Nothing is so effective, and the moral effect on an enemy who is enfiladed at close range renders it usually decisive.
Cover will generally be provided by the spade, and ditches require little work to turn them into excellent pits, the only thing necessary as a rule being to excavate a hole in rear for the back leg of the tripod. Where there is a ditch with a hedge in front of it, the ditch should be improved so as to provide a pit for the gun to fire through the hedge about six inches above ground level. If the hedge is too thick to fire through, it should not be cut down, but a hole should be cut in the growth for the muzzle of the gun sufficiently large to aim through. If it is necessary to cut a gap in the hedge, the growth should be cut through close to the ground, but without removing it until the moment for opening fire.
Alternative positions in the same hedgerow should be avoided, as it is certain to be discovered immediately, and the range is probably already known.
The edge of the wood, if it commands suitable ground, is an excellent position for machine guns; but if the carriages remain in the wood they must be provided with cover. When time and material are available, a good field of fire may be obtained by erecting a platform ten to twelve feet above the ground in the trees, and placing a machine gun on this; not only is the field of fire much increased, but the gun will be
