BAT 



40 



BAT 



scribed that the battalions arc to be drawn up in two rank* 

 only. The argument in favour of this method, which, it 

 may b observed, was recommended, in 1783, by Turpin, the 

 commentator of Vegctius, is, that in action two ranks of men 

 only can fire at once, and as the third ranK can be no other- 

 wise employed than in loading, and handing the muskets 

 t" the nu-n in their front, this service scarcely compensates 

 for the loss occasioned by the exposure of so many men to 

 the enemy's fire. A foreign writer, however, contends that 

 with soldiers as well disciplined as those of Russia, three 

 ranks would l>c more advantageous than two : since the 

 men in the middle rank are enabled to fire a second time 

 with the muskets obtained from those in the third rank, 

 immediately after they and the front-rank men have made 

 their first fire, so that a much less interval takes place be- 

 tween the vollies than that which occurs when the line con- 

 sists of only two ranks. 



Dining the wars which arose out of the Revolution in 

 France, the armies of that nation became habituated to a 

 formation in close columns instead of a line of small depth. 

 This practice, which seemed to be a return to the tactics of 

 the anticnts, possesses some advantages when an attack is 

 to be directed against on enemy's line which is too far ex- 

 tended to allow the divisions to succour each other in time : 

 and the great merit of Napoleon consisted in manosuvring 

 so as to lead his opponent to fall into this error, and then 

 overwhelming him by numerous consecutive and powerful 

 attacks directed against the weaker part of his line. The 

 system, however, seems to have been persevered in too tena- 

 ciously by the French generals ; for, against steady troops, 

 their columns not only suffered serious losses in making the 

 assaults, but were incapable of keeping up a fire equal to 

 that which might have been produced by a more extended 

 order. Such was the error committed by Marshal Soult at 

 the battle of All/uera. According to Napier (History of 

 the Peninsular n\ir), ' that general persisted beyond reason 

 in fighting with dense columns, and thus lost the fairest 

 field ever offered to the arms of France. Had the fifth corps 

 of the French openedin time,' the historian observes, 'nothing 

 could have saved the British army from a total defeat.' 



A battalion is now generally divided into ten companies ; 

 and, for convenience in performing the movements which 

 may be required, each company is subdivided into two equal 

 parts, and each of these into sections. The battalion is 

 commanded by its own colonel ; and several battalions or 

 regiments are, on service, united under one general officer : 

 these constitute a brigade, and may be considered as a small 

 legion. According to the present regulations each man oc- 

 cupies in line twenty-one inches, and, as no intervals exist 

 between the companies, the extent of a battalion formed two 

 deep is about 219 yards. Six paces are left between every 

 two battalions, and the same interval only separates one 

 brigade from another. 



The company of grenadiers occupies the extreme right, 

 and the light infantry company the extreme left of the bat- 

 talion : these are called the Hank companies, and the others 

 take their places from right to left, according to the num- 

 bers by which they are designated. The captain, or officer 

 commanding each company, is stationed in the front line on 

 the right of his company ; and immediately behind him, in the 

 rear rank is his covering Serjeant. The lieutenants, ensigns, 

 and the Serjeants of the companies form a third, or what is 

 called a supernumerary, rank in rear of the others, at the 

 distance of three paces. The two regimental colours are 

 placed in the front rank between the two centre companies, 

 and two non-commissioned officers are in the rear rank 

 behind them; a Serjeant is stationed in the front, between 

 the colours, another stands opposite to him in the rear rank, 

 and a third in a line with both, in the supernumerary rank. 

 These lost-mentioned Serjeants serve to direct the march of 

 the battalion when it moves parallel to its front ; for w hich 

 purpose, on that occasion, they form themselves in a line in 

 that direction, and march before the battalion at the dis- 

 tance of six paces. 



The commander of the battalion places himself in front 

 when he has to superintend the ordinary c\erc-Uc, other- 

 wise his station is in the rear. The lieutenant-colonel is 

 behind the colours in rear of the supernumerary rank ; the 

 iiinj >rs arc in rear of the second battalion companies on the 

 right and left Hanks respectively, and the adjutant in a line 

 with them, opposite to the. centre. The situations of the 

 Slaff"o(ti}c battalion, the musician*, Sec., together with the 



particulars above briefly stated, are fully described in the 

 treatises on the field exercises and evolutions of the British 

 army. 



Originally the grenadiers performed the duty of throwing 

 hand-grenades, or small iron shells charged with powder, 

 among the enemy ; and the firelocks of the fusileers and 

 light infantry were different from those of the other troops ; 

 .'ept the riflemen, who use pieces with barrels rifled, 

 or grooved, all the infantry of the line carry the same kind 

 of musket. 



The principal evolutions of a battalion consist in revers- 

 ing the front of the line, taking a position at right-angles to 

 its actual front ; forming a column by bringing the different 

 companies or their subdivisions parallel to, and directly in 

 rear of each other, either at open or close intervals ; forming 

 ac.ilumn en frhflnn, or with the divisions parallel to, but in 

 positions receding from, each other towards the right or 

 left, in the manner of steps; or, lastly, forming a hollow 

 square. By changing the front, a retrograde movement in 

 line may be made ; by forming the line perpendicularly on 

 either flank, an attempt of the enemy to turn it may be op- 

 posed. Columns are formed for the purpose of marching 

 along roads or through defiles, or advancing in a body to- 

 wards an enemy's position ; a movement en < chelon allows 

 troops to gain ground obliquely towards the front or rear ; 

 and a hollow square is formed in order to resist an enemy in 

 every direction, when the battalion is in danger of being 

 surrounded. 



A regiment of cavalry now consists of three squadrons : 

 each squadron of two troops, and the numerical strength of 

 each of these is about 80 men : but from that number one- 

 sixth is to he deducted for the men not under arms. The 

 cavalry arc formed two deep, and each file occupies three feet 

 in front; no interval is left between the troops, but that 

 between every two squadrons is one-fourth of the actual 

 strength of each. A regiment of cavalry, when complete, 

 will thus occupy about 233 yards in front. 



(Turpin de Crisse 1 , Commentaires stir let Inititutiont 

 Militaires de J'egece ; Daniel, Histoire de la Milice Fnin- 

 foise ; Okounef, Examen Raisonne des Proprietes dts 

 Troii Armes ; Bismark on the Tactics of Camlry, trans- 

 lated by Major Beamish ; Regulations for the Formations, 

 Field Exercises, and Movements of his Majesty's Forces, 

 corrected to 1833. For many particulars relative to the 

 present state of the British army, the Monthly Lists may 

 be consulted.) 



BATTARDEAU. [See COFFERDAM.] 



BATTAS. The large portion of the island of Sumatra 

 which is known as the Battas country, is situated between 

 the equator and about 2" 30' N. lat. With the exception of 

 the principality of Siak on the north-east coast, and of some 

 settlements at the mouths of rivers, which are in possession 

 of Malays, this country includes the whole of the space be- 

 tween those parallels. On the south-east it is bounded by 

 the principalities of Rawa and Mcnancabow, and on the 

 north-west by the kingdom of Atcheen. 



The Battas country, which by the inhabitants is called 

 Batak, is divided into several provinces, which are subdivided 

 into districts. The names of the principal provinces are 

 Toba, Mandeling, Angkola, Humbang, Si Nambila, Looboo, 

 Manambin, Palampungan, Barumim, Sama Jambu, 1'an- 

 garan, Lambung, Silendung, Butur, Holbang, Linton, Dairi, 

 Alas, Kuraw, and Ria. 



The most populous of these districts are those situated 

 about the centre of the country, and particularly Toba, Si- 

 lendung, Holbang, and Linton. The great Toba l.nke, 

 which lies in a direction nearly north east from the Dutch 

 settlement of Tapanooly (which is in 1 40' N. lat., and 98 

 50' E. long.), has never yet been visited by any European. 

 Messrs. Burton and Ward, Baptist missionaries <>n the island, 

 to whom this lake was pointed out from some high land at a 

 considerable distance, describe it as being from KO to 70 

 miles long, with a breadth of from 1 .'> to 'JO miles. The sur- 

 face of the lake was described to those gentlemen as lieing 

 sometimes so rough as to prevent the passage of boats to 

 and from an island in the middle, on which a periodical 

 market is lii-ld. Several streams, one of them of consider- 

 able size, flow into the Toba Lake, and it' it lie true, as their 

 guide stated to Messrs. Burton and Ward, that its waters 

 rise and fall twice in the course of the twenty-four hours, it 

 is probable that further examination would s'how it to be an 

 arm of the sea. 



