THE ROYAL ARTILLERY INSTITUTION. 
253 
expedient, as the undulations of ground which would hide a column fail to 
hide the line of a battalion at war strength. 
It is true that the Prussian columns were frequently visible under fire, 
but they would be again quickly concealed, whilst all the time they pre¬ 
served a flexibility of direction and a rapidity of motion not to be hoped for 
from a line. 
To enter more into detail, the most important feature in the Prussian 
mode of manoeuvring infantry is the system of moving in company columns ; 
the company is the fourth of the battalion, and on war strength equal 
to 250 men; the captain is mounted, the company column is six men deep, 
when the battalion is in the first line all four company columns may be 
formed at deploying intervals, or as is more usual, the two centre columns 
may be contiguous and the flank columns at deploying intervals; this 
splits up the battalion without dismembering it, and appears a most 
happy application of the principle of columns, it gives independence and 
rapidity of movement to a marked degree. 
The skirmishers may be thrown out from each company or from the two 
flank companies; the skirmishers of each company cover its front, the whole 
battalion therefore may either have a connected line of skirmishers or two 
or four broken lines. 
A battalion in line in covering its front with skirmishers, at first sends 
two skirmishing subdivisions to the front round the flanks, these throw out 
one or more sections (4 to 6 files), thus the flanks or extremities of our 
line are first covered, if more skirmishers are required they are supplied 
from the remaining skirmishing subdivisions and extend inwards from those 
first formed till in the limit the entire front is covered with a thick line of 
skirmishers. 
It is a rule which illustrates the good division of labour and chain of 
responsibility in the Prussian service that, “ to facilitate control through 
their leaders the skirmishers of each section (4 to 6 files) work together as 
a group; the under officers are told off to the different sections, between 
the different groups (in open ground) an interval of a few paces is allowed 
that the under officers in command may better supervise their men. The 
under officers are not obliged to remain at any particular post, but place 
themselves wherever their presence is most required."* 
The general principle of Prussian tactics being to gain a position 
wherever possible on the enemy's flank, they hold that it is neither 
necessary nor wise to advance and open fire uniformly on every part of 
a front, even if it be only about 200 or 300 yards. It is sufficient to 
carry the commanding points of the ground, when the enemy must yield 
the lower ground, or be destroyed, or cut off. 
Each company having its captain mounted is a unit in itself and is 
capable of quad independent action. It would seem that such an organi¬ 
zation is well calculated to enable the most to be made of such a system 
of tactics as the above. It cultivates the address and developes the 
efficiency of a comparatively large number of officers in the battalion. 
^ See Witzleben, Heerwpsen, &c. Berlin, 1868, Sect, II. p. 125. 
