But from first to last
their General had shown a great - some said an exaggerated - respect
for human life, and he had no intention of winning a path by mere
slogging, if there were a chance of finding one by less bloody
means.
On the morrow of his return he astonished both his army and
the Empire by announcing that he had found the key to the position
and that he hoped to be in Ladysmith in a week. Some rejoiced in
the assurance. Some shrugged their shoulders. Careless of friends
or foes, the stolid Buller proceeded to work out his new
combination.
In the next few days reinforcements trickled in which more than
made up for the losses of the preceding week. A battery of horse
artillery, two heavy guns, two squadrons of the 14th Hussars, and
infantry drafts to the number of twelve or fourteen hundred men
came to share the impending glory or disaster. On the morning of
February 5th the army sallied forth once more to have another try
to win a way to Ladysmith. It was known that enteric was rife in
the town, that shell and bullet and typhoid germ had struck down a
terrible proportion of the garrison, and that the rations of
starved horse and commissariat mule were running low. With their
comrades - in many cases their linked battalions - in such straits
within fifteen miles of them, Buller's soldiers had high motives to
brace them for a supreme effort.
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