Tactical.—Regulations for Machine-Gun Detachments in the German Army.
Para. 187.—Machine guns enable commanders to develop at fixed points the maximum volume of infantry fire on the smallest possible front. Machine guns can be employed in any country which is practicable for infantry, and when once they are unlimbered they must be able to surmount considerable obstacles. In action they offer no greater target than riflemen, fighting under like conditions, and they can in proportion to their fire value support far greater losses than infantry.
When movements over the battlefield are contemplated, and the machine guns (unlimbered as soon as hostile fire is expected) are pulled or carried forward, they can utilise all cover which infantry is able to use. Cover that is barely sufficient for a section of infantry can protect an entire machine-gun detachment. The construction of the carriage on which guns, ammunition, and men can be conveyed, and the capabilities of the team, enable machine guns to keep up with mounted troops on the march.
Para. 188.—The range and striking effect of the machine gun is identical with that of the infantry rifle. The rapid succession of shots and the narrow concentration of the cone of dispersion, together with the possibilities of uniting several guns on a limited front, render it feasible for machine guns to obtain rapidly a decisive success in certain positions, and even
