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The Thrust.—PLATE VI.
Before executing this and all the subsequent movements, the instructor will place his men in the position of middle guard.
THRUST!
One time and one motion.
14. Thrust the piece quickly forward to the full length of the left arm, and at the same time give it a rotary movement so as to bring the guard underneath towards the ground. The hands maintain their respective positions on the piece; the point of the bayonet at the height of the breast. Neither the body nor the legs change position.—Fig. 18.
GUARD!
One time and two motions.
15. Bring back the piece to the position of middle guard, as in No. 13.
NOTE.—It is a general rule, which will not be repeated, that, in all the thrusts and lunges (except the shortened thrusts, Nos. 44 to 49), at the same time that the blow is made, a rotary motion is given to the piece so as to bring the guard directly towards the ground and the lock plate square to the right. This rotary motion is of great importance, giving additional force and accuracy to the blow; and it is to obtain it that the lock plate is half turned up in the position of guard.
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The Lunge.—PLATE VI.
LUNGE!
One time and one motion.
16. Thrust the piece quickly forward to the full length of the right arm; at the same time slide back the left hand along the sling until it covers the guard; straighten the right knee, and throw forward the right shoulder upon the same line with the left. The point of the bayonet is at the height of the breast.—Fig. 19.
GUARD!
One time and two motions.
17. Resume the position of middle guard.
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The Lunge-out.—PLATE VII.
LUNGE-OUT!
One time and one motion.
18. Thrust the piece quickly forward to the full length of the right arm, momentarily abandoning it with the left hand; at the same time straighten the right knee, raise the right foot on the toes and throw forward the right shoulder in advance of the left.—Fig. 20.
GUARD!
One time and one motion.
19. Resume the position of middle guard.
Repetition and Combinations of the Movements.
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The Thrust with the Development.—PLATE VII.
1. THRUST, as in No. 14.
2. DEVELOP, as in No. 8.
3. GUARD, as in No. 13.
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The Thrust with the Passade.—PLATE VIII.
1. THRUST, as in No. 14.
2. PASSADE, as in No. 10.
3. GUARD, as in No. 13.
OBSERVATIONS.—As it is important that the soldier should accustom himself to the middle guard, to which he returns after each movement, the instructor should watch that this position is taken with accuracy; that the arms are detached from the body and do not rest against it. It is in consequence of this detached and isolated position, that the musket can be easily and rapidly moved to defend any point threatened: but, as it is rather fatiguing at first, frequent short rests, in place, should be allowed the men until they become accustomed to the weight of the weapon.
The lunge being a difficult and fatiguing motion, should at first be taught to the men separately.
The lunge-out being still more difficult, this precaution is more particularly to be observed.
From the lunge-out the men may, at first, be allowed to come back to the middle guard, waiting for the command—Guard.
In this, and all subsequent lessons, the intervals between the men must be a little more than doubled, that the volts, etc. may be executed. Where the squad is large, and the space limited, the men may be formed in two ranks seven or eight feet apart, the rear rank men opposite the intervals of the front rank.
The Four Directions of Attack.
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In prime—THRUST!
One time and two motions.
20. First motion.—Drop the point of the bayonet and move it slightly to the right until it is opposite the right loin.
Second motion.—Thrust, as in No. 14, except that the bayonet, instead of being opposite the breast, is opposite the right loin.
GUARD!
One time and one motion.
21. Resume the middle guard, as in No. 13.
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In seconde—THRUST!
One time and two motions.
22. First motion.—Drop the point of the bayonet and move it slightly to the left until it is opposite the left loin.
Second motion.—Thrust, as in No. 14, except that the bayonet is opposite the left loin.
GUARD!
One time and one motion.
23. Resume the middle guard, as in No. 13.
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In tierce—THRUST!
One time and two motions.
24. First motion.—Move the point of the bayonet opposite the left shoulder.
Second motion.—Thrust, as in No. 14, except that the bayonet is opposite the left shoulder.
GUARD!
One time and one motion.
25. Resume the middle guard, as in No. 13.
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In quarte—THRUST!
One time and two motions.
26. First motion.—Move the point of the bayonet opposite the right shoulder.
Second motion.—Thrust, as in No. 14, except that the point of the bayonet is opposite the right shoulder.
