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It having been recognized that linear defences like the trench lines of the Great War would be unable to withstand a modern attack, British doctrine during the Second World War prescribed a system of defended localities where the ground commanding a given area would be manned by infantry and their supporting arms, setting up positions of all-round defence to prevent the enemy from moving through that area. A mobile reserve was to be maintained to counter-attack any enemy penetration. Front line positions, therefore, were not continuous as in the earlier war, but fluid and mutually-supporting. As with the selection of objectives in the attack, defensive positions were determined in accordance with the anti-tank plan. Defensive methods included, aside from the obvious weapons fire, concealment and camouflage to gain surprise, use of ground-particularly reverse slope positions-to allow freedom of movement without fear of enemy observation, deception techniques such as the use of "dummy" defences, observation posts to gain information about the enemy, outpost lines forward of main defences to create depth, and the building of obstacles covered by fire, such as minefields or anti-tank barriers, to channel the enemy into areas more favourable to the defenders, the goal being to "[lead] the enemy into areas where he can most effectively be destroyed" (War Office training manual, 15 January 1944).
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