Chapter 32 of 33 · 9978 words · ~50 min read

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and these were followed a day or two later by a squadron of the 2nd Dragoons, who were, however, shortly afterwards withdrawn and despatched north.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.

[Illustration:

LUXURIES FROM HOME.

Arrival in camp of a consignment of tobacco, cigarettes, and other luxuries.]

[Illustration:

[_Photo by R. C. E. Nisson._

COLONEL PORTER TAKING HIS EARLY MORNING COFFEE.]

[Sidenote: Engagements near Arundel and Rensburg.]

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.

[Illustration: ARUNDEL CAMP FROM THE HILLS TO THE NORTH.]

[Illustration: MAP OF THE ACTIONS AROUND COLESBERG.]

[Sidenote: [DEC. 14-20, 1899.]

[Sidenote: The Boers fall back on Colesberg.]

[Sidenote: DEC. 30, 1899.] _Movements around Colesberg._]

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.

[Illustration: MAXIM WITH GALLOPING CARRIAGE COMING INTO ACTION.]

[Sidenote: British camp moved to Rensburg. Fighting round Coles Kop.]

[Sidenote: [DEC. 30, 1899-JAN. 4, 1900.]

[Sidenote: French's mobility.]

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.

[Illustration:

SHOEING AN ARGENTINE HORSE AT THE REMOUNT DEPOT, NAAUWPOORT.]

[Illustration:

BAKING BREAD IN THE FIELD OVENS OF THE R.A.S.C. AT NAAUWPOORT.]

[Illustration:

TRANSPORT WAGGONS FOR THE FRONT, NAAUWPOORT.]

[Sidenote: Loss of a commissariat train.]

[Sidenote: Both sides reinforced.]

[Sidenote: JAN. 4, 1900.] _Boer Attempt to Outflank._]

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.

[Illustration:

_Photo by R. C. E. Nisson._]

COLESBERG FROM COLES KOP.]

[Illustration:

_Walker & Cockerell sc._

MAP OF THE COUNTRY BETWEEN ARUNDEL AND NORVALS PONT.

The district in which General French kept the Boers occupied whilst Lord Roberts developed his plans for the relief of Kimberley and the capture of Cronje.]

[Sidenote: General Schœman repulsed.]

[Sidenote: [JAN. 4-5, 1900.]

[Sidenote: Death of Major Harvey.]

[Sidenote: Boers driven back.]

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.

[3] The front rank of Dragoons carry lances.

[Illustration:

[_Photo by. Elliott & Fry._

LIEUT.-COL. WATSON.

Killed while leading the 1st Suffolks at Rensburg.]

[Illustration:

[_Photo by Knight, Aldershot._

MAJOR HARVEY.

Of the 10th Hussars, killed at Rensburg.]

[Sidenote: Disaster to the Suffolks.]

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.

[Illustration: TIRED OF THE WAR.

A group of Boer prisoners taken near Naauwpoort who seemed glad to be captured.]

[Sidenote: JAN. 5-6, 1900.] _Attack on Grassy Hill._]

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."

[Illustration: SIGNALLING ON THE TOP OF COLES KOP.]

[Sidenote: [JAN. 6-7, 1900.]

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.

[Illustration: EXPANDING BULLETS.

These have often been spoken of as "explosive bullets," and sometimes as "man-stopping," or "soft-nosed bullets." When they penetrate the body they spread out or "mushroom," assuming some such form as that indicated in the illustration in the corner, inflicting terrible wounds, and leaving a gaping hole at the point of exit. A shows the origin of the Dum-dum bullet, which is so called because it was first made at the Arsenal of Dum-dum in India. The nickel coating of the bullet is filed away at the top to allow the lead to expand. B is the British regulation Dum-dum, now prohibited, and C is a section of the same. D is the soft-nosed expanding bullet, of which hundreds were found in the Boer trenches at Paardeberg and elsewhere.]

[Illustration: BEGINNING THE ASCENT OF COLES KOP.

