And now in all directions the British troops were falling back from the field of battle and disaster. It was a scene, says one who was present, "that can never be forgotten by those who were privileged to see it. Slowly, steadily, with correct intervals, as if on parade, only better, our magnificent infantry fell back; no doubling, no bunching together, they stood within 500 yards of the Boer position. Here was no romance of war, no charging of battalions amid a storm of cheers, nothing to brace up the spirits to one glorious effort in which danger is forgotten; nothing but the stream of bullets and shells. From our position I could plainly see the thin dust-coloured lines retiring. Presently, clank, clank from the Maxim-Nordenfelt and a group of men would fall; again an officer might be seen walking slowly in rear of his company; you looked again, and a speck of khaki was all that could be seen. The use of smokeless powder has added greatly to the horrors of war; this was the strange thing about the battle of Colenso, the utter absence of smoke, and the clearness with which each incident could be seen. At last, covered by the Cavalry Brigade and the 7th Battery, the wearied infantry returned. Twelve hours' fighting in the burning sun, losses over 1,200--not so bad for our boy soldiers. Absolutely undefeated, unshaken by what they had passed through, our magnificent infantry at last could rest." Not so much with the Commander-in-Chief as with his impetuous subordinates rested the blame for this disastrous day. The entanglement of the guns it was which had the greatest part in piling up the British losses and converting what was almost a success into a humiliating defeat. Had the British artillery been stronger, even this rash move might not have proved so calamitous as it ultimately was. Forty guns might have beaten down the Boer fire, which twelve guns were utterly unable to check. [Sidenote: Our losses.] The total British losses were 132 killed, 765 wounded, and 228 missing or prisoners; a total of 1,125. The heaviest sufferers were the two field batteries--the 14th losing 50 and the 66th Battery 42 men, out of a probable total present in each case of 140 men. The Dublin Fusiliers lost 218 men out of about 1,000. As the force actually engaged did not number more than 15,000, when all deductions had been made, the casualties were a high percentage. The loss in killed was unusually small, and a very great number of the wounded were only very slightly injured--for the most part shot in the foot. As to the enemy's losses it was impossible to speak with any accuracy. Very few Boers were seen during the fighting, and it would appear that at the outside 200 or 250 were killed and wounded, mainly by the British artillery fire. Thus our troops suffered heavily without inflicting serious casualties upon the enemy. [Illustration: [_Photo by Major Brazier-Creagh, R.A.M.C._