fire of its assigned unit is withdrawn. For
example, with four platoons, and platoon rushes to start from the
right, the company sector is divided into three parts assigned to the
first, second and third platoons, the fourth being the "switch." When
number 1 ceases fire to advance, No. 4 fires at No. 1's target; when
No. 2 ceases to fire, No. 4 fires at No. 2's target, then at No. 3's
target, and finally No. 4 advances.

=1444. Individual instruction in fire distribution.= Every man should
be thoroughly drilled, instructed and trained always to _fire at that
part of the hostile target which corresponds to the position he
occupies in his platoon_. That is to say, if on the right of his
platoon, he fires at the right (as he faces it) of the hostile target;
if in the right center of his platoon, he fires at the right center
(as he faces it) of the target, and so on. This is represented by the
following diagram, the points A', B', C', etc., representing the parts
of the hostile target at which the men occupying the positions A, B,
C, etc., in their platoon, would fire:

[Illustration: Fig. 51]

=1445. Designation of target.= It is very important that the
commanders should be able to describe the objectives to be attacked
and the sectors[19] to be defended, and that individual soldiers
should be able to understand and transmit to other soldiers such
descriptions. Within the squad, target designation implies ability on
the part of the squad leader to understand and transmit to his squad
the target designation received from his platoon leader, and also
ability on his own part to designate a target intelligently; within
the platoon, target designation implies ability on the part of the
platoon leader to understand the company commander's designation of
the target and to transmit that designation to his platoon in such
manner as to insure an equal distribution of its fire within the
sector assigned to it; within the company, target designation implies
ability on the part of the company commander to designate the targets
into which the company sector is divided in such manner that the
platoon leaders will have no trouble in understanding him. It also
implies ability on the part of the company commander to change the
objectives or sectors of his platoons, and his ability to cover the
whole target of the company during a forward movement of a part of the
company, by the so-called "switch" or the "overlapping" method, or by
any