I think Kipling, in the Boer (Guerrilla) War, came to the stark realisation that the days of facing the foe head on had ended and that there would be no more glorious imperial battles recounted in the newspapers of winning against superior forces (superior being 10,000 men with spears against 200 with modern weaponry) for the consumption of the public 'back home' and the Empire.
He observed the Boers adapting to their surroundings and using the land to their advantage, which only took longer to resolve.
Britain had long been superior on the high seas but this was less relevant as the war was being fought in the trenches and this time there was no way of cutting off the supply to land troops, which was a favoured and effective tactic in years gone by.
He knew weapons training was crucial but more importantly that training for particular conditions was the answer but was probably astonished to observe the same tactics of walking towards the enemy (who this time did not have spears but equal weaponry) being implemented without a second thought.
It was probably also the first time he realised the Senior Officers orchestrating the war (Haig being the most well know) were not completely the heroes he once thought they were having observed their dismissive stance on the call for proper training which they likely rejected as undue criticism.
My belief is that it would have been very frustrating for RK that the strategy of attrition, which blindly allowed a few 'experts' in war to merely sacrifice millions of young lives without forethought or forward planning, was able to thrive for as long as it did, completely ignoring the need for simple things like learning how to keep your rifle working or your feet dry in the muddy conditions as trench training would have provided..
I wonder what lies were told to the troops as they boarded their train after a couple of days 'intensive' training - to sign for their equipment ?
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