Morgan, having rescued Flushing, at once wrote letters to England to point out the importance of the town which he held and to beg for reinforcements. In the autumn accordingly appeared Colonel Sir Humphrey Gilbert, with a regiment6, the first of many English regiments7 that were to enter the Dutch service, of ten companies and fourteen hundred men, raw troops under a raw leader. Morgan would have been the better commander, but he was a modest unambitious man; Gilbert, on the other hand, suffered from fatal ignorance of his own incapacity. Sir Humphrey at once launched out boldly into complicated operations which he was utterly8 incompetent9 to direct, was outwitted and outman?uvred, fell back on swearing when things went wrong, and not only lost his own head but completely broke the spirit of his men. The new regiment in fact behaved very far from well. "I am to blame to judge their minds," wrote Roger Williams, the ablest of Morgan's officers, after Gilbert's first defeat, "but let me speak truth. I believe they were afraid." He adds elsewhere a gentle but telling criticism, that lays the blame on the right shoulders. "A commander that enters the enemy's countries ought to know the places that he doth attempt: if not he ought to be furnished with guides." So ignorant were even educated Englishmen of the alphabet of war. Gilbert, however, did not learn his lesson quickly. A slight success, wherein the English displayed conspicuous10 gallantry, heated his ambition once more to boiling-point; he essayed another adventure in the grand manner, failed utterly, and sailed home with the scanty12 remnant of his regiment, a sadder and wiser man.
Morgan meanwhile had gone home and raised ten more companies, with which however he could do very little. The men were not paid on their disembarkation in Holland, as William of Nassau had promised them, and they became discontented and insubordinate. Morgan naturally took their part, and the result was, that after some few petty engagements against the[143] Spaniards, he took his departure in dudgeon and sailed with the seven hundred men that were left to him to England. He had done good work, and his name deserves to be remembered; for he was the first man who made perfect arquebusiers of the English, and the first who taught them to love the musket14. Fifty years had flown since the Spaniards had shown the way, and the English were only just beginning to follow. Roger Williams on Morgan's retirement15 took service with the Spaniards for a time, in order to learn his duty the better, and presently returned, without reproach, to wield16 the knowledge that he had gained against themselves. To such shifts were British officers reduced who wished to master their profession.
1578,
January 29.
August.
To follow the actions of sundry17 other corps18 of volunteers during the succeeding years would be tedious. I pass at once to the landing in July 1577 of a company of three hundred Englishmen under the command of John Norris, one of the first and most eminent19 of the new school of officers who were the fathers of our Army. He had learned his work first in Ireland, and later in France under a great disciplinarian, the Admiral Coligny. He too arrived at a critical time. A few months after his disembarkation, while he was still in garrison20 at Antwerp, Don John of Austria surprised the Army of the States at Gemblours, and not only defeated it but shattered it to fragments. Six months later Don John attempted to repeat the blow against a second Army of the States, a heterogeneous21 force of English, Scotch22, and Flemings, under the command of the veteran Huguenot, De la Noue. Having but fourteen thousand men against thirty thousand of the finest troops in Europe, De la Noue took up a strong position at Rymenant, near Malines, and stood on the defensive23. After trying in vain to draw him from his entrenchments Don John finally launched a desperate attack on the quarter held by the English and Scotch under Norris. Four companies of Scots bore the first brunt of the assault, but were presently reinforced, just[144] in time, by Norris's eleven companies of English; and then the struggle became as desperate as ever was fought by British soldiers. The Spanish troops were the flower of the army, the Old Regiment,[125] which had not its peer in Europe; but with all their magnificent training and discipline they could not carry the position. Three times they forced the British back, and three times when success seemed assured they were met by a resistance that would not be broken, and were hurled24 back in their turn. The day was intensely hot, and the British, scorning all armour25, fought in their shirt-sleeves, but they fought hard, and not only hard but, thanks to John Norris, in good order. Norris himself, always in the thickest of the fight, had three horses killed under him in succession, but never lost hold of his men; and at last the famous infantry26 of Spain drew back, beaten, and Don John abandoned the attack. It was a great day for old "Bras de fer" De la Noue, but a still greater for John Norris and his British. They had, by general admission, not only saved the day, but they had repulsed27 the most formidable troops in the world.
