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Roberts Heights.
Pretoria.

16th March 1920

Dear Colonel Buchan,

Thank you so very
much for sending me an advance copy of
your book. I very much appreciate your
kind thoughts, & shall value the book very
much.

I find in the story of the battle of Le Cateau
page 245 that Major Clerk is given credit for
doing things which were really not possible for
him to have done as he was in command of
the Reserve Company of the 4th Regt., & when the
attack went forward he retired on Bn. Hd.qrs.
from whence I ordered him back into the line.
Jacobs was responsible for the success of the attack
as it was he who found the old trench &
rushed the position by means of this passage
under the wire. In the mist he was able to
take the enemy in flank, & so cleared most of
the front. I made this quite clear in my
narrative which apparently you did not see.
In the Delville wood operations there was no
second order issued to attack the wood from the
south. The form of attack was entirely dictated