It Was One Of Those Actions In Which The Horseman Who Is
Trained To Fight Upon Foot Did Very Much Better Than The Regular
Cavalry.
In two hours' time the drift had been passed and the
survivors of the force found themselves in safety.
The losses in this disastrous but not dishonourable engagement were
severe. About thirty officers and five hundred men were killed,
wounded, or missing. The prisoners came to more than three hundred.
They lost a hundred wagons, a considerable quantity of stores, and
seven twelve-pounder guns - five from U battery and two from Q. Of U
battery only Major Taylor and Sergeant-Major Martin seem to have
escaped, the rest being captured en bloc. Of Q battery nearly every
man was killed or wounded. Roberts's Horse, the New Zealanders, and
the mounted infantry were the other corps which suffered most
heavily. Among many brave men who died, none was a greater loss to
the service than Major Booth of the Northumberland Fusiliers,
serving in the mounted infantry. With four comrades he held a
position to cover the retreat, and refused to leave it. Such men
are inspired by the traditions of the past, and pass on the story
of their own deaths to inspire fresh heroes in the future.
Broadwood, the instant that he had disentangled himself, faced
about, and brought his guns into action. He was not strong enough,
however, nor were his men in a condition, to seriously attack the
enemy. Martyr's mounted infantry had come up, led by the
Queenslanders, and at the cost of some loss to themselves helped to
extricate the disordered force.
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