Tactics, Volume 1 (of 2). Introduction and Formal Tactics of InfantryBalck, W. (William)
History
Tactics, Volume 1 (of 2). Introduction and Formal Tactics of Infantry
Balck, W. (William)
Military art and science; Tactics
Military history tells us that an army corps consisting of 25
battalions, acting as a part of a larger force in a deliberately
planned attack, occupies an average front of 2.5 to 5 km. According
to this, the frontage of a brigade would amount to about 800-1000 m.,
_i.e._, to 6-7.5 rifles per meter of front.
This limit was frequently exceeded during the =Franco-German war=
according to the circumstances under which the brigade went into
action and the commander’s estimate of the situation. If the brigades
had to cover the concentration of the columns in rear, and if the
battalions came into action successively, both brigade and battalion
frontages were frequently very great. The endeavor to close with the
enemy as soon as possible and the desire to bring a large number of
rifles into action, led to enormously increased frontages at the
expense of depth. The brigades which arrived later, entered the line
where other brigades were already engaged, and the result was a
dissolution and admixture of all tactical organizations.
At =Colombey=, the 25th Brigade covered a front of nearly 3 km. with
28 companies, only four or five companies remaining in close order.
Connecting with this brigade on the north, 22 companies, belonging to
two different divisions of the 1st Army Corps, covered a front of 4
km., supported by three or four companies in close order. With such
an overextension of front the offensive or defensive power of a force
is, of course, crippled.
During the battle of =Amiens=, the 3rd Prussian Brigade advanced in
three columns against the heights north of the Luce. On the left, six
companies of the 4th Infantry advanced from Domart, in the center,
four companies from Hangard, and on the right, two companies from
Demnin. A battery and a troop (_Eskadron_) were attached to each
column, and the right column was followed by the 44th Infantry.
The French advanced troops were pushed back without special
difficulty, but at the northern edge of the timber, the
brigade now found itself opposite the French main position
Cachy--Villers-Bretonneux. The attack on this position began at once,
and in a short time the 4th Infantry and two batteries were in action
on the line East corner of the Bois de Hangard--Gentelles (5 km.
long). At the same time, the 44th Infantry with one battery deployed
on a front of about 2000 m. to the right of this line. The right wing
of the 44th Infantry subsequently advanced to attack the trenches
southeast of Villers-Bretonneux and captured them. The enveloped
French left wing withdrew to the village named, and rallied on strong
reserves.
This was the situation when the fight came to a standstill toward 1
o’clock P. M. The brigade fought in a thin line over a mile (four
English miles) long. The reserve only consisted of three companies
of the 4th Infantry, at Gentelles, and four companies of the 44th
Infantry, in rear of the right flank.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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