Publisher's Synopsis
Excerpt from The Service of Security and Information
If the entire army were constantly on the alert, its sur prise would be impossible: so, too, if the plans and move ments of the enemy were accurately known by the com mander, surprise could easily be avoided. But to keep the entire force continually on the watch would be to ruin it by physical hardship; and a knowledge of the enemy's move ments and objects is generally incomplete and usually infer ential. To guard against surprise without making undue demands upon the endurance of the soldiers, use is made of covering detachments, which should be strong enough to hold the enemy while the main body is preparing for action. On the march the security of the army is thus provided for by advance guards, rear guards, and ?anking detachments: at a halt a chain of outposts protects it from surprise.
Information in regard to the enemy is the indispensable basis of all military plans, and nothing but faulty disposi tions for the security of an army can be expected if such information is lacking. Moreover, the covering detach ments, being nearer the enemy than the main body is, are charged either with gaining this information, or with the support of patrols or detachments engaged in scouting and observation. In military science the two elements of scour ity and information are, therefore, inseparable.
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