It Is True
That His Force Was Not Large, But It Was Exceptionally Mobile.
Whatever The Reasons, No Effective Advance Was Made By Broadwood.
On Hearing The Result He Fell Back Upon Rustenburg, The Nearest
British Post, His Small Force Being Dangerously Isolated.
Those who expected that General Clements would get his own back had
not long to wait.
In a few days he was in the field again. The
remains of his former force had, however, been sent into Pretoria
to refit, and nothing remained of it save the 8th R.F.A. and the
indomitable cow-gun still pocked with the bullets of Nooitgedacht.
He had also F battery R.H.A., the Inniskillings, the Border
regiment, and a force of mounted infantry under Alderson. More
important than all, however, was the co-operation of General
French, who came out from Pretoria to assist in the operations. On
the 19th, only six days after his defeat, Clements found himself on
the very same spot fighting some at least of the very same men.
This time, however, there was no element of surprise, and the
British were able to approach the task with deliberation and
method. The result was that both upon the 19th and 20th the Boers
were shelled out of successive positions with considerable loss,
and driven altogether away from that part of the Magaliesberg.
Shortly afterwards General Clements was recalled to Pretoria, to
take over the command of the 7th Division, General Tucker having
been appointed to the military command of Bloemfontein in the place
of the gallant Hunter, who, to the regret of the whole army, was
invalided home. General Cunningham henceforward commanded the
column which Clements had led back to the Magaliesberg.
Upon November 13th the first of a series of attacks was made upon
the posts along the Delagoa Railway line. These were the work of
Viljoen's commando, who, moving swiftly from the north, threw
themselves upon the small garrisons of Balmoral and of Wilge River,
stations which are about six miles apart. At the former was a
detachment of the Buffs, and at the latter of the Royal Fusiliers.
The attack was well delivered, but in each instance was beaten back
with heavy loss to the assailants. A picket of the Buffs was
captured at the first rush, and the detachment lost six killed and
nine wounded. No impression was made upon the position, however,
and the double attack seems to have cost the Boers a large number
of casualties.
Another incident calling for some mention was the determined attack
made by the Boers upon the town of Vryheid, in the extreme
south-east of the Transvaal near the Natal border. Throughout
November this district had been much disturbed, and the small
British garrison had evacuated the town and taken up a position on
the adjacent hills. Upon December 11th the Boers attempted to carry
the trenches. The garrison of the town appears to have consisted of
the 2nd Royal Lancaster regiment, some five hundred strong, a party
of the Lancashire Fusiliers, 150 strong, and fifty men of the Royal
Garrison Artillery, with a small body of mounted infantry.
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