GUARD!
One time and one motion.
27. Resume the middle guard, as in No. 13.
The men being expert in these movements, the instructor will combine the thrust with the development, or passade, by the following commands:—
1. In prime—THRUST! 2. DEVELOP! 3. GUARD!
1. In prime—THRUST! 2. PASSADE! 3. GUARD!
Similar combinations will be made with the directions in Seconde, Tierce, and Quarte.
The lunge and lunge-out will be combined with the four directions of attack, thus:—
1. In prime—LUNGE! 2. GUARD!
1. In prime—LUNGE-OUT! 2. GUARD!
The development and passade will also be combined with lunge, and, occasionally, with lunge-out.
OBSERVATIONS.—The instructor will inform the men that the change of direction represents a disengagement. (See Part II. page 80.) To enable them to understand this, he will engage his weapon with each of them in succession, and execute the different disengagements. He will require that the position of the weapon, in the different directions of attack, shall vary, from that of the middle guard, only in the direction of its point.
The Parries. In Prime; in Seconde; in Tierce, and in Quarte.
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The Parry in Prime.—PLATE IX.
In prime—PARRY!
One time and one motion.
28. Carry, rapidly, the point of the bayonet opposite the right knee, describing an arc (the convexity to the left) from above to below, and at the same time give the piece a rotary movement, which turns the rammer square to the right. The hammer is opposite the pit of the stomach; the flat of the stock under, and against the right forearm; the left elbow near the loin, and the right elbow as high as the shoulder.—Figs. 24, 25.
GUARD!
One time and one motion.
29. Resume the middle guard, as in No. 13.
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The Parry in Seconde.—PLATE X.
In seconde—PARRY!
One time and one motion.
30. Carry, rapidly, the point of the bayonet about one foot outside of the left knee, describing an arc (the convexity to the right) from above to below, and at the same time give the piece a rotary movement, so as to turn the barrel square to the left. At the same time draw in both arms towards the body, so that the hammer rests on the left breast; the flat of the stock under, and against the right forearm; the left elbow at the left side; the right elbow at the height of the shoulder.—Figs. 26, 27.
GUARD!
One time and one motion.
31. Resume the middle guard, as in No. 13.
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The Parry in Tierce.—PLATE XI.
In tierce—PARRY!
One time and one motion.
32. Move the piece quickly to the left, giving it a rotary movement, which turns the rammer to the left; the butt of the piece near the left loin; the left hand opposite, and twenty inches from the left shoulder. As the parry is made, bring up the right shoulder on the same line with the left.—Figs. 28, 29.
GUARD!
One time and one motion.
33. Resume the middle guard, as in No. 13.
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The Parry in Quarte.—PLATE XII.
In quarte—PARRY!
One time and one motion.
34. Move the piece quickly to the right, turning the rammer towards the right, and placing the left hand at the height of the breast, and about five inches to the right of its original position. In this parry the right arm does not move; the wrist alone acts.—Figs. 30, 31.
GUARD!
One time and one motion.
35. Resume the middle guard, as in No. 13.
Repetition and Combination of Movements.
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The parries in prime, seconde, tierce, and quarte, followed by the thrust.
1. In prime—PARRY, as in No. 28.
2. THRUST, as in No. 14.
3. GUARD, as in No. 13.
In the same manner follow the parries in Seconde, Tierce, and Quarte.
It is to be observed that the direction of the thrust will be determined by the position of the point of the bayonet after the parry. It will be in prime, seconde, tierce, or quarte, as the case may be (Lesson 4th).
OBSERVATIONS.—This lesson is very important: the instructor cannot be too rigid in exacting an accurate execution of the movements. The parries in seconde and tierce, which are the most difficult, should, at first, be executed by the men individually. In seconde, care must be taken that the hammer and stock rest against the breast, and that the point is not thrown too far to the left.
In tierce, the instructor must see that the right hand brings the butt on a level with the groin, in order that that part of the body may be well protected; also that the knees are well bent, and the upper part of the body inclined forward, to facilitate the movement of the butt.
It must be remembered that the rammer receives the blow in prime, tierce, and quarte; and that it is in seconde alone that the barrel parries the blow.
