Page:Machine-gun tactics (IA machineguntactic00appl).pdf/169

 are even more important and exacting than they are in the field operations; in the case both of an investment and of a regular siege the brunt of the work throughout will fall upon the outposts They must therefore have greater power of resistance than outposts in field warfare in order to prevent the troops in rear from being disturbed by every skirmish. The outposts of a section which is maintaining a close investment should be about one quarter of the total infantry allotted to the section, together with a proportion of artillery, ''machine guns, and engineers''."[A]

The positions for the machine guns should be along the line of resistance, which will usually be the piquet line. It will be necessary to provide bomb-proof emplacements for the machine guns, and alternative emplacements should be made for each gun. The temptation to engage in the fire fight must be resisted, and the machine guns should be solely employed for resisting attacks and their fire reserved till close range. Once they have been unmasked, it will be advisable to move them to a fresh position, leaving a dummy gun in the old position.

In the second phase of the siege the machine guns not required for the outpost line should be allotted to the local reserves and the general reserve, and will be used as circumstances require in assisting attacks on outlying works and in repelling counter-attacks. In the third phase machine guns must be pushed up to secure