"It was our own fault, and our very grave fault, and now we must turn it to use, We have forty million reasons for failure, but not a single excuse!"1
-Rudyard Kipling
The Defence of Duffer's Drift, written by British Captain (later Major General) Sir Ernest Swinton shortly after the Boer War, was first published in the United States in 1905 and has since become a military classic. It has been required reading at the United States Army Infantry School in Fort Benning, Georgia, and is on the current official reading list of the Commandant of the Marine Corps. Although it was written at the turn of the 20th century, the reason this essay remains so highly accredited today is the relevance of the wisdom it holds for the modern warrior. Not only are many of the literal lessons within the story still pertinent to combat, but the overarching example of learning from one's mistakes to increase future mission accomplishment is necessary for every military leader, regardless of unit size, time period, or style of warfare.
The Boer War, within which this story takes place, was fought from 1899 to 1902 between the British regular army and an organized rebellion of the Boers in South Africa. The Boers were Dutch settlers who went to South Africa several generations prior to the hostilities before the country was annexed to the British Empire after the discovery of gold and diamonds. The insurgent Boers outnumbered British forces and were well equipped with the .433 Mauser repeating rifle, the 37-millimeter NordenfeltMaxim "pom-pom" gun. which could fire one-pound shells at 60 rounds per minute. Maxim machine guns, and howitzers. They were known for their excellent sniping abilities, and their guerilla style of warfare proved problematic for the more traditional British army.2
The account of Duffer's Drift is a narrative of a series of six dreams by Lieutenant Backsight Forethought. The premise for the story is that after each dream, a number of lessons are learned, followed by another dream beginning exactly as the first. At the start of each dream, his memory holds only the acquired lessons, and he has no other recollection of the previous dreams. However, when he awakens, he remembers the whole series of dreams, and records them in detail. In essence, after a series of five failures. Forethought learns the necessary tactics to ensure mission accomplishment in his final dream.
As the story opens, the lieutenant is the lone officer in a 50-man force, his first command. He is well supplied and has orders to hold an essential ford along the Silliaasvogel River at all costs. With limited intelligence on the enemy, he begins to prepare his defense.
In all, the story contains 22 lessons that increase in complexity as Forethought continually improves on his defense and nears mission achievement. For example, in his first dream, his lack of field experience allows some simple mistakes. In his first attempt, he sets up camp on low ground in close to the ford, lets his men defer digging in until the following day. and allows his sentries to build fires for light and warmth. After nightfall, his forces are quickly overrun by a band of local guerillas that easily kill his well-illuminated sentries and proceed to fire on his men from the cover surrounding the river. Although this first attempt turned out quite disastrous, the lieutenant learns his lessons and makes better progress in the next round. By his sixth and final dream. Forethought is defending an entire column of Boers by using cover and concealment, the tactical advantages of the terrain, and quality preparation and planning.3
Although this story is now more than 100 years old, and is set in a different time and place of warfare, many lessons directly correspond to the most fundamental of today's infantry tactics. Issues the lieutenant experiences include the haste with which a quality defense should be developed, as well as the usefulness of parapets and trenches against various weaponry. He also learns to view his position from the enemy perspective when he holds key ground to assume the tactical benefits while simultaneously preventing the enemy from employing the same advantages. He discovers that for his isolated post, there are no flanks or rear, but he must instead address the possibility of being surrounded and therefore treat every direction as the front. Additionally. Forethought learns the value of spreading his forces out and ensuring clear fields of fire. These basic lessons are modern tenets of solid infantry defense tactics, and are employed throughout the world today.4
In addition to the literal lessons discovered through his dreams, it is also worthwhile to note his learning process. Because of the lack of quality field training during his era, most of Forethought's knowledge was obtained in the classroom environment through the study of major battles. Early in his narrative, he admits:
"Now, if they had given me a job like fighting the battle of Waterloo, or Sedan. or Bull Run. I knew all about that, as I had crammed it up and been examined in it too. . . . But the defence of a drift with a small detachment was, curiously enough, quite perplexing."5
Because of his lack of small-unit training, as well as limited field experience. Forethought did not know how to employ his band of soldiers to its full potential. However, because of the style in which the story is told, he had the opportunity to learn from his mistakes until he finally accomplished his mission.
Although this luxury is not granted to a Soldier in reality, today we are fortunate to have a training program that both studies small-unit leadership in addition to providing field experience for all its participants. At The Basic School, all U.S. Marines, regardless of occupational specialty, learn and practice these basic skills in an environment that can be closely compared to Forethought's recurring dreams. By learning from one's own mistakes and successes, as well as those of other young officers, lieutenants in today's Marine Corps enter combat with the knowledge and experience necessary to achieve mission accomplishment on the first attempt. In this way, we can follow lieutenant Backsight Forethought's example by learning from our training experiences, and from them developing strategy that will maximize the capability of the force that has been entrusted to our command.
1 Kipling, Rudyard. "The Lesson," Quoted in Ernest Dunlop Swimon, The Defence of Duffer's Drift (Avery; Reprint edition, 1 July 1986). 3.
2 "Small Arms of the Boer War" 1988. The Australian Lighthorse Association Ltd. 2 April 2006, http://www.lighthorse.org.au/mililary/small.htm
3 Swinton. The Defence of Duffer's Drift. 10-16.
4 Ibid., 18-47.
5 Ibid., 12.
Lieutenant Merritt is from Edmond, Oklahoma, and is a May graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy. He will report to Marine Corps Base Quatico in July to begin The Basic School.