During the years that follow Norris and his companies were incessantly28 engaged, generally victorious30, though once at least defeated with heavy loss; their gallant11 leader, though frequently wounded, reappearing always whenever work was to be done. Their highest trial was when they encountered the greatest General of the day, Alexander of Parma, and the whole Spanish army with him, in a rearguard action, and beat them off with such persistent31 bravery that the French volunteers after the engagement crowded to their colours and begged to be allowed to serve under them. Norris indeed was the Moore of the sixteenth century, alike as a teacher in the camp and as a General in the field.
1584,
July 10.
Nevertheless, brilliant as his service was, he could not stay the victorious advance of the Spaniards. After ten years of fighting the Dutch States had lost almost the whole of Spanish Flanders except a few large towns and[145] the sea-coast from Dunkirk to Ostend, and still Elizabeth would not move to help the Dutch insurgents in a task, no less vital to England than to them, which lay beyond their strength. At last the assassination33 of William the Silent forced her to make up her uncertain mind to the inevitable34 rupture35 with Spain. The United Provinces were in the utmost need; the strong hand of Alexander of Parma was at the throat of Antwerp, and unless its grip could be relaxed the city must inevitably36 fall. The States threw themselves upon the English Queen, entreating37 her even to make them a part of her realm, and at last, after much paltry38 haggling39, Elizabeth consented to send them four or five thousand men, taking over the towns of Brill, Flushing, Rammekins, and Ostend as security for their obligations towards her. Elizabeth was always careful to look after the money.
This agreement being at last concluded the press-gang[126] was at once set to work in England; four thousand men were raised and dressed in red coats, and within a fortnight after the signing of the Treaty they had crossed the North Sea, only to find that Antwerp was already in Parma's hands and that they had come too late. Norris, however, at once took the force in hand, and was carrying on active operations with brilliant success when he was stopped by a peremptory40 rebuke41 from the Queen; the troops had been transported for the relief of Antwerp, and she would not have them employed on any other service. The States, naturally exasperated42 by this contemptible43 double-dealing, received the troops reluctantly into the cautionary towns and left them with no very good grace to take care of themselves. Elizabeth, as her nature was, had refused to send a penny of money or an ounce of supplies, and the soldiers, ill-fed, ill-clothed, and ill-lodged, began to melt away by hundreds through death and desertion.
In December, however, Robert, Earl of Leicester, was sent out as Commander-in-Chief of the forces in the Low Countries, and as he brought with him a reinforcement of cavalry44, and also money sufficient to pay the arrears45 of the soldiers' wages, it was hoped that matters would be placed on a better footing. But it was not to be. Elizabeth was not yet in earnest in breaking with Spain, and Leicester, gathering46 an inkling of her intentions from her refusal to provide him with additional funds, went very unwillingly47 to take up his command. On arriving in Holland he found things even worse than he had anticipated. The men were in a shocking state, dying fast of cold and hunger; they had not a penny wherewith to supply themselves; and their clothing was so deficient48 that for very nakedness they were ashamed to appear in public. Leicester with all his faults had evidently a genuine tenderness for his unfortunate soldiers; he wrote letter after letter pressing vehemently49 for money, but Elizabeth would not give a farthing. The natural consequences followed. By February half the men were dead, and the half that remained alive were in a state of suppressed mutiny. No good officer would accept a command in the army on such terms, and the companies fell into the hands of unscrupulous swindlers who sent their men out to plunder50 and did not omit to take their own share, rejoicing over every soldier who died or deserted51 for the money that would pass into their pockets when the long-deferred pay-day should come. There have been many sovereigns and many ministers in England who have neglected and betrayed their soldiers, but none more wantonly, wilfully52, and scandalously than Elizabeth.
July.
Nevertheless, as the spring of 1586 approached, it behoved Leicester to open a campaign of some kind. Parma was advancing along the line of the Maas, evidently bent54 on taking every fortified55 town on the river, and it was necessary if possible to check him. The Generals, however, were ill-matched; Parma easily brushed aside Leicester's feeble opposition56, and having[147] secured the line of the Maas turned next to that of the Rhine. Meanwhile a large reinforcement of men, unarmed and untrained, had been sent from England; and Leicester concentrated his forces, summoning all the garrisons57 of the cautionary towns to join him at Arnheim. Philip Sidney came from his government at Flushing, Lord Willoughby came from Bergen-op-Zoom, John Norris and his brother Henry hurried up likewise, the veteran Roger Williams joined them, and lastly, in the retinue58 of Lord Willoughby, came a young man of greater promise than any, named Francis Vere. The plan of operations was soon determined59; since Parma could not be checked on the Rhine, he must be called away from it by a diversion in the north on the Yssel, where the Spaniards still held the towns of Doesburg and Zutphen.
