among the troops of the advanced guard, and should make use of their mobility. This will allow them to open fire from well-chosen positions before the moment of contact, and help to obtain the desired result.
The place for the machine-gun commander is near the General. If the machine guns have been well placed in the column, they will—thanks to their mobility, which is equal to that of any cavalry detachment—be able to make use of the considerable time required by a large force of cavalry to get into battle formation.
Whereas with infantry the surprise of the enemy is always effected by making use of the features of the ground, the best method for cavalry guns is to utilise their rapidity of motion and their resemblance to other cavalry units, for which at a distance they are easily mistaken.
The widest power of initiative is left to the commander for the grouping of his units in the fight. Very often he will only bring up near the firing line the horse carrying the gun and one carrying ammunition, in order to be able to escape rapidly. At other times all the horses will be brought up close under cover. At others the whole section will dash up to their position at full speed; the guns will be unloaded at once, and the horses will disappear to the rear. The one important thing is to open fire as a surprise.
To sum up: the Austrian Regulations only confirm the rules already laid down by very
