The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-03-05
At Modder River.

entertainments
At Modder River.
AT Modder River he built his trenches
at the edge Of a steep river bed, which af-
forded him cover for the movement Of re-
endorsements and the supplying OF ammu-
milton. food and water TO his forces. At
Magersfontein he built a three-fold series
Of trenches and made the centre Of his po-
sition a kopje whose foot was fringed by
vaal bushes. behind which he could move
his re-enforcements, carry oil his dead
and wounded, and distribute his food and
fresh supplies Of cartridges.
with the old-style single-shct rife the
change from behind the rocks OF his hills
TO the protection afforded by mere ridges
or hastily-built trenches would have made
him an easy prey to the bravost troops in
Europe. such as we, rightly or wrongly,
believe to be in Lord Methuen's following.
But with magazine rifles, artillery, and
such fearful terrifying weapons as the new
Vickers- Nordenfeldt gun, he could make
a ridge or trench impTegnable. as We have
seen.
.'One OF the most interesting and f0Tmid-
able OF the new conditions Of war which
we are experiencing Is that We never
or next to neveT-see our foe. Can the
STUDENT OF NuE AOA even NAAt Ntl11AAaA ANth'AfA ?
comprehend what it means 10 go on for
week after week and month after month.
fighting an invisible enemy?
Personally, l saw a few score Beers
running away al Belmont, a smaller num-
Der escaping from the punishment We were
netting out TO them at Graspan, and sew
eral hundred showing themselyes-With
uncommon impudence and courage-before
the beginning Of the battle OF Modder
River But ! have no doubt there are men
in our army who haze never seen
Boer in battle know OF officers who have
only seen one or TWO in one battle and hve
or six in another. In engagement after
engagement our men have thrown them
selves upon the veldt moved to DO so by
hail OF bullets around them, and then have
fired away for hours at a time at the
noise or the flame Of the enemys lire
in trenches which they could not see.
An Invisible Enemy.
This is true to such an extent that at
Nodder River there were whole battahons
Of ours that did not know at the end OF
the DAY whether the enemy was north or
south of She river; in fact they believed.
during the entire battle. that the enemy
was or he farther side OF the river. Tn
der such circumstance If We did NOS pick
mn some wounded and take some prisoners
as actual. ocular proof Of the existence OF
a flesh and blood enemy We might almost
exUect the more imaginative OF our sol
die-s 10 believe that they had been fight
ing a vapor or an essence.
-.They have seen the earth crack apart
and yonit fame and bullets, they have
hoard the helTs chorus Of battle. they
have ssen their comrades fall dead and
mancied by their sides, but they, have nor
seen The men who produced the tumult
and The damage. This then, is one OF the
new conditions of war which has TO be
taken into account.
With the introduction OF snoEeless
poWder a zoe eutrenched or hiding behind
rocks IS a foe invisible. And 81 takes a
tcufold stouter heart to fight an unseen
enemy than 10 combat with a substantial
line of flesh and blood beings or leap
ing. running targ { Of brown smoke which
locates 3D. II 81 does not reveal the party
Of the second part
I'VE do know that a European army,
fighting under European rules IS a clumsy
weapon against the Boer who opposes us
with weapons which render one man as
good as ten and all ten Invisible We re-
member the old saying that an army
move upon its belly. and We make it
read the modern army must fight upon
it's belly