One day, during that period, I received a personal letter from the British Commander-in-Chief, General Smuts, in which he informed me that I had been awarded the Order Pour le Mérite, and expressed the hope that his cordial congratulations would not be unacceptable to me. I thanked him equally politely, although I at first believed that he was confusing it with the Second Class of the Order of the Crown with Swords, which I had received a short time before. I mention this letter from General Smuts as a proof of the mutual personal esteem and chivalry which existed throughout in spite of the exhausting warfare carried on by both sides. On many other occasions also the enemy intimated his great appreciation of the achievements of the German forces. At the end of 1916 I regarded the military situation in the Colony as remarkably favourable, for I knew that the South African troops were for the most part worn out with battle-casualties and sickness, while a large proportion of the remainder were returning to South Africa at the end of their engagements. Prisoners had repeatedly assured us that they had had enough of the “picnic” in East Africa. The Indian troops also, who had been in the field in East Africa for some length of time, were reduced in numbers, while the late arrivals—we identified Indian Pathan Regiments at Kibata—consisted largely of young soldiers. Other regiments, like the 129th Baluchis, who had fought in Flanders, were no doubt very good, but they might not be expected to stand the fatigues of African warfare for a very prolonged period. The enemy’s Askari were, generally speaking, new troops, and only a small proportion of them had at that time been in the field. So we could continue calmly to contemplate the continuation of the war for a considerable time. I still believe that we would have succeeded not only in holding our own, but even in beating the enemy, if he had not enjoyed the power of continually filling up his reduced units and of bringing up fresh ones. At the end of 1916 I did not know that this had already been effected on an extensive scale. Among other reinforcements a strong brigade of black troops had been brought from Nigeria to Dar-es-Salaam, whence it had been moved on without delay to Dutumi and Kissaki.