"I do not see how the driving could have been carried out more effectively than was done with the men at my disposal. My tactics, of course, would have been considerably altered had there been, say, 10,000 troops. I would, in that event, have put the men in a line as skirmishers, with small supports at intervals of every 500 yards, and larger ones at points that appeared more dangerous.
"So long as there was no reverse or tight corner, I felt the levies were all right, hence their being sent in with the troops, as they were to assist in the drive.
"I always made a point of driving downhill as much as possible, so that when the enemy was come upon, he would be obliged to charge uphill."
Barker, who was more frequently attacked when actually on the march than any other column commander, says of advanced guards: "I would never allow the guard to be more than 300 yards from the main body as, if further, I would not have been able to gallop up in time on its being suddenly attacked.
"I had only one squadron as advanced guard between Noodsberg camp and Dalipa (wattle plantation). It was formed of two troops in front in sections of four (in close touch with each other), with two troops close up on either side in support. The head of the main column was, at the same time, marching in the centre, not more than 200 yards away. This order was adopted as I expected to be attacked. The guard, in this way, were able to at once deliver a counter attack, instead of falling back on the main body. Had they been weaker, they would have been obliged to fall back.
"It is, moreover, necessary to have the guard so arranged that the main body can be pushed forward to support whichever side the attack comes from. In Native warfare, one can never tell what flank will be threatened.
"I fully realized that the whole essence of the position lay in the advanced guard. Hence, before the action at Ponjwana, having seen Natives collecting the previous day along the route to be traversed, I warned the officer in command to be on the alert. When the attack came, sudden though it was, his men were ready in a moment to engage the enemy."
One of the surprises of the campaign, in the opinion of competent judges, was the prominent part played by infantry, e.g. D.L.I., N.R.R. and N.R. Because a less showy arm, infantry has been apt to be underrated in connection with Native warfare. It is, however, not too much to say that any such opinions as existed in Natal have had to be considerably modified on account of the consistently fine work that was done at Nkandhla, and in the actions of Bobe, Mome and Izinsimba. Not only was it found that a well-trained corps could march twenty or even thirty miles a day, but able to take a share in the fighting as effective as that of troops conveyed on horseback to the scene of action. As Native wars of the future will probably be fought on difficult and out-of-the-way ground, similar to that chosen in 1906, it would be well to bear this fact in mind.
In going through thick bush held by the enemy, as the N.P. had to do at Mpanza, it would appear advisable for the advanced guard to dismount and hand horses to Nos. 3, as, in the event of attack, men would then be able to reply at once, as well as stand together to resist the rush. Horses are startled by the shouting inevitable on such occasions, with the result that a man's time is taken up in trying to keep his seat, thereby becoming practically hors de combat at a very critical moment.