In his diary the officer before quoted wrote: "We were relieved to-day at last, and march to-morrow. We have gone through an awful time, and some of the men look quite ghastly. They dragged their wasted forms from the trenches to-day at a crawl to the camp, which had been repitched. I had to give up the night before last, and after visiting my sentries, got back into the trenches in agony. At midnight I reached the hospital, where they injected morphine, and, after twenty-four hours lying on a stretcher, I am on my legs again.... Seventeen days and nights under fire, and the disgusting part of the whole is that it has been in vain. The Boers have slipped through our fingers after all." The relief of Wepener may be said to have taken place on the 25th. To discover how this was automatically accomplished, it is necessary to follow Lord Roberts's strategic plan, and to return to the events of the 22nd of April. [Illustration: SCOUT--6th DRAGOON GUARDS (Carabineers) Photo by Gregory & Co., London] OPERATIONS FOR RELIEF As a continual reorganisation of the forces was taking place, it will assist us, before going further, to examine a rough table of the date, as compiled from various authorities by the _Morning Post_:-- DISTRIBUTION OF FORCES _Commanding-in-chief_--FIELD-MARSHAL LORD ROBERTS. THIRD DIVISION. Lieutenant-General Sir H. G. CHERMSIDE. 22nd Brigade (Major-General R. E. Allen). 2nd Royal Irish Rifles. 2nd Northumberland Fusiliers. 1st Royal Scots. 1st Derbyshire. 23rd Brigade (Major-General W. G. Knox). (Composition not known.) 74th, 77th, and 79th Field Batteries. SIXTH DIVISION. Lieutenant-General T. KELLY-KENNY. 12th Brigade (Major-General Clements). 2nd Worcestershire. 2nd Bedfordshire. 2nd Wiltshire. 1st Royal Irish Regiment. 13th Brigade (Major-General A. G. Wavell). 2nd East Kent. 1st Oxfordshire Light Infantry. 1st West Riding. 2nd Gloucester. 76th, 81st, and 82nd Field Batteries. 38th Company Royal Engineers. SEVENTH DIVISION. Lieutenant-General G. TUCKER. 14th Brigade (Major-General J. G. Maxwell). 2nd Norfolk. 2nd Lincoln. 1st King's Own Scottish Borderers. 2nd Hants. 15th Brigade (Major-General C. E. Knox). 2nd Cheshire. 1st East Lancashire. 2nd South Wales Borderers. 2nd North Stafford. 83rd, 84th, and 85th Field Batteries. 9th Company Royal Engineers. EIGHTH DIVISION. Lieutenant-General Sir H. M. L. RUNDLE. 16th Brigade (Major-General B. B. D. Campbell). 2nd Grenadier Guards. 2nd Scots Guards. 2nd East Yorks. 17th Brigade (Major-General J. E. Boyes). 1st Worcester. 2nd Royal West Kent. 1st South Stafford. 2nd Manchester. Brigade Division Royal Field Artillery. 5th Company Royal Engineers.