Fun With Drill

[Andrew Keehan]

Re: Fun With Drill

face about, left wheel into line, front. that should be fun!

[Michael Comer]

Re: Fun With Drill

" You advance your men until they are in line with Craddock's, halt, do an about face and dress the line on him. "
"Do an about face and a right wheel to the perpindicular, forward march until you clear his line, right wheel, forward march to pass his line, right wheel, forward march until your right is on his left then right wheel into line "

Mr. Comer - both cases you end up inverted.

Yeah, you're right. Well, the first one is moot anyway because you can only have one unit move.

So---Backwards march until you have wheeling distance, then do a LEFT wheel to the perpendicular and carry on from there as I state above.

Hey we're not going for easiest or fastest are we? Depends on your definition of creative I guess.

[Jim Moffet]

Re: Fun With Drill

I know that Capt. Duffer didn't name this little game "Fun with BATTALION Drill," but this should fundimentally be an exercise in the School of the Battalion. Some of us consider it a reenactorism to limit our drill options to those found in the School of the Company.

And though there are some limited examples in the ORs of regiments or wings performing wheels, even in battle, it was neither the common nor recommended practice. Were Mr. Duffer's 'puzzle' posed to a near-full strength regiment - say 850 men, the left wing would be +/- 210 files: or about 141 yards wide. Only the finest drilled troops would pull that wheel off without buckling. That's why "Change Front Forward (rear) on the (X) Company" existed.

John, this is fun - bring on some more! I like puzzles!

Jim Moffet
First Minnesota Vols.

[DannyJoe]

Re: Fun With Drill

Assumptions:
1) The Left Wing and Right Wing have more than one company. For fun and simplicity, let's say two companies in each wing. The company on the right of each wing will be the 1st company. The company on the left of each wing will be the 2nd company.
2) Space is limited on the field, so wheels and columns of fours (doubling files) will not be used. The respective wings will stay in two ranks.

A Creative Solution:

Captain Duffer commands:
"Left wing, in two ranks, left face."

note: The Left wing is now facing to the East in a column of two's and the
2nd Sgts have moved up to the front rank of their companies.

Captain Duffer commands:
"2nd Company, break two files to the front."

note: The lead file of the Left Wing's 2nd Company breaks 90 degrees to the right and is now facing to the South, and the second file is at a 45 degree angle, behind the first (lead) file.

Captain Duffer commands:
"Left wing, forward, march."

note: each succeeding file does a by-file-right and follows the lead file in column. The lead file guides sufficiently to the left in order to clear the right file (the 1stSgt of the 1st Company) of the Right Wing.

note: The lead files of the Left Wing march past the rear rank of the Right Wing and when they are clear....

Captain Duffer commands:
"Left Wing, by file right, march."

note: The lead files of the Left Wing are now headed West and behind the Right Wing.

note: As the last file of the Left Wing(the 1stSgt of the 1st Company) passes the file closer on the left flank of the Right Wing, the Left Wing is now clear to move into line.

Captain Duffer now commands:
"Left Wing, Halt."
"Front."

note: The Left Wing is now facing to the North in two ranks and is clear to march into line.

Captain Duffer now commands:
"Left Wing, forward, march."

note: The Left Wing marches into line abreast of the Right Wing.

Captain Duffer commands:

"Left Wing, Halt
"Right Dress"
"Front"

note: The Left Wing is in its proper position within the battalion as ordered by Captain Craddock....I hope!

[Michael Comer]

Re: Fun With Drill

How about bringing the column head around the right rear of the first group as above and order 'by file, right into line' as each company gets to its respective place, then dress the line?

It has been interesting thinking of ways to do this and realizing how many possibilities there are.

