With the Flag to Pretoria: A History of the Boer War of 1899-1900. Volume 1

CHAPTER XV.
COLESBERG AND THE WEST.

Throughout December skirmishing continued in the Colesberg district of Dec. 11-13, 1899.] Fighting on Extended Lines. Cape Colony between General French's small army and the Boer commandos which had marched into the Colony in November by way of Norvals Pont, with the object of menacing or breaking Lord Methuen's communications with the sea. In Chapter VII. we left General French with just under 3,000 men, including the garrisons at Naauwpoort and Hanover Road; his headquarters on December 8 at Tweedale, twenty-six miles south of Colesberg Junction; and his outposts eighteen miles further north, near Rensburg. He had available for action against the Boers a wing of the Berkshires, the 6th Dragoon Guards, O and R Horse Artillery Batteries, a troop of New South Wales Lancers, the New Zealand Mounted Infantry, some companies of regular mounted infantry, and a few colonial scouts. The strength of the Boers was ascertained by reconnaissance to be about 2,000, and to deal with such a force more men were required. On December 8 and 9, the 10th Hussars and 6th Dragoons were sent forward to him from Capetown, and these were followed a day or two later by a squadron of the 2nd Dragoons, who were, however, shortly afterwards withdrawn and despatched north. General French, whose tactics were ceaselessly to harass the enemy, but not to allow himself to be drawn into a serious action before his strength was adequate, lost no time in making use of his reinforcements. On the 11th a reconnaissance was directed to Vaal Kop, a high ridge close to Rensburg, which was held by the enemy. For the first time the Horse Artillery came into action in South Africa, a section of R Battery shelling Vaal Kop and inflicting some loss upon the Boers. They abandoned the hill, which was at once seized and held by the British.

Upon December 13 the Boers made an attempt to dislodge General French. Early in the morning some 1,800 of them were seen to be advancing towards Arundel in three parties. They drove in the British pickets, but, as soon as their intentions were perceived, Colonel Porter marched out with 1,000 cavalry and four guns of the Horse Artillery. The enemy brought up two guns, which, however, could do nothing against our Horse Artillery. They were shelled and driven back. Later in the day the British horsemen found the Boers in some force at Kuilfontein Farm, a little to the west of Rensburg, and ejected them by the summary process of artillery fire. The enemy lost no less than forty killed and wounded on this day; the British losses, including some casualties in a patrol skirmish on the day before, were only nine wounded and missing. All through the 13th, Vaal Kop was resolutely held by a tiny British garrison of 100 men and two guns. The fighting was remarkable for the enormous extent of country covered by the forces engaged. The Boers fought on a front of fully fourteen miles; the British, with a yet smaller strength of men, extended over an even longer line. The mobility of the cavalry and Horse Artillery proved to be such that the Boers were filled with uneasiness. They summoned reinforcements, which were at once despatched from the Free State.

On the days which followed, the Boers concentrated so serious a fire upon Vaal Kop that the detachment holding the hill had to abandon it on the 16th. Two days later General French made a reconnaissance with the O Battery and the New Zealanders to the east of Rensburg, and came under an unexpected fire, but, fortunately, without suffering much, though the New Zealanders lost two men. The Boers were found to have mounted a heavy position gun at Taaiboschlaagte, a ridge a little to the east of Rensburg, whence they harassed the British force with shells at a range of 7,000 yards. For ten days no further progress was reported on the part of the British arms, though the Boers were steadily annoyed by "sniping" and fire from the Horse Artillery guns. But on December 27, General French noted signs that the enemy meditated retirement. Waggons were seen proceeding towards Colesberg, and, reinforcements having joined him in the shape of the 1st Yorkshires and half a battalion of the 1st Suffolks, he was able to press their flanks more vigorously. Finally, on the 29th, the Boers evacuated their positions at Rensburg, and fell back to Colesberg. Their position at that point protected the railway, which runs by Norvals Pont to the Free State, and the road bridge, which spans the Orange River at Botha's Drift. There was good water, whereas the country near Rensburg was almost waterless, a fact which seriously hampered General French in his operations.

