Machine guns should form an integral part of the arm to which they are attached, and must be used with them to supplement their fire power. In attack they must seek positions from which to bring to bear a concentrated and overwhelming fire on the main body of the enemy, and against savages this must be from the flanks or rear to be successful, as the object is to prevent flight and insure decisive results. Their real value in small wars lies in their enormous defensive powers, which may be employed in clearing the way for columns in enclosed country, in stopping a charge of fanatics whether mounted or on foot, and in preventing small columns on the march from being overwhelmed by superior numbers. It will be found that, although it is the invariable rule for the disciplined force in a small war to assume the initiative and attack with vigour on every possible occasion, the uncivilised enemy, by reason of his primitive arms and tactics, generally avoids the encounter until he is able to make an attack at a time and on ground of his own choosing. Thus we find the disciplined force thrown on the defensive in the early stages of the expedition and the very heavy losses inflicted then often directly lead to a speedy termination of the campaign. Callwell says: “The tactics adopted by the Zulus and Mahdists when flushed with confidence were best met at a halt in close formation, even on ground where arms of precision could not tell with full effect. In the jungles of Dahomey the sudden hostile attacks on flanks and rear could be confronted most satisfactorily by the troops on the spot acting on the defence until the edge was taken off the hostile appetite for combat.... Where a small force of regular troops is opposed to great hostile masses, no matter how ill-armed or how deficient in morale the masses may be, circumstances render it almost imperative to act on the defensive.” For this reason alone machine guns form the most valuable arm in encounters of this nature, and their tremendous effect cannot be better illustrated than at Omdurman, where they literally mowed down the attacking masses in great swathes. The first consideration when employing machine guns in a small war is the method of carrying the gun and its ammunition, which must be suited to the country in which the operations are to take place. In the majority of cases it will be found that the usual transport of the country is the most suitable, and a tripod-mounted gun can be adapted to almost any form of carriage. In mountainous open country such as the North-West Frontier of India mules or ponies are suitable; in the desert the camel has been used; while in the forests of East Africa machine guns have been carried by porters on their heads, strapped on their backs, or slung beneath a pole by two men. Whatever method is adopted, it is essential that the gun can be brought into action easily and quickly, and that it is at least as mobile as the troops it accompanies.