Attention must be paid to the way in which advances are inaugurated. Rushes must be sudden and simultaneous (I.T., 92 (5)). The men have been trained to leave their cover quickly. The unit commander must give his directions for the next move without getting up (if himself lying) and tell the men to be prepared; when all are ready, he and the men must jump up together and rush at once on the word or signal. The object of this, of course, is to avoid a concentrated fire being directed on the unit commander, and, perhaps, the two or three men nearest him, if they get up before the others, which would make it likely that some of them would be hit immediately, while the rest of the unit looked for a new leader, and so no advance take place; whereas if everyone gets on the move together a casualty or two will not bring the whole to a standstill. Of course, commanders should lead the way, but they must get in front by sprinting the first few yards.
Second Phase: One thousand to Six Hundred Yards (Collective Fire) and Six Hundred to Two Hundred Yards (Individual Fire).
As soon as a section begins to fire, it becomes possible for it to practise the lessons in the use of fire which were learnt in Exercise III., such as concentration and distribution of fire. From one position the commander must choose his next fire position, and work his section up to it in whatever way is most suitable. On flat and open ground this position may simply be the halting place of the next rush, thirty or forty paces to the front, but it is more instructive and practical to have positions far enough from each other, say one hundred and fifty or two hundred yards, to necessitate the advancing section making several successive rushes and using various devices to gain ground without attracting the enemy’s attention. Practise sections in all ways of advancing from one position to another, as was done before firing began, and encourage the use of covered ways. This exercise, if properly done, represents what the section would have to do in battle. For the purpose of instruction, the unit commanders should be allowed to move about as instructors, but when all ranks have been through the exercise and know what is needed, you should practise it under service conditions, and tell unit commanders to behave as if under fire; this is important, as it lets all see how much will be asked of the individual man under fire, and how difficult it is to exercise any wide control.
For the same reason you must in this exercise begin the practice of ordering casualties of leaders, and carry it on through the whole of the rest of the training. Order section commanders to be casualties, and let the next senior man carry on, then order that man to become a casualty, and let the next one take command. Collect these casualties with you and let them go round with you, and have for a time the onlooker’s view of the game. Do not stint in ordering them, but let every man be ready to take up command. This readiness to assume command and to carry on the advance in spite of the absence of leaders is most valuable in battle and on parade for training, keeps men’s attention fixed on the business, and helps to counteract disorder when companies and sections get mixed up in reinforcement in battalion attack.
Under six hundred yards let the men use individual fire, choosing their own targets; at this time try to get them into the way of looking for the targets which most require to be shot at at the moment—they must be always looking along the enemy’s line, and must not acquire the paralysing habit of only seeing straight in front of themselves.
Call on unit commanders to keep in view the question of expenditure of ammunition. It is no good ordering men to snap-fire 200 times in the course of an advance when they would only have 100 rounds in their pouches on service, and no means of getting more; when blank is being used they should see that the ammunition of casualties is collected and redistributed.
At some time in the course of this exercise the section must be practised in improving cover as if under fire, i.e., working lying down. The nature of the work depends on what tools you have, but it should be attempted if possible. Order the section to do it when halted together in some fire position. At first they will shape badly and expose themselves a lot, but if you have time for practice they get into the way of digging in very quickly. If there are stones pile up “schanzes.” Attention should be paid to concealment of the cover, so as not to make it a target for the whole countryside, and it must give cover from fire or view, or both; one often sees men making molehills which show up their position without being capable of stopping a bullet. Better not make them at all than that way.
Wind up the advance occasionally by an assault, as it is a mistake to let the idea take hold that the fire fight is the end of all things. This, I think, is the reason that the word “skirmishing” has disappeared from the book of training, as it connoted an indecisive action, whereas the whole spirit of the present training is that it shall be directed to the delivery of an assault and the ousting of the enemy from his position. Scouts are the only people who may have to skirmish in the former accepted meaning of the word, and they only do so until the firing line joins them, or they withdraw after reconnoitring.
In Platoon.
Next work the sections together in their platoons on similar lines. Practise again all ways of gaining ground; by rushes of the whole platoon, or if one or more sections, man by man, and so on, as taught to the section. Fire should be directed by the platoon commander, and controlled by the section commander. Teach the lateral distribution of fire along a given front among the four sections of the platoon. Teach also the principle of covering fire, one section being sent to make its way with every use of cover to a forward fire position, while the remainder continue firing. The first section, on arrival at the new fire position, opens fire, and the others follow in due course, one section only being dumb while the movement is in progress. If there is a choice of good lines of advance it is better that sections should not follow each other on one line, as the enemy may have noticed the move and be waiting for them.