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surely be educated up to that point. Let us assume then, for the nonce, 200 yards as our fighting interval; 2000 yards being a sea mile. Nine ships in line abreast, eight intervals, will occupy a front of 1600 yards from flank to flank. When your line is nearer that that to the enemy's, he can reach one of your flanks with part of his force sooner than your other flank can come up to it; it must be your business to see that he cannot reach it with greater numbers. It is very possible that the movement by which he will seek to concentrate upon one flank will be begun while he is as yet more distant from your front than the length of that front, but his aim will be to approach the flank while your other flank ships are more distant from it than he. Not only, under these circumstances, is your enemy already nearer to the flank supposed attacked, but he is nearer still by the fact that he is heading for it while your other flank must change direction 8 points to come to its aid.

In the same way, if you wish before attacking to change your own order to our involving the column, you must begin your evolution at sufficient distance [distace] from the enemy to complete it, not before the two vans encounter, but before your last ship or ships which have not completed their evolution can be intercepted in the flank movement. The extreme case would be to move forward into column, a flank ship, say the right, leading. If the enemy's left ship stand directly on, uninjured, she will intercept your left ship before her movement is completed unless the evolution began con-