fire, distances should be diminished to facilitate the transmission of orders.
When the battalion is acting alone, the intervals depend upon the purpose of the combat. In the fights around Mukden, some of the Japanese battalions, stationed at points where the decision was not sought, were each assigned a front of 800 m. In these cases the four companies of each battalion had to be deployed abreast of each other at large intervals.
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It is impossible to prescribe fixed forms of deployment
for particular situations. In each case the formation of the
battalion depends upon the situation, the purpose of the
combat, and the nature of the ground, the battalion commander
having the option of going into action in one, two,
or three lines.
Moreover, the formation depends upon whether—
1. The battalion is acting alone or as part of a larger force; and whether one or both of its flanks are resting on impassable obstacles;
2. Whether it is fighting a decisive or a containing action; whether it is to attack or to stand on the defensive;
3. Whether it is to prepare the attack by its own fire
