teau would then have been slow, costly and precarious."

The character of the fighting now changed, and more nearly resembled the
mountain warfare of the north-west frontier of India. The bulk of this
hill fighting fell upon the 75th Division, whose Indian experience
proved invaluable. It was interesting to note the points of resemblance
and of distinction between hill fighting here and on the Indian
frontier.

In India, frontier warfare is usually conducted against ill-organized
semi-savages, unarmed with artillery or machine guns, but furnished with
the instincts and cunning of beasts of prey. Here the conditions were
reversed. The enemy were well provided with artillery and machine guns,
both of which they had had abundant opportunity to post advantageously
and use effectually; whereas we had difficulties in getting forward our
guns and bringing them into action, and were at times without artillery
assistance. On the other hand, our troops surpassed the enemy in their
familiarity with mountain fighting.

Here, as in all mountain fighting, the cardinal principle was piquetting
the heights--that is to say, the necessity of sending up piquets from
the advanced-guard, who deny to the enemy all commanding eminences,
before the main body and transport move up the defile which those
eminences command. Our piquets had frequently to fight their way up to
the heights, and to be prepared, on reaching the summit, to withstand a
shelling or repulse a counter-attack. They had, therefore, to be
stronger than is usually necessary in India, but had to be particularly
careful not to concentrate too much upon the summit. In India, where the
enemy generally fight a guerilla warfare, hanging on to rearguards and
cutting off stragglers, the stiffest part of the fighting is to be
expected during the subsequent withdrawal of the piquets from the
heights. Here, the fighting was done by the advanced-guard, and during
the taking of the heights, subsequent withdrawal being generally
unmolested. Quickness in the attack was found to be of great value. In
some cases the garrisons of heights were surprised and captured before
they could get away; more than once the advanced-guard, pushing rapidly
up the road, were able to cut off such garrisons as they were coming
down the reverse slopes of their hills.

With regard to armament, our field artillery were able to assist with
their 4.2 inch howitzers, but the 18-pounder field guns, with their flat