All turned out as had been expected. Doesburg was easily captured, and Parma no sooner heard that Leicester was before Zutphen than he abandoned his operations on the Rhine and marched north to relieve it. Halting on the evening of the 21st of September at some distance from the town, he sent forward a convoy60 of supplies towards it, protected by an escort of three thousand men under the command of the Marquis of Pescayra.[127] The convoy was to start at midnight, and it was reckoned that it would be within a mile and a half of Zutphen by daybreak. Pescayra was then to halt at an appointed place, send a messenger into the town and concert arrangements with the Governor for a sortie to facilitate the entrance of the convoy.
Sept. 22
Oct. 2.
Intelligence of Parma's design was duly brought to Leicester, who, calling John Norris, ordered him to take two hundred horse and three hundred foot and lie with them in ambuscade by the road by which the convoy was expected to arrive. Norris readily picked out two hundred horse, ordered Sir William Stanley to follow them with three hundred pikemen, and before dawn of the 22nd had successfully taken up the position[148] assigned to him. No force appears to have been detailed61 by Leicester to support the ambushed62 party, and no scouts63 to have been sent forward by Norris to give warning of the enemy's approach. The morning broke with dense64 impenetrable fog, amid which the English could hear a distant sound of rumbling65 waggons66 and tramping men. Presently Norris was joined by all the adventurous67 gentlemen—Lord Essex, Lord Audley, Lord North, and many others—who were to be found in Leicester's camp: they had not been able to resist the temptation of an action, and came galloping68 up with their retinue at their heels to see the sport. The sounds of the approaching convoy became more distinct, but nothing could be seen till the fog suddenly rolled away and revealed straight before them the three thousand Spaniards, horse and foot, marching by their waggons in beautiful order.
The English gentlemen threw all discipline to the winds at the sight: they never dreamed of anything but a direct attack, and one and all went at once, each in his own way, to work. Young Lord Essex called on his squadron of troopers to follow him, and couching his lance flew straight upon the enemy's cavalry, overthrew69 the foremost man and horse, flung away his broken lance for his curtel-axe, and with his handful of men hard after him burst into a heavy Spanish column and shivered it to pieces. The routed Spaniards fled in disorder70 to the shelter of their musketeers, with Essex still spurring at their heels; and then Spanish discipline told. The musketeers fired a volley which brought down many of the English horses and compelled the rest to wheel about. Then the action became simply a series of furious personal combats. Sir Philip Sidney's horse was killed under him at the first charge, but he mounted another and plunged71 into the hottest of the fight. Lord North, unable owing to a recent wound to draw on more than one boot, dashed in half-booted as he was and fought as busily as any. Sir William Russell swung his curtel-axe so murderously that the[149] Spaniards vowed72 he was a devil and no man. Lord Willoughby was so beset73 with enemies that only great good fortune and immense personal strength served to pluck him out. Sir William Stanley's horse was struck by seven bullets but found strength to carry him safe out of action. And meanwhile the drivers of the waggons had fled, and English and Spanish soldiers were tugging74 the heads of the teams this way and that with oaths and yells and curses; but still Spanish discipline told, and still the convoy moved slowly forward. Again and again the Spanish horsemen shrank before the English cavaliers, but the firm ranks of the musketeers always gave them shelter, and, charge as the English might, the waggons crept on and on till they fairly entered the town. Nothing was gained by the action. The attack, if supported, might have been fatal to Pescayra, but no support could be looked for from Leicester, and there was so little intelligence in the onslaught that no one seems to have attempted even to hamstring the waggon-horses. Zutphen therefore remains75 no more than one of the maddest of the many mad exploits performed by English officers of cavalry, and is remembered chiefly through the death of one of the noblest of them. Before the action, Philip Sidney had given the thigh76-pieces of his armour to the Lord Marshal, Sir William Pelham; at its close he was seen riding painfully back, with the unprotected thigh shattered by a musket bullet. He lingered in agony for some days and then died. His body was brought back to England to be followed to St. Paul's Churchyard by the London train-bands and laid to rest, as befitted a good and gallant soldier, under the smoke of their volleys.[128]
Yet another scene of desperate valour was witnessed at Zutphen before the campaign came to an end. One principal protection of the town was an external[150] sconce,[129] which on a former occasion had resisted the troops of the States for a whole year, and was now carried by the English by assault. The breach77 was barely practicable, the footing on the treacherous78 sandy soil being so uncertain that the storming party could hardly mount it. Their leader, Edward Stanley, however, was not to be turned back. Dashing alone into the breach he caught the head of a Spanish soldier's pike that was thrust out against him and tried to wrench79 the weapon from his grasp. Both men struggled hard for a time, while a dozen pikes were broken against Stanley's cuirass and a score of bullets whistled about his ears. At last Stanley, without quitting his hold, allowed the Spaniard to raise the pike, used the purchase so gained to help him up the wall, scrambled80 over the parapet and leaped down alone into the press of the enemy with his sword. His men, redoubling their efforts, hoisted81 each other up the breach after him and the sconce was won. Stanley, marvellous to say, escaped unhurt, and received not only warm commendation in Leicester's despatches, but a pension for life from Leicester's own pocket, for the most daring act that is recorded of the whole of that long war.