Taking guns to the top of the hill, 800 feet high. This photograph gives some idea of the difficult character of the ground over which the men had to drag their guns by hand labour.]

[Sidenote: Occupation of Slingersfontein.]

[Sidenote: JAN. 11-15, 1900.] _Artillery on Coles Kop._]

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.

[Illustration: _C. H. Taffs._] [_After a sketch by F. Villiers._

THE WIRE HOIST USED FOR DRAGGING AMMUNITION AND SUPPLIES UP COLES KOP.]

[Sidenote: Guns and supplies hauled up Coles Kop.]

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.

[Sidenote: [JAN. 15-16, 1900.]

[Sidenote: Boer attack near Slingersfontein.]

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.

[Illustration: CAPTAIN ORR (in centre) AND OFFICERS OF THE NEW ZEALANDERS ON NEW ZEALAND HILL, COLESBERG.]

[Illustration:

NEW ZEALAND AMBULANCE AT WORK AFTER THE ACTION AT NEW ZEALAND HILL.]

[Illustration: _W. Small._] [_From a sketch by G. D. Giles._

NEW ZEALANDERS TO THE RESCUE: SAVING A PICKET OF THE YORKSHIRE REGIMENT NEAR SLINGERSFONTEIN.

On January 15 a picket of the Yorkshire Regiment, about forty strong, with thirty New Zealand Mounted Rifles were holding the spur of a hill, since called New Zealand Hill, near Slingersfontein, when some Boers suddenly attacked the Yorkshires at the extremity of the steep spur. Their officer and sergeant were struck down, and the men would have been lost had not Captain Madocks with some New Zealanders made a sudden onslaught, rallied the Yorkshires, and routed the Boers.]

[Sidenote: [JAN. 16-22, 1900.]

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.

[Illustration: NEW ZEALAND OFFICERS WATCHING AN ENGAGEMENT NEAR COLESBERG.

The gallant Captain Madocks in the centre.]

[Sidenote: Small actions near Colesberg.]

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.

[Illustration: CAPTAIN MADOCKS (left) AND LIEUTENANT HUGHES (right).

Survivors of the Boer attack at Slingersfontein.]

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.

[Sidenote: JAN. 22-FEB. 8, 1900.] _French quits Colesberg._]

[Sidenote: Guarding the railway junctions.]

[Sidenote: Gradual withdrawal of British forces.]

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:--

[Illustration:

_F. J. Waugh._]

CAPTAIN MADOCKS GRAPPLING WITH THE BOER LEADER.]

[Sidenote: [FEB. 8, 1900.]

[Sidenote: A ride for life.]

"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.

[Illustration:

[_Photo by Elliott & Fry._

GENERAL CLEMENTS.

Ralph Arthur Penrhyn Clements, D.S.O., A.D.C., commanding the 12th Brigade, South Africa Field Force, is the son of the late Rev. J. Clements, sub-dean of Lincoln Cathedral. He was educated at Rossall; Lieut. 24th Foot (afterwards called South Wales Borderers), 1874; Captain, 1880; Major, 1886; Lieut.-Colonel, 1887; Colonel, 1896; Aide-de-Camp to the Queen, 1896; served in Kaffir and Zulu wars, 1879, and in Burmah, where he gained the D.S.O., 1885-89.]

"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."

[Illustration:

_Ivester Lloyd._]

A RACE FOR LIFE.

Two newspaper correspondents risk their lives in an attempt to escape capture.]

[Sidenote: FEB. 8-12, 1900.] _Fine Work done by the Australians._]

[Sidenote: Accuracy of Australian shooting.]

[Sidenote: Coles Kop and Slingersfontein evacuated.]

[Sidenote: [FEB. 12-15, 1900.]

[Sidenote: British retire to Arundel.]

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."

[Illustration:

MAKING GAS FOR WAR BALLOONS AT SLINGERSFONTEIN.]

[Illustration:

SHOEMAKERS OF THE 1st ROYAL IRISH REGIMENT IN THE CAMP AT SLINGERSFONTEIN.]

