Royal Army College

Lesson Overview

A squad that has mastered the halt must now learn to move. Marching is foot drill set in motion: the same precision and the same response to command, carried forward on the foot. This lesson covers movement on parade: stepping off together, the quick march and the slow march, halting, marking time and the check, turns and inclines made on the move, paying compliments while marching, and keeping dressing, pace, and timing as the whole body moves. It introduces the march past, which Lesson 05 treats in full.

The marching itself is a physical skill, built into the body on the square under a drill instructor until it is uniform. This lesson gives the knowledge: what each form of movement is, what occasion it serves, the words of command that set it going, and the cadence and count by which it is judged. Where a movement is taught by numbers, the count is given here in full, so that you reach the square already knowing the sequence and build the timing and execution in your own body.

By the end you will be able to explain how a body steps off together and give the words of command that do it, describe the quick march and the slow march with their regulation pace and cadence and the use of each, state the count for the halt and the turns on the march, name the basic movements made on the march, explain how a marching body turns and pays compliments, and say how dressing, pace, and timing are held on the move.

Key Terms

Quick march: the normal marching pace of the Army, used for ordinary movement on parade and on the line of march, marched at a regulation length and cadence of pace.
Slow march: a slow, measured, dignified pace for solemn and ceremonial occasions such as funerals and the slow march past, marched at a slower cadence than the quick march.
Marking time: marching on the spot, lifting the feet in the cadence of the march without moving forward, used to keep the step while held in position.
Cadence: the steady, regular rhythm of the step, measured in paces to the minute, that keeps the whole body moving uniformly.
Pace: one full step, measured heel to heel; the regulation pace has a set length so that all soldiers cover the same ground on the same beat.
Check pace: the shortened, controlled pace by which a marching body is steadied or brought to the halt, taken before the body comes to attention.
Directing flank: the side of a marching body by which the rest take their dressing and pace, the side on which the line is kept true.
Eyes right (or left): the marching compliment, in which the ranks turn the head and eyes toward the person or Colour being honoured as the body marches past.

Stepping off together

Movement on parade begins as everything in drill begins, with a word of command. From the halt the squad is brought to attention, given the cautionary command that names the movement and the pace, and stepped off on the executive word "March", every soldier moving on the same foot, on the same instant, into the same pace. From that first step the body is moving as one or it is not moving as drill at all. A soldier who breaks the step at the start, or steps off on the wrong foot, throws the whole body out, which is why the step is taken up exactly on the command and held from the first pace.

From the halt, the order to advance in quick time is the cautionary and executive pair you learned in Lesson 02: "Squad, by the front, quick ... MARCH." The cautionary part names the body, the direction of advance, and the pace, and gives every soldier the same moment to make ready. On the executive word "MARCH", and not before it, every soldier steps off with the left foot, driving it straight to the front, and at the same instant the arms break into the swing. The pause between the two parts of the command, taught at the halt, is what makes the step-off clean: the body waits, poised, on the cautionary, and moves as one on the executive.

A small rule governs the foot. The advance is always begun on the left foot, and most movements taught by numbers begin and are checked on a named foot, because the count only holds the body together if every soldier is on the same foot at the same moment. A soldier who finds themselves on the wrong foot corrects it at once, by the drill for changing step taught later in this lesson, rather than carry the fault and pull the body out of time.

The quick march, step by step

The Army marches at two paces, and a soldier must know each by name, by feel, and by occasion. The first and working pace is the quick march, and because almost all drill is done in it, it is worth taking apart.

The quick march is the normal marching pace: forming up, moving on the line of march, and the great part of any parade. It is brisk, controlled, and businesslike, the body carried upright and steady, the step even and the arms swinging in time. It is the first marching pace a recruit learns. Seven things together make a correct quick march, and a soldier should be able to name and feel them.

First, the word of command: "Squad, by the front, quick ... MARCH", the body stepping off on the executive word, on the left foot, together. Second, the length of pace: about seventy-five centimetres (thirty inches), measured heel to heel, so that every soldier covers the same ground and the dressing in depth, file behind file, holds true. A pace too short closes the body up; one too long opens it out and breaks the dressing. Third, the cadence: roughly one hundred and sixteen to one hundred and twenty paces to the minute, a brisk, even beat to which the body subordinates itself so that all feet strike as one sound. Fourth, the arms: swung straight from the shoulder, in time with the pace, forward to about the height of the top of a belt buckle and back as far as the arm naturally goes, the hand lightly closed, never across the body. The swing is opposite to the leg, the right arm forward as the left foot leads, and it is the arms, swung together to the same height, that give a marching body much of its uniform look. Fifth, the body: erect, the weight forward over the leading foot, the shoulders square and still, no roll or bounce. Sixth, the head and eyes: head up, chin in, eyes level and to the front, so the soldier can keep the dressing by the directing flank. Seventh, the dressing, kept by the right (or the flank ordered) so the rank stays straight and the files stay covered.

The figure below fixes the regulation pace and cadence; the rest is built into the body on the square.

   THE QUICK MARCH  (the working pace)

   Word of command:  "Squad, by the front, quick ... MARCH"
   Step off:         on the executive word, LEFT foot first, together

      Length of pace ...... about 75 cm (30 in), heel to heel
      Cadence ............. about 116 to 120 paces to the minute
      Arms ................ straight from the shoulder, in time
                           forward to belt height, full to the rear
                           (opposite arm to leading leg)
      Body ................ erect, weight forward, shoulders still
      Head and eyes ....... up, chin in, eyes level to the front
      Dressing ............ kept by the right (or flank ordered)

   left  right  left  right  left  right  left  right
    |     |      |     |      |     |      |     |
   75cm  75cm   75cm  75cm   75cm  75cm   75cm  75cm   ... and so on
   <--- one even cadence, all feet striking together --->

Halting on the march, by numbers

A marching body must be able to stop on command, every soldier halting on the same pace and coming to attention together, so that the body ends still and square rather than straggling to a stop. A clean halt requires the whole formation to judge the same instant and act on it as one. As knowledge, it means knowing the word of command and the count.

The order is "Squad ... HALT." The cautionary command, "Squad", warns the body and is timed so that the executive word, "HALT", falls as the left foot strikes the ground. The halt is then taken on two beats of the existing cadence, taught by numbers in exactly those two counts:

   THE HALT ON THE MARCH, BY NUMBERS

   Command:  "Squad ... HALT"   (the word "HALT" given as the
                                 LEFT foot strikes the ground)

   On "HALT":
   Count ONE  -> take one more full pace forward onto the RIGHT foot
                 (the check pace), the body still erect

   Count TWO  -> drive the LEFT foot in to meet the right, smartly,
                 and come to the position of attention as it is planted;
                 the arms cut to the sides as the feet come together

   Result: the whole squad halted on the same pace, still, square,
           and at attention, on one word of command.

Carry the sequence to the square: the executive word falls on the left foot, one more pace is taken forward on the right, the left foot is driven in and the body comes to attention as one. The two beats keep the whole body stopping on the same instant, which is what makes a halt clean rather than ragged. The same discipline, taken slower, halts a body in slow time. The timing, the force of the foot, and the cut of the arms are mastered on the square; the count is learned here.

Marking time, and changing to and from it

Marking time is marching on the spot: the feet are lifted in the cadence of the march, but the body does not move forward. It keeps the step and rhythm going while a body is held in position, for instance when one part of a parade must wait in time for another, so that on the order to move forward the body steps off already in step rather than having to find the step again. A body sent on without breaking the step is more orderly than one halting and starting again from stillness.

The words of command and the count tie marking time to forward movement in both directions, and a soldier should know all three changes.

   MARKING TIME AND CHANGING THE MOVEMENT

   From the march, to mark time on the spot:
      Command:  "Mark time ... MARK TIME"   (executive on the left foot)
      Action:   continue lifting the feet in cadence, knee raised so the
                thigh is about level, but do not gain ground; arms still
                at the sides; the body stays in its place, in step.

   From marking time, to advance again:
      Command:  "Forward ... MARCH"   (executive on the left foot)
      Action:   on the next left foot, step off to the front into the
                full pace and resume the arm swing; the body moves off
                already in step, no step lost.

   From the march, to step back (a few paces only):
      Command:  "Squad will retire, about ... TURN" for a true rearward
                advance, OR the shorter step-back order as drilled, the
                body stepping back in time and in step on the command.

