The Record Of The Army's Advance Is Now Rather Geographical Than
Military, For It Rolled Northwards With Never A Check Save That
Which Was Caused By The Construction Of The Railway Diversions
Which Atoned For The Destruction Of The Larger Bridges.
The
infantry now, as always in the campaign, marched excellently; for
though twenty miles in the day may seem
A moderate allowance to a
healthy man upon an English road, it is a considerable performance
under an African sun with a weight of between thirty and forty
pounds to be carried. The good humour of the men was admirable, and
they eagerly longed to close with the elusive enemy who flitted
ever in front of them. Huge clouds of smoke veiled the northern
sky, for the Boers had set fire to the dry grass, partly to cover
their own retreat, and partly to show up our khaki upon the
blackened surface. Far on the flanks the twinkling heliographs
revealed the position of the wide-spread wings.
On May 10th Lord Roberts's force, which had halted for three days
at Smaldeel, moved onwards to Welgelegen. French's cavalry had come
up by road, and quickly strengthened the centre and left wing of
the army. On the morning of the 10th the invaders found themselves
confronted by a formidable position which the Boers had taken up on
the northern bank of the Sand River. Their army extended over
twenty miles of country, the two Bothas were in command, and
everything pointed to a pitched battle. Had the position been
rushed from the front, there was every material for a second
Colenso, but the British had learned that it was by brains rather
than by blood that such battles may be won. French's cavalry turned
the Boers on one side, and Bruce Hamilton's infantry on the other.
Theoretically we never passed the Boer flanks, but practically
their line was so over-extended that we were able to pierce it at
any point. There was never any severe fighting, but rather a steady
advance upon the British side and a steady retirement upon that of
the Boers. On the left the Sussex regiment distinguished itself by
the dash with which it stormed an important kopje. The losses were
slight, save among a detached body of cavalry which found itself
suddenly cut off by a strong force of the enemy and lost Captain
Elworthy killed, and Haig of the Inniskillings, Wilkinson of the
Australian Horse, and twenty men prisoners. We also secured forty
or fifty prisoners, and the enemy's casualties amounted to about as
many more. The whole straggling action fought over a front as broad
as from London to Woking cost the British at the most a couple of
hundred casualties, and carried their army over the most formidable
defensive position which they were to encounter. The war in its
later phases certainly has the pleasing characteristic of being the
most bloodless, considering the number of men engaged and the
amount of powder burned, that has been known in history. It was at
the expense of their boots and not of their lives that the infantry
won their way.
On May 11th Lord Roberts's army advanced twenty miles to Geneva
Siding, and every preparation was made for a battle next day, as it
was thought certain that the Boers would defend their new capital,
Kroonstad. It proved, however, that even here they would not make a
stand, and on May 12th, at one o'clock, Lord Roberts rode into the
town. Steyn, Botha, and De Wet escaped, and it was announced that
the village of Lindley had become the new seat of government. The
British had now accomplished half their journey to Pretoria, and it
was obvious that on the south side of the Vaal no serious
resistance awaited them. Burghers were freely surrendering
themselves with their arms, and returning to their farms. In the
south-east Rundle and Brabant were slowly advancing, while the
Boers who faced them fell back towards Lindley. On the west, Hunter
had crossed the Vaal at Windsorton, and Barton's Fusilier Brigade
had fought a sharp action at Rooidam, while Mahon's Mafeking relief
column had slipped past their flank, escaping the observation of
the British public, but certainly not that of the Boers. The
casualties in the Rooidam action were nine killed and thirty
wounded, but the advance of the Fusiliers was irresistible, and for
once the Boer loss, as they were hustled from kopje to kopje,
appears to have been greater than that of the British. The Yeomanry
had an opportunity of showing once more that there are few more
high-mettled troops in South Africa than these good sportsmen of
the shires, who only showed a trace of their origin in their
irresistible inclination to burst into a 'tally-ho!' when ordered
to attack. The Boer forces fell back after the action along the
line of the Vaal, making for Christiana and Bloemhof. Hunter
entered into the Transvaal in pursuit of them, being the first to
cross the border, with the exception of raiding Rhodesians early in
the war. Methuen, in the meanwhile, was following a course parallel
to Hunter but south of him, Hoopstad being his immediate objective.
The little union jacks which were stuck in the war maps in so many
British households were now moving swiftly upwards.
Buller's force was also sweeping northwards, and the time had come
when the Ladysmith garrison, restored at last to health and
strength, should have a chance of striking back at those who had
tormented them so long. Many of the best troops had been drafted
away to other portions of the seat of war. Hart's Brigade and
Barton's Fusilier Brigade had gone with Hunter to form the 10th
Division upon the Kimberley side, and the Imperial Light Horse had
been brought over for the relief of Mafeking. There remained,
however, a formidable force, the regiments in which had been
strengthened by the addition of drafts and volunteers from home.
Not less than twenty thousand sabres and bayonets were ready and
eager for the passage of the Biggarsberg mountains.
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