[Sidenote: DEC. 30, 1899-JAN. 10, 1900.] _Difficulties with Germany._]

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.

[Illustration:

_Photo by R. C. E. Nisson._]

FIELD ARTILLERY ON COLES KOP.

A 15-pounder of the 4th Field Battery under Lieutenant Maine firing from the top of the hill.]

[Sidenote: Seizure of German steamers.]

While these things were happening in Colesberg and at the front, grave political difficulties had arisen at home over the seizure of the German steamers _Herzog_, _Bundesrath_, and _General_, on the charge of carrying contraband to Delagoa Bay. The _Bundesrath_ was brought into Durban as prize to the British cruiser _Magicienne_ on December 30. On being chased she had changed the position of her cargo, an act which was certainly calculated to give rise to grave suspicions. A search of nine days' duration at Durban, however, failed to disclose any contraband in her hold, and the German Government in the most peremptory manner demanded her immediate release. It insisted that Delagoa Bay being a neutral port, German ships could carry what they liked to that place, though it also gave an assurance from the steamers' owners that there was no contraband on board. Before a definite answer had been returned to its demand, the _General_ was stopped and searched at Aden, on January 4, and the _Herzog_, on January 6, was brought into Durban as prize of the cruiser _Thetis_. At this news German public opinion, which had all through the war been bitterly hostile to England, was thoroughly aroused, and the German Government took action which savoured of open unfriendliness, demanding the immediate release of all three vessels and the payment of compensation. Yet it was notorious that the three ships were crowded with foreigners, enlisted in Europe by the Transvaal secret agents, and proceeding to the front to take part in the war. The German Government had made use of British troubles at an earlier period to obtain Samoa, and now employed its dispute with England as an argument for a greater German Navy--to be used, it was hinted, in the not remote future against England.

[Sidenote: [JAN. 1900.]

[Sidenote: Lord Roberts conciliates the Colonials.]

On January 10 Lord Roberts and Lord Kitchener had reached Capetown. Their first step was to do all that was possible to stimulate the enrolment of Colonial troops. Almost immediately after landing Lord Roberts visited Rosebank Camp, where the South African Light Horse had their quarters. One regiment had already been raised and sent to the front in Natal, and now two more were added, known as Roberts' and Kitchener's Horse respectively. Furthermore, Lord Roberts appointed a distinguished Colonial officer, Colonel Brabant, who had great experience in South African war, a Major-General, and proposed that he should command a division composed entirely of Cape Colonials. This

## action roused general enthusiasm. Hitherto the British officers of the

army had looked askance at the Colonial and pronounced his methods irregular. Indeed, so much friction had arisen between the Colonial levies and the British staff that many of the Colonials were anxious to leave the ranks, in which their only rewards were constant snubbings from the military authorities. Lord Roberts by his exquisite tact put a stop to all this. He chose for his own bodyguard these very Colonials as a sign that he appreciated their services. He soothed the ruffled susceptibilities of all, and sent everyone back to his place with the feeling that the new Commander-in-Chief was a man of exceptional detachment from his environment--free from all prejudices and from all traces of red-tape, absolutely just and impartial. And what was more, he charmed as well as soothed. It was said of the great Chatham that no one left his presence without feeling himself a nobler and a stronger man. The same was true of Lord Roberts.

[Illustration:

[_Photo by R. C. E. Nisson._

THE WRECK OF A HAPPY HOME.

A disconsolate war correspondent amidst the ruins of his tent after a thunderstorm. The photograph illustrates how readily the dry and parched veldt is transformed into a swamp.]

