They Could Make No Impression, However,
Upon The Steady Irish Infantry, And After Some Hours The Arrival Of
General Hart With Reinforcements Scattered The Assailants, Who
Succeeded In Getting Their Guns Away In Safety.
At the beginning of August it must be confessed that the general
situation in the Transvaal was not reassuring.
Springs near
Johannesburg had in some inexplicable way, without fighting, fallen
into the hands of the enemy. Klerksdorp, an important place in the
south-west, had also been reoccupied, and a handful of men who
garrisoned it had been made prisoners without resistance.
Rustenburg was about to be abandoned, and the British were known to
be falling back from Zeerust and Otto's Hoop, concentrating upon
Mafeking. The sequel proved however, that there was no cause for
uneasiness in all this. Lord Roberts was concentrating his strength
upon those objects which were vital, and letting the others drift
for a time. At present the two obviously important things were to
hunt down De Wet and to scatter the main Boer army under Botha. The
latter enterprise must wait upon the former, so for a fortnight all
operations were in abeyance while the flying columns of the British
endeavoured to run down their extremely active and energetic
antagonist.
At the end of July De Wet had taken refuge in some exceedingly
difficult country near Reitzburg, seven miles south of the Vaal
River. The operations were proceeding vigorously at that time
against the main army at Fouriesberg, and sufficient troops could
not be spared to attack him, but he was closely observed by
Kitchener and Broadwood with a force of cavalry and mounted
infantry.
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