Should That Happen, Not A
Man Of Them Could Possibly Escape.
But they took their chances like
brave men, and fortune was their friend.
The wagons came on without
any scouts. Behind them was U battery, then Q, with Roberts's Horse
abreast of them and the rest of the cavalry behind.
As the wagons, occupied for the most part only by unarmed sick
soldiers and black transport drivers, came down into the drift, the
Boers quickly but quietly took possession of them, and drove them
on up the further slope. Thus the troops behind saw their wagons
dip down, reappear, and continue on their course. The idea of an
ambush could not suggest itself. Only one thing could avert an
absolute catastrophe, and that was the appearance of a hero who
would accept certain death in order to warn his comrades. Such a
man rode by the wagons - though, unhappily, in the stress and rush
of the moment there is no certainty as to his name or rank. We only
know that one was found brave enough to fire his revolver in the
face of certain death. The outburst of firing which answered his
shot was the sequel which saved the column. Not often is it given
to a man to die so choice a death as that of this nameless soldier.
But the detachment was already so placed that nothing could save it
from heavy loss. The wagons had all passed but nine, and the
leading battery of artillery was at the very edge of the donga.
Nothing is so helpless as a limbered-up battery. In an instant the
teams were shot down and the gunners were made prisoners. A
terrific fire burst at the same instant upon Roberts's Horse, who
were abreast of the guns. 'Files a bout! gallop!' yelled Colonel
Dawson, and by his exertions and those of Major Pack-Beresford the
corps was extricated and reformed some hundreds of yards further
off. But the loss of horses and men was heavy. Major Pack-Beresford
and other officers were shot down, and every unhorsed man remained
necessarily as a prisoner under the very muzzles of the riflemen in
the donga.
As Roberts's Horse turned and galloped for dear life across the
flat, four out of the six guns [Footnote: Of the other two one
overturned and could not be righted, the other had the wheelers
shot and could not be extricated from the tumult. It was officially
stated that the guns of Q battery were halted a thousand yards off
the donga, but my impression was, from examining the ground, that
it was not more than six hundred.] of Q battery and one gun (the
rearmost) of U battery swung round and dashed frantically for a
place of safety. At the same instant every Boer along the line of
the donga sprang up and emptied his magazine into the mass of
rushing, shouting soldiers, plunging horses, and screaming Kaffirs.
It was for a few moments a sauve-qui-peut. Serjeant-Major Martin of
U, with a single driver on a wheeler, got away the last gun of his
battery. The four guns which were extricated of Q, under Major
Phipps-Hornby, whirled across the plain, pulled up, unlimbered, and
opened a brisk fire of shrapnel from about a thousand yards upon
the donga. Had the battery gone on for double the distance, its
action would have been more effective, for it would have been under
a less deadly rifle fire, but in any case its sudden change from
flight to discipline and order steadied the whole force. Roberts's
men sprang from their horses, and with the Burmese and New
Zealanders flung themselves down in a skirmish line. The cavalry
moved to the left to find some drift by which the donga could be
passed, and out of chaos there came in a few minutes calm and a
settled purpose.
It was for Q battery to cover the retreat of the force, and most
nobly it did it. A fortnight later a pile of horses, visible many
hundreds of yards off across the plain, showed where the guns had
stood. It was the Colenso of the horse gunners. In a devilish sleet
of lead they stood to their work, loading and firing while a man
was left. Some of the guns were left with two men to work them, one
was loaded and fired by a single officer. When at last the order
for retirement came, only ten men, several of them wounded, were
left upon their feet. With scratch teams from the limbers, driven
by single gunners, the twelve-pounders staggered out of action, and
the skirmish line of mounted infantry sprang to their feet amid the
hail of bullets to cheer them as they passed.
It was no slight task to extricate that sorely stricken force from
the close contact of an exultant enemy, and to lead it across that
terrible donga. Yet, thanks to the coolness of Broadwood and the
steadiness of his rearguard, the thing was done. A practicable
passage had been found two miles to the south by Captain
Chester-Master of Rimington's. This corps, with Roberts's, the New
Zealanders, and the 3rd Mounted Infantry, covered the withdrawal in
turn. It was one of those actions in which the horseman who is
trained to fight upon foot did very much better than the regular
cavalry. In two hours' time the drift had been passed and the
survivors of the force found themselves in safety.
The losses in this disastrous but not dishonourable engagement were
severe. About thirty officers and five hundred men were killed,
wounded, or missing. The prisoners came to more than three hundred.
They lost a hundred wagons, a considerable quantity of stores, and
seven twelve-pounder guns - five from U battery and two from Q. Of U
battery only Major Taylor and Sergeant-Major Martin seem to have
escaped, the rest being captured en bloc. Of Q battery nearly every
man was killed or wounded.
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