JOTTINGS ON THE WAR.

Evening Star, Issue 11152, 30 January 1900, Page 2

JOTTINGS ON THE WAR.

[By Colonel Mobris.]

The position of a general in the field is anything but a bed of roses. General Bailor's account of the battle of Colenso demonstrates this. Tho general may make the most careful arrangements, but all his plans are liable to be disarranged by the impetuosity of his officers, whilst ii.ll the blame of failure is laid upon his head. General Bhller states that the visible defences of the Boers were shahed without disclosing the enemy's position, and the only way in which these could be discovered was by a reconnaissance in force. I may state'here that the duty of scouting is much misunderstood, for it is said that General Buller failed to use his scouts, and that had he done so the enemy's position would have been discovered. This is absnjute nonsense.' .Scouts are spread out before :\\\ army to discover the whereabouts of the enemy, but when they are discovered and found to be in an entrenched position then scouts can be of no use in discovering the enemy, especially an enemy determined to hide their position, and therefore refusing to reply to the shelling they receive. The only" way to disclose their position is by advancing in force to reconnoitre, ready to attack if an attack appears possible, but ready to retire if necessary as soon as the disposition of the enemy's forces is disclosed. This was evidently General Buller's intention at the battle of Colenso, which was precipitated by the impetuosity of his officers. Firstj General Fart, who clearly made his attack too soon, for when General Buller sent orders to him not to attack it was too late, and the mischief was done. Then Colonel Long is accused by the general of impetuous disregard of orders, for he dashed up with his guns to within 600 yds of the river bank, winch, without his knowledge, was lined with Boers, and before he could retreat to a safe distance his horses were shot, and his men had to servo their guns under direct rifle five, with the result that the men were killed, ammunition could not be supplied, and eventually the guns were lost. "The action was disastrous to us, but it was not a defeat, as our tioops returned to camp in good order. " It should have been only a reconnaissance, but was turned into an action under disadvantageous circumstances through the impetuous action of his officers, and the general has to bear the brunt. Wo have further accounts of the attack on, and retreat from, the Spion Kop, and I must confess that I agree with the London Press as to the obscurity of General Buller's reports. From what I can gather, the Spion Kon consists of three ranges. The whole three were occupied by the Boers, and they extended from the Tugela River to Acton Homes, a distance of about six miles. General Warren attacked the outermost, or western, range; and eventually took it. The last assault carried the top of the range. General Lyttelton's brigade at the same time assaulted and took the innermost, or eastern, range. The Cameronians and King's Rifles had to climb the steepest part on their hands and knees. The two outermost of the three ranges of hills were in our hands. w r e nowhaving driven out the Boers, but the central range, which dominated the outer ones, was still in the hands of the enemy. All mountain ranges have a steep and almost inaccessible side and an easy accessible side. We advanced from the difficult side, and consequently were unable to take up our guns with us. The Boers had behind them the easy ascent, and had their guns with them. From the central range they shelled our troops, and as it was impossible to advance, to say nothing of the want of water, it was decided to give up the attack. General Warren effected a masterly retreat, crossing to tho south of the Tugela without the loss of a man or a pound of stores. Now we have to await the next plan that may be determined upon. The position appears to be that the Boers are in very strong force on the Spion Kop, which was reinforced, we. know, by 10,000 men. They also hold a strong position on the Tabumyama (Heights, probably between Spion Kop and Ladysmith, and also close to Ludysmith on the south side, and our troops are a mile or two north of the Tugela, the exception of General Warren's division, which for the moment is south of the river.

From the Cape frontier we hear that General Gatacre holds all the passes in his district, and also Thebits (?), which is clearly Thebus—a station on the line between Steynsbiirg and Middelburg, and a position, we are told, facilitating communication between General Gatacre and General KellyKenny. This is the first mention made of the 6th Division and its commander, who is probably somewhere in the vicinity of Middelburg. With General French at Colesberg, his patrols in touch with General Gatacre's, and between these two, but rather in th 4 rear, General Kelly-Kenny's division, we must now have about 30,000 troops in North Cape Colony. I should be very glad to see General Roberts make an invasion of Free State. If he could only get as far as Bloemfontein it would make a great difference to General Buller's position. If General Joubert found his roar threatened ho would clear out of Natal, where, like a rat in a hole, he can give a lot of trouble, simply hecause we cannot get a fair chance of seizing him. Hie howling of the London ' Times' is a pitiable thing to see. The moment anvthin: not quite triumphant appears the "'Thunderer " is at once on its knees, weeping and prophesying evil. Only yesterday we hear from Durban thatLadysmith is impregnable, and now 'The Times' says there is a strong probability that it will fall! If it does fall there will be time enough to lament its fate. lm»: why anticipate eyil and depress a people already depressed enoughV To my mind, far more serious than anything taking place in South Africa is the. attention paid to Dr Leyds. at Paris and Berlin. In the former he was enlerti. i>l at a banquet given by M. Loubet, the President of the French Republic, and in the latt -r city he was the guest of Prince Hohcnlohe. Chancellor of the German Emnire. Straws show the direction of the wind, and these straws point to a pro-Boer attitude on (he part of these Continental nations. The retreat of General Warren will be magnified into a Boer victory, which the howls of the London 'Times' will heln to confirm, and the jealousy and antipathy of these nations may rise to the height of removing the mask of neutrality they have hitherto worn. Germany will" not, I think, give any practical itssistance, but, in Scripture phraseology, "he that is not with us is

against us," and the aid we have been led t>i expect in keeping France from interfering mav be wanting. France would 'at once join Russia or any other Power in its endeavor to humble "Great Britain. "Whether a Continental war is impiinent or not, New Zealand should not neglect the signs of the times. You must rise up, Now Zealanders! Insist upon your Government proving that they realise the situation, and have applied for the latest and best guns, rifles, and ammunition ; that they have made arrangements to increase the volunteers, especially in mounted infantry, and-are prepared to grant them every assistance and encouragement. Even if these preparations should cost the colony a quarter of a million or more, it is money well spent, if only regarded in the light of insurance against invasion or attack. n