compulsory retirement but in autumn 1894 he temporarily commanded a cavalry brigade under Lieutenant-General Sir James Keith-Fraser on the manoeuvres in the Vale of the White Horse in Berkshire. French commented that the role of modern cavalry was not to "cut and hack and thrust" but rather to herd the enemy within range of friendly artillery. His handling of the brigade was seen as one of the few successful parts of the manoeuvres, and Luck replaced Keith-Fraser as Inspector General. The introduction of cavalry brigades was also an innovation, supported by French. Buller got him a job as Assistant Adjutant-General at Army Headquarters on 24 August 1895, writing a new cavalry training manual (in practice extensively assisted by Captain Douglas Haig). However, Buller had been Adjutant-General since 1890, and French's appointment coincided with Luck's arrival as Inspector-General, suggesting that Luck's influence was more important. Ian Beckett agrees, adding that French was also a protege of the influential General Evelyn Wood. French went on to be Commander of the 2nd Cavalry Brigade at Canterbury on 1 May 1897 and Commander of the 1st Cavalry Brigade at Aldershot Command on 12 January 1899. Haig, recently returned from the Sudan War, was French's brigade-major at Aldershot. French was promoted to temporary major-general early in 1899. There were some accusations that these promotions, for a man whose career had so recently nearly ended, relied too much on powerful patrons. Early in 1899, at his own request, French borrowed £2,500, in a formal contract with interest, from Haig. He was within 24 hours of bankruptcy—which would have required him to resign his commission—after unwise investments in South African mining shares (Transvaal Golds), which crashed in value as war loomed. Richard Holmes believed the loan was never repaid, but Haig's biographer Walter Reid believes that the loan was probably repaid in 1909. Boer War Early war Arrival French embarked from Southampton for the Second Boer War on 23 September 1899, inviting Haig to share his cabin. War had not yet officially been declared when French put to sea. British troops were being sent in the hope of intimidating President Kruger of the Transvaal into granting equal voting rights to the Uitlanders—non-Boer settlers—which would break the Boer stronghold on political power. It had the opposite effect, as the Boers issued their own ultimatum on 9 October, while the British troops were still at sea, in the hope