In an engagement the voice can seldom be heard over a few feet, and the platoon commander will generally have to convey his orders by signals. A sergeant may be able to shout orders to his section, and orders may be repeated along a skirmish line by shouting. Care should be taken that orders intended for one platoon only are not thus conveyed to another platoon. A short blast on the whistle, given by the platoon commander, means "Attention to Orders." All noncommissioned officers at once suspend firing and glance toward the platoon commander to see if the latter has any signals or orders for them. If not, they resume firing. A long blast on the whistle means "Suspend Firing." When a noncommissioned officer hears this signal from his platoon commander, he should at once shout "Suspend Firing." Upon receiving a signal, the noncommissioned officer for whom it is intended should at once repeat it back, to be sure that it is correctly understood. As a rule, rushes should be started by a unit on one flank and should be followed in succession by the other units to the opposite flank. Each succeeding unit should halt on the line established by the unit which first rushed. When a unit is about to rush, leaders in charge of adjacent units should caution their men to be careful not to fire into the rushing unit as it bounds forward. When one unit suspends fire for the purpose of rushing, adjacent leaders should arrange to have a portion of their men turn their fire on the target of the rushing unit, to the end that there may be no portion of the enemy's line not under fire and able to fire coolly on the rushing unit. Rushes should be made for as long a distance as possible, due regard being had for the wind of the men and not to get beyond supporting distance of the other units. Long rushes facilitate an advance, and quickly place a skirmish line close to the enemy's position, where its fire will have more effect. An attacking line suffers less from casualties at short ranges than it does at mid range. Every advantage should be taken to utilize the cover available. The best kind of cover is that which, while it masks the skirmishers from the sight and fire of the enemy, affords favorable conditions for firing and for readily advancing. In order to allow men to regain their wind, or should the fire of the enemy be so effective as to prevent a further advance without reinforcement, advantage may be taken to lie close in cover, or hasty fire trenches may be thrown up in order to allow the line to maintain its position. "=To go back under fire is to die.="