- sault. The force making an assault in attack or a counterattack
in defense cannot be strong enough.
Another factor that must be considered in deciding upon the frontage is the task which a force is to perform, i.e., whether it is to make an attack or to stand on the defensive; whether it is to fight a delaying action or is to withdraw. The object of distribution in depth is to keep the firing line constantly at the same strength; this requires stronger reinforcements in attack (owing to the greater losses), than in defense, and leads, consequently, to a contraction of the front.
The number of troops which will be required to hold a given piece of ground must be determined separately in each case. The strength of the fighting line depends upon the effect of the hostile fire. Military history tells us how many troops the leader sent into action in order to gain the victory, but it seldom gives us a clue as to the number of troops that might have sufficed in the particular case.
In deploying from route column in a rencontre, the leading battalion may be fully engaged by the time the next one arrives on the battlefield. In such cases, the tactical situation may require the employment of longer firing lines than would be deemed proper for the size of the command when making a more serious attack. (Par. 357 German I. D. R.). The assailant should then endeavor to throw the enemy, who is likewise advancing, on the defensive. The situation is similar to that in which an advance guard has to cover the main body's debouchment from a defile.
At Nachod, five Prussian battalions, which had only two companies in
reserve, fought on a front of 2500 m. from 8 A. M. until noon.
The conduct of the advance guard of the 8th Infantry Division at Beaumont is worthy of imitation. In this case, the support battalion was deployed and the artillery went into position; strong detachments were retained in rear of the left wing until the main body had arrived. Likewise, a proper relation existed between frontage (4 battalions on a front of 1400 m.) and distribution in depth. According to the General Staff Account of the Franco-German war (II, p. 1045), the distribution was as follows:
