ADVANCE' GUARD. Troops on the march are in a formation in which they cannot fight, and when they come upon the enemy t hey MO St, tiVAt, deploy. This takes time, especially in large columns, consequently such columns require de tachments to protect them against surprise. which in an advance are placed ahead of the colu11111 and are called advance guards. Good reconnaissance by the cavalry servers in front of the army is the best protection, hut this cavalry may at any time be beaten by the enemy and forced off to one flank, or it may have been 0 tT in pursuit of the enemy's cavalry. hence immediate protection for the heads of the columns is still a necessity. The strength of the advance guard depends on the condition of the screening cavalry. Ina should be the least neces sary on account of the arduous duty it demands, at the same time the units should not be broken.
A company or squadron requires only a cavalry patrol in front of it as advance guard, and stronger columns would demand greater forces, depending on the circumstances. In the first place, the cavalry division belongs to the ad vance guard. but in this case its duty is more security and protection than reconnaissance; consequently it remains nearer than in screen ing, and fights, rather than avoids, the enemy's patrol. In the case of a mixed column of all arms, the advance guard must have infantry, but how much depends on circumstances. An in fantry division usually requires a regiment, but a battalion is often sufficient. Artillery is also assigned to it, usually only a battery, at most a battalion. Engineers are usually attached, with a bridge train; often also a balloon section. The advance guard is divided into the main guard and the vanguard; the latter consisting, for a regiment. of a battalion; for a battalion, of a
company of infantry, with the engineers and a part of the cavalry present; the artillery is in the main guard. Before the vanguard marches the infantry point., and before the latter the cav alry point, or the cavalry of the vanguard with its point, consisting of three or four men under a non-commissioned officer. The infantry point marches on the road in closed or dispersed order, and does not stop to reconnoitre small places. For observation of the surrounding country the cavalry point is designed. It looks up observa tion points, moves rapidly from one to the other, and keeps touch to the rear by means of sepa rate horsemen. The infantry point keeps touch to the rear by means of single infantrymen or cyclists. If the main column halts for a con siderable time the advance guard takes up tem porarily the duties of outposts, but must keep up reconnaissance. Every column of march must also be protected on the flanks by patrols, and when these small bodies are not sufficient a flank guard must be organized.
In a retreat a rear guard is formed, and since the latter cannot, as a rule (like the ad vance or flank guard), count on the immediate support of the main body, it must be stronger than either of the others, and requires more ar tillery, and also cavalry, the latter playing the part of mounted infantry in this case. All Euro pean armies, except the German, have a small rear guard besides the advance guard in all ad vance. France and Russia have very strong advance guards and send them far out to the front. See OUTPOSTS; RECONNAISSANCE; BAT TLE; and TACTICS, .,11•LITARY.