He is said to have remarked that he was going only because he had been ordered to go.
There was a hope and a feeling again that he might not come back till after the war.
Now just how much truth there is in all this, one has to guess; but undoubtedly a good deal.

He did much in raising the army, but his name did more.

What an extraordinary situation! The great hero of the Nation an impossible man to work with.

The Cabinet could not tell the truth about him: the people would not believe it and would make the Cabinet suffer.

Moreover, such a row would have given comfort to the enemy.