e 3rd Division was somewhere on our right, and that the
French cavalry was believed to be covering our left front, we did not
know at this period what the movement was about or where the Germans
were supposed to be. We trusted to our superiors to do what was
necessary, and plunged blindly into the "fog of war."

The usual proceedings on the ordinary line of march were that, on
receiving "Divisional Orders," which arrived at any time in the
afternoon, or often at night, we compiled "Brigade Orders" on them.
Divisional Orders give one first of all any information about the
enemy which it is advisable to impart, then the intention of the
Divisional General--whether he means to fight on the morrow, or march,
or stay where he is, &c., &c.; and if he means to march he gives the
direction in which the Division is to proceed, the order of march, by
brigades, artillery, divisional troops such as R.E., heavy batteries,
divisional cavalry, &c., &c., and generally says where and how the
transport is to march, whether with its own troops or some way behind,
and if so, where; and gives directions as to the supplies, where the
refilling-point, rendezvous for supply carts, and railhead are, and
many other odds and ends, especially as to which brigade is to provide
the advanced- or rear-guard, who is to command it, at what time the
head of the column and the heads of all the formations are to pass a
given point, and so on. On receiving these orders we have to make out
and issue similarly composed Brigade Orders in detail, giving the
order of march of the battalions and Brigade Headquarters, how much
rations are to be carried on the men and in the cook-waggons, what is
to happen to the supply and baggage waggons, whether B transport
(vehicles not absolutely necessary in the fighting line) are to be
with the A transport in rear of their respective battalions, or to be
bunched up by themselves behind the Brigade, with similar detailed
orders about the advanced-guard or rear-guard, and the time to a
minute as to when each detail is to pass a given point, the position
of the Brigadier in the column, the point to which reports are to be
sent, &c., &c. These orders might be written in anything from fifteen
to fifty minutes according to the movement required, and then had to
be quadruplicated and sent out to the battalions by their respective
orderlies, or by wire. By the time the battalions had written out and
transmitted their own orders to t