horse artillery; if possible, therefore, they should take precautions that all ground commanding their line of retreat is occupied by flank guards."
There are three distinct ways of employing machine guns with infantry to assist in covering the retreat, as will be seen from the portions of the above quoted in italics, viz. (1) With the rear guard. (2) To secure vital points on the line of retreat. (3) To occupy commanding positions on the flanks. The use of machine guns with the rear guard will be dealt with separately, so we will see how they should be employed to fulfil the two latter duties.
Let us suppose that the moment has arrived when the commander of the force decides to break off the engagement and to effect a retreat. We have already seen how the cavalry and their machine guns will co-operate, and we may assume that their intervention will enable the infantry to break off the fight under cover of the fire of the rear guard and their machine guns. In anticipation of this, the commander of the machine-gun batteries—other than those allotted to the rear guard—will assemble them in a central position and receive from the commander of the force his plan of action and instructions for the co-operation of the machine guns. These instructions should definitely state the positions to be occupied on the line of retreat, and for how long such positions are to be held (e.g. until the infantry are past such-and-such a place, or to the last possible moment, etc.); but