On December 30, the General pushed forward, reconnoitred the Boer positions, and seized a kopje known as Porter's Hill, 2,000 yards from the curve of the ⋃-shaped line of kopjes which nearly surrounds Colesberg, and a little north of Rensburg. Here several of the Horse Artillery 12-pounders were placed in position; at the same time the British camp was moved forward from Arundel, where it had been established on December 18, to Rensburg. On the night of the 31st, Maeder's Farm, just under Coles Kop, was seized. A few hours later, early in the morning of January 1, the Berkshires, under the personal command of General French, rushed a strong kopje, to the east of Coles Kop and about a mile from the line of rocky hills held by the Boers. A strong picket of the enemy was surprised and driven back in great confusion. When daylight came, under a heavy fire, the British cavalry, with the object of turning the Boer flank, pushed up to the topmost extremity of the Boer ⋃, and the artillery opened a vigorous fire on the western arm of the ⋃. The Boers replied at once with 15-pounders and "Pom-Poms." While a sharp cannonade was proceeding in this quarter, Colonel Porter, from Porter's Hill, attempted to gain a lodgment on the curve of the ⋃; the New Zealanders, who made the attempt, displayed the utmost gallantry, but were too few to achieve any result. Owing to some slackness on the part of the cavalry on the British left, who, in spite of repeated orders from General French, failed to push forward and occupy a detached kopje commanding the roads both to Botha's Bridge and to Norvals Pont, the day's fighting yielded no solid result. Had General French's instructions been carried out, the Boer retreat would have been threatened and Colesberg rendered untenable. The ineffectual moves of the cavalry only served to draw the enemy's attention to the importance of the position. Late in the day the enemy delivered a counter stroke against the British right, but this was skilfully defeated by the 6th Dragoon Guards. In this action both armies—neither of which exceeded 3,000 men—fought and manœuvred over a front of twenty miles. Under these novel conditions General French again showed remarkable skill in adapting his tactics to those of the enemy. Indeed, his procedure puzzled and alarmed the Boers, who had never met this kind of British general before or felt the mobility of cavalry. The British losses were three killed and a few wounded.

Three days were spent in securing the ground which had been won. Opposite the kopje that the cavalry had failed to seize, at the northern extremity of the Boer position, 400 of the Suffolks were forthwith entrenched. An unfortunate accident, however, marred our success. A commissariat train standing in the station at Rensburg broke loose, ran down the incline towards Colesberg Junction, and when half way to that point, left the rails. 22,000 rations thus fell into the enemy's hands. An attempt was made by a company of Suffolks to recover the supplies, but the Boers opened so hot an artillery fire that the British had to withdraw. As General French reported that with slight reinforcements he could drive the enemy from Colesberg, yet more troops were sent him—the Household Cavalry Regiment, the other half of the 1st Suffolks, the 1st Essex, and the 20th Field Battery. But, as the Boers were simultaneously reinforced, these troops could not turn the scale.

