Of The Gun Crews
Of The Section, Amounting To About Twenty-Six Men, The Young
Officer, Hill, And Sixteen Men Were Hit.
Of the escort of
Northumberland Fusiliers hardly a man was left standing, and
forty-one of the supporting Yeomanry were killed and wounded.
It
was for some little time a fierce and concentrated struggle at the
shortest of ranges. The British horsemen came galloping to the
rescue, however, and the attack was finally driven back into that
broken country from which it had come. Forty dead Boers upon the
ground, with their brave chieftain, Ouisterhuisen, amongst them,
showed how manfully the attack had been driven home. The British
losses were twenty-eight killed and fifty-six wounded. Somewhat
mauled, and with eight missing wagons, the small column made its
way back to Zeerust.
From this incident until the end of the year nothing of importance
occurred in this part of the seat of war, save for a sharp and
well-managed action at Beestekraal upon October 29th, in which
seventy-nine Boers were surrounded and captured by Kekewich's
horsemen. The process of attrition went very steadily forwards, and
each of the British columns returned its constant tale of
prisoners. The blockhouse system had now been extended to such an
extent that the Magaliesberg was securely held, and a line had been
pushed through from Klerksdorp and Fredericstad to Ventersdorp. One
of Colonel Hickie's Yeomanry patrols was roughly handled near
Brakspruit upon November 13th, but with this exception the points
scored were all upon one side. Methuen and Kekewich came across
early in November from Zeerust to Klerksdorp, and operated from the
railway line. The end of the year saw them both in the Wolmaranstad
district, where they were gathering up prisoners and clearing the
country.
Of the events in the other parts of the Transvaal, during the last
three months of the year 1901, there is not much to be said. In all
parts the lines of blockhouses and of constabulary posts were
neutralising the Boer mobility, and bringing them more and more
within reach of the British. The only fighting forces left in the
Transvaal were those under Botha in the south-east and those under
De la Rey in the west. The others attempted nothing save to escape
from their pursuers, and when overtaken they usually gave in
without serious opposition. Among the larger hauls may be mentioned
that of Dawkins in the Nylstrom district (seventy-six prisoners),
Kekewich (seventy-eight), Colenbrander in the north (fifty-seven),
Dawkins and Colenbrander (104), Colenbrander (sixty-two); but the
great majority of the captures were in smaller bodies, gleaned from
the caves, the kloofs, and the farmhouses.
Only two small actions during these months appear to call for any
separate notice. The first was an attack made by Buys' commando,
upon November 20th, on the Railway Pioneers when at work near
Villiersdorp, in the extreme north-east of the Orange River Colony.
This corps, consisting mainly of miners from Johannesburg, had done
invaluable service during the war.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 401 of 435
Words from 207326 to 207833
of 225456
