1 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 73
2 lery, some of them of heavy calibre; our infantry
3 using the never-failing weapon, the bayonet, when-
4 ever the enemy stood. Night only saved them
5 from worse disaster, for this stout conflict was
6 maintained during an hour and a half of dim star-
7 light, amidst a cloud of dust from the sandy plain
8 which yet more obscured every object.”
9 In reading a despatch, we are struck with the
10 apparent simplicity and regularity of every move- einai
11 ment; but to those engaged in the fight all seemed
12 confusion. In the present instance nothing can
13 appear more easy than to comprehend the flank
14 movements of the cavalry, the advance of the
15 horse artillery and infantry, the breaking of the
16 Sikh column and their dispersion; but if we ask
17 individuals regarding their position, they cannot
18 tell whether they were on the flank, in the front or
19 rear of the enemy. If this be difficult in daylight,
20 and on a plain unobstructed by brush wood or
21 jungle, and the whole atmosphere clear and not one
22 vast cloud of dust, the attempt becomes vain when
23 such obstructions are superadded. A Commander- Difficulty of
24 describing a
25 in-chief knows what movements he ordered, and sel) those
26 when those performing them are enveloped in dust
27 and darkness, it is impossible for any one to see how
28 these orders are carried out, and it is only known
29 that they have been so by the result. If the latter
30 be successful, then the manceuvre is supposed to
31 have been devised and executed in strict accordance
32 with military tactics.
33 When a victory is gained, it must be achieved by