long as possible uncertain whether the real advance would not
be, as he had always hitherto supposed, along the railway which runs
directly from Colesberg by Norval's Pont to Bloemfontein. Both
purposes were accomplished with rare success. It becomes, therefore,
in all ways interesting, as a study of the larger scope of the
campaign, to realise by what means this result was secured. In all
war, and in every campaign, so far as the two opposing commanders are
concerned, it is the play of mind upon mind which is the ruling
factor. To put himself in the place of the man whom he must outwit, if
he is to give his soldiers the best chance of victory, is for each
commander the essential preliminary. To take such steps as will tend
to confirm that man in any false impressions he is known or reasonably
suspected to have received, and to conceal as far as possible those
measures which are preparing the way for the real stroke, are common
characteristics of all triumphant achievement. The means by which the
end is gained--reticence, the movement of troops in such a way as
will suggest that they are placed with one object when, in fact, the
posts chosen will make it easy to use them for another, the allowing
of subordinate, even high, commanders, to misconceive, until it is
necessary for them to know, why orders are given--all these are the
well-tried methods. The fact that rumours spread almost automatically
and quite invariably from camp to hostile camp, so that what is
believed on one side largely affects belief on the other, is one of
the fixed data on which much depends. The issue openly of fictitious
orders, cancelled by cypher messages, is another available means of
throwing a cloud over what is being done. The art lies in applying
these well-known principles to the particular case to be dealt with.
It will be found that in practice Lord Roberts took advantage of every
one of them; but without a clear understanding of the methods which
the long experience of war has taught those whose duty it is to study
it, the underlying motive of much that has now to be described would
not be clear.

[Sidenote: Causes tending to deceive Cronje.]

Many things tended to convince Cronje that it was along the railway
direct on Bloemfontein that the march into the Free State would be
made. The capture at Dundee, in October, 1899, of certain Intelligence
department papers by the Boers had shown them that this had been the
first design. During