The principle behind all of these is one: the cadence never stops. Whether marking time or moving off again, the body stays on the same beat and changes only whether it gains ground. That is why a body taken from the march, to mark time, and back again does so without ever losing the step. The height of the knee, the carriage of the body, and the exact instant of each change are corrected on the square; the words of command and the order of the changes are learned here.

Turns on the march: the turn, the wheel, and the form

A formed body must be able to change direction while moving, as one, without losing its dressing or its step. A soldier must hold clear three different ways a moving body changes direction, because they are easily confused and each serves a different need.

A turn changes the direction of the whole body sharply, every soldier turning together on the command through a right angle (a quarter circle) or, in the about turn, completely to the rear, and then marching on. The soldiers do not change their relative positions; the body simply faces a new way, so a squad in line that turns finds itself moving in file, and a squad in file that turns finds itself moving in line.

A wheel swings the body round about a flank, as a door swings on its hinges. The soldier on the inside marks time or takes very short paces while those toward the outside lengthen theirs, so that the whole line pivots onto a new heading while keeping its dressing, sweeping round a corner rather than turning squarely at it. Wheeling is how a longer column or larger formation changes direction smoothly, and it belongs with the parade of Lesson 05.

A form changes the shape of the body, moving soldiers from one arrangement to another, for example from line into column of route to pass through a narrow place, or back into line. The three are distinct: a turn faces the same body a new way, a wheel sweeps it round a corner, and a form changes its shape. An incline belongs with the turn but is gentler: a slight turn, through an eighth of a circle (forty-five degrees) rather than a quarter, easing the body onto a new line where the direction must be altered only a little.

   THREE WAYS A MOVING BODY CHANGES DIRECTION

   TURN    every soldier turns together, a right angle, sharply;
           the body faces a new way and marches on unchanged in shape.
             ====>   becomes   ||
                                ||   (line that turns is now in file)
                                vv

   WHEEL   the line pivots about a flank, like a door on its hinge;
           inner files shorten pace, outer files lengthen, dressing kept.
             ----+              the whole line swings round the pivot
                 |
                 +----->

   FORM    the body changes its shape (line to column, column to line),
           rearranging the soldiers rather than turning the body.
             == == ==   becomes   ==
                                  ==
                                  ==

The right and left turn on the march, by numbers

The right and left turn on the march are taught by numbers, and the count is exact because the turn must be made on a named foot for the body to turn together. Take the right turn as the worked example; the left turn is its mirror.

The order is "Squad, right ... TURN." The executive word, "TURN", is given so that it falls as the right foot strikes the ground (the inner foot of a right turn). The turn is made over the next two paces, on the count below, and the body marches on in the new direction without checking its pace.

   THE RIGHT TURN ON THE MARCH, BY NUMBERS

   Command:  "Squad, right ... TURN"
             (the word "TURN" given as the RIGHT foot strikes the ground)

   On "TURN":
   Count ONE  -> take a check pace on the LEFT foot, and on it begin
                 to turn the body a quarter circle to the RIGHT, the
                 arms held still at the sides for the turn

   Count TWO  -> drive the RIGHT foot off in the NEW direction, stepping
                 out into the full pace once more and resuming the arm
                 swing, the whole body now advancing to the right at the
                 regulation pace and cadence

   Result: the squad has changed direction by a right angle, together,
           without losing step or dressing, and marches on.

   The LEFT turn is the mirror: "Squad, left ... TURN", the executive
   word given as the LEFT foot strikes the ground, the turn made to the
   left and the LEFT foot then leading off in the new direction.

Carry the shape of it to the square: the executive word falls on the inner foot, a check pace is taken, the body turns a right angle together, and the outer foot leads off into the new direction in full pace without the body ever halting. The arms are stilled through the turn and resume as the body steps off straight again. An incline is made on the same principle but through forty-five degrees, on the order "Squad, right (or left) incline", and is not as sharp. The timing of the foot, the control of the body through the pivot, and the recovery of the arm swing are built on the square; the words of command and the count are learned here.

The about turn on the march

A marching body must also be able to reverse direction completely, turning about to face and march back the way it came, all without halting. This is the about turn on the march, and it is the most demanding of the turns because the body changes through a half circle while keeping the step.

