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Our little wars attract far less attention among the people of this
country than they deserve. They are frequently carried out in
circumstances of the most adverse kind. Our enemies, although ignorant
of military discipline are, as a rule, extremely brave; and are
thoroughly capable of using the natural advantages of their country.
Our men are called upon to bear enormous fatigue, ... More

Our little wars attract far less attention among the people of this
country than they deserve. They are frequently carried out in
circumstances of the most adverse kind. Our enemies, although ignorant
of military discipline are, as a rule, extremely brave; and are
thoroughly capable of using the natural advantages of their country.
Our men are called upon to bear enormous fatigue, and endure extremes in
climate. The fighting is incessant, the peril constant. Nevertheless,
they show a magnificent contempt for danger and difficulty; and fight
with a valour and determination worthy of the highest praise.

I have chosen, as an illustration of this, three campaigns; namely, the
relief of Chitral, the Tirah campaign, and the relief of Coomassie. The
first two were conducted in a mountainous country, affording every
advantage to the enemy; where passes had to be scaled, torrents to be
forded, and deep snow to be crossed. In the other, the country was a
combination of morass and thick forest, frequently intersected by wide
and deep rivers. The work, moreover, had to be done in a tropical
climate, during the rainy season. The conditions, therefore, were much
more trying than in the case of former expeditions which had crossed the
same ground and, in addition, the enemy were vastly more numerous and
more determined; and had, in recent years, mastered the art of building
extremely formidable stockades.

The country has a right to be proud, indeed, of the prowess both of our
own troops and of our native regiments. Boys who wish to obtain fuller
details of these campaigns I would refer to Sir George Robertson's
Chitral; H. C. Thomson's Chitral Campaign; Lieutenant Beynon's With
Kelly to Chitral; Colonel Hutchison's Campaign in Tirah; Viscount
Fincastle and P. C. Eliott Lockhart's A Frontier Campaign; and Captain
Harold C. J. Biss's The Relief of Kumasi, from which I have principally
drawn the historical portion of my story.


G. A. Henty.

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