ATTACK AND DEFENCE OE A POSITION. 
129 
point is how to arrange the troops to defend it. As has already been 
stated, a part of the force, from quarter to half, should be kept in 
reserve to meet unexpected movements of the enemy and for the 
decisive counterstroke. To the remainder of the force the defence of 
the position will be entrusted : the whole front will be divided into 
sections, to which definite bodies of troops will be assigned. Then the 
commanders of each of these bodies of troops will proceed to distri¬ 
bute his troops in the section assigned to him. 
In the first place, the position for the batteries will be selected. 
It will depend upon the circumstances of each individual case whether 
each commander of a section of the defence will arrange his own bat¬ 
teries, or whether the whole shall be placed according to a scheme 
emanating from superior authority. In any case, the bodies of troops 
forming the reserve will keep with them the batteries belonging to 
them, but positions in the first line should be assigned to all the bat¬ 
teries belonging to the troops to whom the defensive task is entrusted, 
although it does not necessarily follow that they should all occupy 
these positions at the very commencement of the action. 
The following conditions will influence the selection of the positions 
for the batteries The objects that the artillery of the defence should 
have in view are to force the assailant into deploying his forces and 
showing his intentions as soon as possible —to prevent him from estab¬ 
lishing a superiority of artillery fire and preparing the way for the 
advance of his infantry—and to shake and destroy to the utmost the 
attacking infantry when it advances. To gain these objects the artil¬ 
lery should be able from its position to command as far as possible 
the roads by which the enemy must advance, and the ground on 
which he must deploy when he can no longer keep to the roads ; it 
should also be able to bring a large amount of fire to bear on the 
ground on which it is probable that the attacking artillery will deploy, 
and finally be able to sweep the whole of the ground immediately in 
front of the main position over which the infantry attacks must be 
made. 
If these objects can be obtained from positions within the infantry 
position it will be so much the better, as the batteries will be less ex¬ 
posed to musketry fire. Such was the case with the German artil¬ 
lery at the battles on the Lisaine, Jan. 1871. But cases will occur 
when from within the infantry line either the ground within artillery 
range cannot be all seen, or the ground on which the enemy will 
deploy cannot be effectively reached. In such cases it will be often 
desirable to push the batteries forward in the early part of the action, 
as the German I. Corps did at the battle of Noisseville, drawing them 
back when the attacking infantry endangers their safety to positions 
prepared for them within the infantry position, whence they can carry 
out the last part of their task, the co-operation in the close defence. 
As in the attack, massing the guns will conduce to unity of action, 
but is perhaps less essential. 
When the positions for the batteries have been chosen, the 
infantry will be placed in position. At first, before the enemy's in- 
