Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1917-09-13
ADVANCING ACROSS WIDE
STRETCHES EXPOSED TO FIRE.

Inc uVanc III such q succession OF
mn lines us that described In the last
article Is used to progress across n
wide stretch which Is swept, or in dan.
ger OF being swept, by artillery fire, or
by l~ong-r"nge rifle fire. In short, this
type OF advance is undertaken in places
exposed to u fire which it would be
prolltless to return. The advance by
short PUSHES would both be costly (be-
cause Of the comparative concentration
of the men in the fire-swept area) and
impracticable, since to return rifle fire
against artillery would be futile. It
would he almost equally futile against
long-range rife fire. However, when
the thin lines have advanced. as was
said before, from 100 to $50 yards. they
may then be in Il better position to re-
turn the fire.
The purpose of this movement is to
build up Il strong skirmish line at Il
point where it may engage in IL fire
fight, and to build it up with the mimi
mum cost. This method, while advan-
tageous from certain s~tandpoints. also
has It's drawbacks. Because. during
the progress Of the advance. there is
almost entire loss Of control over the
company. Each individual Is left to
his W initiative in reaching the new
line. but unless otherwise specified,
til" advance il conducted ut quick time.
and there Is a general uniformity of
movement.
Yet the seriousness of the loss of
control depends very largely upon the
~hprevious training and discipline of the
company. If this has been of the
proper kind. and the company Is sutti-
GENTLY grounded in discipline, team
work, and esprit de corps, 1t will con-
tinue to assert itself even when the
man is proceeding across the exposed
area alone.
1t is precisely the same as with q
hack-feld player on a football eleven
He is alone, his responsibility is single
generally speaking, but at that he
never loses his consciousness of team.
play and the essential coordination OF
his efforts with those Of the rest of his
team.
Against the possible disadvantage OF
a temporary loss of control over the
company, moreover. Is the more than
ccmpensating advantage that such an
advance is less likely to draw fire,
This is not only important from the
standpoint of casualties, but would in
itself reduce the degree in which such
control may be lost. In other words,
II would be V e more difficult to re-
tain control over a deployed company
which is subject to a whitening fire
than over a company advancing in a
succession of thin lines, If the fire Is
scattering and Intellectual.
The war in Europe has in many re-
spects cancelled previous theories OF
combat. In view of such developments
the regulations specifically state that
other and better formations may be dc
vised to fit particular cases. But this
basic principle remains: "The best for
nation is the one which advances the
line furthest with the least loss of men
time and control"
Training in the existing regulations
for extended order work, therefore
schools the young soldier in the under
lying purpose of the fire attack, ant
after comprehending this. he can much
more easily adapt himself to any spe
cia| methods which conditions may re
qulre.