Upon The 4th
A Determined Effort Was Made By About A Thousand Of Them Under
General Schoeman To Turn The
Left flank of the British, and at dawn
it was actually found that they had eluded the vigilance of the
Outposts and had established themselves upon a hill to the rear of
the position. They were shelled off of it, however, by the guns of
O Battery, and in their retreat across the plain they were pursued
by the 10th Hussars and by one squadron of the Inniskillings, who
cut off some of the fugitives. At the same time, De Lisle with his
mounted infantry carried the position which they had originally
held. In this successful and well-managed action the Boer loss was
ninety, and we took in addition twenty-one prisoners. Our own
casualties amounted only to six killed, including Major Harvey of
the 10th, and to fifteen wounded.
Encouraged by this success an attempt was made by the Suffolk
Regiment to carry a hill which formed the key of the enemy's
position. The town of Colesberg lies in a basin surrounded by a
ring of kopjes, and the possession by us of any one of them would
have made the place untenable. The plan has been ascribed to
Colonel Watson of the Suffolks, but it is time that some protest
should be raised against this devolution of responsibility upon
subordinates in the event of failure. When success has crowned our
arms we have been delighted to honour our general; but when our
efforts end in failure our attention is called to Colonel Watson,
Colonel Long, or Colonel Thorneycroft.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 271 of 842
Words from 72634 to 72904
of 225456
