part of the vanguard. . . . The main guard comprises the troops of the advanced guard not allotted to the vanguard."
We will first take the case of infantry with the vanguard as a support to the mounted troops, and suppose that two companies are allotted for this duty and have been given a section of machine guns. The formation of the infantry of the vanguard will largely depend on the nature of the country and the proximity of the enemy. Where the country is open plain they will probably be extended in a long line of skirmishers, in which case the machine guns should march close in rear of the centre on the road. Should the country be close or broken, the vanguard infantry may be confined to the road—with small parties pushed out to the front and flanks—in which case the machine guns should march in rear of the advanced party, and not in rear of the vanguard. It must be remembered that machine guns are able to come into action and open a heavy and accurate fire in less time than it would take infantry of equal fire power to deploy and to open fire from a position; it is therefore the machine guns of the vanguard that should be the first to open fire and give the infantry time to deploy and find fire positions. When the enemy is encountered the object of the vanguard infantry must be to support the cavalry as quickly as possible, and enable them to mount and push forward round the flanks.
