•

BASIC EVASION

TECHNIQUES

by Jess McElroy

attitude of "it couldn_'t h~ppell;]~~zme" should be countered With "1t may~ttt~pen to me, but if it does, I will be prepajed."

Knowledge '~.~,every potential 6-\t~er should have. a ba,ckground knowledge,j()f evasion and esdape principles and·,;:re~ · lated+matters:>To be forewarned is to~:' forearmed. Knowledge of what to expect';· is important .. because when circumstan­ces arise which have been considered in advance, they can be carried out more quickly an• easily.

Recognize reality - a single demon~ stration of impatience could result iri' failure--mistakes and captivity. Patience. is paramount. For example, night:move­ment is slower, more demanding and detailed than daylight movement through strange territory;· but it is in-. correct to say that night movement is to tough. The alternative to night move- . men:t might be capture.

Ca;~.utious execution of·· plans •· ·cannot · be ·overemphasized, since . capture of evaders in the past has generally been due to one or more of the following reasons:

2

1) Untauiiliarity with emerg­. ency equipment -

2) Walking on roads or paths 3) Inefficient or insufficient

ce.mouflage 4) Lack of patience when i:>in·

ned down 5) Noise or movement--or re-.

fiection of equipment 6) Failure tQ have plans if sur­

prised by the enemy 7) Failure to read signs of

enemy presence 8) Failure to check and recheck

course 9) Failure to stop, look and

·.listen frequently 10) Neglecting safety measures

when crossing roads, fences, streams

11) Leaving tracking signs be- · hind

12) Underestimating time re­. quired to cover distances under varying conditions

3

Evasion requires extreme Qaution and steady nerves. One of the chief causes of nervousne.sjmd subsequent debility is lack of slet)p: It is t)SSential to have plenty of tindi&tmbed sleep. A hideout, if possible, should be warm, dry, and oomlortable and locilted.' ,so that there will be little charicc:i of,)its', occupant being disturbed.

An evader's feet are hi6J most impor­tant physical asset, and must be given every consideration to keep them in good condition.

Wherevet an evader finds himself, food will be important. He should be able to live off the land. Food should be stolen only when theft has no chance of being detected. Though an evader may be short of food, fl. goof} supply of water will keep him going for some time.

4

Travel - when far behind enemy lines, night travel is preferable (after mid­night if possible). After establishing his general direction or specific goal, the evader must still select a route.

Choose a route which gives best ter­rain features for guidance. Avoid areas with too thick cover (trees, bushes, brush) because it will only increase the possibility of the evader making too much noise as he moves. When reach­ing clearings, ·stay near the edge or go around rather than cross the middle of them.

Always watch the skyline, since an enemy sentry's only field of vision on a dark night is the skyline. Knowing this, he stands low in order to watch spots or stretches where evaders will be silhouetted.

Avoid single or lone objects. Rest in a group of trees or bushes, rather than near a single tree or bush. A guard's attention is attracted more often and for longer periods of time by single objects rather than a mass.

5

Survey roads where they curve andre­connoiter in bOth directions before cross­ing. Beware of' Ul.lr\tes··road.blocks or gu8.rd posts &NJ· apt to be located 'Oil' or nearthem. ·'

Practice stop and •.go movement at night. Travel a.S though hunting. The evader sees and hears; much more by moving short distances; then: stopping to look ·and listen before moving again. Move With periods of sileht smvey; it may be slow, but it is safer than,con­ettant motion.

Avoid rfmnirig at night--the enemy can hear the evader's direction of travel and chances of injury at"e very great. Run only when circumstances call for extraordinary measures.

The evader should camouflage his person and eqUipment in accordance with local cover, and change camou­flage when cover changes. Attention mum also be given to avoiding serious falls. during night t~vel. Personal in-

6

juries have caused .JD&ny evasion at­tempts to fail.

Use sounds and noises. The sound of a stream, moving train, a high wind, heavy rain, a truck convoy, etc., can cover sounds of your movement. In crossing a dangerous area, wait until some natural sound or noise provides audio cover.

Use of formations- either because of escape or multiplace aircraft. Consider both the amount of light and the terrain. In pitch darkness, there is no moon, no reflections from cities, no artificial or northern lights, etc. so evaders can

'travel very close together. Bad weather reduces visibility and also enemy alert-

. ness. A single column--hands on the next guy--is best for maintaining contact and receiving signals. Each evader should have a specific direction in ·which to watch.

If there is any light at all, spread out. The more light there is, the greater the distance should be between evaders.

7

However, evaders, should not spread out beyond limits of their communications.

Flexibility ~. change formation as ter· rain and light conditions change. Every evader should· be·ih contact with at least one other evader. Th~ security of the group is· no better than the alertness of each individual.

Night communications · • no human sounds should be made. Use hand signals, arm signals, or tappmg sounds made by tapping two rocks or pieces • of wood together (do not use metal).