The plot of the Spanish Armada now began to thicken, and the scene must be shifted for a moment to England. In the Low Countries Parma was looking about for a port of embarkation13 from which to ship his men across the North Sea. He fixed82 upon Sluys, and in spite of a desperate resistance from a handful of gallant Englishmen, led by Roger Williams, he succeeded in capturing it after a siege of three months. At the end of 1587 Leicester resigned his command and returned to England; and in the following year all the best officers, and many of the English companies, were gathered together in the camp at Tilbury. Leicester was in chief command, with John[151] Norris for his second, and Roger Williams among others for assistant, but these officers were not on very friendly terms with each other; and, indeed, the less said of Tilbury Camp as a whole the better. Contemporary writers indeed aver32 that it was a pleasant sight to see the soldiers march in from the various shires, "with cheerful countenances83, courageous84 words and gestures, leaping and dancing";[130] but such a display was a better indication of loyalty85 than of discipline, and sadly different from the pace, full of gravity and state, which had been enjoined86 by the best authorities. There was, moreover, great disorder and deformity of apparel; most of the men wore their armour very uncomely, and the whole army refused point-blank to use the headpieces issued from the Tower. Ammunition87 again was short, provisions were scanty, organisation88 was extremely defective89, and the general confusion incredible. Four thousand men who had marched, pursuant to orders, twenty miles into Tilbury, found that they must go that distance from the camp again before they could find a loaf of bread or a barrel of beer. A thousand Londoners who were likewise in the march were ordered to halt unless they could bring their own provisions with them. Leicester might safely remark that "great dilatory90 wants are found upon all sudden hurly-burlies,"[131] but there was no excuse for such chaos91 after the incessant29 warnings of the past thirty years. Elizabeth must bear the chief share of the blame. The woman who in her imbecile parsimony92 starved the fleet that went forth93 to fight the Armada could not be expected to show better feeling towards the army. It was no thanks to the Queen that the Spanish invasion was repelled94.
I shall not follow the veterans John Norris and Lord Willoughby on their expeditions to Corunna and Brittany in the following year. Far more important to us is the rise of a great leader, and the opening of a new era in the war of the Low Countries. [152]On Leicester's resignation of the chief command, there was appointed to succeed him a man whose name must ever be venerated95 in the British Army, Prince Maurice of Nassau,[132] second son of William the Silent. Though but twenty years of age when selected as Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the United Provinces, he had already made up his mind that if the War of Independence were to end in victory it must be fought not, as heretofore, with a mob of irregular levies96, but with a trained, disciplined, and organised army. His own natural bent lay chiefly towards mathematics, which he cultivated as a means to the mastery of military engineering, and eventually reduced to practice by so sedulous97 a use of the spade in all military operations as to provoke many a sneer98 from soldiers of a more primitive99 type. But Maurice knew his own mind, and was not to be deterred100 by sneers101. His principal assistant was his cousin, Louis William, Stadtholder of Friesland, an industrious102 student of classical antiquity103 with the rare faculty104 of adapting old systems to modern requirements. To his diligence was due the instruction of the army in drill and discipline, and to his influence must be ascribed Maurice's admiration105 for the Tactics of ?lian.[133] His new and elaborate man?uvres also elicited106 the scorn of the old school of officers,[134] but he too was not easily discouraged; and the two cousins worked hand-in-hand, the one at the broader principles, the other at the hardly less important details, of their profession, until they raised up an army which supplanted107 the Spanish as the model for Europe. Not the least [153]weighty of Maurice's reforms was the regular payment of the men, and the stern repression108 of fraudulent practices among the officers. In a word, he appreciated the value of sound administration no less that of pure military skill and training in the conduct of a war.
