Approaching — First Type
Translation details
Model:mistral-large-2512.Translated text
Section titled “Translated text”The task of the patrol is to reach the agreed and designated location, occupy it, and set up sentries with the following conditions: a) the enemy is not present there, b) the enemy may be present there. Other patrols receive similar orders and instructions on how to approach. Everyone, from the oldest to the youngest, should know what their own task is and the task of the entire patrol. I do not understand how some exercise leaders think, who do not bother to present even to themselves clearly enough the task during the game. After all, before I start doing something, I always tap my forehead and think: what is the point? And if I send people, I should: 1) explain the task to them and 2) check if they understood. Only then can the game succeed. Most often here, we say ‘approach’ — but what does ‘approach’ mean? Ask yourselves and admit in your hearts that you do not realize what needs to be done.
It should be immediately defined that one must: a) only observe the enemy’s position, their deployment, and return with this information; or b) try to take out a sentry by hitting them with a pinecone or stick (or by striking with a hand in dense terrain); c) approach within the fewest steps possible. (Then, if seen by the sentry and called out, the one who approached stands up, counts how many steps they sneaked in, and leaves the game).
At the beginning, it is best to give the right to call out only to sentries, so those approaching generally cannot remove a post. Only when they have learned certain principles can this right be given to both sides. Then even clapping may work with widely spaced sentries, but here we usually want to defend Mafeking on the first outing, without even knowing how to crawl properly.
There is nothing worse than all kinds of whistling, and at the mention of shouting ‘I arrest you!’ — it makes me feel unwell. Yet there are naive ones who want to penalize this with marks.
In my troop, I define the following rules:
- As soon as a sentry first spots someone sneaking up, they call them out, and that person is obliged to enter the camp as a prisoner. Sometimes they count the steps to the sentry. If someone approaches a sentry and calls them out, the sentry leaves their post without the right to alarm the camp.
It is not the one who saw first who is right, but the one who called out first. When throwing (with something not too hard) is ordered, a successful hit is counted.
- No rescuing, and especially no reviving the dead, is allowed.
When a sentry gives themselves away by calling out one person, another may take them out, but the previously called-out person goes to the sentries’ camp.
- When entire units or several people meet, the stronger side wins, but first loses those already called out.
In one breath, only one person can be called out, and silence must be maintained for several seconds. In this way, with breaks, everyone can be called out, but only if you are not called out yourself during that time.
For this method, it is necessary that all boys know each other personally by name. If this is not the case, only throwing a pinecone or very widely spaced positions can help. However, it is better to avoid making a mess and instead choose another game that you can manage more easily, saving approaching for later.
The second mistake, besides unclear tasks and methods of capture, is the incomprehensible fear that someone might sneak into the camp. That would be something terrible — it would be like a hole in the sky. To avoid this, a sentry is placed on sentry duty, in addition to a patrol, and the commander himself runs around like in a fever — why all this? — Let the boys sneak in — they will have fun. You might think that according to the rules, you can post at most a quarter of the people from the camp as sentries, that is 1—2 of the patrol. And do you think that in war a sentry always sees another sentry? You will answer with indignation: ‘Well — then everyone will sneak in!’ — Wait, first of all, not everyone, and even if half sneak in — so what? It is only proof that there are clever boys. How do you want to teach them? Instead of moving from easy to difficult, you immediately place them before the physical impossibility of approaching and rejoice in your own triumph. I am so clever that I figured out to set up so many sentries that no one could approach closely.
There should be few sentries, and they should cover a large area. I prefer the approaching side to win rather than the sentries, for whom it is no disgrace if those approaching sneak in.
Source scan: Podlaska Digital Library, marked ‘Public Domain’. View scan — image 92.
Metadata
Section titled “Metadata”- Type: game
- Traits: Not stated in the source
- Source: Alojzy Pawełek, Młoda drużyna (1919)
- Printed pages: 184–186
- Digital edition: Digital edition · Source record
- Open the edition at the relevant page: p. 184
- Read the source text: mdr-029