But a new power had transformed the Cabinet.

Lord Kitchener, refusing to accept the post of Commander in Chief, had insisted on becoming Secretary of State for War.
No one is likely to underestimate Lord Kitchener's value at that hour.
But probably no one now will dispute that the political control which this soldier obtained was excessive and was dangerous.

Years of fierce faction had shaken the public confidence in politicians, and a soldier was traditionally above and beyond politics.

But in Lord Kitchener's case the soldier was certainly remote from and below the regions of statesmanship.

Narrow, domineering, and obstinate, he was a difficult colleague for anyone; and for a Prime Minister with so easy a temper as Mr.Asquith he was not a colleague but a master.