The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-10-18
Marching Into Battle

Geraid Mygatt, in Leslie'S.
 The actual organization of a march is perhaps one of the most interesting things of all. A commander may have many thousand troops. say division, CT. even more, encamped over miles of country. There'll be infantry and cav airy and artillery and engineers and signal troops, all with their wagon trains for combat and supply. The com mander decides to advance on the mor- row to certain elace. Perhaps there are two roads that lead there. Now the commander becomes a gloriied train dis patcher. He has to prepare complete schedule (called the march order) cover ing every unit of troops in his jurisdic- ton. He has to tell each body exactly when and where to take the road, send ing each to the most convenient point He has to see that every unit dovetails perfectly into the other unit. He has to start them to the minute. in order let us, say, that the Ninety-eghth infanry may get to Jone's crossroads just in time to fall In behind the Forty-third infantry and to have its last company out of the way and on the road before the head of the Seventy sixth artillery comes up. It is a task that requires precision, quick thinking and far-sightedness. There must be no tanning no hurrying up (because that tires the men), no de- lays (because that irritates them) and no confusion.
 x And not only that. but he must tell every organization just how far it is go- ing, just when 1t is expected to arrive, and just what it is expected to do when It does arrive, as far as he can foresee. The head of the column regulates the march; every unit, every man in the rear takes the gait from the leaders; and the commander must tell the leading unit exactly how fast he wants it to go In cool weather and over good roads the rate of march may be increased; in hot weather and with poor roads in prospect the commander may order a very slow march. with halts, perhaps, every half hour, instead of every hour.
 At o'clock in the morning, we'll say, the whole column will be on the road Cor on two parallel roads, if they exist) and moving. Each commander all the way down the line Is told that at 7:45 sharp, he will halt for 15 minutes. All watches have been syncronized. At 7:45. therefore. on the dot, the whole column stops and rests. There is no 1amming ID. no confusion No matter if the column is 20 miles long, it stops as if 1t were a train of cars, all at once. At 7:59 all .ha men and animals are back in their command Forward. march." is given by every captain in the whole line. At $50 the column halts again. And so it goes.
 It all comes down to the individual. One man can disorganize squad; one squad can disorganize company. 1t may be case of elongation. It may ue a case of holding the pace, of marching too fast or too slowly, of crowding up or dragging back. One company will disorganize a battalion, battalion will disorganize whole yegiment-and before long whole brigade is tying itself in knots all along the road.
 So. perhaps. the importance of proper marching will begin to make itself clear
 The army gives most of its attention to it. Every man is taught that unless he Is actually sick he must stay in place, keep his distance, watch his feet for |blisters-and, if the spirit moves him. 70 sing, sing, sing!