In the machinery and organisation of war, the small British Army was at a disadvantage, particularly when faced with the necessity of great and rapid expansion. That mistakes should have been made was more than natural—it was inevitable.
I would not be so presumptuous as to criticise so freely, but that "the old order changeth": to write of the past is, I hope, permissible, and likely to lead to no misconstruction. I mean no more than that which the plain interpretation of my simple phraseology will convey. I have no axes to grind.
The right men are in the British Army, and the right men are at the head of it.
For its work to be crowned with complete and lasting victory, it has but to have the undivided Empire behind it, and that, thank God, it has.
The man who cannot see that the Allies will win this war, and win it conclusively, is indeed blind to what the future holds for civilisation.
Frederic Coleman.
Melbourne, Australia,
June, 1916.