Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1917-09-28
MARCHING TROOPS
Length of a Days Tramp De-
ponds on the Methods Used.
A HARD WAY AND AN EASY WAY
If the Load the Soldier Carries Is Prop
erly Adjusted 1t Lessons the Amount
of Energy He Has to Expend and In
creases His Staying Powers.

There are two things. and W things
only, which determine the length of a
days march for "A soldier. The first Is
the amount of actual labor or mechan-
ical work done while marching. the
second is the degree Of even distribu-
ton of this labor among the chief mus
eles used in performing labor. Now,
labor. or work, is simply the product of
the force overcome and the distance
through which it is overcome. The
forces to be overcome are 10y no means
confined to the weight of the man and
his pack. Many other forces are called
into play in the course of a days
march.
To illustrate. suppose the marcher
has to carry a five pound weight on the
end of a five foot stick. Suppose he
places this stick across his shoulder
with foul feet behind him and one foo
In front. By the simple exercise of bad
Judgment he multiplies the weight of
his load by four: he has to pull down
continually with a force of twenty
pounds, and the shoulder must contin-
ually push up with a force of twenty
five pounds. all on account of that FIVE
pound load which Is carried on the end
of the stick.
Another way i'll which energy may
be wasted is somewhat more subtle
and perhaps a bit harder to understand,
but of equal or greater Importance.
1t lies in the principle that work has to
be done whenever a mass of any kind
is changed in its motion. 1t takes more
energy to start a street car. for In
stance. thar to run it at uniform speed.
1t takes more energy to make its speed
a little faster han to maintain it at the
last speed-that is. whenever a body
is given an ac~celeration a new force
has to be used. Now. every time a sol
der bobs up and down when walking
he has to start the weight of his body
and pack and gun upward n let them
down again. To do this uses up more
energy than simply to keep them NOV
ing up or down. In the one case only
the pull of gravity has to be overcome,
In the other the inertia of the soldiers
head and body. And the faster this is
done the more energy is used up per
step. Hence it is that a slow walk can
be maintained, not merely for a longer
time than a fast one, but for a longer
distance on q stretch.
Under the principle outlined above
would come the loss of energy due to
all swinging articles. such as bayonet
s~cabbards, tin cups, ~tassels, etc. These
have to be put In motion, then jerked
back and stopped by bodily contact,
then put in motion again. All this con-
sumes energy, and work has to be done.
Again, any weight on the breast of a
soldier or a tight coat or shirt, has to
be overcome every time he breathes.
And the deeper his chest expansion the
nor work he has to do with his breast
every time he takes a breath. This
amounts to an enormous total during a
days march. A loose coat and under
clothes will cause him to travel with
less expenditure of energy. 1t must be
remembered that this is actual energy
used up, taken from the store of en-
ergy available to march with.
Besides the up and down motion of a
soldier while marching. he sways from
side to side. Every article he is carry
ing and his own body are thus started
and stopped in this swaying direction
also. Thus energy is used up. Now,
the upper part of his body sways fur
Their thar does the lower part, so if the
pack there must be. the heavier part
Of it should be placed just as low down
the trunk as is convenient or comforta-
h1o nh1 boo-f1A a.+;al11 eIo,,I1 oIoo
go as close to the back as possible. so
as not to increase the leverage on the
straps holding the pack to the body.
To sum up then: The gun should be
carried with it's center of gravity just
a wee bit behind the shoulder. so as
to balance the weight of the hand and
forearm which keeps it steady Ghis is
the usual practice. be it saidl; the pack
should be as compact as possible. close
fitting to the back, the heavy articles
tightly packed in the lowest available
space; no swinging articles should be
allowed. not even ~tassels: the coat
across the breast should be loose fitting.
as should also the underclothes; a slow
gait should be used; as small a rise and
fall as possible of the body should be
INDUCED in and as short a sway as pos
sible. To the above may be added that
the shoes should not have stiff soles.
for every time the sole of a shoe is bent
energy is used up.
To decrease the rise and fall of the
body in walking the old Indian walk
used by some surveyors is useful. 1t
consists in slightly crooking the for
ward knee as the body is showed for
ward on to the front foot.-Philadel-
phia Press.