July 1915

Kempton Park (1914 Sep to Nov)

Sutton (1914 December)

Woldingham 1916 (Jan to June)

Clipstone (July)

Perham Down (August Oct)

France 1915 Nov to March

Gailes 1916 April to June

Bromley 1916 July

Aldershot 1916 August

Clapham 1916 December

Care of Arms.

Daily Cleaning.

Wipe inside & outside action with an oily rag & leave bore oily.  Remove oil from bore & re-oil once a week.

Cleaning before firing Blank.  All action wiped with oily rag & all traces of oil removed from bore taking care to leave bore quite dry.

Cleaning after firing Ball.  Remove all superficial fouling.  Pour 2 or 3 quarts of boiling water through bore from breech to muzzle.  Stand to drain & then thoroughly dry.  Allow to slightly cool & then lubricate.  Remove oil & relubricate every alternative day for 10 days.

Cleaning after Firing Blank.  Thoroughly remove superficial fouling & oil the bore.  Repeat this the following day & resume daily cleaning.

Pull through.

Top loop for gauze if required.

2ng loop for flannelette

3^rd loop for extracting in case of a jam.

Always pull through from breech to muzzle, taking care that cord does not rub against muzzle as this causes rifle to become bell mouthed or cord worn making rifle inaccurate.

When cleaning flannelette fits bore tightly, but when oiling use slightly smaller piece.

Use regulation flannelette only, about 4 x 2 inches

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3 Rules for firing.

• Rifle to be held upright.
• Top of foresight to be in a level with shoulders of back sight.
• Disengaged eye must be kept shut.

Aiming Instruction.

Sequence of Instruction.

• Explain aiming & sights.  Teach adjustment of sights.
• Explain rules of aiming & show correct aim.  Make men aim, check & explain errors.  Give reasons for regulation sight & aiming at bottom centre of mark.
• Test by Triangle of Error.
• Rapidity of aim.
• Aiming at Service Targets
• Long range sights.

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Reasons for Regulation or full sight.

• Less likely to vary amount of fore-sight.
• Facilitates a rapid aim.
• Rifle so sighted.

Reasons for aiming at 6 o’clock.

• Whole object in view.
• Better for disappearing targets.
• Rifle so sighted.
• Better for observation.
• Overcomes tendency of men to shoot high.

Movement Table.

Man walking           1 ft per 100 yds.

   “    running            2 ft   “   100 yds.

   “   horse trotting    3 ft   “   100 yds.

   “        “    galloping 4 ft  “   100 yds.

Limit for man = 300 yds.

     “    “  horse = 500 yds.

Trigger Pressing.

Sequence to be observed.

• Give short lecture on importance of Trigger P.
• Ascertain that men can work forefinger without moving rest of the hand.
• Explain the grip of the rifle with right hand.
• Point out the necessity of always using first joint of index finger & pressing lower part of trigger.
• Show the 2 pressures by overhand method. 

1^st pressure = 3 to 4 lbs. 

2^nd       “       = 5  “  6 lbs.

• Point out necessity of   holding breath on taking 2^nd pressure & declaring point of aim.

Foundation of Fire Discipline.

For above instructor needs as follows

• Knowledge of Subject.
• Ability to impart knowledge.
• Patience.
• Ability to detect faults.

N.B. Squads should not be more than 8 or 10 men.

General System of Teaching.

• Explanation.
• Illustration.
• Imitation.
• Participation.
• Interrogation or Criticism.

Always teach by force of example than by word of command.  Words of command should rarely be used.  Teach & not drill.  Position of teacher 5 paces from right front.  Never touch a man in corrections.

Sequence of Instruction.

• Inspection of Arms.
• Formation in open squad.
• Point out aiming mark.
• Point out your own target.
• Explain position about to teach.
• Show position complete.
• Teach loading & unloading positions.
• Explain reasons.
• Adjustment of sights.
• Show adjoining position in explanation & always use sequence such as starting from the muzzle down to Butt & then from head to feet.

Common faults in all positions.

• Eyes not on the mark.
• Rifle not gripped with both hands.
• Eye too close to cocking piece.
• Whole of forefinger round the trigger.
• Varying position of butt in shoulder.
• Head inclined sideways.
• Bolt not drawn back fully.

How to rectify No. 3 in prone position

• Make man draw his chin in.
• Raise the butt in the shoulder.
• Make him lie straight behind the rifle.
• If this all fails, give him a rifle with longer butt.

Visual Training.

At 400 yds a man will appear the size of the blade of the foresight M1 rifle  M3 rifle 600 yds.

Judging distances & how to carry them out.

Explain various ways of Judging distances make men learn the unit of measure.

4 methods of Judging D.

• By unit of measure.
• By appearance of object.
• By comparison with known objects.
• Place men at known ranges to show heights of men at these distances, also to demonstrate visibility of different positions of height, light ground & back ground.

Anything which tends to show up this object will tend to underestimate the range such as: –

• Sun behind firer.
• Object & back ground of different colours.
• Object & back ground large & distinct.
• Clear light.  If ground is flat with no detail an idea of nearness is conveyed.

