there is far less danger of accidentally hitting the attacking infantry with machine guns than with artillery fire. Direct fire should only be used when it is impossible to use indirect fire on account of the nature of the ground in the vicinity. Indirect fire from the reverse slope of a hill has the advantage of concealing the guns and rendering them immune from artillery fire. The position must be carefully selected with due regard to the slope in its relation to fire from the enemy as laid down in chap. ii. p. 67, of _Training Manuals Appendix_, 1905. The best position is just below the crest of a steep slope, as observation of fire is rendered easier and the effect of shrapnel minimised. The safety of the infantry in front will depend entirely on the range, height of the guns above the infantry, and the position of the target (enemy). On level ground the range must not be less than 800 yards,[18] and the infantry will be perfectly safe at all distances between 200 yards from the guns and 200 yards from the enemy. (See table, Appendix A.) The methods of employing indirect fire have been given at the end of Chapter II., and its success will depend largely upon the careful observation of fire by the section commanders, who must concentrate their attention on this alone--the battery commander giving the signal for opening and ceasing fire, and the target or direction of fire for each section. Machine guns used as covering fire have ample time for preparation; and as ranges can be accurately taken, and great deliberation used in selecting positions, observing fire, and correcting errors, the maximum of accuracy should be attained. If the enemy is entrenched against frontal fire, good results may be expected from accurate distant fire, owing to the angle of descent of the bullet causing the low parapet or shallow trench to be no protection. They were successfully used by the Japanese as covering fire for infantry in the attack, as the following examples will show: “At Mukden on March 1st all the machine guns of a whole Japanese division (12 to 18 guns) were brought into action upon a Russian _point d’appui_. The Russian fire was silenced, but burst out again whenever the machine-gun fire slackened. The Japanese infantry used these pauses in the enemy’s fire to press forward to close range _under cover of their machine-gun fire_.”[19] On March 2nd the three machine guns of the 10th Japanese Infantry Regiment acted in the same way against a Russian fieldwork. This method of employing machine guns requires the closest co-operation with the infantry from the commencement of the attack. Again, during the Japanese attack on Namako Yama the infantry were greatly assisted by covering fire from their machine guns directed on the Russian trenches. These guns were used from behind _screens_, and their success was largely due to their being well concealed.