manual for commanders of infantry platoons. - US Army Combined ...

£iEPTA;ALr FOREI COMlMANYDERSB OFINFANTR'Y PLtATOO3NS. 17
is not veryv accuraLte, but wce canl get better results by hazving a
number of trained observers estimate the range and taking the
mean of their estimates.
*Esti~mating dlistanl-ces bV .sounld.-Sound tralvels about 1 100
feet· or 366· yalcrds per second. B~y Itraining ourselves to count in
a regular cadlence, saly, up to 10 in three secondls, wvehave a means
of gauging the interval which elapses; betweein seeing the flash
of a gun and hear~ing: the report: and conseqluently of computing
its dtistance from~ us. Thlis metho~d is unreliable when the projectile,
travels faster thanr the sound6.
CHIAPTER&V.
TACTIC~AL EMIPLOYM~ENT; OF MACH[INIE GUNS, AUTO­
MATIC RIFLES, GIRE TADES, TRENCH WTEAPONS,
AND 37-CAILIBIER (1.5-INCH)~ GUNS.
The chief of platoon has some men armed with automatic
rifles and somle grenadiers under his immediate orders; his
work is intimately associated with that of platoons of machine
guns and batteries of low-power trench weapons in his vicini~ty;
and he may even have one of these platoons or batteries placed
-under his orders to enable him to fulfill an offensive or defenssivee
tazskl assigned to his platoon. It is necessary, therefore,
that he should know the best methods of using these weapons.
1. MACH-INE GUNS.
Chanracteristics.-Mach2@ine guns are preferable to infa2ntry
whenever fire alone is sufficient for .the purp~ose. Infazntry is
indlispensable when both fire aznd movement are requrnedl.
The machine guan delivers a very effective grazing· fire up to
900 or 1,100 yards; its fire is effective upon important targets
at ranges over 1,100 provided thze ranlge is acccra~telyJ estimanted.
The twi~o ch~ief uses of mazchine guns are in flanlk fire and sulrprise
fire. The sheaf of bullets is. dense and deep but narrow;
its mazximum effect will be obtained upon a targ~et having a