ss the fire
of infantry, as it would be to give up entirely the half-deep formation;
and an army is ruined if forced to adhere to precisely the same style of
tactical maneuvers in every country it may enter and against every
different nation. It is not so much the mode of formation as the proper
combined use of the different arms which will insure victory. I must,
however, except very deep masses, as they should be entirely abandoned.

I will conclude this subject by stating that a most vital point to be
attended to in leading infantry to the combat is to protect the troops
as much as possible from the fire of the enemy's artillery, not by
withdrawing them at inopportune moments, but by taking advantage of all
inequalities and accidents of the ground to hide them from the view of
the enemy. When the assaulting troops have arrived within musket-range,
it is useless to calculate upon sheltering them longer: the assault is
then to be made. In such cases covers are only suitable for skirmishers
and troops on the defensive.

It is generally quite important to defend villages on the front of a
position, or to endeavor to take them when held by an enemy who is
assailed; but their importance should not be overestimated; for we must
never forget the noted battle of Blenheim, where Marlborough and Eugene,
seeing the mass of the French infantry shut up in the villages, broke
through the center and captured twenty-four battalions which were
sacrificed in defending these posts.

For like reasons, it is useful to occupy clumps of trees or brushwood,
which may afford cover to the party holding them. They shelter the
troops, conceal their movements, cover those of cavalry, and prevent the
enemy from maneuvering in their neighborhood. The case of the park of
Hougoumont at the battle of Waterloo is a fine example of the influence
the possession of such a position, well chosen and strongly defended,
may have in deciding the fate of a battle. At Hochkirch and Kolin the
possession of the woods was very important.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 46: In this and subsequent figures we suppose a division of
twelve battalions.]

[Footnote 47: The word _division_ being used to designate four or five
regiments, as well as two companies of a battalion, there is danger of
confusion in its use.]

[Footnote 48: In the Russian army the skirmishers are taken from the
third rank of each division,--which makes the column eight men in depth,
instead of twe