Question About Distances

[Ike]

I notice that the distance scale problem is solved in K-S by using maps of the era, scaled to 1:7500, etc and this is all fine. My question relates to the "pace". I bought the Too Fat Lardies edition of the 1824 K-S rules - and they're generally readable and well-organized, + rep to them. Somewhere in this mass of material, I saw a reference to 2,000 paces equalling one mile. If this is the military pace - left, right, left - then 1,000 paces should be a mile, just as in Roman times. One Roman mile was 1,000 legionaire's paces. Did I miss something? Any help on this will be appreciated, as if 2,000 paces = one mile then 8 inches = one mile; if it is 1,000, then 4 inches = one mile and that makes a difference on campaign maps as you call can appreciate. Thanks!

[Druid_ian]

Hi Ike
2000 paces does equate to a mile
a pace is taken to be 30ins and there are 63360 inches
in a mile so if you divide 63360 by 30 you get 2112 paces
so 2000 is a close enough approximation

Ian

[Ike]

But a military pace is not 30 inches. Start off on the left foot: left, right, left, two strides, is one military pace roughly five feet, not 2 and 1/2 feet. That's why I asked the question.

[Druid_ian]

Well in the british forces a regulation pace is 30ins which i remember well from my time in the Royal Air Force and then as a drill instructor in the Air Training Corps
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pace_stick or the American manual http://rotc.georgetown.edu/resources/FM3-21.5.pdf


A roman or double pace is 58.1ins and is counted as two steps but is not used outside of ancient rome and accounts for the difference in distance

[Ike]

You will note that these drill manuals refer to the "30-inch step" (emphasis supplied), not a 30-inch pace. But, I quibble. Never mind. Thank you for clearing that up for me.

[Lugnakh]

You will note that these drill manuals refer to the "30-inch step" (emphasis supplied), not a 30-inch pace. But, I quibble. Never mind. Thank you for clearing that up for me.

From FM 3-25.26
"Determining distance is the most common source of error encountered while moving either mounted or dismounted. There may be circumstances where you are unable to determine distance using your map or where you are without a map. It is therefore essential to learn methods by which you can accurately pace, measure, use subtense, or estimate distances on the ground.

a. Pace Count. Another way to measure ground distance is the pace count. A pace is equal to one natural step, about 30 inches long. To accurately use the pace count method, you must know how many paces it takes you to walk 100 meters. To determine this, you must walk an accurately measured course and count the number of paces you take. A pace course can be as short as 100 meters or as long as 600 meters. The pace course, regardless of length, must be on similar terrain to that you will be walking over. It does no good to walk a course on flat terrain and then try to use that pace count on hilly terrain. To determine your pace count on a 600-meter course, count the paces it takes you to walk the 600 meters, then divide the total paces by 6. The answer will give you the average paces it takes you to walk 100 meters. It is important that each person who navigates while dismounted knows his pace count."

I do know what you're talking about though Ike, when we did land-nav we did the "double-pace" thing. Can't remember what mine was but it was 60-something lol.

[Ike]

Yes, exactly. Despite the wording of FM 3-25 (in all of its incarnations; I was Army from 1965 - '79 then again from '97 - '07), most often in actual field conditions we used the longer distance. Why? First, many old soldiers would insist ( "insist" = ) on using them as it was the way they were trained. Second, in counting to one thousand, you're less likely to lose your count than when you count to two thousand. My confusion arose from that experience plus the Roman useage of 1,000 paces - "double paces" - as being one (Roman) mile. Ah, well, one of the difficulties of being an old soldier and living past one's war(s), eh?