By The Morning
Of The 27th All Were In Place For The New Attack.
Opposite the point where the troops had been massed were three Boer
hills; one, the nearest, may for convenience sake be called
Barton's Hill.
As the army had formerly been situated the assault
upon this hill would have been a matter of extreme difficulty; but
now, with the heavy guns restored to their commanding position,
from which they could sweep its sides and summits, it had recovered
its initial advantage. In the morning sunlight Barton's Fusiliers
crossed the river, and advanced to the attack under a screaming
canopy of shells. Up they went and up, darting and crouching, until
their gleaming bayonets sparkled upon the summit. The masterful
artillery had done its work, and the first long step taken in this
last stage of the relief of Ladysmith. The loss had been slight and
the advantage enormous. After they had gained the summit the
Fusiliers were stung and stung again by clouds of skirmishers who
clung to the flanks of the hill, but their grip was firm and grew
firmer with every hour.
Of the three Boer hills which had to be taken the nearest (or
eastern one) was now in the hands of the British. The furthest (or
western one) was that on which the Irish Brigade was still
crouching, ready at any moment for a final spring which would take
them over the few hundred yards which separated them from the
trenches. Between the two intervened a central hill, as yet
untouched.
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