Practice men on distances up to 800 yards.

Leader & scouts up to 1400.

• Close study of ground & use of ground.
• Suitable formations of men.
• Night training.
• Neutral tint of uniforms & smokeless powder.
• Misuse of glasses.

These are used in a wrong manner, such as in a large expanse of ground which limits only the vision.

Glasses should be used thus

• For searching particular piece of ground.
• Confirming the eyesight.

Sequence of Visual Instruction.

            “Boer”

B stands for Barracks.

• Lectures in Barracks.
• Space void
• Military vocabulary.
• Training in landscape targets.

O = open country.

• Make men pick out & describe certain positions
• Send out men to fire blank & move about.
• Make squads in positions locate each other.

E. Examination of ground.

R = Recognition.

Programme of Instruction.

• Grouping Practice
• Application
• Snap shooting & moving targets.
• Observation practice.  All the above constitute for individual firing.
• Trailing leader in duties of fire direction & control.
• Training men in duties of fire discipline

This means firing a number of rounds at a well defined aiming mark without alteration of sights or point of aim.

……………………..

Some groups & what they mean.

A widely scattered group indicates unsteadiness.

A High group shows tendency to flinch.

A low left indicates jerking of trigger.

Analysis of faults.

Rats

            R.  Rifle.

            A.  Aim.

            T. Trigger Pressure.

            S. Sights.

Application

i.e. Applying shots to definite mark.

Snap Shooting.

At first use figure targets 4 to 6 seconds.  Figure of man 4 inches high is similar to that of man 400 yds.

As each man reaches a firing point the instructor should question him as to the other elevations needed & allowance for wind.

Remind him to declare his point of aim.

Duties during firing.

Instructor should watch the fire & not the target.  Refrain from speaking till shot is fired.  Watch for the following faults.

• Loss of grip.
• Eyes & face
• Position of Butt.
• Trigger Pressure.

Duties after firing.

Call on man to declare his point of aim & when result is signalled, ask him to explain cause of error.

Distance in yds	Mild Wind	Fresh Wind	Strong Wind
500 yds 1000 yds 1500  “ 2000 “	2 ft 3 yds 6 yds 12 yds	4 ft 6 yds 12 yds 24 yds	6 ft 9 yds 18 yds 36 yds

Tests of Elementary Training.

These tests should be carried out after preliminary training & before a man fires.

Objects of Tests.

• To make certain a man is fit to fire on the range.
• Provide a means of keeping men fit.
• A definite standard is given, which men must reach in their own time if necessary.

These tests are divided up as follows.

• Oral Tests
• Inspection.
• Standard.

Other important tests are

• Rapidity of loading.
•      “         “  aiming
•      “         “  firing.

Oral Tests.

• Care of Arms & Ammunition.  Few questions should be put to each man.
• Description of natural objects.

Each man is called upon separately to describe 1 or 2 objects in landscape.  A question as to size, shape or colour & Unit of measure should be asked.

General Theoretical Knowledge.

A few questions be put to each man regarding the object & reason for various details.

Inspection Tests.

• Firing Position.

Each man should be inspected in all positions & existence if any of any of the following faults should be noted in a book for promotion in future tests.

• Firing from left shoulder.
• Eye near the cocking piece or thumb too near the bolt.
• The grip on either hand .
• Excessive Constraint.
• Finger round trigger when in loading position.

Oral

• Care of Arms & Ammunition.
• Description of objects & military Vocab.
• Theoretical Knowledge.

Inspection.

• Firing Position.
• Preparation of cover.
• Fire Discipline.
• Passing of messages.

Standard.

• Eyesight.
• Recognition of targets
• Judging distances
• Adjustment of sights (3 seconds)
• Knowledge of Regulation aim.
• Trigger Pressure.
• Aiming off wind and movement.
• Rapidity of aim.
•        “       “  loading.

Lecture on Fire.

In war Fire is everything.  It is therefore essential, that every leader should see that the firer of his unit is used to the best possible advantage.  To make this possible fire discipline control & fire orders should first be taught as an instructional exercise & then should be combined with all the field training that is carried out.  Remember that people only do in war that which has become a habit in peace.  So that to get these subjects properly carried out in war time, they must be constantly practiced in peace.

Fire Orders.

• Fire organization order.  For special cover, given by higher commander to Artillery, Machine Gun & special detailed bodies of infantry.
• Fire direction orders.  These are orders given by the commander of 2 or more units, but do not include the executive command to fire.  These should, however contain the range, because the higher command is usually in touch with range finders.
• Fire control orders.  These orders are given by commanders who actually give orders to fire.

The range is first given

• Once the sights are adjusted, men need not look from target.
• Men having set their sights can concentrate their whole attention on recognising the target.
• Men having been trained in distance judging.  The knowledge of the range enables them to limit the area to be searched.

Kinds of Fire.

• Concentration. When all the rifles are pointed at one mark.
• Distribution. (used up to 600 yds)
• Maximum.  When each man fires directly at his own front.
• Partial (exceed 600 yds)  When sections or platoons fire between 2 given points.