Translated at length into the 10th Hussars he served withincreasing reputation through the Afghan War in 1878 and1879 and through the fierce fighting round Suakim in 1884.As he had gained two successive brevets upon active servicehe was in army rank actually senior to the Colonel of hisown regiment. This produced at least one embarrassingsituation conceivable only in the British Army of those days.The Colonel of the 10th had occasion to find fault withBrabazon's squadron and went so far in his displeasureas to order it home to barracks. Brabazon was deeplymortified. However, a few weeks later the 10th Hussarswere brigaded for some manoeuvres with another cavalryregiment. Regimental seniority no longer ruled, andBrabazon's army rank gave him automatically the commandof the brigade. Face to face with his own commandingofficer, now for the moment his subordinate, Brabazonhad repeated the same remarks and cutting sentences sorecently addressed to him, and finished by the harsh order,'Take your wegiment home, Sir!' The fashionable part ofthe army had been agog with this episode. That Brabazonhad the law on his side could not be gainsaid. In those daysmen were accustomed to assert their rights in a rigid mannerwhich would now be thought unsuitable. There were,however, two opinions upon the matter.
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In the whole of Pretoria there were not five hundredmen capable of bearing arms; and these for the most partwere well-to-do burghers who had obtained exemptionfrom the front, men unfit to go on commando, officialsof the Government, clerks in the Government offices, etc.These were nominally formed into a town guard and hadhad rifles served out to them. Beyond this, organisationdid not run. If the first step could have been taken, thesecond would have been far easier, and the third easierstill. In imagination we saw ourselves masters of theenemy's capital. The forts were held only by caretakers.Everyone else was at the front. The guns of the forts allfaced outwards. They were not defended in any effectualway from an attack from the rear. Had we been successfulin obtaining control of the town, the occupation of theforts would have been easy, would have followed in fact asa natural consequence. The nearest British army wasthree hundred miles away. But if all had gone well, weshould by a wave of the wand have been in possession ofthe enemy's fortified capital, with an adequate force and280plenty of food and ammunition for a defence at least aslong as that of Mafeking.
After the relief of Ladysmith and their defeat in the FreeState, many of the Boers thought the war was over and madehaste to return to their farms. The Republics sought peaceby negotiation, observing quaintly that as the British had'now recovered their prestige' this should be possible. Ofcourse no one would entertain such an idea. The ImperialGovernment pointed to the injuries they had received fromthe Boer invasions, and sternly replied that they would makeknown their terms for the future settlement of South Africafrom Pretoria. Meanwhile thousands of Boers in the FreeState had returned to their homes and taken an oath ofneutrality. Had it been possible for Lord Roberts tocontinue his advance without delay to Pretoria, it is possiblethat all resistance, at any rate south of the Vaal River, wouldhave come to an end. But the army must first gathersupplies. The principal railway bridges had been destroyed,and their repair by temporary structures involved reducedfreights. The daily supply of the army drew so heavily uponthe traffic, that supplies only accumulated at the rate of oneday in four. It was evident therefore that several weeksmust pass before the advance could be resumed. Meanwhilethe resolute leaders of the Boers pulled themselvestogether and embarked upon a second effort, which thoughmade with smaller resources, was far more prolonged andcostly to us than their original invasion. The period ofpartisan warfare had begun. The first step was to recall tothe commandos the burghers who had precipitately madeseparate peace for themselves. By threats and violence,351oaths of neutrality notwithstanding, thousands of these wereagain forced to take up arms. The British denounced thistreacherous behaviour, and although no one was executedfor violating his oath, a new element of bitternesshenceforward mingled in the struggle. 2ff7e9595c
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