"War maps and battle plans, with their definite presentment of the positions occupied by both sides over leagues of ground are misleading, unless we remember that, whatever the aeroplane and the dirigible may do for generals of coming days, those of the past had to judge the situation and make their decisions in the midst of what Sir Lonsdale Hales has happily described as the "fog of war."
--Description of the battle of Solferrio by A. Hilliard Atteridge in his book "Famous Modern Battles" p 61; published by Thos Nelson & Son in 1913. Does anyone know any more about Sir Lonsdale Hale?

"The whole scene flickered exactly like a cinematograph picture, and, besides, I remember no sound. The event seemed to pass in absolute silence. The yells of the enemy, the shouts of the soldiers, the firing of many shots, the clashing of sword and spear, were unnoticed by the senses, unregistered by the brain. Several others say the same."
--Lieutenant Winston Churchill in a description of the charge of the 21st Lancers at the battle of Omdurman, from "The River War".

Back to Lone Warrior #116 Table of Contents
© Copyright 1996 Solo Wargamers Association.

This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web.
Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com