The age-herald., 1900-04-18
ROBERTS CENSURES
 GENERAL EULER Sir Charles Warren Also Re-
 Ceives a Sharp Rebuke. SPl0N K0P IS DISCUSSED The Dispatches Show That There Was Gs No Concerted Action Between
 Generals-Reason for Publi-
 cation Matter of Conjecture
SPlON KOP IS DISCUSSED

I
 Lord Roberts dated February 13, submit
 ting General Buffers dispatches describing
 the Spion Kop and other operations from l January r to January A Lord Roberts
 deals severely with General Warren and some others. Even General Butler does not escape. Lord Roberts complains tha.
 the plan of operations is not clearly de- | scribed in the dispatch.
 After sketching General Buffers inten- l tions, as communicated to Sir Charles | Warren, who commanded the whole force, | Lord Roberts points out that General War
 ren seems to have concluded, after con-
 sultation with his officers, that the flank 1 ing movement ordered by General Butler
 was impracticable, and therefore so
 changed the plan of advance as to necessi- l tate the capture and retention of Spion
 Kop. Lord Roberts continues:
 l 'As Warren considered it impossible to
 make the wide flanking movement, which
 was recommend, if not actually prescribed. | in the secret instructions, he should forth l with have acquainted General Butler with l the course he proposed to adopt. There is nothing to show whether he did so or not. | But it is only fair to Warren to point out 1 that Butler appears throughout to have l been aware of what was happening" Regarding the withdrawal from Spion Kop, the retention of which had become essential to the relief of Ladysmith, Lord | Roberts says:
 "I regret to be unable to concur with Butler in thinking Thorny Croft exercised wise discretion in ordering the troops to | retire. I am of the opinion that Thorny l Croft'c of | authority was wholly inexcusable. During | the night the enemy's fire could not have | been formidable, and 1t would not have taken more than two or three hours for Thorny Croft to have communicated by messenger with Major-General Coke or Warren. Coke appears to have left Spion
 Kop at 9:SO for the purpose of consulting with Warren. Up to that hour the idea of withdrawal had not been entertained. Yet, almost immediately after Coke's departure, Thorny Croft issued the order, without ref erence to superior authority, which upset the whole plan of operations and rendered unavailing the sacrifices already made to carry it into effect.
 Investigation Not Necessary General Butler reported:
 q have not thought it necessary to order an investigation. If at sundown the de- fense of the summit. had been taken in hand, entrenchments laid out, and the dead and wounded removed, the whole place would have been brought under regular military commands and the hills would have been held, I am sure. But no arrangements were made. Coke appears to have been ordered away just as he would have been useful and on one succeeded him. Those on top were ignorant of the fact that the guns were coming up and ernrl rsnl thnrn Af tion and system that acted most unfa- vorably on the defense. It is admitted that all of Thorny Crofts command acted with the greatest gallantry throughout the day and really saved the situation. But, preparations for the second days defense should have been organized during the day
 and commenced at nghtfall. As this was
 not done. I think Thorny Croft exercised wise discretion"
 General Warren sets forth the fact that the Spion Kop operations had not entered into his original plans, his instructions were to accupy a plain north of it. On consultation with the commander-in-c chief January 21 however, when the question of
 retiring from or taking Spion Kop was discussed, Warren expressed his preference for attacking. This was successfully ac- complished by General Woodgate. Then came the order of the commander-in- chief to put Thorny Croft in command of the summit In the meantime, Warren had sent General Coke up to reinforce him, with orders to assume command. Ineffec- tual efforts were made to heliograph Thorny Croft and ask whether he had as- sumed command. Toward sunset he was finally enabled to get orders through and concluded the position could be held the next day if guns could be provided and shelter obtained. Both those conditions were about to be fulfilled when ''in the absence of Coke, whom IL had ordered to come and report in person on the situa- tion, the evacuation took place under or ders given on his own responsibility by
 Thorny Croft. This occurred in the face
 of the vigorous protests of Cokes brigade
 major and others"
 Behaved In Gallant Manner