he morning had been a simple Lieutenant-Colonel.
'Where are the bosses?' cried a Fusilier, and the historian can only
repeat the question. General Warren was at the bottom of the hill. Had
he ascended and determined that the place should still be held, he might
have sent down the wearied troops, brought up smaller numbers of fresh
ones, ordered the Sappers to deepen the trenches, and tried to bring up
water and guns. It was for the divisional commander to lay his hand upon
the reins at so critical an instant, to relieve the weary man who had
struggled so hard all day.

The subsequent publication of the official despatches has served little
purpose, save to show that there was a want of harmony between Buller
and Warren, and that the former lost all confidence in his subordinate
during the course of the operations. In these papers General Buller
expresses the opinion that had Warren's operations been more dashing, he
would have found his turning movement upon the left a comparatively easy
matter. In this judgment he would probably have the concurrence of
most military critics. He adds, however, 'On the 19th, I ought to have
assumed command myself. I saw that things were not going well--indeed,
everyone saw that. I blame myself now for not having done so. I did not,
because, if I did, I should discredit General Warren in the estimation
of the troops, and, if I were shot, and he had to withdraw across the
Tugela, and they had lost confidence in him, the consequences might be
very serious. I must leave it to higher authority whether this argument
was a sound one.' It needs no higher authority than common-sense to say
that the argument is an absolutely unsound one. No consequences could
be more serious than that the operations should miscarry and Ladysmith
remain unrelieved, and such want of success must in any case discredit
Warren in the eyes of his troops. Besides, a subordinate is not
discredited because his chief steps in to conduct a critical operation.
However, these personal controversies may be suffered to remain in that
pigeon-hole from which they should never have been drawn.

On account of the crowding of four thousand troops into a space which
might have afforded tolerable cover for five hundred the losses in the
action were very heavy, not fewer than fifteen hundred being killed,
wounded, or missing, the proportion of killed being, on account of the
shell fire, abnormally high. The Lancashire Fusiliers were the