ind of
triangle; when, by a sudden fire upon them from three points at once, he
drove them upon each other in confusion, making them flee in every
direction.

It may be observed, that advancing or manoeuvring in squares is
practicable only on open and level plains, like the sandy deserts of
Egypt and Syria.

4. The best reliance of an infantry square being, therefore, on its fire
by volleys, the men should be instructed to come to a _charge bayonet_,
instead of a "ready," immediately on forming square. From this latter
position, there would be much greater danger of the volley being
prematurely delivered. The fire of a single excited man will usually be
followed by a general discharge.

5. It may be often advisable that the volley should be delivered by
_both ranks_ at once, and not by a single one. Par. 1191, School of the
Battalion, directing that "a battalion, in square, will never use any
other than the fire by file, or by rank," should therefore be amended.

6. Moreover, in view of what has been said as to volley-firing, and of
the examples that have been cited in confirmation, there is reason to
doubt the wisdom of the direction contained in Par. 67, School of the
Company: "The fire by file being that which is most frequently used
against an enemy, it is highly important that it be rendered perfectly
familiar to the troops. The instructor will, therefore, give it _almost
exclusive preference_."

The fire by file, after its commencement, becomes a mere individual fire
at will. Independently of the general ineffectiveness of this kind of
fire, one would have supposed that the instructor's attention should be
rather directed to accustoming the men to the more difficult reserved
fire by volleys, instead of practising them almost exclusively in a fire
which, once learned, they will use instinctively, and without any
practice at all.

7. Infantry _breech-loading weapons_ would be very useful to troops in
square, when charged by cavalry; since, being rapidly reloaded, they
would enable the square to repulse, with a volley, each subdivision
successively, where the charging column is formed at the usual
distances. But it is doubtful whether, on the whole, these weapons are
preferable to muzzle-loaders. Certain it is, that they exhaust the
ammunition much more rapidly, and so cause a suspension of fire, and a
withdrawal from the line of battle, till a new supply can arrive. And,
to obtain this new supply, a long tim