==============================================+======================= | DENSITY. TARGETS. +-----+-----+-----+----- | 4 | 8 | 16 | 32 ----------------------------------------------+-----+-----+-----+----- | % | % | % | % Infantry skirmishers standing in the open, or | | | | a single rank line | 25 | 40 | 65 |---- | | | | Skirmishers lying down; gun crews under fire | | | | but protected by shields of the French type. | | | | Space between shields and ground not closed | 7.5| 15 | 25 | 40 | | | | Infantry lying down behind knapsacks; gun | | | | crews protected by shields. Space between | | | | shields and ground not closed | ----| 7.5 | 15 | 25 | | | | Infantry lying down behind their knapsacks, | | | | but not firing; gun crews protected by | | | | shields. Space between shields and ground | | | | closed so that bullets cannot pass through | ----| 0-2 | ----|---- ----------------------------------------------+-----+-----+-----+----- A skirmish line 100 m. long, and lying down, would suffer a loss of 15% irrespective of its strength, from progressive fire (_tir progressif_; 32 rounds, density 8). If the interval between skirmishers in the open amounts to 1¹⁄₂ paces, for instance, the front would contain 62 skirmishers, and the resulting loss would amount to 9 men. If the men have placed their knapsacks in front of them, the loss would be reduced by half. A line of skirmishers of the same length and strength as the one considered above, would suffer a loss of 40%, or 25 men, when standing up or advancing. About 1¹⁄₂ minutes are required to fire one _tir progressif_, after adjustment has been secured. The same effect could be obtained in about 20 seconds by firing a _rafale_ of eight rounds, provided the battery has accurately adjusted its fire. 6. THE EFFECT OF SHRAPNEL BULLETS ON ANIMATE TARGETS.[122] [122] BIRCHER, Colonel and Corps Surgeon of the Swiss IInd Army Corps, _Die Wirkung der Artillerie Geschosse_, Aarau, 1899. KÜTTNER, _Kriegschirurgische Erfahrungen aus dem südafrikanischen Kriege 1900_. Tübingen, 1900. HILDEBRAND, _Die Verwundungen durch die modernen Kriegsfeuerwaffen_. I (1905). BOHNE, _Über die Wirkung des Schrapnelschusses_, in _Militär-Wochenblatt_, No. 74, 1902.