The Defence of Duffer ' s Drift The Defence of Duffer ' s Drift is a short book by Major General Sir Ernest Dunlop Swinton , published in 1904 when Swinton was a Captain . It appeared in the British United Service Magazine under the pseudonym , Lieutenant N . Backsight Forethought , who is the narrator of the book . The book is an exploration of small unit tactics in a fictional encounter in the Boer War . Swinton served in South Africa during the Boer War , and the book " embodies some recollections of things actually done and undone in South Africa , 1899 – 1902 . " Lieutenant Backsight Forethought ( " BF " ) and his command of fifty men are given the task to defend Duffer ' s Drift , a natural ford to a river . A large force of Boers , unknown to BF , is moving toward his position . This scenario is played out six separate times , in six " dreams . " In the early scenarios , BF and his British troops are ignominiously defeated . After each defeat , BF learns lessons and adapts his strategy for the later encounters . The later dreams end more inconclusively , and in the final dream , BF and his command successfully hold out long enough to be relieved . The book encourages critical thinking and careful use of position and terrain to mount a successful defence . " The Defence of Duffer ' s Drift " was reprinted in the April 1905 edition of the Journal of the United States Infantry Association . The book , especially intended for young lieutenants , has become a military staple on small unit tactics , read far afield in places such as the United States , Russia , and Canada . While some of the advice has become rather dated — notably , BF eventually decides to imprison all nearby locals , shoot any livestock that could be of aid to the enemy , and impress both Boer and black alike into building fortifications for his men — the book is still considered relevant and interesting in modern times . Storyline . Lieutenant Backsight Forethought ( BF to his friends ) has been left in command of a 50 - man reinforced platoon to hold Duffer ' s Drift , the only ford on the Silliassvogel River available to wheeled traffic . Here is his chance for fame and glory . He has passed his officer courses and special qualifications . " Now if they had given me a job , say like fighting the Battle of Waterloo , of Gettysburg , or Bull Run , I knew all about that , as I had crammed it up . . . " While BF ' s task appears simple enough the Boer enemy causes a multitude of problems , but the astute reader , with a sharp mind and quick intellect , will no doubt , solve the problem before the first shot is fired . Lessons learned . The following are the lessons learned discussed in this book . Influence . This style of literary fiction has been copied by several authors , making this author an influence upon the writings of others . four examples are provided ; one , a mechanized battalion level primer , one military combat service support example , another one that is non - military related , and a third adopting the parable to operations in Iraq . The first one was " Defense Of Hill 781 " written by James R . McDonough in 1988 dealing with a somewhat large combat element that the original , and having a slightly different reason for the " dreams " . The second was written by Staff Sergeants Reginald Scott and Steve Newman , along with Sergeants William Baucom , Rodney Weathers , and Louise Chee in the September 2001 edition of " NCO Notes " , number 01 - 2 , from the Association of the United States Army ( AUSA ) Institute of Land Warfare . The title of this story was " The Defense of Duffer ' s Drift Brigade Support Area " . Instead of trying to teach infantry tactics , the authors of this story focused upon a supply company of a forward support battalion in an effort to teach units inside of a Brigade Support Area to become more effective in defensive operations during combat . The third one was written by Dr . Scott S . Haraburda , PhD , PE , in 2008 for a non - military topic , even though it involved the Department of Defense . His book , " Premonitions of the Palladion Project : A Modern Project Management Fable " , contains information about what works and what does not work when managing a project , which can be used to assist anyone in managing a more successful project . This book provided a project management framework illustrating twenty - four project management rules . The general thesis in this book was that using just the best project management tools while forgetting everything else about running the project would doom the project to failure . The fourth was written by Albert J . Marckwardt and Michael Burgoyne , entitled " The Defense of Jisr al - Doreaa " . The book follows a young lieutenant through successive lessons while conducting stability and counterinsurgency operations in Iraq . The Winter 2005 edition of the Canadian Army Journal contained the following praise :