4, Napoleon placed a garrison of
1,200 in the _Fortress of Soissons_, but on March 3,1814, the garrison
capitulated without exhausting all the means of defence as the
regulations of War ordain, and the bridge at Soissons enabled Bluecher
and Buelow to unite their forces across the River Aisne. In the
Waterloo campaign, Wellington stationed 17,000 men at _Hal_ and
_Tubize_, 8 miles from his right on the field of battle at Waterloo, to
repel a possible turning movement and to form a rallying point if his
centre was broken, and with 67,000 men took up a position astride the
Nivelle-Brussels and Charleroi-Brussels roads which met at Mont St.
Jean. He was deprived of the services of this detachment and modern
criticism has been directed against this disposition of his forces. It
is, however, permissible to suggest that the security of his right
flank, and the possession of a rallying point, inspired him with the
confidence which enabled him to {79} withstand the sustained attacks of
Napoleon until the arrival of Bluecher's corps permitted him to
overwhelm his adversary.

A further form of defensive action is the occupation of a series of
extemporised positions and the orderly withdrawal to a further series
before the actual assault of the enemy, resistance being combined with
manoeuvre for the purpose of delaying the enemy's advance or of holding
up his pursuit. Delaying action of this kind is commonly employed in
rearguard fighting, when the object to be gained is time rather than
position, and the offensive action of the defender is limited to local
counter-attacks at favourable or desperate moments. But the guiding
principle in all defensive operations, including delaying action, must
be that "when an enemy has liberty of manoeuvre, the passive occupation
of a position, however strong, can rarely be justified, and always
involves the risk of crushing defeat" ("Field Service Regulations,"
vol. ii. (1920)).

THE OFFENSIVE SPIRIT.--Although there are many forms of defensive
action the soul of the Defence in every case is a vigorous offensive
spirit. In the Active Defence, the Decisive Counter-Attack, ending in
the overthrow of the enemy, is the manoeuvre originally in view when
the defensive _role_ is adopted. In the Passive Defence against
superior numbers. Local Counter-Attacks end with the recapture of a
tactical point or the repulse of a determined assault, and in the
Delaying Action they overwhelm by surprise