448 
MINUTES OE PKOCEEDINGS OF 
EXTRACTS PROM MAJOR KODOLITSCH’S 
REPORT ON THE ABISSINIAN EXPEDITION. 
TRANSLATED EROM THE GERMAN BY 
LIEUTENANT DOUGLAS E. JONES, E.A. 
Lord Napier, Commander-in-Chief of the Bombay Army, was entrusted 
with the command of the army of Abyssinia. He was the head, body, and 
soul of this undertaking, which was so glorious of its kind, and crowned with 
as complete a success as could have been expected. 
Lord Napier possesses the requirements of a great general. Beloved 
by his troops, he combines with the simplest, kindest, and most engaging 
manners, great energy and independence of character. He is able to watch 
over and carry out his plans with the most determined consistency. The 
first in rank, he is also the first in energy. He shares all fatigues, labours, 
and privations with his troops; the same ration, the same camping- 
ground, is measured i out for all. The want of spirituous liquors among the 
soldiers, during the days preceding and following the fall of Magdala, was 
equally perceptible at the table of the Commander-in-Chief. 
A thorough knowledge of the Hindoo languages, a high respect for the 
religious and national customs of the Indian troops, and a proper apprecia¬ 
tion of their worth, won for him the most unconditional submission on their 
part; but notwithstanding this, he never lost sight of the superiority of the 
English troops, which secured for him their affections also. To extraordinary 
theoretical knowledge of war, he added a practical experience gained on the 
battle-fields of India, Persia, and China. 
On the first sign of the possibility of an expedition to Abyssinia^ Lord 
Napier, with the help of his staff, immediately instituted the fullest enquiries 
regarding the nature and condition of the country and people against whom 
war was to be made, the resources they might hope to find, and the diffi¬ 
culties that were to be dreaded; the political, religious, and statistical 
condition; the topographical, geographical, climatic, and meteorological 
aspects, &c.—in short, on all points bearing on the preparation of a campaign. 
He personally superintended these researches. There can be no doubt but 
that the necessary information concerning the resources of this country was 
obtained in the most practical, cautious, and discreet manner, and that 
this information was on the whole accurate, and the plan of campaign based 
on these data marvellously correct. At the same time, all questions of detail 
were thoroughly discussed—a sure characteristic of a great general. 
Another point which received particular attention from the Commander- 
