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Suppose, instead of the line, you had adopted the column for a
primary formation. You must either attack with it, or, if you change
to a broader front, the rear ships being farther from the enemy,
must catch up with the van to form it, imposing a loss of speed
upon the van. Whereas in the line all ships are equally, or nearly
equally distant from the enemy.

The Fourth requisite laid down for such a primary formation is
that the space taken up by it to facilitate manoeuvring should not
be so far extended as to allow an enemy to separate the parts of
the fleet; to which must be added that, unless the fleet be very
numerous, the two extremities should not be so widely apart that
the enemy could attack one in force, without having to fear a seri-
ous diversion (retaliation or counter attack) from the other. In
the sailing ship line of battle, the rear was always weak as com-
pared with the head; partly because of the inevitable straggling
of a long column as the rear is reached, and partly because the van
had to wear or attack in order to come to the assistance of the
rear.

This Fourth Demand upon our primary artillery formation, as-
sumes considerable dimensions when we remember that we have to
guard, not only against the enemy piercing that formation itself,
from its own weakness, but also against his cutting off any part of
the fleet while performing a particular evolution.

To illustrate what I mean. In the evolution: "Forward into
column from a flank ship", the greater the width of the front, the