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
German machine guns are especially adapted for resisting cavalry, while
guns transported upon pack animals are entirely helpless on the march
and when going into position, and require the support of the other
arms. German machine guns, whether on their wheeled carriages or on
their sleds, are capable of warding off cavalry. The fire of the guns
should be distributed over the entire front of the mounted attacking
line. Special attention should be paid to lines following the first
attacking line, to the flanks of the guns themselves, and to covering
the carriages when they are not with the guns. Machine guns are able to
advance on open ground without regard to cavalry, so long as the latter
is not supported by artillery or infantry, or is not so superior in
force that it can attack simultaneously from several directions, or in
several lines.
In action against artillery it should be borne in mind that artillery
possesses an unquestioned superiority of fire at the longer ranges; at
ranges at which machine guns are able to fire at all, they must seek to
find protection under cover, or by distributing the guns. Artillery is
very susceptible to flanking fire. When that arm is to be engaged, the
machine gun sleds should be brought as close as possible to the hostile
batteries. In this case it is, moreover, advisable to have large
intervals between the machine gun platoons. The great mobility of the
machine gun battery, when limbered, will sometimes enable it to take up
a position from which it can flank the enemy. In distributing machine
gun fire it would be well always to assign the same task to two guns.
It is not a good plan to have all the machine guns sweep the entire
front of a firing battery (artillery).
The opinions in regard to machine gun employment in field
warfare--mountain and fortress warfare are not considered
here--differ considerably. In =England= machine guns are attached to
battalions, and Japan of late leans toward this mode of employment.
In =Switzerland= machine guns serve in addition as a substitute for
horse batteries, which their army lacks.
The =English= view is obviously affected by their experience in
colonial wars.
The following are given as the duties of machine guns _in attack_:
1. The machine gun is above all to be employed at long ranges. In
open country it will seldom be possible for the gun to reach a
position in the first line, where, moreover, the gun would offer too
good a target. Covered terrain should be taken advantage of to get
the gun close to the enemy. The advance of infantry may be supported
at long ranges by machine gun fire (fire of position).
2. The delivery of volley fire against any point of the hostile
position.
3. The warding off of counter-attacks or attacks made by cavalry.
4. The utilization of flanking positions.
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