When the man
who was chosen in times of peace to lead the men in times of war meets the
enemy and fails to make a display of the military knowledge which it was
presumed he possessed, then the soldiers who look to him for leadership
are generally useless, and oftentimes worse than useless, inasmuch as
their panic is likely to become infectious among neighbouring bodies of
soldiers who are equipped with better leaders. In trained armies the value
of a soldier is a mere reflection of the value of the officer who commands
him, and the value of the army is relatively as great as the ability of
its generals. In the Boer army the generals and commandants were of much
less importance, for the reason that the Boer burgher acted almost always
on his own initiative. The generals were of more service before the
beginning of a battle than while it was in progress. When a burgher became
aware of the presence of the enemy his natural instincts, his innate
military system, told him the best manner in which to attack his adversary
as well as his general could have informed him. The generals and other
officers were of prime importance in leading the burghers to the point
where the enemy was likely to be found, but when that point was reached
their period of usefulness ended, for the burghers knew how to wage the
battle as well as they did. Generally speaking, the most striking
difference between the Boer army and a trained army was the difference in
the distribution of intelligence.
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