THE LAST PHASE 287 



brunt of the fighting, it always gave a good 

 account of itself, and it never suffered any kind 

 of a reverse : no mean record for troops measured 

 against Von Lettow's four-year-old veterans. 

 The column at first consisted of the ist and 2nd 

 Battalions of the 2nd K.A.R. Regiment, and later 

 the 3rd Battalion of the same regiment also. 

 Quite young, tall, strong, and straight, with a 

 handsome and taking personality, Colonel Gifford 

 himself, an efficient and tireless soldier, expected 

 his officers and men to be the same. Cool and 

 collected in any engagement, he was, as I have 

 said, with his column, our one redeeming feature 

 in this 1918 campaign in P.E.A. This campaign 

 can hardly be considered either fortunate or 

 creditable, but without Colonel Gifford and the 

 K.A.R. 2nd Col. it might easily have been almost 

 disastrous. The Colonel, whilst I served under 

 him, payed me the best of all compliments — he 

 worked me hard. 



The German force, still going south ahead of 

 us, was now spreading its companies more widely 

 and over a bigger area. Miiller, another fine 

 soldier, who appeared to be generally in the 

 advance with our old friend Kohl, had, as usual, 

 the rather unthankful job of holding off our forces 

 with little rear-guard actions. The Portuguese 

 bomas of Moloque, Ille, Majema, Lugerra, and 

 many other places fell before them like ninepins, 

 in most cases being abandoned well beforehand by 

 the Portuguese. If not abandoned, a few shots 



