The outside wrapper is reproduced from a drawing by E. Oakdale,
by courtesy of Mr. Holbrook Jackson, Editor of "T.P.'s Weekly
."


CONTENTS

Page
[INTRODUCTION]iii
[PREFACE]v
[CHAPTER I]
EARLY DAYS
A Kentish Celt—A Rebellious Boy—Four Years in the Navy—With the 19th Hussars—"Captain X Trees"—A Studious Subaltern—Chafing at Home—The First Opportunity1
[CHAPTER II]
WITH THE NILE EXPEDITION
A Forlorn Hope—Scouting in the Desert—The Battle of Abu Klea—Metammeh—The Death of Gordon—A Dangerous Retreat—"Major French and His Thirteen Troopers"10
[CHAPTER III]
YEARS OF WAITING
Second in Command—Maintaining the Barrow tradition—The Persistent Student—Service in India—Retires on Half-pay—Renewed Activities—Rehearsing for South Africa23
[CHAPTER IV]
ELANDSLAAGTE AND RIETFONTEIN
The Unknown Commander of Cavalry—Who is General French?—Advancing without Reinforcements—"This is your Show, French"—The White Flag—The Chess-Player—The Victor in Anecdote32
[CHAPTER V]
THE TIDE TURNS
White's Dash from Ladysmith—Nicholson's Nek—The Reverse at Lombard's Kop—A Cavalry Exploit—French's Dramatic Escape from Ladysmith45
[CHAPTER VI]
THE CAMPAIGN ROUND COLESBERG
The Fog of War—A Perilous Situation—Damming "The Flowing Tide"—Shows His Genius as a Commander—A Campaign in Miniature—Hoisting Guns on Hilltops—The Fifty-mile Front—Saving the Situation52
[CHAPTER VII]
THE DASH TO KIMBERLEY
French's Pledge—The Task—The First Shell—"Hemmed in"—"We must break through"—The Lancers' Charge—In and Out of Kimberley—The Surrender of Cronje67
[CHAPTER VIII]
ROUNDING UP THE BOERS
French in the Modder—At Bloemfontein—French and the Artist—An Ambush—Doing the Impossible Again—Short Shrift with Barberton Snipers—-Some French Stories82
[CHAPTER IX]
WORK AT HOME AND RESIGNATION
At Aldershot—Driving Training at High Pressure— General French is "fairly well pleased"—Strenuous Man[oe]uvres—Chief of the Imperial General Staff—Ulster and Resignation97
[CHAPTER X]
HIS BELIEF IN CAVALRY
The Lessons of the Boer War—Cavalry v. Mounted Infantry—A Plea for the Lance—The Cavalry Spirit—Shock Tactics still Useful106
[CHAPTER XI]
THE MODERN MARLBOROUGH
Europe's Need—The Plight of France—A Delicate Situation—The Man of "Grip"—A Magnificent Retreat116
[CHAPTER XII]
FRENCH, THE MAN
A Typical Englishman—Fighting at School—Napoleon Worship—"A Great Reporter"—Halting Speeches and Polished Prose. A South African Coincidence—Mrs. Despard and the Newsboy—The Happy Warrior121
[Appendix]139
[Index]149


SIR JOHN FRENCH