Forlorn

- hope, in the military art, signifies men detached from several regiments, or otherwise appointed to make the first attack in the day of battle; or at a siege, to storm the counterscarp, mount the breach, . They are so called from the great danger they are unavoidably exposed to; but the expre ion is old, and begins to be obsolete. To FORM , in a general acceptation of the term, is to a ume or produce any shape or figure, extent or depth of line or column, by means of prescribed rules in military movements or dispositions. To Form from file, among cavalry . The front file halts at a given point: the rest, or remaining files succe ively ride up at a very smart gallop, taking care to halt in time, and not to over-run the ground. If the formation is by doubling round the front file, (in a formation, for instance, to the rear of the march, or to the right when marched from the right,) the files must double as close round as po ible and with the utmost expedition. In forming from file, particular attention should be given to make the men put their horses quite straight as they come in. They must keep their bodies square, dre by a slight cast of the eye towards the point of formation, and close and dre in an instant. A dragoon, in fact, must no sooner get into the ranks, than his attention should be given to remain steady, well closed and dre ed. It is generally required, that when the cavalry forms, each man must come up in file to his place, and by no means move up to his leader, till that leader has formed to which ever hand the file is forming to. The whole must follow the exact track of the first leader, and come up one by one into their respective places in squadron. To Form to the front . To move nimbly up from file into ranks, and close to your leader, whether on foot, or horseback. To Form to the rear . To double round your leaders, who have themselves turned and faced. To Form to a proper flank . To turn and close in to your leader. To Form to a reverse flank . To pa , turn and succe ively close to your leaders. In all formations from file, the whole, till otherwise directed, dre to the hand to which the squadron, or division forms. See Am. Mil. Lib. To Form by moving in front, and succe ively arriving in line , is by divisions, or distinct bodies, to advance forward by word of command towards any given point of a ligne ment. On these occasions the eyes of the whole are turned to the hand to which they are to form, and from which they preserve required distances. The leading officer must be on the inward flank of his division; he conducts it to its point of junction in line, and from thence dre es and corrects it on the person, who is previously placed beyond him, and prolonging the general line. The outward flank of the last formed and halted body, is always considered as the point of conjunction (nece ary intervals included) of the succeeding one. Thus the looking and lining of the soldier is always towards that point, and the flank of the line formed to; and the correction of dre ing by the officer is always made from that point towards the other flank. Therefore on all occasions of moving up, forming and dre ing in line, by the men lining themselves to one hand ( inwards ) and the officers correcting to the other ( outwards ) the most perfect line may be obtained. Commanding officers of regiments, when a considerable line is forming, must take every advantage from timeously throwing out intelligent guides to give them true points in the general line. In the French service these persons are called jalonneurs from jalonner , to fix any thing, by which any true direction, perpendicular or otherwise, may be obtained; the word guide is the best translation of the word jalonneur , and it is so used in the American Military Library. To Form line , is to wheel to the right or left from open column of divisions, subdivisions, or sections, according to prescribed rules, so as to present one continued front or straight line; or to deploy from close column for the same end, or to file to the front. To Form rank entire , is to extend the front of a battalion or company by reducing it to the least po ible depth, from any existing number of ranks. To Form two deep , is from rank entire or from three deep to produce a regular line of files. To Form three deep , is to add the depth of one half file to two deep, and to produce the natural formation of a battalion in line. To Form four deep , is to diminish the natural extent of a battalion formed in line, by adding one half-file to its depth. To Form echellon , is, from line, or open column, to wheel a given number of paces forward or backward, so as to produce a diagonal or oblique direction in the different proportions of a line, the outward flank of each succeeding division, company or section, constantly preserving a perpendicular direction, at a regulated distance, from the inward flank of its leader, until it arrive at its point of junction. To Form line by echellon , is to advance in column towards any given object by a diagonal movement, so as eventually to produce a regular continuity of front. See Echellon or Diagonal movement . To Form close column , is to march by files in detached proportions of a line, till each proportion shall arrive in front or in rear of any given body. To Form open column , is to wheel backwards or forwards, or to march out by files, so that the several proportions of a line may stand in a perpendicular direction to one another, with intervals between them equal to the extent of their front. To Form circle , is to march a battalion or company standing in line from its two flanks; the leading files bringing their right and left shoulders forward, so as to unite the whole in a circular continuity of files. On the word of command— To the right and left, form circle , the two flank files bring their right and left shoulders forward; and on the word quick, march , the whole advance. The centre marks time, each file from the direct central one gradually inclining to right and left till the junction of the two extremes has been completed. The general use which is made of this formation is to punish offenders, or to convey public orders to the men in such a manner, that every individual may have an equal opportunity of hearing what is read, or delivered to the whole battalion. To Form on , is to advance forward, so as to connect yourself with any given object of formation, and to lengthen the line. To Form on a front division , is from close, or open column, or by the march in echellon, to arrive by a parallel movement at the right or left of any given division, by which means a prolongation of the line is produced. When this formation takes place with the right in front, the officer of the second, or leading division (the first standing fast, and all the rest facing to the left) having stepped out to the right at the words quick march! allows his division led by his serjeant to go on a space equal to its front, and then gives his word front , dre , halt ; his serjeant still remaining on the left of his division. The officer being still on the right of his division, immediately gives the word march! and the division proceeds at the ordinary step towards its place in the a ligne ment. He steps nimbly forward, and obliques so as to be within the third file of the left flank of the preceding division, and is thus ready to give the words, dre , halt! at the instant his inward flank man joins that division. He then expeditiously corrects his men, (who have dre ed upon the formed part of the line, on the distant given point) and resumes his proper post in line. Great care should be taken in these movements to prevent the outward flank of every advancing division from over-stepping its ground; as it is a general principle in dre ing, to be rather behind the preceding formed division at the word dre , than before it; the word halt being the final and conclusive direction, and the dre ing of ranks being more easily attained by a forward than a backward movement. In this manner every other division proceeds; each officer advancing, with a firm, steady step, in a perpendicular direction towards his point of formation, while the flank serjeant remains at his point in the line, till the succeeding officer, who has dre ed his division, arrives to replace him; after which the serjeant covers his own officer. To Form on a rear division , is to face all the preceding divisions which are in column to the right, (the point of forming having been previously taken in that direction, as far as the prolongation of the head division will extend, and just beyond where the right of the battalion is to come) and to uncover the rear one, so as to enable it to advance forward to a given point on the left, and take up its place in the a ligne ment. The leader of the front or head division having been shewn the distant point in the a ligne ment on which he is to march, and having taken his intermediate points, if nece ary, at the word march , the faced divisions step off quick, heads of files are dre ed to the left, the front one moves in the a ligne ment with scrupulous exactitude, and the others continue in a parallel direction close on its right; each carefully preserving its relative points of prolongation, and being fronted by its officer the instant it gets upon the ground, which is perpendicular to its intended formation in line. As soon as the rear division is uncovered, and has received the word march , it proceeds forward, and when arrived within a few paces of its ground, the officer commanding steps nimbly up to the detached officer or serjeant, who has carefully marked its left in the new position, gives the words dre , halt , and quickly corrects his division on the distant point of formation; after which he replaces his serjeant on the right of his division. As the officer who conducts this division has nece arily the longest extent of ground to march on, he must take especial care to observe his perpendicular direction, constantly keeping the different points of formation in his eye, and preserving a perfect squarene of person. The intermediate divisions will succe ively proceed and advance as the ground opens before them. To Form on a central division . To execute this manœuvre, the front and rear divisions must deploy, or open, so as to uncover the named division, and enable it to move up to a given point of a ligne ment. A forming point must be given to both flanks in the prolongation of the head division. When the caution of forming on a central division has been given, the leading officers will shift to the heads of their several divisions, the instant they have been faced according to the hand which leads to their ground. The files during their deployment must be kept close, and well locked up; and when fronted, must instantly be corrected in their dre ing before they march forward. The central division, when uncovered, moves up into line to its marked flank. Those that were in front of it proceed as in forming on a rear division; those that were in rear of it proceed as in forming on a front division. By means of those three formations, which are effected by the deployment, or flank march, every battalion in close column, may uncover and extend its several divisions. The previous formation of close column upon given proportions of a brigade, battalion, . is done by facing and moving inwards , and thus contracting the original line with any given division for the head; which line may again be restored by the different divisions facing and moving outwards , as we have just described. To Form line on a rear company of the open column standing in echellon , that company remains placed; the others face about, wheel back on the pivot flanks of the column, as being those which afterwards first come into line. On the word march , they move forward, and then front , halt , dre , succe ively, in the line of the rear company. To Form line on the rear company facing to the rear of the open column standing in echellon , the whole column must first countermarch, each company by files, and then proceed as in forming on a front company. To Form line on a central company of the open column , that company stands fast, or is wheeled on its own centre into a new required direction. Those in front, must be ordered to face about. The whole, except the central company, must wheel back the named number of paces. Those in front, on the proper pivot flanks of the column, and those in its rear on the reverse flanks, such being the flanks that first arrive in line. The whole then marches in line with the central company. See Am. Mil. Lib. To Form line from close column on a rear company facing to the rear , the whole of the column changes front by countermarching each company by files. The rear company stands fast, and the remaining companies face to the right, deploy, succe ively front , halt , dre , and move up into the a ligne ment. To Form line from close column on a central company facing to the rear , the central company countermarches and stands fast; the other companies face outwards, countermarch, deploy, and succe ively march up to the a ligne ment. Whenever the column is a retiring one, and the line is to front to the rear, the divisions must each countermarch before the formation begins. In which case the head would be thrown back, and the rear forward. To Form en potence , to wheel the right or left flank of a body of men, or to march them forward by files, so as to make that proportion of a line face inwards, and resemble a potence or angle. A double potence may be formed by running out both flanks, so that they stand in a perpendicular direction facing towards each other like the letter Λ, or thus, \__/; these oblique lines are the potence, so named by the power of their cro fire. This formation is not only extremely useful on actual service, but it conduces greatly to the accommodation of any body of men which may be marched into a place that has not sufficient extent of ground to receive it in line.