And last we have a still
larger group ("reserve") that may be called upon in great emergencies.
We should fully understand that all these groups are out to accomplish
several ends, but their one great and ultimate object should be to push
on ahead of the main body so that it may be secure and its march
uninterrupted. To accomplish this it is desirable to get all possible
information about the enemy; it is also desirable to keep him from
getting any information about your own troops.
The ideas are nearly the same with rear guards. Note this important
difference: if, in an advance upon the enemy, your advance guard should
suddenly be fired upon, your main body would (temporarily) halt. If, in
a retreat, your rear guard is halted by the enemy's fire, your main body
would normally be marching farther from it. In the first case assistance
is near at hand. In the second it is withdrawing. The rear guard in a
retreat should therefore be a little larger than in an advance. It must
be able to extricate itself from any situation however difficult or it
loses its usefulness.
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