On The 24th Again It Was To The Horsemen
That The Honour And The Casualties Fell.
The 9th Lancers, the
regular cavalry regiment which bears away the honours of the war,
lost several men and
Officers, and the 8th Hussars also suffered,
but the Boers were driven from their position, and lost more
heavily in this skirmish than in some of the larger battles of the
campaign. The 'pom-poms,' which had been supplied to us by the
belated energy of the Ordnance Department, were used with some
effect in this engagement, and the Boers learned for the first time
how unnerving are those noisy but not particularly deadly fireworks
which they had so often crackled round the ears of our gunners.
On the Wednesday morning Rundle, with the addition of Pole-Carew's
division, was strong enough for any attack, while French was in a
position upon the flank. Every requisite for a great victory was
there except the presence of an enemy. The Wepener siege had been
raised and the force in front of Rundle had disappeared as only
Boer armies can disappear. The combined movement was an admirable
piece of work on the part of the enemy. Finding no force in front
of them, the combined troops of French, Rundle, and Chermside
occupied Dewetsdorp, where the latter remained, while the others
pushed on to Thabanchu, the storm centre from which all our
troubles had begun nearly a month before. All the way they knew
that De Wet's retreating army was just in front of them, and they
knew also that a force had been sent out from Bloemfontein to
Thabanchu to head off the Boers.
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