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  WAR DEPARTMENT


  MANUAL
  FOR NONCOMMISSIONED OFFICERS AND
  PRIVATES OF
  CAVALRY
  OF THE ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES


  1917


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




  WASHINGTON
  GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
  1917




  WAR DEPARTMENT,
  Document No. 620.
  _Office of The Adjutant General._




  ADDITIONAL COPIES
  OF THIS PUBLICATION MAY BE PROCURED FROM
  THE SUPERINTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS
  GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
  WASHINGTON, D. C.
  AT
  50 CENTS PER COPY




                                                  WAR DEPARTMENT,
                                     WASHINGTON, _June 28, 1917_.

The following Manual for Noncommissioned Officers and Privates of
Cavalry is published for the information and guidance of all
concerned.

[2582824 C.--A. G. O.]

BY ORDER OF THE SECRETARY OF WAR:

                                                 TASKER H. BLISS,
                          _Major General, Acting Chief of Staff_.

OFFICIAL:

  H. P. MCCAIN,
  _The Adjutant General_.




TABLE OF CONTENTS.

                                                            Page.
  CHAPTER I. MILITARY DISCIPLINE AND COURTESY.................. 9
    Section 1. Oath of enlistment.............................. 9
    Section 2. Obedience....................................... 9
    Section 3. Loyalty........................................ 11
    Section 4. Discipline..................................... 11
    Section 5. Military courtesy.............................. 13
    Section 6. Saluting....................................... 13
    Section 7. Rules governing saluting....................... 15
    Section 8. Courtesies in conversation..................... 18


  CHAPTER II. ARMS, UNIFORMS, AND EQUIPMENT................... 20
    Section 1. The rifle...................................... 20
    Section 2. Care of the rifle.............................. 21
    Section 3. Cleaning the rifle............................. 23
    Section 4. Uniforms....................................... 27
    Section 5. The service kit................................ 30
    Section 6. The surplus kit................................ 32
    Section 7. Assembling equipment........................... 33


  CHAPTER III. RATIONS AND FORAGE............................. 36
    Section 1. The ration..................................... 36
    Section 2. Individual cooking............................. 37
    Section 3. The forage ration.............................. 41


  CHAPTER IV. PERSONAL HYGIENE AND CARE OF THE FEET........... 43


  CHAPTER V. EXTRACTS FROM CAVALRY DRILL REGULATIONS, 1916.... 50
    Section 1. Definitions.................................... 50
    Section 2. General provisions, individual instruction..... 54
    Section 3. School of the trooper, dismounted.............. 57
    Section 4. School of the trooper, mounted................ 112
    Section 5. General provisions, elementary collective
               instruction................................... 134
    Section 6. Basic principles of the drill................. 134
    Section 7. The school of the squad....................... 139
    Section 8. Tent pitching................................. 176


  CHAPTER VI. FIELD SERVICE.................................. 180
    Section 1. Principles of training........................ 180
    Section 2. Combat........................................ 181
    Section 3. Patrolling.................................... 199
    Section 4. Advance guards................................ 210
    Section 5. Rear guards................................... 212
    Section 6. Flank guards.................................. 213
    Section 7. Outposts...................................... 213
    Section 8. Rifle trenches................................ 219


  CHAPTER VII. MARCHING AND CAMPING.......................... 223
    Section 1. Breaking camp and preparation for a march..... 223
    Section 2. Marches, camps................................ 225


  CHAPTER VIII. TARGET PRACTICE.............................. 233
    Section 1. Preliminary training and marksmanship......... 233
    Section 2. Sight adjustment.............................. 233
    Section 3. Table of sight corrections.................... 235
    Section 4. Aiming........................................ 235
    Section 5. Battle sight.................................. 236
    Section 6. Trigger squeeze............................... 237
    Section 7. Firing positions.............................. 238
    Section 8. Calling the shot.............................. 240
    Section 9. Coordination.................................. 241
    Section 10. Advice to riflemen........................... 241
    Section 11. The course in small-arms firing.............. 243
    Section 12. Targets...................................... 244
    Section 13. Pistol and revolver practice................. 245


  CHAPTER IX. EXTRACTS FROM MANUAL OF INTERIOR GUARD
              DUTY, 1914..................................... 254
    Section 1. Introduction.................................. 254
    Section 2. Classification of interior guards............. 255
    Section 3. Details and rosters........................... 255
    Section 4. Commander of the guard........................ 258
    Section 5. Sergeant of the guard......................... 263
    Section 6. Corporal of the guard......................... 266
    Section 7. Musicians of the guard........................ 271
    Section 8. Orderlies and color sentinels................. 271
    Section 9. Privates of the guard......................... 273
    Section 10. Orders for sentinels......................... 273
    Section 11. Countersigns and paroles..................... 282
    Section 12. Guard patrols................................ 283
    Section 13. Watchmen..................................... 283
    Section 14. Compliments from guards...................... 284
    Section 15. Prisoners.................................... 286
    Section 16. Guarding prisoners........................... 289
    Section 17. Stable guards................................ 292
    Section 18. Flags........................................ 296
    Section 19. Reveille and retreat gun..................... 298
    Section 20. Guard mounting............................... 298
    Section 21. Relieving the old guard...................... 306


