To pass to a different topic: on the march, the general will need to exercise a constant forethought to relieve the horses' backs and the troopers' legs, by a judicious interchange of riding and of marching.Wherein consists the golden mean, will not be hard to find; since "every man a standard to himself,"[1] applies, and your sensations are an index to prevent your fellows being overdone through inadvertence.
[1] The phrase is proverbial.Cf.Plat."Theaet." 183 B.
But now supposing you are on the march in some direction, and it is uncertain whether you will stumble on the enemy, your duty is to rest your squadrons in turn; since it will go hard with you, if the enemy come to close quarters when the whole force is dismounted.[2] Or, again, suppose the roads are narrow, or you have to cross a defile, you will pass, by word of mouth, the command to diminish the front;[3] or given, again, you are debouching on broad roads, again the word of command will pass by word of mouth, to every squadron, "to increase their front"; or lastly, supposing you have reached flat country, "to form squadron in order of battle." If only for the sake of practice, it is well to go through evolutions of the sort;[4] besides which it adds pleasure to the march thus to diversify the line of route with cavalry mavouvres.
[2] See "Hell." V.iv.40 for a case in point.
[3] Or, "advance by column of route." See "Hell." VII.iv.23.
[4] Or, "it is a pleasant method of beguiling the road." Cf.Plat."Laws," i.625 B.
Supposing, however, you are off roads altogether and moving fast over difficult ground, no matter whether you are in hostile or in friendly territory, it will be useful if the scouts attached to squadrons[5] rode on in advance, their duty being, in case of encountering pathless clefts or gullies,to work round on to practicable ground, and to discover at what point the troopers may effect a passage, so that whole ranks may not go blindly roaming.[6]
[5] {ton upereton} = "ground scouts," al."orderlies." Ordonnances, trabans (Courier).See Rustow and Kochly, p.140."Cyrop." II.i.21;II.iv.4; V.iii.52; VII.v.18, and VI.ii.13; "Anab." I.
ix.27; II.i.9; where "adjutants," "orderlies" would seem to be implied.
[6] Al."to prevent whole divisions losing their way." Cf."Anab."VIII.iii.18.
Again, if there is prospect of danger on the march, a prudent general can hardly show his wisdom better than by sending out advanced patrols in front of the ordinary exploring parties to reconnoitre every inch of ground minutely.So to be apprised of the enemy's position in advance, and at as great a distance off as possible, cannot fail to be useful, whether for purposes of attack or defence; just as it is useful also to enforce a halt at the passage of a river or some other defile, so that the men in rear may not knock their horses all to bits in endeavouring to overtake their leader.These are precepts known, I admit, to nearly all the world, but it is by no means every one who will take pains to apply them carefully.[7]
[7] See "Econ." xx.6.foll.
It is the business of the hipparch to take infinite precautions while it is still peace, to make himself acquainted with the details, not only of his own, but of the hostile territory;[8] or if, as may well betide, he personally should lack the knowledge, he should invite the aid of others[9]--those best versed in the topography of any district.Since there is all the difference in the world between a leader acquainted with his roads and one who is not; and when it comes to actual designs upon the enemy, the difference between knowing and not knowing the locality can hardly be exaggerated.
[8] Or, "with hostile and friendly territories alike."[9] Lit."he should associate with himself those of the rest"; i.e.his colleagues or other members of the force.
So, too, with regard to spies and intelligencers.Before war commencesyour business is to provide yourself with a supply of people friendly to both states, or maybe merchants (since states are ready to receive the importer of goods with open arms); sham deserters may be found occasionally useful.[10] Not, of course, that the confidence you feel in your spies must ever cause you to neglect outpost duty; indeed your state of preparation should at any moment be precisely what it ought to be, supposing the approach or the imminent arrival of the enemy were to be announced.Let a spy be ever so faithful, there is always the risk he may fail to report his intelligence at the critical moment, since the obstacles which present themselves in war are not to be counted on the fingers.
[10] Cf."Cyrop." VI.i.39, where one of the Persians, Araspas, undertakes to play this role to good effect.
