Aspects of Work Falling to Junior Officers in Taking up Camp

An area for the headquarter wing will be needed, so this must be marked out, and places for the mess and main dressing station, and by the time you have done this your battalion, unless it is on rear guard, will be in and the company commanders carrying on. Now, before I go on I expect a criticism and a sound one. That you have a battalion with a front of possibly over three hundred yards with only about twenty-five yards of depth. What about the first principal of defence? Well, the extended front is to allow the few available rifles to cover the entire perimeter, and the restricted depth, is to avoid taking up room which is needed by others, and as both these are necessary it only remains to mitigate the ill-effects of lack of depth by the best arrangements possible, and how? The column commander does his bit by retaining in the centre of the camp, close to himself and the cross-roads, a special camp reserve with which to expel the enemy if they penetrate, while each battalion keeps a small reserve in hand, and we shall see how depth within the unit is still further provided for.