



Produced by Robert J. Hall




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

1917

To be used by Engineer companies (dismounted) and Coast Artillery
companies for Infantry instruction and training.


WAR DEPARTMENT Document No. 574 OFFICE OF THE ADJUTANT GENERAL




                         WAR DEPARTMENT,
                         WASHINGTON, _April_14,_1917._

The following Manual for Noncommissioned Officers and Privates
of Infantry of the Army of the United States is approved and
herewith published for the information and government of all
concerned.

This manual will also be used by Engineer companies (dismounted)
and Coast Artillery companies in connection with Infantry instruction
and training prescribed by the War Department.

By ORDER OF THE SECRETARY OF WAR:

                                     H. L. SCOTT,
                          _Major_General,_Chief_of_Staff._

  OFFICIAL:
    H. P. McCAIN.
      _The_Adjutant_General._




TABLE OF CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I. MILITARY DISCIPLINE AND COURTESY
  Section 1. Oath of enlistment
  Section 2. Obedience
  Section 3. Loyalty
  Section 4. Discipline
  Section 5. Military courtesy
  Section 6. Saluting
  Section 7. Rules governing saluting
  Section 8. Courtesies in conversation
CHAPTER II. ARMS, UNIFORMS, AND EQUIPMENT
  Section 1. The rifle
  Section 2. Care of the rifle
  Section 3. Cleaning the rifle
  Section 4. Uniforms
  Section 5. The service kit
  Section 6. The surplus kit
  Section 7. Assembling Infantry equipment
CHAPTER III. RATIONS AND FORAGE
  Section 1. The ration
  Section 2. Individual cooking
  Section 3. The forage ration
CHAPTER IV. PERSONAL HYGIENE AND CARE OF THE FEET
CHAPTER V. EXTRACTS FROM INFANTRY DRILL REGULATIONS, 1911
  Section l. Definitions
  Section 2. Introduction
  Section 3. Orders, commands, and signals
  Section 4. School of the soldier
  Section 5. School of the squad
  Section 6. School of the company
  Section 7. Company inspection
  Section 8. Manual of tent pitching
  Section 9. Manual of the bayonet
CHAPTER VI. FIELD SERVICE
  Section 1. Principles of Infantry training
  Section 2. Combat
  Section 3. Patrolling
  Section 4. Advance guards
  Section 5. Rear guards
  Section 6. Flank guards
  Section 7. Outposts
  Section 8. Rifle trenches
CHAPTER VII. MARCHING AND CAMPING
  Section 1. Breaking camp and preparation for a march
  Section 2. Marching
  Section 3. Making camp
  Section 4. Camp services and duties
CHAPTER VIII. TARGET PRACTICE
  Section 1. Preliminary training in marksmanship
  Section 2. Sight adjustment
  Section 3. Table of sight corrections
  Section 4. Aiming
  Section 5. Battle sight
  Section 6. Trigger squeeze
  Section 7. Firing positions
  Section 8. Calling the shot
  Section 9. Coordination
  Section 10. Advice to riflemen
  Section 11. The course in small-arms firing
  Section 12. Targets
  Section 13. Pistol and revolver practice
CHAPTER IX. EXTRACTS PROM MANUAL OF INTERIOR GUARD DUTY
  Section 1. Introduction
  Section 2. Classification of interior guilds
  Section 3. Details and rosters
  Section 4. Commander of the guard
  Section 5. Sergeant of the guard
  Section 6. Corporal of the guard
  Section 7. Musicians of the guard
  Section 8. Orderlies and color sentinels
  Section 9. Privates of the guard
  Section 10. Orders for sentinels
  Section 11. Countersigns and paroles
  Section 12. Guard patrols
  Section 13. Watchmen
  Section 14. Compliments from guards
  Section 15. Prisoners
  Section 16. Guarding prisoners
  Section 17. Flags
  Section 18. Reveille and retreat gun
  Section 19. Guard mounting
  Section 20. Formal guard mounting for Infantry
  Section 21. Informal guard mounting for Infantry
  Section 22. Relieving the old guard
CHAPTER X. MAP READING AND SKETCHING
  Section 1. Military map reading
  Section 2. Sketching
CHAPTER XI. MESSAGE BLANKS
CHAPTER XII. SIGNALS AND CODES
CHAPTER XIII. FIRST-AID RULES
CHAPTER XIV. LAWS AND REGULATIONS
  Section 1. General provisions
  Section 2. The Army of the United States
  Section 3. Rank and precedence of officers and noncommissioned
             officers
  Section 4. Insignia of officers and noncommissioned officers
  Section 5. Extracts from the Articles of War
CHAPTER XV. ENGLISH-FRENCH VOCABULARY
APPENDIX. FORM FOR LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT




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 company
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.

"4. 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 import 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 fall 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 call not be acquired in a day or 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 company 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 arms 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 us 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
