Part 10

D. RULES FOR INDIVIDUAL SKIRMISHERS.

1. In advancing, in retreat, or at a halt, use every cover that presents itself.

2. Preserve the alignment and the intervals, so far as possible. On open ground, this may be done perfectly. In woods, skirmishers should never, for a moment, lose sight of each other.

3. The security of the flanks should be looked out for by the men near them.

4. Run over exposed ground as quickly as possible.

5. Approach the crest of a hill with great caution.

6. If threatened by artillery alone, advance and kill off the men and horses before they get into battery. When the pieces have got into battery, lie down, if on exposed ground, till they limber up again, and then recommence the fire.

7. A skirmisher, with the new rifled arms, ought, at five hundred yards, to be more than a match for a gun; for, in men and horses, he has a much larger target than the gun has in him.

Again, with the new rifle shells, he may be able to blow up a caisson.

8. Neither should a skirmisher have much to fear from a single horseman. With his bayonet fixed, he would usually be able to defend himself successfully against the trooper, whose sabre is the shorter weapon of the two; more especially, if he will take care to keep on the trooper's left, which is his exposed side.

9. Never lose your calmness. Your power consists, not in rapid firing, but in the accuracy of your aim. Avoid all hurried and violent movements; and never raise your gun till sure of a shot.

10. The aim, according to the Tactics, is made by bringing the gun down, instead of raising it up. However little the soldier may be excited, he will be apt to pull the trigger more or less too soon; that is, while the muzzle is yet too elevated. This is the reason why infantry missiles usually fly too high. The difficulty would not be obviated by causing the aim to be made by raising the piece; for then the same disturbing cause already mentioned, the soldier's excitement, would make the shots fly as much too low, as they now fly too high.

Rapid firing is another cause of this incompleteness of aim. Infantry firing is already too rapid to be effective; so that what is claimed for the new breech-loading weapons as an advantage, that they increase the rapidity of fire, furnishes, on the contrary, a strong objection to them. The effectiveness of the fire of a sharp-shooter, especially, will be usually in inverse, instead of direct proportion to the number of shots he delivers in a given time.

In view of this, and of the tendency to pull the trigger before the muzzle is sufficiently depressed, it has become an established maxim, to

"Aim low, Fire slow"

TACTICAL USE OF ARTILLERY.

The subject will be treated under the following heads:--

I.--HOW POSTED WITH RESPECT TO THE GROUND. II.--HOW POSTED WITH RESPECT TO OUR OWN TROOPS. III.--HOW POSTED WITH RESPECT TO THE ENEMY. IV.--POSTING OF BATTERIES AND PIECES AS BETWEEN THEMSELVES. V.--HOW USED. VI.--ITS FIRE. VII.--ITS SUPPORTS.

I.--How posted with respect to the Ground.

1. Artillery has a much longer range than musketry. In order to avail ourselves of this advantage, we must so post it as to overlook all the ground to which its utmost range extends. It therefore requires an elevated position.

2. It has been considered an additional advantage of a commanding position for artillery, that it enables our guns to cover our infantry, attacking or attacked, by firing over their heads.

This was done by the French at Waterloo, apparently with great effect. But the advantage is a doubtful one; for firing over our own troops, especially with cast-shot or shell, is very dangerous to them, and is apt to intimidate them. It moreover furnishes to the enemy a double target. The shot which miss our troops will be apt to fall among the guns behind them; and some of those which do not reach the guns, will probably take effect among the troops in front of them.

3. But very high points are unfavorable positions for batteries. Batteries so placed would not command the ground immediately below them; as guns cannot be depressed to fire below a certain angle without soon destroying their carriages. And this would facilitate their capture; for, once arrived on the ground near them, the assailants could not be injured by their fire. It has been estimated that the slope in front of a battery should not exceed one perpendicular to fifteen base.

4. When guns have to be used as a support to other parts of the line, which is often the case, their capture might lead to serious consequences. They should therefore have the ground clear of all obstacles which may mask their fire, not only in front, but to their right and left.

5. Although the most favorable position for guns is an eminence sloping gradually towards the enemy, an open and level plain is by no means an unfavorable one; for, on such ground, the enemy will be visible at a great distance, and our shot may act by ricochet, which causes more destruction than ordinary point-blank firing.

For ricochet, firm and even ground is requisite; on soft or rough ground it is not attainable.

6. In enfilading the enemy's position, or in raking his advancing columns from head to rear, a grazing fire is the most destructive that can be used. This consists of a long succession of ricochets at low heights. Where the ground is level and firm, we can obtain this fire at a short distance from the enemy; as, on such ground, ricochet shots do not rise much. But where the ground is uneven, to obtain such a fire, a more distant position will be requisite.

7. Muddy ground is unfavorable for artillery. Over such ground, its carriages move slowly, and its fire is less effective. Balls cannot ricochet; and shells often sink into the mud, and thus are either extinguished or explode with but little effect.