"Infantry is the arm which in the end wins battles" ("Field Service
Regulations," vol. ii. (1921)). The speed with which infantry can
advance, and the distance which can be covered in one day, are the only
limits to the striking power of well-trained infantry. In the Great
War these limits were largely removed by the use of Mechanical
Transport, and this means of transportation will be used increasingly
in Modern Warfare, in order to bring fresh troops into or near the
scene of action, or to expedite the removal of exhausted troops from
the battlefield. Against these natural limits to mobility are the
compensating advantages of the power of infantry to move into and over
almost any ground by day or by night, and the rapidity with which
trained infantrymen can find or improvise cover.
The main object of battle is to close with the enemy and to destroy him
by killing or capture, and it is this power to close with the enemy
which makes infantry the decisive arm in battle.
THE RIFLE AND BAYONET.--The rifle is the principal infantry weapon, and
the British "Short-magazine {165} Lee-Enfield" rifle is the best rifle
in action. A trained rifleman can fire 15 aimed shots in a minute,
reloading with the butt in the shoulder and eyes on the mark. With the
bayonet affixed the rifle is the principal weapon of close combat for
delivering or repelling an assault, and in Night Assaults infantry
depend entirely upon the bayonet.
THE ENTRENCHING TOOL, carried by all other ranks, is an invaluable
adjunct to the rifle bullet and to the bayonet. In a War of Manoeuvre,
when infantry are frequently compelled to improvise defences on the
field of battle, by night as well as by day, the value of the
Entrenching Tool can scarcely be exaggerated. In Position Warfare, and
in the organisation of an area for prolonged defence in a War of
Manoeuvre, heavier tools and materials of all kinds are available for
the consolidation of the defences, but for the rapid construction of
temporary defences by day or by night the Entrenching Tool alone has
been proved to be highly effective. When troops are "digging
themselves in" at night with this weapon care must be taken that some
system is adopted to obtain a more or less regular line facing in the
right direction. By the extension of the men of an infantry section at
arm's length facing the enemy, and by moving the two men on each flank
two paces outwards, and the two centre men two paces backwards, and
then causing the section to dig "on the line of their toes," there will
result (even on the darkest night) a short fire trench with a central
traverse. This sectional trench can be connected at the first
opportunity with trenches dug by other sections similarly extended.
During the _Retreat from Mons_ (August-September, 1914) the
"Contemptible Little Army," under Marshal French, frequently obtained,
by means of the Entrenching Tool alone, shelter from bullets, and a
system of fire trenches which cost the pursuing Germans hundreds of
lives and materially delayed their movements.
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THE LEWIS GUN.--The Lewis gun is an automatic rifle, firing the same
ammunition as the S.-M.-L.-E. rifle, and two Lewis-gun sections are
included in each infantry platoon. The rate of fire is increased by
the automatic action of the gun, the maximum rate permitting a drum of
47 rounds to be fired in less than ten seconds, while one or two rounds
only may be fired if so required. The mobility of the Lewis-gun
sections is the same as that of other sections of the infantry platoon.