Early on January 4, the Boers under General Schœman made a sudden attempt to get round the British left. They pushed out in the darkness, unperceived by our cavalry, and seized a group of kopjes to the rear of the Suffolks. But when once there they found themselves in a trap. The ground around the kopjes was level and coverless; the 10th Hussars with two guns of O Battery opened on their rear, while a squadron of the 6th Dragoons with the other four guns of the Battery attacked them in front. So hot was the fire that about 500 of the Boers decided that it was time for them to quit. They dashed off across the plain towards Colesberg, shelled by the Horse Artillery, and hotly pursued by the Hussars and Dragoons. A small party, however, took up a position upon a low, boulder-covered hill, whence they opened a fire, which checked the Hussars. Colonel Fisher dismounted his men at once, and boldly carried the hill by rushes on foot, in which operation Major Harvey fell, gallantly leading his men. His sad death is thus described by one of his privates:—"I shall never forget our old Major Harvey. He said: 'Come along, my squadron; there are a few Boers just round the corner,' and we went to shift them. We could only go about a dozen at a time, and the old Major led us. He got shot in the mouth, but was able to say: 'Never mind me, men; let them have it!' But he got two more shots in the head, and dropped dead. Just then we had to lie down, hundreds of bullets dropping around us." The 6th Dragoons got home with their lances.[3] There still remained 200 of the enemy on the hill, who could not be made to move, although a heavy shell fire was directed upon them. On this, the mounted infantry were sent in to clear them out. The infantry pushed in so as to threaten the Boer retreat, when another hundred of the enemy bolted. As the soldiers neared the foot of the kopjes the remnant also hurriedly retired, but could not all get away; twenty-one were captured, and the enemy's total casualties in killed and wounded were placed by General French at ninety. The British loss was only six killed and fifteen wounded.

On the 5th, the Boer lines were shelled and a careful examination was made of the grassy kopje at the north-western extremity, known as Grassy or Suffolk Hill. It was this kopje which the cavalry had failed to seize on January 1. Colonel Watson, of the Suffolks, was anxious to make a night attack upon this eminence, and on the evening of the 5th was informed by General French that he might attempt it, only he was to give the General notice, so that the artillery and cavalry could co-operate. Orders were issued to the gunners to be ready to fire upon Grassy Hill. Nothing more was received from Colonel Watson at the British headquarters, but about 2 a.m. of the 6th, heavy firing was heard in the direction of the kopje, and presently the news arrived that the attack, delivered by four companies of Suffolks, had been ignominiously repulsed.

What actually happened was thus portrayed by survivors. "We were awakened about midnight and ordered to prepare to march," was the story of Private Alexander, one of the wounded prisoners. "Instead of boots we were to wear our slippers, so as to make as little noise as possible. There were eight companies of us, commanded by Colonel Watson. Well, we marched for five miles over broken country, stumbling most of the way, and stopped when we reached the foot of a certain kopje. It was then about two in the morning; there was no moon, and consequently it was quite dark. We advanced a little way up the kopje, when the Boers opened a deadly fire. They could not have seen us, but it was quite evident that they had heard us. It was too warm for anyone to live long, and we heard Colonel Watson call for a trumpeter, who was to be asked, we thought, to sound the order to retire. At that time our men were scattered around the kopje in extended order, and the sound of a man's voice would not have reached them all. There was no bugler to be found. 'A' and 'H' Company were then ordered to advance, and when near the firing line we were told to fix bayonets and prepare to charge. But the charge was interrupted by a deep ditch between us and the Boer position, and we were obliged to fling ourselves to the ground. Both companies returned the Boers' fire, but it was impossible to stand against the shower of bullets which assailed us. 'A' and 'H' mustered about 200 men, and everyone was either killed or wounded or was compelled to surrender. The other companies managed to retire. Captain Brett, of 'A' Company, was wounded in the left shoulder, and he is now a prisoner at Pretoria. Captain Brown, of 'H,' was struck in the chest, and I hear has since died. Lieutenant Carey, of 'A,' was shot, and never moved afterwards."

