With Roberts to Pretoria: A Tale of The South African WarHenty, G. A. (George Alfred)
General
With Roberts to Pretoria: A Tale of The South African War
Henty, G. A. (George Alfred)
South African War, 1899-1902 -- Juvenile fiction
When he landed there was practically no transport, and the consequence
was that the army had to depend entirely upon the railway, and could
not have moved more than two or three days' march away from it. Now an
immense train had been organized, and the army could, if necessary, cut
itself loose from the railway, and depend for ten days or a fortnight
upon its own supplies. His position as chief on Lord Roberts's staff
went far to ensure that no mistake would occur, that every movement
would be effected as perfectly as human fore-thought could arrange it,
and that every detail would be seen to, every contingency prepared for.
In character, however, the two great leaders differed greatly. With
every faculty concentrated upon his work Lord Kitchener never spared
himself, and he expected an equal devotion to duty from all under his
command, officers and men alike. He was a man of iron, one who could
make but small allowance for the weakness of others, would admit of
no carelessness, and had no sympathy with the love of amusement and
the easy-going manner of doing work that were characteristic of no
inconsiderable proportion of the younger officers of the army.
He was admired and respected, but he had not Lord Roberts's knack of
making himself loved by all with whom he came in contact. The twenty
years of scouting, campaigning, and working in Egypt had given him
something of the nature of the Arabs and natives with whom he had
been associated. His face afforded no index to his thoughts. He spoke
but little, but it was always to the point; his eyes had the faraway
look of one constantly scanning the distance for the approach of an
enemy; his anger expressed itself only in a few quiet words that cut
like whips. His appearance in camp was at once the sign for additional
activity, sharper discipline, and an increased attention to duties of
all kinds. No better right hand could have been chosen by Lord Roberts
for the work to be done, and wherever things went a little wrong it
needed but Kitchener's presence to set them right again.
Not a day was lost. Lord Roberts arrived on the morning of the 8th,
and the next evening the force from Koodoosberg returned to camp,
and a series of orders were that day quietly issued. On the 11th the
cavalry division under General French, with seven batteries of horse
artillery, and two field-batteries, left the Modder River camp for
Ramdam, a large pool near the Riet River, five miles south of the
village of Koffyfontein; and General Tucker, with the 7th Infantry
division, marched to the same point from the railway-station of Enslin
and Graspan; the other divisions were ordered to hold themselves in
readiness to move. That morning one of Lord Roberts's aides-de-camp
rode into the camp of the 9th Lancers and asked for Lieutenant
Harberton, to accompany him at once to head-quarters, as Lord Roberts
wished to speak to him.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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