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 of the commander, the state of the action, the nature of the country and the state of the ground.

''Para. 211.''—The dispositions for taking up a position must be made in time to avoid any delay in opening fire. Every effort must be made to take up a position unobserved, and to open fire by surprise. Both of these are, however, only possible if special attention is paid to the utilisation of cover during the advance to the position, thus keeping the enemy in ignorance of the locality which it is intended to occupy. In the absence of cover, or when immediate entry into action is required, the surprise of the enemy must be effected by rapidity in occupying a position.

''Para. 213.''—The most favourable position must be sought for each individual weapon with regard to fire effect and cover. As a rule there is an interval of 20 paces between guns, but the direction and regularity of the intervals in the detachment are not to be insisted upon. It must be considered, however, that the losses caused by the enemy's fire will be heavier in proportion as the machine guns are posted closer together. Care must be taken that the individual guns do not interfere with one another's fire. Placing single guns in echelon may offer advantages where the flanks are threatened.

When the nature of the ground or of the target renders a more careful choice necessary for each gun, it is recommended that this be