In all, the troops placed in the field from first to last by Cape Colony amounted to about 18,000 men, distributed in the following regiments:--

Duke of Edinburgh's Rifles 1,189 Cape Garrison Artillery 566 Capetown Highlanders 464 Port Elizabeth Guards 518 East London Rifles 673 Grahamstown Rifles 560 Kimberley Regiment 800 Capetown United Rifles and Cape Police 1,000 South African Light Horse 600 Brabant's Horse: 1st Regiment 600 " " 2nd Regiment 600 " " 3rd Regiment about 400 Roberts' Horse 600 Kitchener's Horse 600 Railway Pioneers 1,200 Bayly's Mounted Rifles 450 Nesbitt's Horse 400 Orpen's Horse 300 Kimberley Light Horse and other Irregulars at Kimberley 3,200 Griqualand Mounted Rifles 1,200 Cape Mounted Rifles 492 Kaffrarian Mounted Rifles 540 Queenstown Mounted Rifles 200 Frontier Mounted Rifles 145

[Sidenote: JAN.-FEB. 1900.] _Reorganisation of the Army and the Transport._]

Even this list is not complete and exhaustive, though it is fuller than many which have appeared. Of these troops some were employed in guarding Capetown itself, where a supposed plot on the part of Boer sympathisers to seize the town on the first day of the new year, had caused great uneasiness; others were placed on the lines of communication; and about 3,000 were slowly concentrated in the east of Cape Colony, where, under General Brabant--a man almost as loved and trusted as Lord Roberts himself, and proved by after events to be a bold and skilful General, never beaten in the field--they were to take

## part in the new campaign as soon as Lord Roberts gave the signal for

the great forward move. Had the Colonials only been listened to at the outset, many defeats and much dishonour would have been avoided. For, from the first, they had preached the necessity of fighting the Boers with mounted men. They now, under the wise Lord Roberts, were given a full share of hard work and glory, and became a source of real terror to the Boers, who never were comfortable when they were about.

[Illustration: DR. BURNS ATTENDING A WOUNDED NEW ZEALANDER.]

[Illustration: NEW ZEALANDERS BURYING THEIR DEAD COMRADES.]

[Sidenote: Reorganisation of transports.]

[Sidenote: [JAN.-FEB. 1900.]

While Lord Roberts was organising troops and rearranging the distribution of the forces in South Africa, while day by day battalions, and batteries, and squadrons poured in from England, the rough material with which to build the edifice of the new campaign, Lord Kitchener on his part was busy with the transport and discipline of the army. Rumour has it that he impounded some score of gay young officers whom he found at Capetown with leave from the front, and set them to drive quills in his quartermaster's department. This did not make him beloved, but it proved he was determined that all should do their duty. He ruthlessly cut down the allowance of transport, took away from the regiments their regimental waggons, and organised a separate and distinct transport service. He found that the train of waggons had been much scattered, and one of his first acts was to recall about 400 teams and vehicles from Queenstown in the east of the Colony. The work of organisation and preparation to which he devoted his time was neither glorious nor particularly interesting, but it was necessary if the army was to be able to move away from the railways, and he accomplished it with success, even if after events did not prove all his innovations to have been judicious.

[Illustration: PREPARING FOR THE GREAT CAMPAIGN.

Lord Roberts in his travelling headquarters waggon. The photograph was taken while the Field-Marshal was in the midst of the work of reorganisation.]

[Sidenote: FEB. 6, 1900.] _Preparations at Capetown Completed._]

[Sidenote: Roberts and Kitchener leave Capetown.]

Till the time came for striking, and striking hard, Lord Roberts' instructions to his commanders in the western field of war were to abstain from anything calculated to bring about a decisive battle; 30,000 men were already at sea or arriving in Cape Colony--among them the Sixth and Seventh Divisions, the City Imperial Volunteers, several Militia battalions, the first detachments of Yeomanry, and a large number of Australian and Canadian Mounted Rifles. Of the troops already on the spot, a considerable number were being converted into mounted infantry. Thus week after week passed in the most strenuous

## activity, till at last, on February 6, the Commander-in-Chief and

his Chief-of-the-Staff stole off surreptitiously--for there were many thousands of Boer sympathisers in the Colony, and attempts to derail and wreck trains were of almost daily occurrence--to the far-away Modder River Camp, whence the great movement was to begin. To deceive would-be assassins, of whom, unfortunately, there were many in the Colony, a special train with fifty armed men on board was ostentatiously despatched. Lord Roberts, however, did not travel in it; instead, he boarded the ordinary train outside Capetown, and in this manner began his journey to the north.

