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DECISION OF THE COMBAT.
No battle is decided in a single moment, although in every battle there arise moments of crisis, on which the result depends.

The loss of a battle is, therefore, a gradual falling of the scale.

But there is in every combat a point of time (*) (*) Under the then existing conditions of armament understood.

This point is of supreme importance, as practically the whole conduct of a great battle depends on a correct solution of this question--viz., How long can a given command prolong its resistance?
If this is incorrectly answered in practice--the whole manoeuvre depending on it may collapse--e.g., Kouroupatkin at Liao-Yang, September 1904.
when it may be regarded as decided, in such a way that the renewal of the fight would be a new battle, not a continuation of the old one.