Public-domain ebook
by Cole, J. P. (James Perry); Schoonmaker, Oliver
Language: en1,089 downloads on Project Gutenberg
Subjects
In: World War I·History - Warfare·How To ...
Public-domain ebook sourced from Project Gutenberg #14625.
The work is a practical handbook for United States Army officers, compiled by James Perry Cole and Oliver Schoonmaker in the World‑War‑I era. It opens with a blunt assessment of the modern officer’s predicament, intense training, limited time, and the need for immediate, decisive action. From that point the authors promise a condensed, systematically arranged set of instructions drawn from the Plattsburg training camps, complete with a bibliography that acknowledges the sources. The text proceeds to list a detailed table of contents, then launches into day‑by‑day schedules that cover everything from infantry drill and physical training to the use of modern weapons, map sketching, sanitation, first aid, signaling, and trench warfare. The emphasis is on quick reference and ready‑to‑apply material for officers who must both master and teach the essentials of contemporary combat.
Written in a straightforward, instructional style typical of early‑twentieth‑century military manuals, the language is dense with abbreviations, schedules, and procedural directives. Its tone is utilitarian rather than literary, reflecting the urgency of wartime training. Readers with an interest in historical military organization, drill regulations, or the evolution of officer education will find it valuable, especially those studying the United States Army’s World‑War‑I training programs or the practical side of early modern warfare.
The opening · free to read
Introduction.
The officer of to-day has big problems to face at short notice. His training has necessarily been so intensive that he cannot absorb a large amount of it. He has little time to make out schedules or even to look over the hasty notes he may have made during his training period, yet he finds himself facing problems which force him to immediate action.
This book so condenses and systematizes general military instruction and the work done at Plattsburg so that it may be easily utilized in training other troops. No broad claim for originality is made except in the arrangement of all available material; the bibliography makes acknowledgment to all texts so utilized. Besides bringing helpful reminders to new officers regarding the elements of modern warfare, much of the material will be found of radical importance, as it is practically new and never before condensed. Since under the new army organization the platoon leader virtually has assumed the roll of a captain of a company, it is not enough for him to know simply his own part; he must be ready with all the information that his non-commissioned officers and men should know, and more important still, he must know how to teach them. Having little or no time to work over and digest for himself this mass of new material pouring in upon him, the officer may find in this book, material condensed and already arranged.
It is hoped that this work will serve to recall to many officers, valuable points of military training which would otherwise be lost, to them in the mass of notes never looked at since the day they were made. More than this, every reader will find help in planning his work, saving thereby precious hours already too full of necessary duties, and will find fresh material for progress in the game of war.
It is the purpose of this book to help men who are in the service of the United States, and through them to share in bringing victory.
Table of Contents.
PAGE.
Chapter 4. USE OF MODERN ARMS 105 1. S.A.F.M. 2. Range Practice. 3. Pistol. 4. Bayonet. 5. Machine Guns. 6. Grenade Instruction.
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