Pointer Stick

The stick is hinged for portability. A shorter stick swings out parallel to the main one so that a person standing alongside the observer can see precisely where he is pointing. In mountainous terrain it is dufficult but crucial that the correct objective is identified. Otherwise, dangers may not be understood, wrong targets shelled or troops sent to the wrong place. Arguably, if Captain Nolan had been able to share a pointer stick with Earl Cardigan in 1854, the Light Brigade would have survived their charge at Balaclava.