A Summer Night's Dream
Battle Police
This is the twelfth post in a multi-part series. To find previous installments and those that follow, please consult the following guide.
The battle police of the 1st Regiment had taken their place behind the reserve companies of the 1st and 2nd Battalions. They consisted for each battalion of a closing officer, of the rank of lieutenant, specially selected for his energy, a sergeant and eight lance corporals likewise specially selected. The battle police had to preserve military order on the battlefield. Their badge of office was a gorget.
The senior of the closing officers was the ‘regimental closing officer’, and had control over all battle-police of the regiment.
The closing officers had also charge of the reserve ammunition. I saw them superintending the work of the company ammunition carriers, and indicating the places where the ammunition of the dead and wounded was to be collected. I saw the battle-police, spread over the field, following the firing line, directing the wounded to the dressing station, and assisting the surgeons and stretcher bearers to find severely wounded men.
I saw a corporal of this police bring up four men from the rear of the fighting line to the battalion reserve, whence the adjutant sent them to their companies in the fighting line. I overheard some words like ‘cowards’, ‘a disgrace to the regiment’.
‘Ah! these are skulkers’, I said to myself. Their names were taken down by the closing officer. They had to report themselves to their captains, and could now only by distinguished conduct escape being charged with cowardice on the field of battle, and receiving degrading punishment.
To be continued …
Soon after an installment of this series appears in the pages of The Tactical Notebook, a link to it will appear on the following guide.