Even more graphic is the story of another man who escaped. "We were paraded about 1·30 a.m. on the 6th, under Lieutenant-Colonel Watson and ten other officers. We had orders not to fire a single shot, and if we were fired on to take no notice, but keep straight on and make no noise. We then started on the advance on Red Hill, which was about a mile and a half away from our camp. When we were about half way there, we were halted and ordered to fix bayonets and carry the hill at the point of the bayonet. Soon after starting again we heard a kind of call from a bird (but I believe it was a signal call), and we saw two lights on our right, yet no notice was taken of them. We kept on until about twenty paces from the top of the hill. All this time we were in close column. Colonel Watson called the officers round him, and they were in front of the column when a signal shot was fired by one of the Boer sentries and we lay down flat. About two or three minutes after the first shot was fired, we heard running of feet, and thought it was our own men, but all at once the top of the hill seemed in flames, and the bullets were flying all round us. Still we lay there waiting for the order to charge, but it never came. After lying under fire for about ten minutes, the Colonel gave the order to retire, and the men on the left retired. Major Graham, on the right, gave his men the order to charge—which they did, at a very serious cost. Major Graham himself was shot through the left arm, and the bullet penetrated his side and came out under his right lung. The Colonel was killed, his head being almost blown off by the explosive bullets the Boers were using. The adjutant was also killed by the Colonel's side." It does not appear to be the fact that any officer gave the order to retire, and General French's dry comment may be near the truth—that success would have been obtained, though not without loss, "had the majority of the men not been seized with panic and retired." The losses in this disastrous little affair were heavy; 28 were killed, 24 wounded, and 113 "missing," 34 of whom were wounded prisoners in the enemy's hands. The Boers acknowledged a loss of 8 killed and 12 wounded, and this was probably about the truth. General French had his whole force under arms, but would not permit any attempt to retrieve the reverse, judging wisely that it would only result in a further loss of lives, which at this juncture was specially to be avoided.

On January 7, General French with a squadron of Household Cavalry pushed out a reconnaissance to the east and examined a position near Slingersfontein. The enemy opened a long range fire, and succeeded in cutting off and capturing Captain Ricardo with four troopers. Two days later, Slingersfontein was occupied by Colonel Porter with a force of 600 men and four guns, after a brush with the enemy in which the New Zealanders distinguished themselves. To cover the movement the rest of the artillery shelled the enemy's lines. From his new position, Colonel Porter could see all that was going on in the Boer rear, and noted the arrival of large reinforcements from Magersfontein and Ladysmith. General French, in fact, was acting as a magnet and attracting the enemy's forces. The Boers opposed to him were now about 4,000 or 5,000 strong, and in the course of the next few days were yet further strengthened to 6,000 or 7,000. On his part, General French was reinforced by half the 1st Welsh Regiment and the 4th Field Battery, and was promised a part of the Sixth Division, now beginning to reach South Africa.

On January 11th, by great efforts, Major Butcher, commanding the 4th Field Battery, succeeded in hauling two 15-pounders to the top of Coles Kop. Five hawsers were used, and in four hours the work was accomplished and the weapons were ready to open fire. Some days later, as the conveyance of food, water, and ammunition to the summit was found extremely laborious in consequence of the precipitous nature of the hill, the engineers rigged up a wire hoist, which proved invaluable. Bridging wire, which bears a strain of 2,000 lbs., was employed for this purpose. On the same day, General French with Colonel Porter's cavalry made a vigorous attempt to reach the enemy's rear from Slingersfontein. Major Hunter Weston with a section of mounted engineers and a troop of cavalry was directed to pass round their flank and destroy the Norvals Pont railway. As, however, strong Boer reinforcements rode up from Norvals Pont, it was impossible to accomplish this, and the Boers were able to extend their left flank so as to threaten General French in his turn. Not caring to risk a decisive action, he fell back to Slingersfontein. On the 12th, the guns on Coles Kop suddenly opened on the Boer laagers, causing the enemy the utmost annoyance and some loss. All their camps had to be moved, but it was not possible to shell the town of Colesberg itself, as there were many British sympathisers and prisoners in it, a fact of which the Boers were not slow to avail themselves.