[Illustration:

[_Photo by Lloyd, Pembridge Square._

BRIGADIER-GENERAL BRABANT.

Is about sixty years of age. He entered the 2nd Derby Militia as Ensign in 1855, but went abroad and joined the Cape Rifles a year later, rose to the rank of Captain, and retired in 1870. He was elected, in 1873, member of the Legislative Assembly for East London; Field-Commandant of Colonial (Cape) Forces, 1878; Col. of Cape Yeomanry, 1879; served in the Basuto War and was created C.M.G. in 1880; Brigadier-General, 1899.

[Sidenote: [DEC. 13, 1899-JAN. 3, 1900.]

At Modder River there had been inactivity since the disastrous day of Magersfontein--inactivity broken only by reconnaissances and demonstrations. As far back as December 13, a reconnaissance had been directed from Orange River Station to Zoutpan's Drift, some miles to the east of the great] bridge by which the railway from De Aar to Modder River crosses the Orange River. Seventy men of the mounted infantry and of Rimington's Guides were sent out under Captain Bradshaw; at Ramah, a farm just upon the Free State frontier, they were surprised by the enemy in some force, and lost four killed and eight wounded, including Captain Bradshaw, killed. The Boers, after inflicting this loss, fell back.

[Illustration: DEPARTURE OF THE SECOND QUEENSLAND CONTINGENT FROM BRISBANE.

The first contingents supplied by the Colonies were sent off with wild enthusiasm by the great crowds which witnessed their departure. A more sober, but not less impressive, loyalty marked the departure of later contingents. War had, even to the man in the street, become a dread reality.]

[Illustration: ON THE WATCH: AN OUTPOST AT MODDER RIVER, AFTER THE BATTLE OF MAGERSFONTEIN.]

[Sidenote: Lord Methuen keeps the enemy busy.]

[Sidenote: JAN. 8-FEB. 4, 1900.] _Minor Movements from Modder River Camp._]

Meantime Lord Methuen at Modder River shelled the enemy almost daily with his 4·7 naval guns and howitzers. More than once the Boers at night, evidently in constant dread of attack, opened suddenly a terrific rifle and Maxim fire. On December 31 a small composite force under Colonel Pilcher was despatched from Belmont to attack a laager of rebels at Sunnyside, near the little village of Douglas, to the north-west of Belmont. The force was remarkable in that it was made up of Canadians, Australians, and Imperial troops, including as it did the Toronto company of Canadians, 100 strong, 200 Queenslanders, 40 mounted infantry of the Munster Fusiliers, and 200 of the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry, with two guns of the Horse Artillery. Great precautions were taken to prevent the enemy gaining any knowledge of the intended move. No one was allowed to leave the British camp for some time before the march began, and all natives were shut up and their names repeatedly called. Early in the morning of January 1, the force was close to the enemy's camp. The rebels were in complete ignorance of its approach; and the camp was asleep when the British guns suddenly opened fire. The Queenslanders and Canadians at once worked in splendid style towards the astonished Boers, making every use of cover. The great bulk of the enemy bolted when the burghers found their flanks threatened; a few, however, were cut off by the British advance and raised the white flag; forty-three prisoners and the rebel laager fell into our hands. From Sunnyside the column marched to Douglas and re-hoisted the British flag there, but on January 3 had to retreat, taking with it all the loyal inhabitants, and to return to Belmont. Against this small success had to be placed the loss of Kuruman, where 120 of the Cape Police and native half-breeds had for months defied the Boers, holding out in the school-house.

On January 8 an important reconnaissance was made into the Free State. From Modder River moved the 9th and 12th Lancers, a force of mounted infantry, and a section of G Horse Artillery Battery; from Enslin a squadron of the 2nd Dragoons, with detachments of mounted infantry, and from Belmont the Australians and Canadians. The Boers were seen to be in strength at Jacobsdal, but there were none of them to the south of the Riet. About the same time Zoutpan's Drift was occupied, and a British post permanently established in the enemy's territory.

