- ment in another direction becomes necessary after the conclusion
of a combat, it is advisable to deploy a new line in the desired direction, from the closed bodies still available, and to withdraw, at the same time, those parts of the former skirmish line which are no longer necessary.
Examples of Changes of Front.
1. Engagement at Helmstedt, on July 25th, 1866. The 20th Infantry
had to deploy to its left rear after its successful attack on the Ütting Hill.[1]
2. The battalions of the XIth Army Corps wheeling toward the Niederwald after crossing the Sauer (battle of Wörth).[2]
3. The wheel executed by Kottwitz' Brigade during the battle of Loigny-Poupry (2nd Dec., 1870). (This is also cited as an example of the conduct of a counter-attack made by the defender). Toward noon the advance guard of the 17th Infantry Division held Lumeau. The 33rd Brigade, its battalions in double column, was concentrated south of Champdoux. The division commander retained two battalions as a reserve and ordered Major-General von Kottwitz "to execute a quarter wheel to the right and to form his command for attack in the general direction of Loigny," for the purpose of relieving the pressure on the Bavarians defending Schlosz Goury. The attack was directed against the French Division Jauréguiberry, which was attacking Schlosz Goury. This division first came under fire at 3-400 m. and then approached to within about 150 m. of the defenders' position; strong reserves followed in rear of its right flank, but otherwise nothing was done to protect the right.
By wheeling at once to the right, the right wing of Kottwitz' Brigade would still have struck the eastern garden wall of Schlosz Goury, and, as Loigny had been indicated to the general as the objective, a fan-shaped extension of the brigade, precluding mutual coöperation, would have been unavoidable. The general had fourteen companies at his disposal and decided to advance in a southerly direction until his second line overlapped the most advanced hostile line, so that the attack as planned would have struck simultaneously both the first and second lines of the enemy. The slight loss of time involved caused the general no uneasiness, as he could carry out his intentions without interference beyond range of the fire of the enemy, whom he could observe during the entire movement. The brigade formed for attack, during its movement to the south, when about 1200 m. from Goury. The general, who was on the right flank, halted the brigade after it had advanced far enough, and wheeled it to the right.