The order is "Squad, about ... TURN." The executive word, "TURN", is given as a named foot strikes the ground, and the turn about is then made over a fixed count of paces on the spot, the body completing a half circle (one hundred and eighty degrees) and stepping off again to the front in the reversed direction.

   THE ABOUT TURN ON THE MARCH

   Command:  "Squad, about ... TURN"
             (executive word given on the named foot as drilled)

   On "TURN":  over a set count of checked paces taken on the spot,
               the body turns through a HALF circle (180 degrees),
               every soldier turning the same way, together, then
               drives off to the front into the full pace once more,
               now marching back the way it came.

   The body has reversed direction as one, without halting, and
   marches on in quick time in the new direction.

Because the about turn carries the body through a half circle while moving, it exposes any soldier who turns the wrong way or completes the turn off the beat, and it must be made by the whole body on exactly the same count or the dressing is lost. The paces of the count, the pivot, and the drive off to the front are mastered on the square; the word of command and the principle, a complete reversal of direction on the march without halting, are learned here.

Changing step on the march

It will happen that a soldier finds themselves out of step, on the wrong foot relative to the body, whether through a fault at the step-off, a stumble, or a turn taken a beat late. A body in which one soldier is out of step is not moving as one, and the fault must be corrected at once and invisibly, without halting and without throwing anyone else out. The drill that does this is changing step, and every soldier must know it.

The order, when the whole body is to change step together, is "Squad, change ... STEP", but a soldier who finds themselves alone out of step changes step on their own initiative to regain the body's foot. The drill is a short, neat shuffle that gains no ground and loses no time:

   CHANGING STEP ON THE MARCH (to regain the correct foot)

   Command (whole body):  "Squad, change ... STEP"
   (A single soldier out of step does this on their own initiative.)

   The drill, made in the space of one pace:
   1. Complete the pace you are on, planting the LEADING foot.
   2. Bring the rear foot up to the heel of the leading foot.
   3. Step off again immediately with the foot that was leading,
      so that you now lead on the OPPOSITE foot to before.

   Net effect: you have shifted onto the body's foot in one pace,
   gaining no ground, losing no time, and the body marches on in step.

Changing step corrects the fault without anyone halting or breaking the cadence. A disciplined soldier notices at once that they are on the wrong foot, changes step in a single pace, and is back in time before the fault has spread. The exact action of the feet and the smoothness that makes it almost invisible are built on the square; the sequence is learned here.

The slow march, the ceremonial pace

The Army's second pace is the slow march, a slow, measured, dignified pace reserved for solemn and ceremonial occasions. It is the pace of the funeral, where the Army renders the last honours to a fallen comrade, and of the slow march past, where a body moves before the saluting base with the greatest gravity and control. Its feel is wholly different from the quick march: deliberate, stately, and demanding, because moving slowly in perfect unison, with the body steady and the step controlled, exposes the smallest fault to the eye.

The slow march differs from the quick march chiefly in cadence and control. It is marched at a much slower rate of pace, a slow and even beat far below the brisk cadence of quick time, so that each step is drawn out and deliberate. The foot is carried forward and placed with control rather than driven, the body kept very steady and erect with no bounce or sway, and on most ceremonial slow marches the arms are held still at the sides rather than swung, so that the whole effect is one of grave, controlled stillness in motion. The order to step off in slow time is the equivalent pair to the quick march, "Squad, slow ... MARCH", the body stepping off on the left foot together on the executive word, but into the slow, measured pace.

The slow march suits the weight of the occasion; it is how the Army shows, in movement, the solemnity a funeral or a moment of state requires. It is also the hardest marching a soldier will do, for the slowness hides nothing: a single soldier slightly out of step, or a body whose feet do not strike together, is seen at once where a brisk pace might carry the fault past the eye. The exact cadence and length of the slow pace, the carriage of the foot, and the control that makes a body move slowly as one are built on the square over many weeks, by numbers and then together, and certified in person. The knowledge to carry there is what the slow march is, how it differs from the quick march in cadence and control, and why it is the pace of solemnity.

Halting, marking time, and the check together

A marching body must be able to stop, to hold the step in place, and to be steadied, all on command. It is worth seeing the three together as the means by which a body on the move is governed without ever ceasing to be a formed body.