[Illustration:

_A. C. Ball._]

THE RETREAT FROM DOUGLAS.

The Canadians carried the children of the loyalists and kept up the spirits of the whole party by singing.]

On January 16 Lord Methuen made a demonstration against Magersfontein, where the Boer works had of late been considerably extended and strengthened. His object was to draw the enemy away from Kimberley, and also to ascertain to what extent they had weakened their force by detachments sent to Colesberg and Ladysmith. A bombardment of the Boer works speedily brought the burghers up in force from Jacobsdal, and it was found that their lines were well held.

[Sidenote: Demonstrations towards Koodoesberg Drift.]

[Sidenote: [FEB. 5-9, 1900.]

On January 26 General Macdonald arrived and took over the command of the Highlanders, from whom he had a tremendous reception. To deceive the Boers and draw off their attention from the British right, where Lord Roberts intended to deliver his serious blow, a demonstration to the left was ordered. Accordingly, on February 4, General Macdonald, with the Highland Brigade and the 62nd Field Battery, moved to Koodoesberg Drift, an important crossing of the Modder, sixteen miles to the west of Modder River Camp; at the same time General Broadwood with Roberts' Horse, the mounted infantry, and a battery of Horse Artillery, advanced to Sunnyside, the scene of Colonel Pilcher's victory. General Macdonald, after a terrible march in scorching heat, found Koodoesberg Drift deserted, and entrenched himself there on both sides of the river, on the 5th. Next day, towards evening, a commando of Boers approached and skirmishing began. The enemy was reinforced, and, seeing a chance of cutting them off, General Macdonald sent for cavalry on the morning of the 7th. Skirmishing went on all day, and the British suffered some loss from the enemy's fire, amongst the killed being the famous golfer, Lieutenant Tait. Four regiments of cavalry with two horse batteries, under General Babington, arrived in the evening of the 7th; but the Boers were not to be caught, and made off at dark. As the object of the demonstration had been fully attained, the whole force was then ordered back to Modder River Camp. The British casualties were eight killed and thirty-nine wounded.

[Illustration:

[_From a sketch by Fred Villiers._

COLONEL PILCHER'S COLONIALS DRAWING THE ENEMY'S FIRE BY PLACING THEIR HATS WITHIN VIEW.]

[Sidenote: Roberts in camp.]

On February 9 Lord Roberts arrived at Modder River, and was received with an enthusiasm that knew no bounds. His first act was to review the Highlanders just returned from Koodoesberg Drift, and congratulate them upon their steady behaviour. He told them that stiff work lay before them, and yet, striking the note of hopefulness, he added that success was certain. His speech had the best effect. Next day a redistribution of the troops took place, and a new Division, the Ninth, was formed of the battalions which had reinforced Lord Methuen from the time when he began his advance from Orange River; General Sir H. Colvile was appointed to command it, and General Pole Carew was transferred from the Ninth Brigade to the Guards' Brigade to take General Colvile's place. All was now ready for the great forward move.

General Kelly-Kenny with a brigade of the Sixth Division, General French with a large force of cavalry and infantry from Colesberg, and the whole Seventh Division recently landed from England had concentrated at Modder River Camp. As the plain grew white with the tents of 35,000 combatants, Cronje's advisers, watching, grew more and more uneasy. "They will turn your flank" was day by day the warning of Major Albrecht. But Cronje had a firm belief that no British force would ever be able to leave the railway, and a flanking movement on Lord Roberts' part was impossible unless this was done.

[Sidenote: FEB. 10, 1900.] _Roberts Ready to Strike._]

[Sidenote: Preparations for the great blow.]

In striking from Modder River instead of Colesberg and Norvals Pont, Lord Roberts had two objects. He wished to begin his campaign with a tremendous blow--and such the destruction of Cronje would prove. He would also be saved the delay which must inevitably be caused by bridging so wide a river as the Orange. If all went well he might be able to turn rapidly upon the Colesberg Boers after settling with Cronje. Whatever happened, he was certain of relieving Kimberley, which the Boers were now shelling with a great 6-inch gun.

