Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-06-08
CENsoRloUs COMMANDERS.
History Merely Repeating Itself in
Lord Roberts Drastic Criticisms.

History Merely Repeating Itself in
Lord Roberts Drastic Criticisms.
From the London Mail.
Il told you so' was the remark of the
armchair strategists directly Lord Roberts
remarks on certain of his subordinates were
published. British officers are stupid
Sat
If they are stupid today, then they have
always been so. and it is just as well to
note. before jumping to hasty conclusions
that the same charge generally has been
hurled at the heads of the officers serving
in the most successful armies the world has
ever seen.
For instance, Wellington made very CEN
serious allusion to Gen. Spencer's attempt
to quell the mutiny among the Spanish
troops during the peninsular war and also
for neglect of golden opportunities in a
most sarcastic dispatch: Gen. Spencer
should have struck an important blow at
the French. but only made demonstration
of landing, and having thus materially aided
the Instruction, returned to Cadiz =
l have placed him under arrest"
A parallel case to that of Lieut.. Col. Thor
neycroft Is given by Napier of subordinate
officer taking unwarrantable authority upon
himself. with dire results.
At Sierra the French were in a tight cor
ner and just at juncture when they were
wavering, "Quartermaster General Donkin
sent orders to withdraw the troops engaged
Suchet, thus relieved at a most critical mo-
ment Immediately occupied a position
across the defile, with his TANKS on the
heights. Nothing could have been
more discreditable than the impunity with
which Suchet was permitted to withdraw
troops already sufficiently beaten to have
secured decisive victory to commander
who should have seen and seized such an
opportunity.
Generally speaking, Wellington in his dis
matches Ind
any one but Picton, and he sent three COLO
nels home in one batch after his great VIC
tories in the Pyrenees.
Napoleon's letters too, are full of strong
criticism of his officers. He always averred
that they were "all fools except Soult'
Perhaps century ago. even more so than
II the present day, nothing pleased an Off
Ger more than to be mentioned favorably In
dispatch and nothing was dreaded so
much as censure. Bonaparte was we'll
aware of this. and never lost an opportu-
nifty OF bestowing praise or blame.
In one letter he called his chief equerry
Zen. V1gogne "a good-for-nothing rascal"
and even went SO far in venting his dis
pleasure on the unfortunate officer as to
StriKe the equerry a severe blow on the
mead with riding whip. Napoleon disliked
literary men, and 1t IS safe to say that the
war correspondent of our own day would
have had very bad time with him. NJ. de
Nnateauorand, noted litterateur of the
early part of the nineteenth century pro-
49, - "a . ~ CONSIDERABLY by MS
outspokenness anent the peninsular war and
came near spending the rest of his life in
dungeon To quote Bonaparte himself:
II Chateaubriand goes on in this way /
Will have him sabered on the steps of the
Tuileries."
If British officers are stupid they are at
least IN good company, One of the hest
German military critics has written that
-, Butcher understood nothing whatever of
the conduct of war" and that ..the stair
history of the 1901 campaign shows in
Vulnerable plumbers on the part of the OFF,