The tactical organisation of the new army was not so perfect as, with the Spanish model before us, we might with reason have expected. The tactical unit of infantry was the company, and the regiment still consisted of an uncertain number of companies temporarily united under the command of a colonel. The composition of the companies again was uncertain. The normal strength was one hundred and thirteen men, which was later reduced to eighty, but colonels had double companies—some even double regiments—and there appears to have been no very great exactitude, probably because men could only be persuaded to serve under the captain of their choice. The officers of a company were of course captain, lieutenant109, and ensign; the non-commissioned officers included two sergeants111 and three corporals, as well as a "gentleman of the arms," who was responsible for the condition of the weapons. Lastly, there were two drummers, who, it should be noted112, like the trumpeters in the cavalry, were not the mere113 signal-makers that they now are, but the men regularly employed in all communications with the enemy, and as such expected to possess not only discretion114 but some skill in languages. They received far higher pay than the common soldier, and if they did a tithe115 of that which was expected of them they were worth every penny of it.
Every company was divided into three corporalships, each of which was the peculiar116 care of one of the three corporals and of one of the three officers. In equipment there were at first three descriptions of arms—halberds, pikes, and muskets—of which however the halberds soon disappeared, leaving pikes and shot in equal numbers, but with an ever-growing tendency towards preponderance of shot. The normal formation of a company was[154] in ten ranks; and the men were never less than three feet apart from each other, such open order being essential to the execution of the prescribed evolutions. To increase the front, the ranks were doubled by moving the even ranks into the intervals117 of the odd; to diminish the front, the files were doubled by the converse119 process.[135] To take ground to flank or rear every man turned to right or left or about on his own ground, and it is worth remarking that the best men were always stationed in the front rank and the next best in the tenth, and that while the captain was posted in front of his company, the lieutenant, except in a charge, remained always in the rear.
The musketeers were usually drawn120 up in two divisions, one on either flank of the pikes; and the problem that eternally confronted the captain was how to handle the two elements in effective combination and yet contrive121 never to confuse them. In action the musketeers generally moved in advance of the pikes, firing by ranks in succession, according to Pescayra's method, and filing to the rear to reload. Sometimes they were extended across the front of the pikes, but more often they kept their place on the flanks. Meanwhile the pikemen, heavily weighted by helmet, corselet, and tassets (thigh-pieces), moved stolidly122 on: as they drew nearer the enemy the musketeers fell back until they were first aligned123 with them, and then abreast124 of the fifth or sixth rank. If neither side gave way, matters came to push of pike and a general charge, wherein the musketeers ceased firing and fell in with the butt125, a method of fighting which was peculiarly favoured by the English. To resist cavalry the musketeers fled for shelter under the pikes, generally in considerable disorder, and the[155] outer ranks of pikemen, lunging forward, stayed the butts126 of their pikes against the hollow of the left foot.
The cavalry was divided at first into lancers and carbineers, the former being fully53 covered with armour to the knee; but the lance, in deference127 to the fashion of the Reiters, was soon[136] discarded for the pistol. The carbineers carried a carbine[137] with a wheel-lock, and were trained to shoot from the saddle, the ranks firing in succession according to Pescayra's system. The tactical unit was the troop or cornet, which, after many changes, was finally fixed at a strength of one hundred and twenty men, and divided, like the company, into three corporalships. Captain, lieutenant and cornet, three corporals, a trumpeter, a farrier, and a quartermaster made up the higher ranks of the troop, no such title as a sergeant110 appearing in the cavalry. Of artillery128 I shall say nothing, since the Dutch organisation was in this respect peculiar, and could not serve like that of the infantry and cavalry as a model for the English.
Concurrently129 with the rise of Maurice as Commander-in-Chief must be noted that of a new English General, whose name is bound up for ever with the actions of his countrymen in the Low Countries. Francis Vere came of the old fighting stock of the Earls of Oxford130. The seventh Earl had fought with the Black Prince at Cre?y and Poitiers, the twelfth with King Harry131 at Agincourt, and succeeding holders132 of the title had distinguished133 themselves on the Lancastrian side in the Wars of the Roses. Francis, grandson of the fifteenth Earl, was born about 1560, came to Holland with Leicester in 1585, and after brilliant service at the defence of Sluys and elsewhere rose to be sergeant-major of infantry, a sure proof that he was not only a gallant man but an adept134 in his profession. Finally, in August 1589 he was appointed sergeant-major-general of the Queen's forces [156]in the Low Countries, where he was joined by two gallant brothers, Horace and Robert, who worthily135 upheld the honour of the name.