[Illustration:

[_Photo by Robinson, Dublin._

LIEUT.-COLONEL T. D. PILCHER.

(Of the Bedfordshire Regiment), commanding Mounted Infantry.]

[Illustration: LIEUT. TAIT.

Amateur golf champion. Killed at Koodoesberg.]

Since the losses had not entirely been made good by drafts, the strength of Lord Roberts' army, as it stood ready to strike on February 10, may be estimated at 26,000 infantry, 4,000 cavalry, 3,500 mounted infantry, and about 120 guns, including the 6-inch howitzers of the siege train. It was by far the largest and the best organised wholly British force that had ever taken the field. Australians, Canadians, and Ceylon planters were among the mounted infantry; Afrikanders, among the Cape volunteers; but the great majority came from within the limits of the British Isles.

[Sidenote: Composition of the Grand Army.]

Lord Roberts' army was composed of four infantry divisions and one of cavalry, as follows:--

FIRST DIVISION.

LIEUT.-GENERAL LORD METHUEN.

1ST (POLE-CAREW'S) BRIGADE. 9TH (DOUGLAS'S) BRIGADE. 3rd Grenadier Guards. 1st Northumberland Fusiliers. 1st Coldstream Guards. 1st Loyal North Lancashire. 2nd Coldstream Guards. 2nd Northamptonshire. 1st Scots Guards. 2nd Yorkshire Light Infantry. 83rd, 84th, and 85th Field Batteries.

SIXTH DIVISION.

LIEUT.-GENERAL KELLY-KENNY.

18TH (STEPHENSON'S) BRIGADE. 13TH (KNOX'S) BRIGADE. 1st Essex. 2nd East Kent. 1st Yorkshire. 1st Oxfordshire Light Infantry. 1st Welsh. 1st West Riding. 2nd Royal Warwick. 2nd Gloucester. 76th, 81st, and 82nd Field Batteries.

SEVENTH DIVISION.

LIEUT.-GENERAL TUCKER.

14TH (CHERMSIDE'S) BRIGADE. 15TH (WAVELL'S) BRIGADE. 2nd Norfolk. 2nd Cheshire. 2nd Lincoln. 1st East Lancashire. 1st King's Own Scottish Borderers. 2nd South Wales Borderers. 2nd Hants. 2nd North Stafford. 18th, 62nd, and 75th c

3RD (MACDONALD'S) HIGHLAND BRIGADE. 19TH (SMITH-DORRIEN'S) BRIGADE. 1st Argyll and Sutherland. 1st Gordon Highlanders. 1st Highland Light Infantry. 2nd Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry. 2nd Seaforth Highlanders. 2nd Shropshire Light Infantry. 2nd Royal Highlanders. Canadian Regiment.

CAVALRY DIVISION.

LIEUT.-GENERAL FRENCH.

1ST (PORTER'S) BRIGADE. 2ND (BROADWOOD'S) BRIGADE. 3RD (GORDON'S) BRIGADE. 6th Dragoon Guards. 10th Hussars. 16th Lancers. 6th Dragoons. 12th Lancers. 9th Lancers. 2nd Dragoons. Household Cavalry. Roberts' Horse. G, O, P, Q, R, T, and U Horse Artillery Batteries.

MOUNTED INFANTRY.

HANNAY'S BRIGADE.

RIDLEY'S BRIGADE.

CORPS TROOPS.

City Imperial Volunteers (Mounted Infantry). Kitchener's Horse. Rimington's Scouts. 38th Field, 65th Howitzer Battery. Siege train (including four 6-inch howitzers). Four 4·7-inch naval guns; four 12-pounders.

That night of the 10th the search-light in the British camp answered the message of Kimberley with the glad words--"We are coming."

[Illustration: _W. S. Small._] [_From a sketch by G. D. Giles._

CLEARING THE ROAD TO KIMBERLEY: THE BRITISH CAVALRY CHARGING AT KLIP DRIFT.]