V. An enemy fighting in their own country, and each man owning two or three hardy, well-conditioned country-breds. VI. Tactics of the enemy; to hold on to a position with rifle fire, and when seriously attacked or their flanks turned to disperse at a gallop. Tactics all very well in their way, and just as disconcerting and annoying to our squadrons as they were to Murat’s cavalry in the advance into Russia; but these Parthian tactics are only suited to a limited number of strategical phases, a point difficult to bring home to the mind of those who have not studied strategy. They were tactics which resulted in a loss to the Boers of about 5000 men, generally foot people, at Paardeberg and, later, another 5000 in the Wittebergen. Meanwhile the cavalry to which they were opposed was able, by simple turning movements, to afford the main column, a practically uninterrupted advance from the Orange River to the Portuguese border. It is strange, indeed, how the lesson of those operations has in many cases been read upside down by a nation which takes no steps to study military history, and which, consequently, forgets that the spirit of vigorous offensive, which did and must result in occasional heavy loss, had been sternly discountenanced by the majority of their press, after the experiences of Black Monday. “Conduct the operations without loss, or, better, by diplomacy--and above all with kindness,” was then the cry. PURSUIT One of the great fallacies, and one to which in England especially we are victims, is that war can be conducted on haphazard principles by the instinct of brave men. Not only do these brave men “let us in,” on every possible occasion (especially when they are so brave and foolish as to neglect proper precautions), but they forget that the sole thing in war is to “get there,” that is, to bring the enemy to his knees and win. One of their failings, and it is a typical British failing, is the neglect to pursue, or, if they pursue, they neglect to do so properly. Again, and again, in the early part of the operations in South Africa was this neglected. The first good instance of pursuit, conducted on proper principles, was that carried out by General French, and resulting in the ultimate surrender of Cronje. Why was this on the right principle? The answer is, “Because it was conducted on the principle of “the parallel pursuit,” and resulted in intercepting Cronje at a crossing of the Modder River.”