Then, After A Six Weeks' Halt Which Could Not
Possibly Have Been Shortened, He Made Another Of His Tiger Leaps,
And Within A Month Had Occupied Johannesburg And Pretoria.
From
that moment the issue of the campaign was finally settled, and
though a third leap was needed, which
Carried him to Komatipoort,
and though brave and obstinate men might still struggle against
their destiny, he had done what was essential, and the rest,
however difficult, was only the detail of the campaign. A kindly
gentleman, as well as a great soldier, his nature revolted from all
harshness, and a worse man might have been a better leader in the
last hopeless phases of the war. He remembered, no doubt, how Grant
had given Lee's army their horses, but Lee at the time had been
thoroughly beaten, and his men had laid down their arms. A similar
boon to the partially conquered Boers led to very different
results, and the prolongation of the war is largely due to this act
of clemency. At the same time political and military considerations
were opposed to each other upon the point, and his moral position
in the use of harsher measures is the stronger since a policy of
conciliation had been tried and failed. Lord Roberts returned to
London with the respect and love of his soldiers and of his
fellow-countrymen. A passage from his farewell address to his
troops may show the qualities which endeared him to them.
'The service which the South African Force has performed is, I
venture to think, unique in the annals of war, inasmuch as it has
been absolutely almost incessant for a whole year, in some cases
for more than a year. There has been no rest, no days off to
recruit, no going into winter quarters, as in other campaigns which
have extended over a long period. For months together, in fierce
heat, in biting cold, in pouring rain, you, my comrades, have
marched and fought without halt, and bivouacked without shelter
from the elements. You frequently have had to continue marching
with your clothes in rags and your boots without soles, time being
of such consequence that it was impossible for you to remain long
enough in one place to refit. When not engaged in actual battle you
have been continually shot at from behind kopjes by invisible
enemies to whom every inch of the country was familiar, and who,
from the peculiar nature of the country, were able to inflict
severe punishment while perfectly safe themselves. You have forced
your way through dense jungles, over precipitous mountains, through
and over which with infinite manual labour you have had to drag
heavy guns and ox-wagons. You have covered with almost incredible
speed enormous distances, and that often on very short supplies of
food. You have endured the sufferings inevitable in war to sick and
wounded men far from the base, without a murmur and even with
cheerfulness.'
The words reflect honour both upon the troops addressed and upon
the man who addressed them.
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