le of the garrison killed; and
yet in the evening of the same day 120 all ranks (40 sick being
included in that number) beat off the repeated attacks of 4,000 Zulus
at _Rorke's Drift_. In the operations after the fall of Khartoum a
desert column under Major-General Sir J. McNeill was surprised in dense
bush while constructing a zeriba at _Tofrik_ (March 22, 1885), but
after twenty minutes' fierce fighting the Mahdist Arabs were driven off
with more than 1,000 killed. In the operations in Upper Egypt against
the invading Mahdists a vigorous strategical and tactical offensive led
to the _Battle of Toski_ (August 3, 1889) and resulted in the defeat
and complete destruction of the invaders, with but slight loss to the
Anglo-Egyptian force under General Sir F. W. Grenfell. At the
beginning of the Christian Era three well-disciplined Roman legions
were decoyed into the fastnesses of the _Teutoberger Wald_ (A.D. 9) and
there attacked and annihilated by the Cherusci, a Saxon tribe, under
their king Arminius, and this defeat of Quintilius Varus is included by
Sir Edward Creasey among the {157} "Fifteen Decisive Battles of the
World." Fighting in close country against more or less savage tribes
is frequently the task of British troops in East and West Africa, while
the Indian Frontier constantly requires to be defended by expeditions
against tribal levies in hilly and mountainous districts. In "Field
Service Regulations" (Part II.), 1921, the peculiarities of various
savage races by whom the Outposts of the British Empire are liable to
be assailed are carefully noted.

IN CIVILIZED WARFARE.--The military history of Europe and America
abounds with accounts of fierce fighting in close country. In all ages
woods and villages play an important part in war. They form natural
magnets for troops operating in their neighbourhood. The fact of their
being easily visible, and named on maps, causes them to be adopted as
objectives in the Attack or as boundaries in the Defence, and in all
operations troops are instinctively drawn towards them in search of
cover, or to obtain water, supplies, and shelter. Their situation is
also likely to make them of tactical importance, as woods are
frequently on the slopes of hills and may be occupied in a defensive
scheme to force an assailant to deploy before reaching the main
position, while villages are naturally situated on roads, which must be
guarded as they are the normal avenues of approac