His task, as that of every officer who had to do with such a woman as Elizabeth, was at first no easy one. His force being very small required constant reinforcement, and was accordingly strengthened by five hundred of the "very scum of the world," such being the description of recruit that Elizabeth preferred to supply. He took care, however, to procure136 for himself better material, and at the opening of 1591 had no fewer than eight thousand men under his command. But as fast as he trained them into soldiers Elizabeth required their services for her own purposes, and frittered them away in petty meaningless operations in France, filling their place with some more of the very scum of the world, which could be swept out of the gaols137 and taverns138 at a moment's notice. The system was in fact that of drafting, in its most vicious form. Vere for a time bore it in silence, but at last he protested, and like all of Elizabeth's best men was soundly abused for his pains. Still the Queen knew his value well enough to withdraw not only his troops but himself from the expedition to Cadiz, and the disastrous139 island-voyage to the Azores.
A far more serious difficulty was the corruption140 of departments and contractors141 at home and the vicious system of paying the men. The wages of a private at eightpence a day were reckoned for the year at ￡12 : 13 : 4, of which ￡4 : 2 : 6 was deducted142 for two suits of summer and winter clothing,[138] ￡6 : 18 : 6 paid in imprests at the rate of 2s. 8d. a week, and the balance, ￡1 : 2 : 6, alone made over in money. Even in theory the allowance does not sound liberal, but in practice it was ruinous. The men drew their pay and clothing from their captains, and the captains received the money in uncertain instalments, the balance due to[157] them being made good at the close of every six months. This in itself was wasteful143, since it enabled the captain to put in his own pocket the wages of soldiers who had died or had been discharged in the interval118. But apart from this the captains frequently withheld144 the clothing altogether, or served out material of uncertain quality, charging the men treble the just price for the same; or again they would make their own contract for victualling the men, of course to their own profit, in lieu of paying to them the weekly 2s. 8d. which was due to them for subsistence. How widely the practice may have obtained among officers it is difficult to say, but the system was presently altered to the advantage alike of the State and the soldier by the officials in London. The officers also had their complaints, not a whit145 less sweeping146, against those officials, and they preferred them in uncompromising terms. Such representations were not likely to meet with encouragement. Elizabeth was not friendly to soldiers, and hated to be troubled with obligations towards men who had faithfully served her. An Act had been passed in 1593 throwing the relief of crippled or destitute147 soldiers on their parishes, and she could not see what more they could want. Bloody148 Mary had shown them compassion149; not so would Good Queen Bess; she would not be pestered150 with the sight of the "miserable151 creatures." As to the complaints of officers, she had heard enough of their ways, and would take the word of the Treasurer152 of the Forces against theirs. Still Vere and his captains persisted, and at last the shameful153 truth was revealed that the Treasurer himself was the culprit, and had for years been cheating alike his Queen, her officers, and her men.
It is easy therefore to understand the relief with which the English commanders in the Low Countries must have welcomed a new treaty made in 1598, whereby Elizabeth was quitted of her engagement to furnish the United Provinces with auxiliary154 troops, and all English soldiers were ordered henceforth to take[158] their pay from the States and their orders from the Dutch Generals. The troops in the Low Countries were now comparatively freed from the caprices of the Queen and could work in harmony with their masters. From this point therefore the English fairly enter the school of the new art of war.
