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12. Responsibility of calling out troopsrests with civil officers. It is
for the civil officer, and him alone, to judge of the policy, the justice,
or the necessity of the measure. For these he alone is responsible to
the government he serves; and he is not called upon in duty either to
justify his conclusions or to communicate his reasons to the military
officer to whom he may address the requisition for troops. Although
such manifestations of confidence or cordiality are always to be desired,
he is only required by his strict duty to state distinctly (in writing)
the service he desires to see performed and the necessity of troops for
the purpose and to afford such further information as may be necessary
to enable the officer in command efficiently to perform the service he
is called upon to execute.
13. Military officers responsible for information of force, etc. The
civil or political officer is not authorised to interfere in any way with
the formation or details of the force, the military officer being held
responsible for the success of the operations to be undertaken; and it is
for the latter, and for him alone, to judge in what manner the troops
can effect the object which the civil oificer has indicated, and to direct
the force in the execution of the service in which it is engaged.
14. Assistance to be refused if force is inadequate. If, however,
the military officer should consider his force inadequate for the perfor
mance of the service required, or the service itself impracticable on pure
ly military grounds, it would be competent to him to decline to accede
to the requisition. But in so doing he must be prepared to justify his
refusal to the satisfaction of the government he serves, and whose interests
are affected by his acts.
De sterkte van de gewapende macht, die in Indië politioneeleD
bijstand moet verleenen, is zelden grooter dan eenepatrouille(iufanterie).
In het Indische leger wordt van ouds, doch ten onrechte, de naam van
patrouille gegeven aan een detachement, dat niet sterk genoeg is om
kolome te worden genoemd, zonder bierbij aan de gewone beteekenis van
patrouille te denken. Het Atjehsch militair spraakgebruik huldigt
hetzelfde begrip Deze definitie van patrouille heeft in den Atjehschen
oorlog, blijkens de journalen en gevechtsrapporten, het burgerrecht
verkregen, maar dateert niet van dezeu oorlog. (1) De bevoegdheid
om offensief te handelen bezit de patrouille in de tactiek ofhetveld-
dienstreglement niet. De detachementen, die in Atjeh vóór Maart
(1) Zie o. m. W. A. van Rees, ,De Bandiernmsinsehe krgg, 1859-1868," 2 dln.,
G. M. Yerspijck. „De generaal van Swieten en de waarheid, enz."
