De Wiart describes how British-led forces in Somaliland had previously waited for Dervish attacks, formed squares, and fought from a defensive posture. In this operation they instead marched to within several hundred yards of stone blockhouses and prepared to assault the position. De Wiart pressed for his Somali company to lead despite warnings that the troops might turn away during the opening stage of a fight. He records that his confidence in them was justified. The shift from static defence to deliberate attack also exposed the assumptions British officers carried into command of locally recruited troops.
Notable Point · 42:05-43:18
Attacking the Dervish blockhouses in Somaliland
Carleton de Wiart's memoir contrasts an older wait-for-attack method with a deliberate advance by Somali troops against fortified Dervish positions.