flank of the main line of battle. From here they will be able to co-operate by attacking on the flank, from which they can bring fire to bear concentrically with the main attack, while such a position favours pursuit on parallel lines, and is also a suitable one from which to prevent pursuit in the event of a retreat.[1] The machine guns will now assemble in batteries under their G.O.C., who will use them, as the occasion may demand, to hold "positions of observation," to protect his front and flank in the early stages of the battle, and later, in conjunction with a few dismounted squadrons, to envelop the enemy's flank and bring a powerful volume of fire to assist the main infantry attack, or to draw troops away from the point selected for assault.
"The climax of the infantry attack is the assault which is made possible by superiority of fire,"[B] and the cavalry commander will be justified in using his 24 machine guns in assisting to attain this object, provided that in doing so they remain under his immediate orders and in a position from which they are instantly available for the pursuit.
We have already seen how machine guns should co-operate in the pursuit, and their mobility will render them even more effective when pursuing infantry. The following example from the Russo-Japanese War may be of interest in this connection.
- ↑ Cavalry Training, 1907, p. 226.
