TRICKLING THROUGH

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 229, 15 June 1918, Page 8

TRICKLING THROUGH

TnE NEW GERMAN TACTICS OF FILTRATION. The filtering method of advance now employed by the enemy under au order of General"Ludendorff is to push ior-j ward small bodies of men with machine-guns to "see what they can do." . The Germans no longer pour down upon our positions in a Hoot!. -They trickle towards us in a number of v insidious little streams. Sometimes we catch them in masses when they are concentrating before an attack, for example, or when wo get i\ number of groups penned up ■ together, but generally,we have now to. deal with "trickles" (writes Mr. Hamilton Fyfc in the "Daily Mail").

As soon as a group of Germans worms its way into our line.it sends word to tin artillery to be careful and to other groups to right and left of it to make greater efforts to penetrate also, but often we know as well as the enemy the whereabouts of the pushing group which, has thrust itself forward between two of ours, and when wo know this we can. often make it too hot for it to stay.

The proper way to tight machine-guns, says Ludendorff, is to turn field guns or trench mortars on to them. These should be trained to work with infantry bathlions and must Jμ .under the orders Oβ; the infantry commanders. Heavy ma-chine-guns are to be used 'or covering, infantry attacks, that is to say, for play-; ing upjn the enemy's positions while the, light machine-gun groups go forward in. the open. Thus the heavy machine-gun has be-", co ne an arm which takes its place be* twean the infantry and the regular artillery. It can sometimes take the place of' artillery, Irat it must not be coiw fused witli it. Its chief functions are to cover infantry attacks and to repel counter-attacks. Between them the light, and the heavy machine-guns do most of tho work in the open warfare now pro-, valent, and you can be assured by tnis order from Ludendorff that it is not the British Army which is doing this worb| worst. i