On the 14th 400 men with two guns were pushed out from the British left towards Colesberg Road bridge, which was shelled at long range, but not destroyed. The enemy endeavoured to intercept the retreat, without, however, any success. On the following day the Boers made a determined attack upon the extreme British right near Slingersfontein, where was a high steep kopje held by one company each of the 1st Yorkshires and New Zealanders. During the night the enemy worked round unobserved to both the east and west sides of the hill; a particularly strong party established itself among the rocks at the foot of the western slope, which was very steep. With daylight the attack from the east was openly developed, and from all quarters the Boers poured in a heavy fire on the men holding the hill. While the attention of our outpost was thus occupied, the Boers to the west crept up and actually got among the Yorkshires before their presence was detected. Captain Orr, commanding the outpost, was wounded, the sergeant-major was killed, and the Yorkshires were left without leaders or guidance. At this most critical moment, Captain Madocks, of the Royal Artillery, who was doing duty with the New Zealanders, saved the day. Calling upon his gallant Colonials to follow him, he dashed to the western face of the hill, ordered the Yorkshires to fix bayonets, and charged at their head, followed by four New Zealanders, of whom the two on either side of him were instantly shot dead by the enemy. Madocks himself grappled a huge Boer, clad in a frock coat, who was urging on his men, and killed him. Several more of the Boers were shot or bayoneted; the rest fled in complete confusion, leaving no less than twenty-one dead behind them. As usual the Boers pretended that they had "one man wounded," though the corpses were seen and counted by our soldiers. The British loss was eight killed, five wounded, and two missing; among the killed was the gallant son of Mr. Gourlay, a member of the Legislative Council of New Zealand. The Boers were estimated to have had at least fifty men wounded.

On January 16 there was another skirmish with the Boers near Slingersfontein. A patrol of twenty-five Australian Mounted Infantry and New South Wales Lancers under Lieutenant Dowling left that position to reconnoitre northwards to Norvals Pont. On its return the patrol was ambushed at a watering place six miles north of Colonel Porter's camp, and the men killed, wounded, or captured, with the exception of three, who got away and returned with the sad news to camp. The Australians made a desperate stand before surrendering, and inflicted some loss upon the Boers. But the affair showed the complete knowledge of every British movement obtained by the enemy, no doubt through the many Boer sympathisers within the British lines. On the 18th, strong reinforcements from the Sixth Division reached General French. The 1st Royal Irish and 2nd Worcestershire, speedily followed by the 2nd Wiltshire, all of which battalions were included in Major-General Clements' Brigade, arrived, and with them two 5-inch howitzers. Thus strengthened, General French was able yet further to prolong his line. Strong outposts were established at Kleinfontein, some miles to the north-east of Slingersfontein, and at Rhenosterfontein, not far from Norvals Pont station. The enemy, alarmed for their communications, called up yet more reinforcements, and it was estimated that at this date their force was about 9,000 strong, while General French had now under his command near Colesberg almost as many combatants. His perpetual worrying of the Boers was thus serving two purposes—preventing them from doing any mischief in Cape Colony, and compelling them to weaken their forces elsewhere. The front held by the Boers at this date was thirty miles, and that of the British thirty-eight miles: but by means of field telephones and telegraphs in our lines reinforcements could promptly be called up to any threatened point.

On January 19 and 20 the howitzers shelled the Boer camps and Grassy Hill, but, so far as could be seen, without much effect. On the 19th, Lieutenant De Crespigny with two troopers of the Household Cavalry came under heavy fire, and had to ride for their lives. One of the men had his horse shot under him, when De Crespigny gallantly rode back to his rescue and brought him off. On the 25th, General French directed a vigorous reconnaissance against the Boer right, which had not of late been much disturbed. With 3,000 infantry and cavalry, and a battery each of Horse and Field Artillery, he moved up to Rietfontein Plessis, on the Colesberg bridge road, while the rest of his troops demonstrated all along the enemy's line. He succeeded in reaching a point from which, with sharp fighting, he had every chance of getting on the enemy's lines of communication, but, as the Boers were in force and Lord Roberts's orders to avoid anything like a general action were peremptory, the movement was not pressed. On the other flank, General Clements shelled the Boers, who replied with their 40-pounder, killing the General's orderly at the first shot.

