IT will be remembered that at the close of 1901 Lord Methuen and
Colonel Kekewich had both come across to the eastern side of their
district and made their base at the railway line in the Klerksdorp
section. Their position was strengthened by the fact that a
blockhouse cordon now ran from Klerksdorp to Ventersdorp, and from
Ventersdorp to Potchefstroom, so that this triangle could be
effectively controlled. There remained, however, a huge tract of
difficult country which was practically in the occupation of the
enemy. Several thousand stalwarts were known to be riding with De
la Rey and his energetic lieutenant Kemp. The strenuous operations
of the British in the Eastern Transvaal and in the Orange River
Colony had caused this district to be comparatively neglected, and
so everything was in favour of an aggressive movement of the Boers.
There was a long lull after the unsuccessful attack upon Kekewich's
camp at Moedwill, but close observers of the war distrusted this
ominous calm and expected a storm to follow.
The new year found the British connecting Ventersdorp with Tafelkop
by a blockhouse line. The latter place had been a centre of Boer
activity. Colonel Hickie's column covered this operation. Meanwhile
Methuen had struck across through Wolmaranstad as far as Vryburg.
In these operations, which resulted in constant small captures, he
was assisted by a column under Major Paris working from Kimberley.
From Vryburg Lord Methuen made his way in the middle of January to
Lichtenburg, meeting with a small rebuff in the neighbourhood of
that town, for a detachment of Yeomanry was overwhelmed by General
Celliers, who killed eight, wounded fifteen, and captured forty.
From Lichtenburg Lord Methuen continued his enormous trek, and
arrived on February 1st at Klerksdorp once more. Little rest was
given to his hard-worked troops, and they were sent off again
within the week under the command of Von Donop, with the result
that on February 8th, near Wolmaranstad, they captured Potgieter's
laager with forty Boer prisoners. Von Donop remained at
Wolmaranstad until late in February; On the 23rd he despatched an
empty convoy back to Klerksdorp, the fate of which will be
afterwards narrated.
Kekewich and Hickie had combined their forces at the beginning of
February. On February 4th an attempt was made by them to surprise
General De la Rey. The mounted troops who were despatched under
Major Leader failed in this enterprise, but they found and
overwhelmed the laager of Sarel Alberts, capturing 132 prisoners.
By stampeding the horses the Boer retreat was cut off, and the
attack was so furiously driven home, especially by the admirable
Scottish Horse, that few of the enemy got away. Alberts himself
with all his officers were among the prisoners. From this time
until the end of February this column was not seriously engaged.
It has been stated above that on February 23rd Von Donop sent in an
empty convoy from Wolmaranstad to Klerksdorp, a distance of about
fifty miles. Nothing had been heard for some time of De la Rey, but
he had called together his men and was waiting to bring off some
coup. The convoy gave him the very opportunity for which he sought.
The escort of the convoy consisted of the 5th Imperial Yeomanry,
sixty of Paget's Horse, three companies of the ubiquitous
Northumberland Fusiliers, two guns of the 4th R.F.A., and a
pom-pom, amounting in all to 630 men. Colonel Anderson was in
command. On the morning of Tuesday, February 25th, the convoy was
within ten miles of its destination, and the sentries on the kopjes
round the town could see the gleam of the long line of white-tilted
wagons. Their hazardous voyage was nearly over, and yet they were
destined to most complete and fatal wreck within sight of port. So
confident were they that the detachment of Paget's Horse was
permitted to ride on the night before into the town. It was as
well, for such a handful would have shared and could not have
averted the disaster.
The night had been dark and wet, and the Boers under cover of it
had crept between the sleeping convoy and the town. Some bushes
which afford excellent cover lie within a few hundred yards of the
road, and here the main ambush was laid. In the first grey of the
morning the long line of the convoy, 130 wagons in all, came
trailing past - guns and Yeomanry in front, Fusiliers upon the
flanks and rear. Suddenly the black bank of scrub was outlined in
flame, and a furious rifle fire was opened upon the head of the
column. The troops behaved admirably under most difficult
circumstances. A counter-attack by the Fusiliers and some of the
Yeomanry, under cover of shrapnel from the guns, drove the enemy
out of the scrub and silenced his fire at this point. It was
evident, however, that he was present in force, for firing soon
broke out along the whole left flank, and the rearguard found
itself as warmly attacked as the van. Again, however, the
assailants were driven off. It was now broad daylight, and the
wagons, which had got into great confusion in the first turmoil of
battle, had been remarshalled and arranged. It was Colonel
Anderson's hope that he might be able to send them on into safety
while he with the escort covered their retreat. His plan was
certainly the best one, and if it did not succeed it was due to
nothing which he could avert, but to the nature of the ground and
the gallantry of the enemy.
The physical obstacle consisted in a very deep and difficult
spruit, the Jagd Spruit, which forms an ugly passage in times of
peace, but which when crowded and choked with stampeding mules and
splintering wagons, under their terrified conductors, soon became
impassable. Here the head of the column was clubbed and the whole
line came to a stand.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 215 of 222
Words from 217648 to 218648
of 225456