As soon as the soldier is familiar with the motions of the four parries, he must always be made to follow them by a thrust, which represents a riposte (see Part II. page 91), the surest blow in fencing, and he must be careful to thrust in the direction of the body of his supposed antagonist.
The Parries in High Tierce and High Quarte; The Parries in Seconde in Retreat, and Tierce in Retreat.
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The Parry in High Tierce.—PLATE XIII.
In high tierce—PARRY!
One time and one motion.
36. Move the piece quickly to the left, bringing the right hand against the left elbow; at the same time give the piece a rotary movement, which, while placing it obliquely in front and to the left of the head, turns the rammer towards the left; the left hand about eight inches from the neck.—Figs. 32, 33.
GUARD!
One time and one motion.
37. Resume the middle guard, as in No. 13.
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The Parry in High Quarte.—PLATE XIII.
In high quarte—PARRY!
One time and one motion.
38. Move the piece rapidly to the right, bringing the left hand to the height of the neck and the forearm near the breast; at the same time turn the piece so as to bring the rammer to the right, and the piece obliquely in front and to the right of the head.—Figs. 34, 35.
GUARD!
One time and one motion.
39. Resume the middle guard, as in No. 13.
NOTE.—The instructor will inform his men that the parries in high tierce and high quarte are intended to protect the head against sabre blows. High quarte covers the top and right side of the head; high tierce the left.
When the soldier can, with facility, execute these parries, as described above, his attention will be called to the fact that, when his hands are particularly in danger, he can easily secure them by lowering the parry, and sliding the left hand to the end of the sling, thus approaching it to the right hand: the parries will occasionally be executed in this manner.
Repetition and Combination of Movements.
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1. In high tierce—PARRY, as in No. 36.
2. THRUST, as in No. 14, except that the point of the bayonet is kept at the height of the head, or about the height of the waist of a horseman.
3. GUARD—Resume the middle guard, as in No. 13.
The same for high quarte.
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The Parry in Seconde in Retreat.—PLATE XIV.
In seconde in retreat—PARRY!
One time and one motion.
40. As the parry in seconde (No. 30), except that, during the movement of the weapon, the soldier turns on the toes of the right foot, the heel of which describes a quarter of a circle outwards, and at the same time carries the left foot twice its length in rear of the right; keeping the knees bent, and the feet at right angles.—Figs. 36, 37.
GUARD!
One time and one motion.
41. Replace the left foot in front of the right, and resume in all respects the position of middle guard.
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The Parry in Tierce in Retreat.—PLATE XV.
In tierce in retreat—PARRY!
One time and one motion.
42. As the parry in tierce (No. 32), with the difference that the left foot is thrown to the rear, as in the seconde in retreat (No. 40).—Figs. 38, 39.
GUARD!
One time and one motion.
NOTE.—The object of the two parries in retreat is to withdraw the body and the left leg from the reach of a sudden and rapid attack, directed at the left of the fencer. They are difficult, and should at first be taught to the men one by one. The instructor will, at first, cause the men to execute the movement of the legs alone, without muskets.
Repetition and Combination of Movements.
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1. In seconde in retreat—PARRY!
2. THRUST, as the thrust after the parry in seconde, except that, as the thrust is made, the left foot is thrown in front of the right.
3. GUARD—Resume the middle guard.
Make the same combination with the parry in tierce in retreat.
The Shortened Thrust.
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The Thrust Shortened on the Left.—PLATE XVI.
On the left—SHORTEN!
One time and two motions.
44. First motion.—Turn on the toes of the right foot, describing with the heel a quarter of a circle outwards, and move the left foot rapidly twice its length in rear of the right foot, straightening the left knee; at the same time raise the muzzle of the piece until the barrel is nearly vertical, turn the barrel to the front, pass the butt outside of the left thigh, and rest the right hand against the left loin.—Fig. 40.
Second motion.—Let go the piece with the right hand, which seizes it again at the muzzle, after the left hand has rapidly thrown it back to the full extremity of the left arm.—Fig. 41.
THRUST!
One time and one motion.
45. Thrust the piece forward to the full length of the right arm, the point of the bayonet at the height of the breast.—Fig. 44.
GUARD!
One time and one motion.
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Transcribed by Scott Gutzke, 2006.
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