Two days after this affair four Englishmen, who had been "commandeered" by the Free State authorities, deserted from the enemy. They brought information that the Boers were about 5,000 strong in Colesberg, with another force at Norvals Pont, and stated that the enemy had eight guns, in addition to two of the captured British 15-pounders, which the Boer gunners did not understand, and could not use effectively.

General French had not only to watch Colesberg; he had also to think of the railway junctions to his left and right rear at De Aar and Rosmead, and to endeavour to reach a hand to General Gatacre. The arrival of more and more British troops relieved him of much of his anxiety for his extreme right. The Thirteenth Brigade of the Sixth Division was now at hand, and, under General Kelly-Kenny, pushed along the railway from Rosmead Junction towards Stormberg, halting at Thebus on the 26th, and opening up communication with General Gatacre, by way of the mountain roads. After these operations a comparative calm followed during the last days of January and the first week of February. Quietly the British forces at Colesberg and Thebus were reduced, the greater part of the cavalry, much of the infantry, and all the Horse Artillery being moved north to Modder River, in readiness for the great advance into the Free State. The Boers at Colesberg, now under the command of General De Wet, a Free Stater, who had graduated at Cambridge, do not appear to have promptly seized the situation, or ascertained that they were only confronted by a skeleton force under General Clements. But on February 8, receiving information from a traitorous farmer, they began to show more activity. On this day there was a sharp interchange of artillery fire. A "Pom-Pom" on Horseshoe Kopje, which had caused great annoyance, was shelled by the howitzers; one of the lyddite projectiles burst just by the gun, and flung one of the Boer gunners no less than 100 yards through the air. On the 9th, a reconnoitring party of Australians, fifty strong, moved out on the right, and was engaged by a party of 400 Boers, who lay hidden in some kopjes. With the Australians were two correspondents, Mr. Hales and Mr. Lambie, who had a thrilling experience, thus described by Mr. Hales:—

"We had drifted a few hundred yards behind the advance party," he writes, "but were a good distance in front of the rear guard, when a number of horsemen made a dash from the kopjes, which we were skirting, and the rifles began to speak. There was no time for poetry, it was a case of 'sit tight and ride hard,' or surrender and be made prisoners. Lambie shouted to me: 'Let's make a dash, Hales,' and we made it. The Boers were very close to us before we knew anything concerning their presence. Some of them were behind us, and some extended along the edge of the kopjes by which we had to pass to get to the British line in front; all of them were galloping in on us, shooting as they rode, and shouting to us to surrender, and had we been wise men, we should have thrown up our hands, for it was almost hopeless to try and ride through the rain of lead that whistled around us. It was no wonder that we were hit, the wonder to me is that we were not filled with lead, for some of the bullets came so close to me that I think I should know them again if I met them in a shop window. We were racing by this time; Lambie's big chestnut mare had gained a length on my little veldt pony, and we were not more than 100 yards away from the Mauser rifles that had closed in on us from the kopjes. A voice called in good English: 'Throw up your hands, you d—— fools.' But the galloping fever was on us both, and we only crouched lower on our horses' backs, and rode all the harder, for even a barn-yard fowl loves liberty.

"All at once I saw my comrade throw up his hands with a spasmodic gesture. He rose in his stirrups, and fairly bounded high out of his saddle, and as he spun round in the air I saw the red blood on the white face, and I knew that death had come to him sudden and sharp. Again the rifles spoke, and the lead was closer to me than ever a friend sticks in time of trouble, and I knew in my heart that the next few strides would settle things. The black pony was galloping gamely under my weight. Would he carry me safely out of that line of fire or would he fail me? Suddenly something touched me on the right temple; it was not like a blow, it was not a shock; for half a second I was conscious. I knew I was hit; knew that the reins had fallen from my nerveless hands; knew that I was lying down upon my horse's back, with my head hanging below his throat. Then all the world went out in one mad whirl. Earth and heaven seemed to meet as if by magic. My horse seemed to rise with me, not to fall, and then—chaos."

