Two
killed and seven wounded were our trivial losses in a situation
which might have been a serious one. The Boers appear to have been
the escort of a strong convoy which had passed along the road some
miles in front. Next morning both convoy and opposition had
disappeared. The cavalry rode on amid a country of orange groves,
the troopers standing up in their stirrups to pluck the golden
fruit. There was no further fighting, and on June 4th French had
established himself upon the north of the town, where he learned
that all resistance had ceased.
Whilst the cavalry had performed this enveloping movement the main
army had moved swiftly upon its objective, leaving one brigade
behind to secure Johannesburg. Ian Hamilton advanced upon the left,
while Lord Roberts's column kept the line of the railway, Colonel
Henry's mounted infantry scouting in front. As the army topped the
low curves of the veld they saw in front of them two well-marked
hills, each crowned by a low squat building. They were the famous
southern forts of Pretoria. Between the hills was a narrow neck,
and beyond the Boer capital.
For a time it appeared that the entry was to be an absolutely
bloodless one, but the booming of cannon and the crash of Mauser
fire soon showed that the enemy was in force upon the ridge. Botha
had left a strong rearguard to hold off the British while his own
stores and valuables were being withdrawn from the town. The
silence of the forts showed that the guns had been removed and that
no prolonged resistance was intended; but in the meanwhile fringes
of determined riflemen, supported by cannon, held the approaches,
and must be driven off before an entry could be effected. Each
fresh corps as it came up reinforced the firing line. Henry's
mounted infantrymen supported by the horse-guns of J battery and
the guns of Tucker's division began the action. So hot was the
answer, both from cannon and from rifle, that it seemed for a time
as if a real battle were at last about to take place. The Guards'
Brigade, Stephenson's Brigade, and Maxwell's Brigade streamed up
and waited until Hamilton, who was on the enemy's right flank,
should be able to make his presence felt. The heavy guns had also
arrived, and a huge cloud of debris rising from the Pretorian forts
told the accuracy of their fire.
But either the burghers were half-hearted or there was no real
intention to make a stand. About half-past two their fire slackened
and Pole-Carew was directed to push on. That debonnaire soldier
with his two veteran brigades obeyed the order with alacrity, and
the infantry swept over the ridge, with some thirty or forty
casualties, the majority of which fell to the Warwicks.
