Rain Was Falling In Sheets,
And Those Who Know South African Roads, South African Mud, And
South African Drifts Will Understand How Impossible Swift Military
Movements Are Under Those Circumstances.
But with the first
clearing of the clouds the hills to the south and east of
Bloemfontein were dotted with our scouts.
Rundle with his 8th
division was brought swiftly up from the south, united with
Chermside to the east of Reddersberg, and the whole force,
numbering 13,000 rifles with thirty guns, advanced upon Dewetsdorp,
Rundle, as senior officer, being in command. As they marched the
blue hills of Wepener lined the sky some twenty miles to the south,
eloquent to every man of the aim and object of their march.
On April 20th, Rundle as he advanced found a force with artillery
across his path to Dewetsdorp. It is always difficult to calculate
the number of hidden men and lurking guns which go to make up a
Boer army, but with some knowledge of their total at Wepener it was
certain that the force opposed to him must be very inferior to his
own. At Constantia Farm, where he found them in position, it is
difficult to imagine that there were more than three thousand men.
Their left flank was their weak point, as a movement on that side
would cut them off from Wepener and drive them up towards our main
force in the north. One would have thought that a containing force
of three thousand men, and a flanking movement from eight thousand,
would have turned them out, as it has turned them out so often
before and since. Yet a long-range action began on Friday, April
20th, and lasted the whole of the 21st, the 22nd, and the 23rd, in
which we sustained few losses, but made no impression upon the
enemy. Thirty of the 1st Worcesters wandered at night into the
wrong line, and were made prisoners, but with this exception the
four days of noisy fighting does not appear to have cost either
side fifty casualties. It is probable that the deliberation with
which the operations were conducted was due to Rundle's
instructions to wait until the other forces were in position. His
subsequent movements showed that he was not a General who feared to
strike.
On Sunday night (April 22nd) Pole-Carew sallied out from
Bloemfontein on a line which would take him round the right flank
of the Boers who were facing Rundle. The Boers had, however,
occupied a strong position at Leeuw Kop, which barred his path, so
that the Dewetsdorp Boers were covering the Wepener Boers, and
being in turn covered by the Boers of Leeuw Kop. Before anything
could be done, they must be swept out of the way. Pole-Carew is one
of those finds which help to compensate us for the war. Handsome,
dashing, debonnaire, he approaches a field of battle as a
light-hearted schoolboy approaches a football field. On this
occasion he acted with energy and discretion.
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