posted as file closers at facing distance in rear of the rear rank of the company.
Germany.
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The non-commissioned officers are posted in the front
rank, on the flanks and in the center of the platoons in
Russia, Austria, and Switzerland. In Germany and Italy
they are all posted in rear of the line as file closers, and it
is their duty to supervise the men. In France a part of the
non-commissioned officers are posted in the front rank, the
remainder as file closers. A German company of 200 men
has a front of 100 paces, or 80 m. The infantryman with
field equipment occupies a space about 75 cm. square.
The German Infantry Drill Regulations define interval (intervalle)
as the space between two elements on the same line, and distance as the
space between two elements in the direction of depth. An interval is
measured from the left flank of the element on the right to the right
flank of the element on the left (or vice versa); and distance in the
company and in the battalion is measured from the rear of the element
in front to the head of the element in rear (or vice versa). If the
distance between two elements is equal to their front, the column is
called an "open column", otherwise it is called a "close column."
