CHAPTER 2.

Infantry Drill Regulations.


The greatest lesson of the present war is that the keynote of success
is discipline. In trenches the direct control of the men is even less
than in extended order in open warfare, and only thoroughly
disciplined troops with a trusted leader can hope to succeed.

The successful officer will show anger or irritation only in rare
cases, and then by design: he will know his men individually and be as
considerate of them as possible, ready to do himself what he asks to
have done; just in administering punishments; clear in giving his
commands and insistent that they be carried out promptly; he will
learn from drilling his men the quickest way a desired result can be
accomplished, and to give the necessary commands in the most effective
manner.

He will read his Infantry Drill Regulations through each month and
will always find something that he never knew or has forgotten. He
will always consult it before going to drill. In explaining movements
he will use blackboard diagrams in conferences. On the field he will
take the fewest possible men and have movement executed by the numbers
properly before the other men. Then have all the men go through the
movement a number of times.