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THE DEFENCE
161
They can concentrate more quickly
upon any point attacked.
Diagram 13
A________________________________
B.-----------------------------------------
The natural tendency of the rush line
the moment a play starts from the oppos¬
ing line is to pull open, because of the ef¬
fort of the men to break through on the
outside of their men, as seen in Diagram
14. The solid rings represent the one
before breaking through, and the dotted
ones after breaking through.
The effect of this is to make holes for
the other side, enlarge the territory to
be defended, and thus weaken the line.
Line 1 in Diagram 14 is stronger than line
2, because it is not spread over so much ter¬
ritory, and therefore more compact. Hence
the secret or principle underlying a scien¬
tific defence is one that closes the line up
h