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 officers are either killed or wounded and they themselves are exposed to fire?

If we use squad volleys (Russia), we approximate fire at will without any of its advantages, besides which, commands, given by so many leaders, tend to confuse the men. Moreover, it is very difficult to handle the platoon, to stop firing, to change target, and to initiate movements. Volley firing is therefore confined to the preparatory stage of combat and to rare moments in which the troops firing are not themselves under effective fire. In the defense of fortified positions many opportunities will be found for the employment of volley fire. The use of trial volleys for the purpose of testing the rear sight elevation will be confined to a few favorable cases, and it may be remarked that animated fire at will concentrated on some definite point produces the same results.

The French, who retained volleys longer than the other powers (to keep the men in hand, to regulate the expenditure of ammunition, and to direct a concentrated collective fire upon the most important target according to the will of the leader), found a substitute in the fire with counted cartridges, the "burst of fire" (rafale). This was also adopted by their artillery. In Germany, the importance of the sudden effect produced by these "bursts of fire" is recognized, but the same object is sought to be attained by training alone; while