112.  The influence of the instructor is great.  He must be master of his weapon, not only to show the various movements, but also to lead in the exercises at will.  He should stimulate the zeal of the men and arouse pleasure in the work.  Officers should qualify themselves as instructors by fencing with each other.

113.  The character of each man, his bodily conformation, and his degree of skill must always be taken into account.  When the instructor is demonstrating the combinations, feints, returns, and parries the rapidity of his attack should be regulated by the skill of the pupil and no more force than is necessary should be used.  If the pupil exposes himself too much in the feints and parries, the instructor will, by an attack, convince him of his error; but if these returns be too swiftly or too strongly made the pupil will become overcautious and the precision of his attack will be impaired.  The object is to teach the pupil, not to give exhibitions of superior skill.

114.  Occasionally the instructor should leave himself uncovered and fail to parry, in order to teach the pupil to take quick advantage of such opportunities.

SUGGESTIONS.

Instruction in bayonet exercise and bayonet fencing should be conducted with a view to teaching the aggressive use of the bayonet.  Unless troops are so thoroughly trained with the bayonet that they believe that with it they are superior to their opponents it will be difficult or impossible to develop that morale which is necessary for a successful assault.  Men should be impressed with the importance of acting always on the offensive in bayonet combat, of pushing their attack with all their might.  Troops which are successful in their first few bayonet encounters will seldom thereafter be called upon to use the bayonet—­their opponents will not await the assault.

CHAPTER VI.

FIELD SERVICE.

SECTION 1.  PRINCIPLES OF INFANTRY TRAINING.

Inaction gives every advantage to the enemy.

The offensive alone gives decisive results.

A quick and energetic offensive minimizes losses.

An advance against the enemy’s position once entered upon must be continued.  To go back under fire is to die.

The best way to hold down the fire of the enemy and to diminish his power to inflict losses is to bring the position he occupies under well conducted and continued fire.

Present as small a target as possible to the enemy by utilizing every bit of cover the ground affords.

Individual skill in marksmanship is an advantage in battle only when united with fire discipline and control.

Constant movement to the front lessens the effect of the enemy’s fire.  Modern battles fought in the open show that the heaviest losses are in the mid and long ranges.  When close range is reached the losses diminish rapidly.