  CHAPTER X. MAP READING AND SKETCHING....................... 309
    Section 1. Military map reading.......................... 309
    Section 2. Sketching..................................... 322


  CHAPTER XI. MESSAGE BLANKS................................. 325


  CHAPTER XII. SIGNALS AND CODES............................. 326


  CHAPTER XIII. FIRST-AID RULES.............................. 338


  CHAPTER XIV. LAWS AND REGULATIONS.......................... 350
    Section 1. General provisions............................ 350
    Section 2. The Army of the United States................. 351
    Section 3. Rank and precedence of officers and
               noncommissioned officers...................... 351
    Section 4. Insignia of officers and noncommissioned
               officers...................................... 353
    Section 5. Extracts from the Articles of War............. 353


  CHAPTER XV. ENGLISH-FRENCH VOCABULARY...................... 371


  APPENDIX. FORM FOR LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT................. 389




MANUAL

FOR

NONCOMMISSIONED OFFICERS AND PRIVATES Of CAVALRY

OF THE

ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES.




CHAPTER I.

MILITARY DISCIPLINE AND COURTESY.


=Section 1. Oath of enlistment.=

Every soldier on enlisting in the Army takes upon himself the
following obligation:

"I, ----, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will bear true faith
and allegiance to the United States of America; that I will serve them
honestly and faithfully against all-their enemies whomsoever; and that
I will obey the orders of the President of the United States, and the
orders of the officers appointed over me according to the Rules and
Articles of War." (109th Article of War.)


=Section 2. Obedience.=

The very first paragraph in the Army Regulations reads:

"All persons in the military service are required to =obey strictly=
and to =execute promptly= the lawful orders of their superiors."

Obedience is the first and last duty of a soldier. It is the
foundation upon which all military efficiency is built. Without it an
army becomes a mob, while with it a mob ceases to be a mob and becomes
possessed of much of the power of an organized force. It is a quality
that is demanded of every person in the Army from the highest to the
lowest. Each enlisted man binds himself, by his enlistment oath, to
obedience. Each officer, in accepting his commission, must take upon
himself the same solemn obligation.

Obey strictly and execute promptly the lawful orders of your
superiors. It is enough to know that the person giving the order,
whether he be an officer, a noncommissioned officer, or a private
acting as such, is your lawful superior. You may not like him, you may
not respect him, but you must respect his position and authority, and
reflect honor and credit upon yourself and your profession by yielding
to all superiors that complete and unhesitating obedience which is the
pleasure as well as the duty of every true soldier.

Orders must be strictly carried out. It is not sufficient to comply
with only that part which suits you or which involves no work or
danger or hardship. Nor is it proper or permissible, when you are
ordered to do a thing in a certain way or to accomplish a work in a
definitely prescribed manner, for you to obtain the same results by
other methods.

Obedience must be =prompt and unquestioning=. When any soldier (and
this word includes officers as well as enlisted men) receives an
order, it is not for him to consider whether the order is a good one
or not, whether it would have been better had such an order never been
given, or whether the duty might be better performed by some one else,
or at some other time, or in some other manner. His duty is, first, to
understand just what the order requires, and, second, to proceed at
once to carry out the order to the best of his ability.

"Officers and men of all ranks and grades are given a certain
independence in the execution of the tasks to which they are assigned
and are expected to show initiative in meeting the different
situations as they arise. Every individual, from the highest commander
to the lowest private, must always remember that inaction and neglect
of opportunities will warrant more severe censure than an error in the
choice of the means." (_Preface, Field Service Regulations._).


=Section 3. Loyalty.=

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


=Section 4. Discipline.=

"1. All persons in the military service are required to obey strictly
and to execute promptly the lawful orders of their superiors.

"2. Military authority will be exercised with firmness, kindness, and
justice. Punishments must conform to law and follow offenses as
promptly as circumstances will permit.

"3. Superiors are forbidden to injure those under their authority by
tyrannical or capricious conduct or by abusive language. While
maintaining discipline and the thorough and prompt performance of
military duty, all officers, in dealing with enlisted men, will bear
in mind the absolute necessity of so treating them as to preserve
their self-respect. Officers will keep in as close touch as possible
with the men under their command and will strive to build up such
relations of confidence and sympathy as will insure the free approach
of their men to them for counsel and assistance. This relationship may
be gained and maintained without relaxation of the bonds of discipline
and with great benefit to the service as a whole.