The Australians showed great steadiness and courage. A small party under Captain Cameron dismounted and covered the retreat of the others with a rapid and accurate fire. "They shot like lightning, not volley after volley straight in front of them, as do regular soldiers," said a Boer afterwards, "but every man picked his man and shot to kill. We dared not face them." The Boers endeavoured to work round them and cut them off, but at the right moment the colonials made a dash, mounted their horses, and rode off under a hail of bullets, with only one man slightly wounded. There can be no doubt that their skill in taking cover saved them from heavy loss, if not from annihilation. About a dozen Boers are said to have been killed. Mr. Hales was taken prisoner, but was afterwards released by the enemy. He had been only stunned by a fall from his horse. Another reconnoitring party of twenty Australians under Captain Moor had a precisely similar experience on this same day near Slingersfontein. They were surrounded on a kopje, and the Boers called to them to surrender. They replied by shouts of defiance, telling the enemy that "Australia is here to stay," and by their steady fire kept the burghers at bay. Meantime, Sergeant Edwards and two troopers ran the gauntlet of the enemy's rifles, and brought news to the nearest camp that the Australians would hold out till dusk. The 6th Dragoons were sent out to support them, and succeeded in getting them away with one killed and three wounded. On this same day the Boers began to drive in the British left, seizing Bastard's Nek, placing a 40-pounder in position there, and menacing the position at Coles Kop. On the 10th several British patrols were cut up, and Boer parties appeared on the road between Rensburg and Slingersfontein. The position was becoming untenable, and General Clements was hard put to it to hold his own. On the 12th the Boers vigorously attacked all along the line, and our troops were compelled hastily to abandon Coles Kop, sending down the two guns from the top. The half battalions of the Berkshires and Wiltshires were compelled to fall back upon Maeder's Farm, suffering considerable losses, the Wiltshires alone losing thirteen men. The 6th Dragoons and Australians covered the retirement in this quarter, and prevented the Boers, who came on in great numbers, from doing much damage. On the British right a determined attack was delivered by the enemy upon Slingersfontein, supported by the "Pom-Pom" and some field guns. They assaulted the kopjes on this flank, which were held by three companies of Worcesters under Captain Hovell, and, though their onset was repulsed, the Worcesters lost heavily, no less than fifteen men being killed and twenty-nine wounded. Severe punishment was, however, inflicted upon the Boers. The Bedfordshires and Royal Irish were also engaged, and were driven back on Slingersfontein. The Boers were seen to be moving their 40-pounder into a position whence it could shell the British camp, whereupon a further retirement was at once ordered. Under cover of darkness the troops evacuated Slingersfontein and concentrated at Rensburg. Even this point could not be long held, and on the 14th General Clements had once more to retreat to Arundel, after severe fighting. An "unfortunate occurrence" marked the retirement. Two companies of Wiltshires, who were on outpost duty near Rensburg, did not receive the order to evacuate their position and fall back with the rest of the troops, and remained behind. On the morning of the 15th they were surrounded on some kopjes and attacked by the Boers in overwhelming force. Escape was impossible; General Clements was too weak to give them any help or extricate them, even if he had known of their situation, and, after a brave resistance, in which 12 officers and men were killed and 45 wounded, 103 unwounded men laid down their arms. They had suffered terribly from thirst before they surrendered. The Boers claimed that their own losses were only the now invariable "two killed and four wounded."

Thus General Clements with about 3,000 men had been dislodged in a few days, defeated, and driven back to the point from which, two months before, General French had started. Yet he had none the less rendered good service by keeping a large force of Boers occupied in operations which brought them no substantial success, at the very time when they should have been hurrying north to save Cronje. After the 15th the Boers seem to have discovered that they were confronted only by a skeleton force and to have at last realised their mistake. But it was already too late; the 150 miles from Arundel to Paardeberg could not be covered in time to effect a junction with General Cronje, and that gallant burgher had to be left to his doom. Meantime General Clements was reinforced, and in view of the weakening of the Boers in his front, was no longer in serious danger.