: Flat, dry, open ground, no Jonah's in the company, well drilled men, trained guides, etc. Something tells me that, in reality, it could take a bit longer. ;)

[LibertyHallVols]

Re: Drill Bits: Wheel versus Turn

Hey, folks! There seems to be some supposition going on in this thread. The point was to get folks looking at the manuals and thinking about them. It seems that a lot of what is going on is folks looking at company level maneuvers and asking "why". Only reenactors operate at the company level.

In the context of the manuals, companies need to learn to wheel and turn well so that they can contribute to the proficiency of the battalion as it practices/executes its maneuvers.

So, when would a company wheel? When the colonel issues a command that requires it. When would a company turn? Same answer.

Some examples...
Wheels are executed when the battalion in column needs to turn left or right. A brief read of the school of the battalion (just looking quickly here as I post) show wheels being used when distances between companies need to be maintain (or when wheeling into line, those distances have been maintained).

By contrast, turns appear to be executed when a company moving in one direction needs to change direction precisely at a particular point (such as performing a right turn when a given company has reached the position from which it will dress to the line while deploying a column forward).

Thanks!