366 
NOTES ON APPLIED FIELD FORTIFICATION. 
Localities ii 
front of 
main line. 
We come next to the cases of localities, such as woods, coppices, vil¬ 
lages, groups of buildings, &c., situated in front of the main line of 
defence. Considerable difficulty may sometimes be found in deciding 
what to do in such cases, and each one must be decided on its own 
merits. But some considerations may be pointed out which will help 
in arriving at a decision. Take first the case of woods and coppices. 
If the wood is very extensive it will, in almost all cases, be unwise to 
go into it, and the best course will be to entangle the near edge and 
place the defensive line behind it, in which case the enemy will find it 
very difficult to debouch from it. If, however, the wood or coppice 
is not very large it may be doubtful whether to occupy it or not. 
If it is not more than from 200 to 600 yards from the main line and 
large enough to contain an important force of men, it may be best 
to occupy it, as it will have a very considerable power of resistance, 
and if it were given up it would enable the enemy to bring up with 
little loss a considerable force to within dangerous proximity of the 
main line of defence. An instance of the advantageous occupation 
of such a locality is given by the La Folie coppice at Gravelotte. 
If, however, it is 600 yards or more in front of the main line, it 
will generally be best to give it up, bringing strong fire to bear 
on its nearer edge. Again, even if it is within that distance of 
the main line, if it is small and its further edge exposed to the 
enemy’s artillery or stretching down a slope, it will usually not be 
worth holding, as its power of resisting the concentric attack that can 
be brought against it will not be sufficient to compensate for the 
sacrifice of its garrison, and even if occupied by the enemy it is not 
large enough to be of much use to him as a step towards the main 
position. If time permits of its being cut down it will not be of any 
use at all to the enemy, but it may not be always desirable to cut it all 
down if the trees are any screen to the main line from the enemy’s 
artillery: in such a case entangling the nearer edge will be sufficient. 
With regard to villages and buildings, it may be said that if they are 
of any extent and within effective musketry range of the main position, 
they ought to be held. It will be almost impossible with the time and 
means ordinarily available to destroy them so completely that the enemy 
cannot find cover in them, and if he does, he will use them as a base 
for further advance. Moreover, supported by the fire of the main line 
they should be capable of stubborn defence and therefore seriously 
delay the attack on the main line. If, however, they are small or far 
to the front, they had better be left alone—the nearer, smaller build¬ 
ings being destroyed as far as possible. Villages some distance in front 
of the line are very awkward features, but if they stretch out a long way 
towards the enemy so as to give him the opportunity of partially 
encircling them without suffering much from the fire of the main line, 
they will not, as a rule, be able to hold out long enough to be worth 
the sacrifice of their garrison. At the same time, villages in front of 
the position in the hands of the assailants give the latter a great 
pied-a-terre and seriously compromise the probability of successful 
counter-attack, as was seen in the case of the village of Woerth. 
Therefore, while villages far to the front and unfavourably situated as 