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synchronise
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| n.同步器；v.使同时发生；使同步 | |
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insurgents
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| n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 ) | |
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irony
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| n.反语，冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事，嘲弄 | |
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dreaded
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| adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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outright
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| adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的 | |
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regiment
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| n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制 | |
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regiments
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| （军队的）团( regiment的名词复数 )； 大量的人或物 | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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incompetent
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| adj.无能力的，不能胜任的 | |
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conspicuous
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| adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的 | |
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gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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scanty
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| adj.缺乏的，仅有的，节省的，狭小的，不够的 | |
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embarkation
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| n. 乘船, 搭机, 开船 | |
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musket
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| n.滑膛枪 | |
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retirement
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| n.退休，退职 | |
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wield
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| vt.行使，运用，支配；挥，使用(武器等) | |
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sundry
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| adj.各式各样的，种种的 | |
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corps
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| n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组 | |
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19
eminent
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| adj.显赫的，杰出的，有名的，优良的 | |
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20
garrison
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| n.卫戍部队；驻地，卫戍区；vt.派(兵)驻防 | |
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21
heterogeneous
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| adj.庞杂的；异类的 | |
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22
scotch
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| n.伤口，刻痕；苏格兰威士忌酒；v.粉碎，消灭，阻止；adj.苏格兰(人)的 | |
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23
defensive
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| adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的 | |
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24
hurled
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| v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂 | |
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25
armour
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| （=armor）n.盔甲；装甲部队 | |
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26
infantry
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| n.[总称]步兵(部队) | |
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27
repulsed
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| v.击退( repulse的过去式和过去分词 )；驳斥；拒绝 | |
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28
incessantly
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| ad.不停地 | |
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29
incessant
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| adj.不停的，连续的 | |
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30
victorious
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| adj.胜利的，得胜的 | |
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31
persistent
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| adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的 | |
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32
aver
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| v.极力声明；断言；确证 | |
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33
assassination
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| n.暗杀；暗杀事件 | |
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34
inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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35
rupture
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| n.破裂；(关系的)决裂；v.(使)破裂 | |
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36
inevitably
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| adv.不可避免地；必然发生地 | |
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37
entreating
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| 恳求，乞求( entreat的现在分词 ) | |
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38
paltry
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| adj.无价值的，微不足道的 | |
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39
haggling
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| v.讨价还价( haggle的现在分词 ) | |
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40
peremptory
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| adj.紧急的，专横的，断然的 | |
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41
rebuke
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| v.指责，非难，斥责 [反]praise | |
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42
exasperated
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| adj.恼怒的 | |
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43
contemptible
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| adj.可鄙的，可轻视的，卑劣的 | |
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44
cavalry
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| n.骑兵；轻装甲部队 | |
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45
arrears
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| n.到期未付之债，拖欠的款项；待做的工作 | |
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46
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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47
unwillingly
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| adv.不情愿地 | |
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48
deficient
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| adj.不足的，不充份的，有缺陷的 | |
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49
vehemently
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| adv. 热烈地 | |
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50
plunder
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| vt.劫掠财物，掠夺；n.劫掠物，赃物；劫掠 | |
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51
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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52
wilfully
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| adv.任性固执地；蓄意地 | |
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53
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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54
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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55
fortified
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| adj. 加强的 | |
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56
opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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57
garrisons
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| 守备部队，卫戍部队( garrison的名词复数 ) | |
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58
retinue
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| n.侍从；随员 | |
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59
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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60
convoy
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| vt.护送，护卫，护航；n.护送；护送队 | |
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61
detailed
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| adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的 | |
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62
ambushed
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| v.埋伏( ambush的过去式和过去分词 )；埋伏着 | |
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63
scouts
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| 侦察员[机，舰]( scout的名词复数 )； 童子军； 搜索； 童子军成员 | |
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64
dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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65
rumbling
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| n. 隆隆声, 辘辘声 adj. 隆隆响的 动词rumble的现在分词 | |
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66
waggons
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| 四轮的运货马车( waggon的名词复数 )； 铁路货车； 小手推车 | |
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67
adventurous
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| adj.爱冒险的；惊心动魄的，惊险的，刺激的 | |
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68
galloping
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| adj. 飞驰的, 急性的 动词gallop的现在分词形式 | |
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69
overthrew
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| overthrow的过去式 | |
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70
disorder
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| n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调 | |
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71
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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72
vowed
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| 起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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73
beset
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| v.镶嵌；困扰，包围 | |
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74
tugging
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| n.牵引感v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的现在分词 ) | |
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75
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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76
thigh
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| n.大腿；股骨 | |
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77
breach
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| n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破 | |
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78
treacherous