[Jim Moffet]

Re: Fun With Drill

Scott's Tactics from earlier in the century (pre-1830) trained troops how to march by the flank 'un-doubled' - and it ain't easy! At least the troops had to train in how to do it right. The files have to march in a lock step, with only approx. 12" between each file. Only then will the commands "Halt - Front" NOT require the following files to have to dress to the right or left, and normally in a very nasty accordion fashion. Beyond that, changing direction by file REALLY takes practice, since 2 files have to perform a 'flank' at the point of pivot together, requiring the rear file to take a mondo-big step. Civil War soldiers who were trained with Hardee's or Casey's didn't learn any of these antiquated finer points. (Possibly one of the readers can post when the standard US tactics began doubling when marching by the flank.... )

To fix these problems, Civil War era manuals call for doubling when marching by the flank. The command to undouble files should only be used to pass a defile, and then immediately doubled up again.

There would always be room to face by the left flank (doubled) in the proper style - even if the 2 wing commanders were close enough to shake hands.

Breaking files to the right..... that is normally used to preserve the proper alignments of multiple companies. I'm not sure thats required here. It is a novel idea - but personally I prefer using the tools that the manuals offer "out of the book" rather than inventing new sub-commands.

Jim Moffet
First Minnesota Vols.

[john duffer]

Re: Fun With Drill

(Possibly one of the readers can post when the standard US tactics began doubling when marching by the flank.... )

I believe the 1855 Hardee's is the first US manual, it's taken from an 1845 French manual.

[Rob Murray]

Re: Fun With Drill

Start by going from line to closed column:

1] Close Column by Company - on the 4th Company - Right in Front. Wing - Right Face - March.

(place markers in front of where the 4th Company would belong, prolonging the right wing, and warn the Capt. of the 4th Co. what he was to do.)

2] Into Line, Faced to the Rear. Wing - Right Face - MARCH

Jim, You beat me to it. Dang you! Depending on the distance between batallions you would not have to "prolong" the wing. The wing commander would tell the 4th company commander where he wanted the 4th company to end up. The rest of the wing builds off of them. We used this manuver quite successfully at BGR on a number of occasions.

I see a lot of answers using school of the company. It's my contention that when you are practicing the SoB, you should use the SoB commands. I've seen a lot of battalion commanders treat their batts. like companies. Most anybody can march by the flank.

John, What was your answer?

[Michael Comer]

Re: Fun With Drill

I see a lot of answers using school of the company. It's my contention that when you are practicing the SoB, you should use the SoB commands

Excellent point. I think many of us automatically go into a company mode since that's how so much is done at events.

When batallion drill is done at events, it is usually for a very short time and not long enough for folks like me to grasp the rudiments and start putting practical application to the drill books I have studied.

Another good reason to have a drill based event.

[Jim Moffet]

Re: Fun With Drill

I know what you mean Michael. Getting 'critical mass' for battalion evolutions doesn't happen too often. At Perryville last year the leaders of the WB purposely chose to use SoB maneuvres at all possible times. We only marched by the flank two or 3 times, because the trail / path would not accomodate a column of companies. In order to have time to practice, we opted to forego the Preservation March - a choice that was both lauded and regretted at the same time. We decided that drill was more beneficial in the environment than another march - it gave us the ability to perform more interesting evolutions in the scenarios than the all-too-droll "right face - march - halt - front - burn powder" - (return to camp by inverse means and commands). In that light, when participants of the 'preservation march' raise money for that noble cause, I would hope that future events can have a 'preservation drill.' Event planners could advertise the drill: its educational value could well eclipse that of the 'shoot-'em-up.'

My company drills about once a month - and by platoon whenever there are enough men. (Regrettably, not very often.) When they attend a big event, they EXPECT battalion drill, and gauge the success of the event largely by the measure of how many authentic evolutions were attempted (hopefully successfully!) On the bus home from such events, there is almost as much chatter about the drill as what happened in the battles. Put another way - we already know the School of the Company - when we are in a battalion setting we want to do what battalions actually did.

One wonders, with gas hovering at $3.25 per gallon, if a "national level" drill-heavy event would succeed?

That's why I go to national events - to be part of a functional battalion.

OK - maybe this ought to be a different thread!

Jim Moffet
Minnesota Company (First and Second Minnesota)
Western Brigade