OFFENSIVE METHODS.

Wanganui Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15132, 29 January 1917, Page 5

OFFENSIVE METHODS.

NEW FRENCH TACTICS.-

ELASTICITY op system, »

ADVANCE IN OPEN ORDER.

The new tatida developed by the French infantry In offensive' operations havfi been described by Mr H. Warner Allen, British correspondent with the Frefiph Army. He explains that an infantry assault is a sight that is very rarely witnessed by anyone except the aviator overhead. Thirty seconds alter the men have left their trenches there Is a veil of smoke over everything. What is really happening behind that smoke can only be realised'if a mimic attack has already beenlSeen.

The men advance with a dense barrage before them, and no longer in long, close-packed waves. There are at least jlO paces between every man, and with this formation not only is there plenty of room for bullets to pass between them, but, progress is far quicker, since they can pick their ground and thread their way between the shell holes. The wild, exhilarating rus hhas disappeared; everything is done in a measured and ordered manner. Every battalion, every company, every section is well in hand, and every man has a well-defined task to perform. Before the assault the ground has been studied with meticulous care. Every tinV landmark, such as a tree stump or a mound of earth, has been noted, and amount of cover afforded by a slope that may be scarcely perceptible has been estimated and considered.

CLEARING THE TRENCHES. Watching the sham attack from the position supposed to be in German hands, one saw a line of men with wide intervals between them rise over the parapet of the trench and approach in what seemed leisurely fashion. Behind that line rose line after line, for experience has shown that the .battle front should be deep and in open order, and not, cks in the Champagne offensive, thin and tight packed. Grenadiers led the assault. Thanks to the elasticity of the new system, the proportion of bayonets can be varied in accordance with the ground and the resistance anticipated, without any breaking up of the units. When a trench is carried and passed a certain number of men remain behind. They are the “trench scavengers,” the nettoyeurs de trenches, whose duty it is to see that not a German is left capable of doing harm behind the advancing lines of men. These specialists are grenadiers and picked men. The nettoyeurs use grenades very methodically. First they spot a dug-out with some Germans in it. Then they locate ' its various entrances. Down one of 'these entrances a number of bombs are thrown, while the other nettoyeurs gather round the other bolt holes

and wait events. They have not long to wait. As soon as the grenades explode in the .enclosed spaces, underground and fill them with smoke and flames the Boches bolt like rabbits for the surface, where they are received by a hardy gang of expectant poilus. ■

, THE NEXT STAGE. r ' When the first objective is reached there is a pause. Just over the heads of the infantry a fussy aeroplane has been flying to and fro, signalling every incident of the advance to the rear. So many minutes have been given to cover a hundred yards, and when those minutes have elapsed the infantry can settle down, in the conquered positions. ‘ Sometimes, of course, the infantry may be brought to a standstill by a nest of enemy machine-guns and by defences that have managed to survive the preliminary bombardment. In the practice attack that I witnessed these defences were represented by a collection of barbed wire and chevaux de frise in the centre of the assault. The left and right wings had carried their objective, but the centre had been held up by this obstacle. The result was that this point of resistance was exposed to a converging fire, but the enemy still held put. If ihe worst came to the worst, the task of reducing this obstinate position could be entrusted to the artillery, but the opposing lines were now 1 so close together that if the guns were to have a fair chance it would be necessary to evacuate temporarily during the bombardment a considerable part of the captured ground., Modern infantry, however; has been expressly trained to deal with such a problem. The commanding officed decided that the preparation of the assault should be carried out by the infantry itself, and that there should be no waste pf time. Leaving his centre to keep the Germans fully occupied he reinforced his wings from his reserves, sending up all the specialists at his disposal. By this time, too, nis ma-chine-guns had come into play, and a still more important reinforcement in the shape of the litle portable gun was on the spot. ' The preparation opened with msils mitrallleurs and machine-guns, which threw a torrent of bullets just over the parapet of the opposing trench. Simultaneously the grenade rifles got to work, dropping grenades on the supposed enemy’s heads. Smoke once again covered everything. Then,- whem'after scores of explosions every German left alive might reasonably be considered to have taken . refuge ip the nearest dug-out, the position was carried with the bayonet aind hand grenade. At the moment the preparation began a signal rocket was sent up calling for a barrage of 75’s, the deadliest of all barrages,, behind the doomed position. The speciality of the handy litle gun that accompanies the infantry in its assault is knocking out enemy machine-guns, and its accuracy Is,, so great that at a very considerable .range its v gunners can reckon on a. direct hit in a few shots. „■