Then some one--who it was is uncertain--ordered the
bugler to sound the "charge." The shrill notes rang out not once but a
dozen times. Every one began to shout. The officers waved their swords
frantically. Then the Sikhs commenced to move slowly forward towards the
enemy, cheering. It was a supreme moment. The tribesmen turned, and
began to retreat. Instantly the soldiers opened a steady fire, shooting
down their late persecutors with savage energy.
Then for the first time, I perceived that the repulse was general along
the whole front. What I have described was only an incident. But the
reader may learn from the account the explanation of many of our losses
in the frontier war. The troops, brave and well-armed, but encumbered
with wounded, exhausted by climbing and overpowered by superior force,
had been ordered to retire. This is an operation too difficult for a
weak force to accomplish. Unless supports are at hand, they must be
punished severely, and the small covering parties, who remain to check
the enemy, will very often be cut to pieces, or shot down.
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