On the morning of the 13th the British
were practically masters of Bloemfontein. The distance is forty
miles. No one can say that Lord Roberts cannot follow a victory up
as well as win it.
Some trenches had been dug and sangars erected to the north-west of
the town; but Lord Roberts, with his usual perverseness, took the
wrong turning and appeared upon the broad open plain to the south,
where resistance would have been absurd. Already Steyn and the
irreconcilables had fled from the town, and the General was met by
a deputation of the Mayor, the Landdrost, and Mr. Fraser to tender
the submission of the capital. Fraser, a sturdy clear-headed
Highlander, had been the one politician in the Free State who
combined a perfect loyalty to his adopted country with a just
appreciation of what a quarrel A l'outrance with the British Empire
would mean. Had Fraser's views prevailed, the Orange Free State
would still exist as a happy and independent State. As it is, he
may help her to happiness and prosperity as the prime minister of
the Orange River Colony.
It was at half-past one on Tuesday, March 13th, that General
Roberts and his troops entered Bloemfontein, amid the acclamations
of many of the inhabitants, who, either to propitiate the victor,
or as a sign of their real sympathies, had hoisted union jacks upon
their houses. Spectators have left it upon record how from all that
interminable column of yellow-clad weary men, worn with half
rations and whole-day marches, there came never one jeer, never one
taunting or exultant word, as they tramped into the capital of
their enemies. The bearing of the troops was chivalrous in its
gentleness, and not the least astonishing sight to the inhabitants
was the passing of the Guards, the dandy troops of England, the
body-servants of the great Queen. Black with sun and dust,
staggering after a march of thirty-eight miles, gaunt and haggard,
with their clothes in such a state that decency demanded that some
of the men should be discreetly packed away in the heart of the
dense column, they still swung into the town with the aspect of
Kentish hop-pickers and the bearing of heroes. She, the venerable
mother, could remember the bearded ranks who marched past her when
they came with sadly thinned files back from the Crimean winter;
even those gallant men could not have endured more sturdily, nor
have served her more loyally, than these their worthy descendants.
It was just a month after the start from Ramdam that Lord Roberts
and his army rode into the enemy's capital. Up to that period we
had in Africa Generals who were hampered for want of troops, and
troops who were hampered for want of Generals. Only when the
Commander-in-Chief took over the main army had we soldiers enough,
and a man who knew how to handle them. The result was one which has
not only solved the question of the future of South Africa, but has
given an illustration of strategy which will become classical to
the military student. How brisk was the course of events, how
incessant the marching and fighting, may be shown by a brief
recapitulation. On February 13th cavalry and infantry were marching
to the utmost capacity of men and horses. On the 14th the cavalry
were halted, but the infantry were marching hard. On the 15th the
cavalry covered forty miles, fought an action, and relieved
Kimberley. On the 16th the cavalry were in pursuit of the Boer guns
all day, and were off on a thirty-mile march to the Modder at
night, while the infantry were fighting Cronje's rearguard action,
and closing up all day. On the 17th the infantry were marching
hard. On the 18th was the battle of Paardeberg. From the 19th to
the 27th was incessant fighting with Cronje inside the laager and
with De Wet outside. From the 28th to March 6th was rest. On March
7th was the action of Poplars Grove with heavy marching; on March
10th the battle of Driefontein. On the 11th and 12th the infantry
covered forty miles, and on the 13th were in Bloemfontein. All this
was accomplished by men on half-rations, with horses which could
hardly be urged beyond a walk, in a land where water is scarce and
the sun semi-tropical, each infantryman carrying a weight of nearly
forty pounds. There are few more brilliant achievements in the
history of British arms. The tactics were occasionally faulty, and
the battle of Paardeberg was a blot upon the operations; but the
strategy of the General and the spirit of the soldier were alike
admirable.
CHAPTER 21.
STRATEGIC EFFECTS OF LORD ROBERTS'S MARCH.
From the moment that Lord Roberts with his army advanced from
Ramdam all the other British forces in South Africa, the Colesberg
force, the Stormberg force, Brabant's force, and the Natal force,
had the pressure relieved in front of them, a tendency which
increased with every fresh success of the main body. A short
chapter must be devoted to following rapidly the fortunes of these
various armies, and tracing the effect of Lord Roberts's strategy
upon their movements. They may be taken in turn from west to east.
The force under General Clements (formerly French's) had, as has
already been told, been denuded of nearly all its cavalry and horse
artillery, and so left in the presence of a very superior body of
the enemy. Under these circumstances Clements had to withdraw his
immensely extended line, and to concentrate at Arundel, closely
followed by the elated enemy. The situation was a more critical one
than has been appreciated by the public, for if the force had been
defeated the Boers would have been in a position to cut Lord
Roberts's line of communications, and the main army would have been
in the air.
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