Pertaining to Gatacre, below is my draft entry on him that will appear in my forthcoming book, "The Victorians at War, 1815-1914: An Encyclopedia of British Military History and Global Power," to be published in 2004 by ABC-CLIO. I hope this may be of interest to you. Harold Raugh ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------- Gatacre, Lieutenant General Sir William F., 1843-1906 Lieutenant General Sir William F. Gatacre was a senior general who saw considerable active service during the final decade of Queen Victoria's reign, culminating in command of the 3rd Division during the Second Boer War. Gatacre was born in 1843 and commissioned in the army in 1862. He served in India for many years, was an instructor at Sandhurst from 1875-79, and participated in an expedition to Burma in 1889. Gatacre commanded a brigade in the 1895 Chitral Relief Expedition on the North-West Frontier. On one occasion an attack was to be conducted on a rebel leader's fort. Gatacre thought the mission too risky, and argued with the force chief of staff over seniority. By the time the force commander arrived, the rebels had slipped away. As a major general, Gatacre was sent to the Sudan in early 1898, and commanded a British brigade at the Battle of Atbara (8 April 1898) and a division at Omdurman (2 September 1898). While his soldiers fought well, Gatacre was considered an abrasive officer, "totally unable to delegate, he interfered constantly with his battalion commanders and insisted on being consulted on the slightest measure, right down to platoon level" (Neillands 1996, p. 191). Gatacre arrived in South Africa in November 1899 in command of the 3rd Division. He was tasked, with a small ad hoc force (as most of his division had been sent to Natal), to try to control as much of the northeastern section of Cape Colony as he could, and to prevent any Boer advances from Stormberg. Even though instructed to remain on the defensive until reinforced, Gatacre was determined to seize Stormberg in a dawn attack after a night march. Gatacre failed to conduct a reconnaissance, at the last minute changed the route and direction of attack (or got lost en route), and then led tired troops in rugged terrain in an attempt to surprise the Boers. In superb physical condition, Gatacre -- nicknamed "Backacher" by his soldiers -- expected his troops to also be in excellent shape and marched them as if they were impervious to fatigue. At daylight on 10 December 1899, Gatacre's column was caught unprotected in a pass with Boers on the high ground. The Boers opened fire on the British, some of whom were able to occupy nearby high ground, but most were exhausted and withdrew hastily. British casualties at Stormberg, one of the three significant British defeats constituting "Black Week," were 28 killed, 51 wounded, and 634 captured. On 10 April 1900, however, after Gatacre had failed to send his force to assist during an attack near Dewetsdorp, he was sacked and unnecessarily humiliated by Field Marshal Lord Roberts, commander-in-chief. Gatacre returned to England and commanded the Eastern District until he retired in 1904. Gatacre, who "was as brave as a lion . . . No day was too hot for him, no hours too long, no work too hard" (Belfield 1975, p. 49), later worked for a rubber company, and died of fever in the jungles of Abyssinia in 1906. See also Atbara, Battle of, 8 April 1898; North-West Frontier; Omdurman, Battle of, 2 September 1898; Roberts, Field Marshal Frederick S., V.C.; Stormberg, Battle of, 10 December 1899 References Barthorp (1987); Belfield (1975); Farwell (1972); Neillands (1996); Pakenham (1979)