"Courtesy among military men is indispensable to discipline; respect
to superiors will not be confined to obedience on duty, but will be
extended on all occasions.

"5. Deliberations or discussions among military men, conveying praise
or censure, or any mark of approbation, toward others in the military
service, and all publications relating to private or personal
transactions between officers are prohibited. Efforts to influence
legislation affecting the Army or to procure personal favor or
consideration should never be made except through regular military
channels; the adoption of any other method by any officer or enlisted
man will be noted in the military record of those concerned." (_Army
Regulations._)

"The discipline which makes the soldier of a free country reliable in
battle is not to be gained by harsh or tyrannical treatment. On the
contrary, such treatment is far more likely to destroy than to make an
army. It is possible to impart instruction and give commands in such
manner and in such tone of voice as to inspire in the soldier no
feeling but an intense desire to obey, while the opposite manner and
tone of voice can not fail to excite strong resentment and a desire to
disobey. The one mode or the other of dealing with subordinates
springs from a corresponding spirit in the breast of the commander. He
who feels the respect which is due to others can not fail to inspire
in them regard for himself, while he who feels, and hence manifests,
disrespect toward others, especially his inferiors, can not fail to
inspire hatred against himself." (_Address of Maj. Gen. John M.
Schofield to the United States Corps of Cadets, Aug. 11, 1879._)

When, by long-continued drill and subordination, you have learned your
duties, and obedience becomes second nature, you have acquired
discipline. It can not be acquired in a day nor a month. It is a
growth. It is the habit of obedience. To teach this habit of obedience
is the main object of the close-order drill, and, if good results are
to be expected, the greatest attention must be paid to even the
smallest details. The troop, platoon, or squad must be formed promptly
at the prescribed time--not a minute or even a second late. All must
wear the exact uniform prescribed and in the exact manner prescribed.
When at attention there must be no gazing about, no raising of hands,
no chewing or spitting in ranks. The manual of the rifle, the pistol,
the saber, and all movements must be executed absolutely as
prescribed. A drill of this kind teaches discipline. A careless,
sloppy drill breeds disobedience and insubordination. In other words,
discipline simply means efficiency.


=Section 5. Military courtesy.=

In all walks of life men who are gentlemanly and of good breeding are
always respectful and courteous to those about them. It helps to make
life move along more smoothly. In civil life this courtesy is shown by
the custom of tipping the hat to ladies, shaking hands with friends,
and greeting persons with a nod or a friendly "Good morning," etc.

In the Army courtesy is just as necessary, and for the same reasons.
It helps to keep the great machine moving without friction.

"Courtesy among military men is indispensable to discipline; respect
to superiors will not be confined to obedience on duty, but will be
extended on all occasions." (_Par. 4, Army Regulations, 1913._)

One method of extending this courtesy is by saluting. When in ranks
the question of what a private should do is simple--he obeys any
command that is given. It is when out of ranks that a private must
know how and when to salute.


=Section 6. Saluting.=

In the old days the free men of Europe were all allowed to carry
weapons, and when they met each would hold up his right hand to show
that he had no weapon in it and that they met as friends. Slaves or
serfs, however, were not allowed to carry weapons, and slunk past the
free men without making any sign. In this way the salute came to be
the symbol or sign by which soldiers (free men) might recognize each
other. The lower classes began to imitate the soldiers in this
respect, although in a clumsy, apologetic way, and thence crept into
civil life the custom of raising the hand or nodding as one passed an
acquaintance. The soldiers, however, kept their individual salute, and
purposely made it intricate and difficult to learn in order that it
could be acquired only by the constant training all real soldiers
received. To this day armies have preserved their salute, and when
correctly done it is at once recognized and never mistaken for that of
the civilian. All soldiers should be careful to execute the salute
exactly as prescribed. The civilian or the imitation soldier who tries
to imitate the military salute, invariably makes some mistake which
shows that he is not a real soldier; he gives it in an apologetic
manner, he fails to stand or march at attention, his coat is
unbuttoned or hat on awry, or he fails to look the person saluted in
the eye. There is a wide difference in the method of rendering and
meaning between the civilian salute as used by friends in passing, or
by servants to their employers, and the MILITARY SALUTE, the symbol
and sign of the military profession.

=To salute with the hand=, first assume the position of a soldier or
march at attention. Look the officer you are to salute straight in the
eye. Then, when the proper distance separates you, raise the right
hand smartly till the tip of the forefinger touches the lower part of
the headdress or forehead above the right eye, thumb and fingers
extended and joined, palm to the left, forearm inclined at about 45 deg.,
hand and