The halt, taken on the two-beat count above, brings the marching body to an immediate and uniform stop. Marking time, on its own words of command, keeps the step and rhythm going while a body is held in position. The check, or steadying of the pace, is the third. It brings a marching body back to its proper length of pace and cadence when these have begun to drift, or eases and collects it, so that dressing and timing are recovered without halting. The check pace, the same shortened pace used in the halt and the turns, is the tool of it: by checking the pace the body is gathered onto its proper length and dressing, then sent on again at the full regulation pace. Each of these is made on command and performed to an exact standard taught on the square; what matters as knowledge is that a body on the move can be stopped, held in step, and steadied, all without losing its order.

Saluting and paying compliments on the march

A marching body pays its compliments without halting, by a movement made as it goes. When a formed body marches past a person or a Colour to be honoured, it gives the marching salute by the command "Eyes right" or "Eyes left": on the command the ranks turn the head and eyes smartly toward the person or Colour, holding them in view as the body passes, until "Eyes front" returns the head to the front. The arms continue to swing, or are held as ordered, while the heads are turned; the compliment is paid by the turn of the head and eyes, made together by the whole body on the command. The senior of the marching body, and any soldier whose hands are not occupied, pays the compliment by the appropriate salute as regulated. The meaning of the salute and of compliments is the subject of Lesson 04; here the point is that a marching body honours a person or a Colour by an exact, collective movement made on the march.

The timing is the heart of it. "Eyes right" is itself a two-part word of command, and the executive word is timed to fall on a named foot, by convention as the right foot strikes the ground for an eyes right, so that the whole body turns its head on the same pace. On the executive word, and on it alone, every head and pair of eyes turns smartly to the right (or left) together, held steadily toward the person or Colour as the body marches past the dais, not allowed to creep back, until "Eyes front" returns every head to the front, again on a named foot and together. Through all of it the feet keep the cadence and the body keeps its dressing; the compliment is laid over the march without disturbing it. A soldier whose head turns a beat late, or drifts back early, is seen at once. The moment of the turn and the holding of it are timed on the square; what is learned here is that the marching compliment is paid by the head and eyes, turned together on the executive word timed to a named foot, and held until "Eyes front".

This compliment is most often seen in the march past, in which the formed body marches before the reviewing officer or the saluting base and gives "Eyes right" as it passes the dais, in quick time or, on the most solemn occasions, in slow time. The march past draws together everything in this lesson: stepping off together, holding the pace and dressing, the marching compliment, and the bearing of a body that moves as one. Its full sequence and place in the parade are the subject of Lesson 05; it is named here so that the parts taught in this lesson can be seen as the components from which that ceremonial movement is built.

Keeping dressing, pace, and timing on the move

Everything in this lesson depends on one demanding thing: that the body keeps its dressing, pace, and timing while it moves. Standing still, a straight line is hard enough; moving, it is harder, because every soldier must hold their place in the line and their place in the step at the same time. Two things make it possible.

The first is the directing flank. One side of the body is the directing flank, the side by which the rest take their dressing and keep their line, and on the move the soldiers maintain their dressing by reference to it, so that the whole body advances straight and true rather than bowing or straggling. In quick time the dressing is ordinarily kept by the right: each soldier holds their position by a glance to the right that does not turn the head out of the line, judging interval and cover and adjusting by the smallest amount until the rank is true. The second is the use of markers, soldiers placed to mark a line, a point of direction, or a position on the ground, on whom the body forms, dresses, or directs its movement, so that the formation has a fixed reference to move to and by. With a directing flank to keep the line and markers to fix the ground, a body can march, turn, and halt while holding its shape.

Holding pace and timing is the work of cadence. Every soldier subordinates their own rhythm to the common cadence of the body, the steady beat of the step, so that all feet strike together and the body moves as one sound and one motion. Keeping step means more than moving the feet at the same rate: it means leading on the same foot as the body, in the same length of pace, so that the whole rank rises and falls as one. A soldier who keeps the cadence but drifts off the body's foot, or keeps the foot but lets the pace shorten, is out of step as surely as one who has lost the beat, and corrects it by the means in this lesson: changing step to regain the foot, lengthening or checking the pace to regain the dressing. When fatigue or distraction begins to pull the pace out, it is the cadence and the dressing that a disciplined soldier consciously returns to. The Manual makes the point plainly: collective rhythm must replace individual preference, because a body that keeps its dressing, pace, and timing on the move is still under control, and one that loses them is a crowd. This is why the same exactness demanded standing still is demanded, and is harder, on the march.

