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                                       | DENSITY.
              TARGETS. +——-+——-+——-+——-
                                       | 4 | 8 | 16 | 32
———————————————————-+——-+——-+——-+——-
                                       |  % |  % |  % |  %
Infantry skirmishers standing in | | | |
 the open, or a single rank line | 25 | 40 | 65 | —-
                                       | | | |
Skirmishers lying down; gun crews | | | |
 under fire but protected by shields | | | |
 of the French type. Space between | | | |
 shields and ground not closed | 7.5 | 15 | 25 | 40
                                       | | | |
Infantry lying down behind knapsacks; | | | |
 gun crews protected by shields. Space | | | |
 between shields and ground not closed | —- | 7.5 | 15 | 25
                                       | | | |
Infantry lying down behind their knap- | | | |
 sacks, but not firing; gun crews | | | |
 protected by shields. Space between | | | |
 shields and ground closed so that | | | |
 bullets cannot pass through | —- | 0-2 | —- | —-
———————————————————-+——-+——-+——-+——-

A skirmish line 100 m. long, and lying down, would suffer a loss of 15% irrespective of its strength, from progressive fire (tir progressif; 32 rounds, density 8). If the interval between skirmishers in the open amounts to 1-1/2 paces, for instance, the front would contain 62 skirmishers, and the resulting loss would amount to 9 men. If the men have placed their knapsacks in front of them, the loss would be reduced by half. A line of skirmishers of the same length and strength as the one considered above, would suffer a loss of 40%, or 25 men, when standing up or advancing. About 1-1/2 minutes are required to fire one tir progressif, after adjustment has been secured. The same effect could be obtained in about 20 seconds by firing a rafale of eight rounds, provided the battery has accurately adjusted its fire.