Areas to be avoided · as a general rule, wJ:ten terrain permits, the evader will avoid valleys and crests of hills when traveling through the countryside. He will ford streams instead of attempt· ing to use bridges.

In determining the most direct route to the destination, note the towns and villages and other obstacles to be avoid­ed, as well as the possible and best lo­cations for food, water and shelter. In general, the best plan is to follow a

8

series of (jog legs, scouting out paths, trails and .forest boundaries if within 20 degrees of your heading.

If possible, a prom­inent landmark should be chosen in the de- Q sired direction of trav-el, and as this is ap- / /

. preached, another one farther away should be lined up. ·

The only safe land­Jilarks are natural fea~we•-such as riv­ers and hills. It is best to develop.a conscious­ness for watersheds and contours, and an instinct as to the slope of . the ground to be traversed.

Concealment - full use should be made of natural cover (ditches, hollows, em­barkments, folds in the ground) and con­cealment (trees, bushes, dead falls).Con-

9

cealed routes should be used when possible and movements should be made ¥ rapidly as possible when crossing open areas. Effo~s should be directed towards avoiding silhouetting oneself against a contrasting background or the skyline. Care should be taken to ensure that nothing on the person 'Will refiect light or otherwise attract attention.

Tracks should be concealed as far as possible by traveling on hard ground or when fDllowed by dogs, in water. Great care should be taken to leave as few tracking signals as possible. Such things as overturned stones, b:roken branches, unconcealed droppings, are a great asset to a pursuer.

Most often it is safer to travel along a road at night. The evader must be pre­pared to conce~ himself off-road at a moment's notice.

Ridges -whether .the evader chooses to travel ·on ridges below the crestline, along valleys or streams, on existing

10

routes or cross-coun~.ry Will be det-=:r­mined by the situation and the environ­ment--topography, climate . and vegeta­tion. However, traveling on a ridge (below crestlj.ne) is often easier than moving ··in a valley . or along a stream. Along a ridge, vegetation is usually less dense, the ridge itself serves as. a guide, . land.marks .·are .. seen more easily and . there are fewer streams .and swamPs to cross. Care, however, must be given

· . to concealment by avoiding skylines. . Streams and valleys - following. a

stream generally requires fording, de-1?uring, and penetrating thick vegeta­tion. In mountainous country, travel may be impeded along the stream by waterfalls, cliffs and tributary valleys: In fllll.t country, streams tend to meander, vegetation may be dense, . observation points rare and swamps common. Even so, following a stream presents· some .. adv~tages. In a strange country it proVldes a comparatively definite course.

11

Also, rivers and streams are a source of food, water and a possible means of travel by boat or raft. ·

Mountains · mountainous ·or deeply eroded country offers special difficul· ties. What appears as a single ridge from a distance may prove to be num­erous ridges and valleys all of which must be crossed to reach the main ridge. The best course in the mountains is to follow valleys or ridges, not to travel at right angles to them.

CliffEf and ·Slopes . · if it is necessary to climb or descent a cliff, attempt to choose a route that appears to offer hand and foot holds, cracks and ledges in an unbroken path from top to bottom. Every hold should be carefully tested before trusting weight to it. Weight should be distributed evenly on two or more spots particularly when traversing loose rock:

12

Sl~pes may consist of loose rocks. If the I slope is of fine . mat- .. erial, avoid if possible.

If not, the evader.·~·.. . .· . should turrl slightly sidewa~s in descend-ing, keeping joints . -...., loose, taking a diag­o~l course and using long steps or jumps.

If the slope is of course material, or large rocks, the evader· should descend more carefully because loose rock might roll und&· his weight.

Rock falls are fre­quent in rugged coun­try. Evade~s should, therefore, avoid trav-eling at the b8$e of cliffs or slopes where these falls could occur.

13

Alertness - the evader must ever be on the alert so that he will not be sur­prised by enemy movement. He should continually scan the countryside and, like a wild animal, stop and remain motionless and listen at intervals.

He should move silently, trying not to alarm birds or animals whose cries might give warnings of his presence. Bearings should be checked and rest should be taken frequently. A slow, steady rate of travel will enable an evader tor travel much farther more comfortably than a fast rate which will exhaust him in a short period of time.

The success of an evasion or escape depends largely upon the ability of the. evader to orient himself and meet and overcome obstacles to his movement. These will be many and varied, but kDowledge, aided' by thought, ingen· uity, common sense and a natUral in­stinct for self-preservation, will solve most of the problems. One of the most important thing is to AVOID PANIC.

14

When in doubt, find a safe hide-out, ~it down and think it over. Establish a dir­ection and keep cool. More oft~n th~ not, a reasonable course of .action will present inself.

OLD CHINESE SAYING: The good Lord gave you a brain and a behind--use one to save the other.

15