ank_ is at its
best in this form of warfare, as it can surmount or demolish almost any
street barricade, and can be followed up at once by the infantry, but
it must always be regarded as an auxiliary to the infantry, and not as
a principal.

In the third phase, the advance from the captured village, while the
supports are "mopping up" such of the garrison as have survived the
capture, previous reorganisation and deployment will probably be as
essential as in wood fighting, and during all the phases of the
struggle in woods and villages sudden counter-attacks must always be
expected and local reserves to repel them must be provided. In issuing
from the village, rapid bounds to points from which the fire positions
in rear can be brought under control will also be required.

{163}

DEFENCE OF A VILLAGE.--It is difficult to avoid the inclusion of
villages in a scheme of defence on account of the facilities afforded
for water, cover, and shelter, but while villages assist in the
Delaying Action they are liable to become "shell traps" in a prolonged
defence, unless there is good cellarage accommodation, while the local
effect of a bursting shell is also increased.

There are certain principles common to all defensive action in village
fighting:--

(1) The garrison should consist of a definite unit or formation under a
definite commander.

(2) The forward troops should be posted in front of the edge of the
village, partly because of the vulnerability of the actual edge to
artillery fire but mainly to prevent the attack from establishing
itself in the forward buildings. In the case of a small village it
will often be advantageous to occupy positions on the flanks commanding
the edge by fire, with a view to enticing the attack into the "funnel"
thus provided.

(3) Supports and Reserves must be centralised in order that they may be
readily available for instantaneous local counter-attacks, by which
means alone a village can be defended against a determined enemy.

(4) Houses should be loopholed and windows sand-bagged, while
house-to-house communication must be improvised to increase the
defenders' power of manoeuvre.

(5) The interior of the village should be defended by the cross fire of
machine guns and Lewis guns, but while churches and halls, and the
inner edge of village greens and of squares, should be prepared for
determined resistance, such places should not be occupied as billets,
owing to the risk of los