In Practice: The Slow March at a Comrade's Funeral

A small party of the Royal Kaharagian Army is found to bear and escort the coffin of a soldier who has died in service. On the day, they do not move in the brisk quick time of ordinary parade. At the command they step off together in slow march, on the left foot on the executive word, and the difference is felt by everyone present. The pace is grave and measured, the cadence far slower than quick time, each step drawn out, controlled, and deliberate, the bodies steady and the dressing exact, and the very slowness of it carries the weight of the occasion in a way no words could. It is also the hardest marching they will do, for the slow march hides nothing, and a single soldier out of step would be seen at once and would mar the honour being rendered. They have built this on the square for weeks, by numbers and then together, precisely so that on this day they need not think about their feet and can give the moment the dignity it is owed. When the escort halts at the graveside, it halts as one, on the count, with no straggle. The family watching sees a body moving as one in solemn, perfect order, and reads in it exactly what the Army intends: that their soldier is honoured, and honoured properly, by comrades under discipline.

Check Your Understanding

Describe the quick march in full, giving the word of command, the foot the body steps off on, the regulation length of pace and the cadence, and the action of the arms, body, and head. Then describe the slow march and give the occasion each pace serves. Why is the slow march described as both the more dignified and the more difficult pace?
Give the words of command and the two-beat count by which a marching body is halted, and explain what the check pace is and where else it is used. Then explain the difference between marking time and the halt, and say why it is useful for a body to be able to mark time rather than simply stand still.
Distinguish a turn, a wheel, and a form as three ways a moving body changes direction, then give the word of command and the count for a right turn on the march. How does a marching body pay a compliment as it passes a person or Colour, and how is the "Eyes right" timed? Explain the parts played by the directing flank and the markers in keeping a body's dressing and direction on the move.

Reflection (write a short paragraph): This lesson says that keeping dressing, pace, and timing on the move is harder than keeping them standing still, because each soldier must hold their place in the line and their place in the step at once, on the same foot, at the same length of pace, on the same beat. Think about what a soldier must subordinate to the body in order to march well, and connect it to the idea from Lesson 01 that drill teaches a soldier they are part of something larger than themselves. Why might a body that can hold its order on the move, correcting its own step without halting, be one that can be trusted to hold together elsewhere?

Summary

Movement on parade begins by stepping off together on the executive command "Squad, by the front, quick ... MARCH", every soldier moving on the left foot on the same instant; from the first pace the body moves as one or it is not moving as drill.
The quick march is the normal working pace: a regulation length of pace of about seventy-five centimetres (thirty inches), a cadence of roughly one hundred and sixteen to one hundred and twenty paces to the minute, the arms swung straight to a regulation height in time with the step, the body erect and head up, and the dressing kept by the right.
The slow march is a slow, measured, dignified pace for solemn and ceremonial occasions such as funerals and the slow march past, differing from the quick march chiefly in its slower cadence and tighter control; it is more dignified and more demanding because it exposes the smallest fault.
A marching body is halted on "Squad ... HALT" by a two-beat count, the executive word on the left foot, one check pace forward, then the foot driven in to attention; it is held in step by marking time on "Mark time ... MARK TIME" and sent on by "Forward ... MARCH" without losing the step; and it is steadied by the check, the shortened check pace recovering pace and dressing without halting.
A moving body changes direction three distinct ways: a turn faces the same body a right angle the new way (right or left turn made on a two-beat count with the executive word on the inner foot; the about turn reversing it through a half circle); a wheel sweeps it round a flank; and a form changes its shape. A soldier out of step regains the body's foot by changing step in a single pace, without halting.
A marching body pays compliments on the march by "Eyes right" or "Eyes left", every head and eyes turned together on the executive word timed to a named foot and held until "Eyes front", the feet keeping cadence throughout.
Dressing, pace, and timing are held on the move by reference to the directing flank and to markers, and by every soldier subordinating their own rhythm to the common cadence, leading on the same foot in the same length of pace; the march past, treated fully in Lesson 05, draws all of this together, and the timing and physical execution of every movement are mastered on the square under a drill instructor.

Marching, Turns, and Movement