rs to retire reached them.
The centre and right advanced through low scrub into a loop of the
river. Some sections of the 1st Battalion, on the extreme right, came
upon a spruit, and, under shelter of its banks, pushed ahead of the
line.

Thus, by short and constant rushes, the assailants worked their way
forward. A brigade of field artillery was supporting the attack from
behind, but they found it as difficult as the infantry did to locate
the Boers, and most of their shells were quite harmless to the enemy,
while a few dropped close to the attacking infantry. They aided the
latter indirectly, however, since the Boer guns turned their attention
to them.

General Sir Redvers Buller had early recognised the difficulties of
the 5th Brigade, and sent orders for it to retire. But it is easier to
send a force into a battle than to draw it back. The great difficulty
at Colenso was to communicate with the company officers, who had to be
left entirely to their own 'initiative.' Finally an officer of the
Connaught Rangers volunteered to take to the firing line General
Hart's written order to retire. He succeeded in reaching the front,
but then, thinking he had struck the right of the line, turned to his
left. In reality he had gone to the centre of the attack, and,
consequently, the retirement was carried out partially and by
fractions. The left fell back about 10 a.m. in good order, though the
Boers, as usual, redoubled their fire when they saw their foes begin
to retreat. The centre and right, having received no order nor
warning, clung to their ground, and in some cases even made a further
advance. Section after section, however, gradually realised that their
left flank was uncovered and a general retreat of the brigade in
progress. A score of men, under the command of an officer, would rise
up and double back, causing, as they did so, an instant quickening of
the enemy's fire. All around the running figures the bullets splashed,
raising little jets of dust. Occasionally a man would stumble forward,
or sink down as if tired, but it seemed wonderful that the rain of
bullets did not claim more victims. They claimed enough, however, of
the unfortunate three companies of the 1st Battalion, whom the order
to retire never reached. Till 1 p.m., and the arrival of the Boers,
they lay where they were, suffering a loss of some 60 per cent. When
at last Major Hicks realised the situation, he touched with his stick
the man on his righ