Infantry training, 1905

by Great Britain. War Office

The employment of long-range fire must, however, be regulated by the effect produced on the enemy. If this is observed to be small, it will be wiser to reserve ammunition for closer ranges where better results may be expected, and on occasion it may be advisable to encourage the enemy’s advance by a weak fire or by withholding it entirely, and to receive him at decisive ranges with a fire of the greatest intensity possible.

164. Machine Guns.

1. In defence, as in attack, machine guns may be employed singly, or in pairs.

2. They should not be isolated, and are not adapted for use against lines of widely extended skirmishers, but are most suitable to protect flanks, to flank salients or portions of the line, to cover obstacles, to deny the passage of defiles to the enemy, or to bring a heavy fire to bear from ground which, owing to its narrow frontage, is unsuited for the deployment of infantry. If employed in the firing line, they should be carefully concealed. Alternative positions connected by a covered communication should be prepared, if possible, for use in case they come under effective artillery fire.

3. If not utilised for these purposes they should be retained as a reserve of fire, either in the hands of the battalion commander or brigadier, to be used to check the advance of hostile reinforcements, to meet turning movements, to support the firing-line in crises, to prepare and cover the counter-attack, or against close deep formations at long range.

4. In pursuit they should endeavour to operate against the flanks of the enemy from decisive range.

165. Position of the Reserves.

1. The local reserves will be in their respective sections. For the protection of the flanks they will be echeloned in rear of the flanks or of one flank if the other is unassailable. If the flanks are secure, the most suitable position for them, if it provides good cover, is in rear of the centre of the section to which they belong.

2. The general reserve will usually be posted in rear of the centre of the position, until the direction of the counter-attack can be decided; but in certain cases, as when, for instance, the defender is equal or superior in numbers, it may be echeloned in rear of that flank where the ground offers the greatest facilities for the counter-attack.

3. The reserves should be most carefully hidden until the moment for action arrives. If no natural cover is available, artificial cover should, if possible, be provided for them.