Modern weapons notwithstanding, the ultimate appeal is to the
bayonet, and the advantage of being on the higher ground is then
considerable.
When a battery forms part of the line round a camp, infantry soldiers
should be placed between the guns. Artillery officers do not like this;
but, though they are very good fellows, there are some things in which
it is not well to give way to them. Every one is prone to over-estimate
the power of his arm.
In the Mamund Valley all the fighting occurred in capturing villages,
which lay in rocky and broken ground in the hollows of the mountains,
and were defended by a swarm of active riflemen. Against the quickly
moving figures of the enemy it proved almost useless to fire volleys.
The tribesmen would dart from rock to rock, exposing themselves only for
an instant, and before the attention of a section could be directed to
them and the rifles aimed, the chance and the target would have vanished
together. Better results were obtained by picking out good shots and
giving them permission to fire when they saw their opportunity, without
waiting for the word of command.
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