The North Was Exposed, And With
One Long, Straight Lunge To The Heart, Pietersburg Might Be
Transfixed.
There could only be one direction for the advance, and that must be
along the Pretoria to Pietersburg railroad.
This is the only line
of rails which leads to the north, and as it was known to be in
working order (the Boers were running a bi-weekly service from
Pietersburg to Warm Baths), it was hoped that a swift advance might
seize it before any extensive damage could be done. With this
object a small but very mobile force rapidly assembled at the end
of March at Pienaar River, which was the British rail-head forty
miles north of Pretoria and a hundred and thirty from Pietersburg.
This column consisted of the Bushveld Carbineers, the 4th Imperial
Bushmen's Corps, and the 6th New Zealand contingent. With them were
the 18th battery R.F.A., and three pom-poms. A detachment of the
invaluable mounted Sappers rode with the force, and two infantry
regiments, the 2nd Gordons and the Northamptons, were detached to
garrison the more vulnerable places upon the line of advance.
Upon March 29th the untiring Plumer, called off from the chase of
De Wet, was loosed upon this fresh line, and broke swiftly away to
the north. The complete success of his undertaking has obscured our
estimate of its danger, but it was no light task to advance so
great a distance into a bitterly hostile country with a fighting
force of 2000 rifles.
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