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|
| adj.不可靠的，有暗藏的危险的；adj.背叛的，背信弃义的 | |
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79
wrench
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| v.猛拧；挣脱；使扭伤；n.扳手；痛苦，难受 | |
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80
scrambled
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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81
hoisted
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| 把…吊起，升起( hoist的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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82
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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83
countenances
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| n.面容( countenance的名词复数 )；表情；镇静；道义支持 | |
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84
courageous
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| adj.勇敢的，有胆量的 | |
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85
loyalty
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| n.忠诚，忠心 | |
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86
enjoined
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| v.命令( enjoin的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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87
ammunition
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| n.军火，弹药 | |
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88
organisation
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| n.组织，安排，团体，有机休 | |
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89
defective
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| adj.有毛病的，有问题的，有瑕疵的 | |
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90
dilatory
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| adj.迟缓的，不慌不忙的 | |
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91
chaos
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| n.混乱，无秩序 | |
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92
parsimony
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| n.过度节俭，吝啬 | |
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93
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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94
repelled
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| v.击退( repel的过去式和过去分词 )；使厌恶；排斥；推开 | |
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95
venerated
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| 敬重（某人或某事物），崇敬( venerate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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96
levies
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| （部队）征兵( levy的名词复数 )； 募捐； 被征募的军队 | |
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97
sedulous
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| adj.勤勉的，努力的 | |
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98
sneer
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| v.轻蔑；嘲笑；n.嘲笑，讥讽的言语 | |
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99
primitive
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|
| adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物 | |
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100
deterred
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| v.阻止，制止( deter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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101
sneers
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| 讥笑的表情（言语）( sneer的名词复数 ) | |
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102
industrious
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| adj.勤劳的，刻苦的，奋发的 | |
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103
antiquity
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| n.古老；高龄；古物，古迹 | |
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104
faculty
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| n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员 | |
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105
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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106
elicited
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| 引出，探出( elicit的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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107
supplanted
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| 把…排挤掉，取代( supplant的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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108
repression
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| n.镇压，抑制，抑压 | |
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109
lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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110
sergeant
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| n.警官，中士 | |
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111
sergeants
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| 警官( sergeant的名词复数 )； （美国警察）警佐； （英国警察）巡佐； 陆军（或空军）中士 | |
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112
noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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113
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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114
discretion
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| n.谨慎；随意处理 | |
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115
tithe
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| n.十分之一税；v.课什一税，缴什一税 | |
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116
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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117
intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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118
interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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119
converse
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| vi.谈话，谈天，闲聊；adv.相反的，相反 | |
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120
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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121
contrive
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| vt.谋划，策划；设法做到；设计，想出 | |
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122
stolidly
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| adv.迟钝地，神经麻木地 | |
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123
aligned
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| adj.对齐的，均衡的 | |
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124
abreast
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| adv.并排地；跟上(时代)的步伐，与…并进地 | |
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125
butt
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| n.笑柄；烟蒂；枪托；臀部；v.用头撞或顶 | |
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126
butts
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| 笑柄( butt的名词复数 )； （武器或工具的）粗大的一端； 屁股； 烟蒂 | |
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127
deference
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| n.尊重，顺从；敬意 | |
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128
artillery
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| n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队) | |
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129
concurrently
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| adv.同时地 | |
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130
Oxford
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| n.牛津（英国城市） | |
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131
harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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132
holders
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| 支持物( holder的名词复数 )； 持有者； （支票等）持有人； 支托（或握持）…之物 | |
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133
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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134
adept
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| adj.老练的，精通的 | |
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135
worthily
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| 重要地，可敬地，正当地 | |
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136
procure
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| vt.获得，取得，促成；vi.拉皮条 | |
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137
gaols
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| 监狱，拘留所( gaol的名词复数 ) | |
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138
taverns
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| n.小旅馆，客栈，酒馆( tavern的名词复数 ) | |
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139
disastrous
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| adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的 | |
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140
corruption
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| n.腐败，堕落，贪污 | |
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141
contractors
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| n.（建筑、监造中的）承包人( contractor的名词复数 ) | |
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142
deducted
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| v.扣除，减去( deduct的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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143
wasteful
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|
| adj.（造成）浪费的，挥霍的 | |
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144
withheld
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| withhold过去式及过去分词 | |
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145
whit
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| n.一点，丝毫 | |
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146
sweeping
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| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
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147
destitute
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| adj.缺乏的；穷困的 | |
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148
bloody
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|
| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
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149
compassion
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| n.同情，怜悯 | |
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150
pestered
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| 使烦恼，纠缠( pester的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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151
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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152
treasurer
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| n.司库，财务主管 | |
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153
shameful
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| adj.可耻的，不道德的 | |
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154
auxiliary
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| adj.辅助的，备用的 | |
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