Of the four British armies in the field I have attempted to tell
the story of the western one which advanced to help Kimberley, of
the eastern one which was repulsed at Colenso, and of the central
one which was checked at Stormberg. There remains one other central
one, some account of which must now be given.
It was, as has already been pointed out, a long three weeks after
the declaration of war before the forces of the Orange Free State
began to invade Cape Colony. But for this most providential delay
it is probable that the ultimate fighting would have been, not
among the mountains and kopjes of Stormberg and Colesberg, but amid
those formidable passes which lie in the Hex Valley, immediately to
the north of Cape Town, and that the armies of the invader would
have been doubled by their kinsmen of the Colony. The ultimate
result of the war must have been the same, but the sight of all
South Africa in flames might have brought about those Continental
complications which have always been so grave a menace.
The invasion of the Colony was at two points along the line of the
two railways which connect the countries, the one passing over the
Orange River at Norval's Pont and the other at Bethulie, about
forty miles to the eastward. There were no British troops available
(a fact to be considered by those, if any remain, who imagine that
the British entertained any design against the Republics), and the
Boers jogged slowly southward amid a Dutch population who hesitated
between their unity of race and speech and their knowledge of just
and generous treatment by the Empire. A large number were won over
by the invaders, and, like all apostates, distinguished themselves
by their virulence and harshness towards their loyal neighbours.
Here and there in towns which were off the railway line, in Barkly
East or Ladygrey, the farmers met together with rifle and
bandolier, tied orange puggarees round their hats, and rode off to
join the enemy. Possibly these ignorant and isolated men hardly
recognised what it was that they were doing. They have found out
since. In some of the border districts the rebels numbered ninety
per cent of the Dutch population.
In the meanwhile, the British leaders had been strenuously
endeavouring to scrape together a few troops with which to make
some stand against the enemy. For this purpose two small forces
were necessary - the one to oppose the advance through Bethulie and
Stormberg, the other to meet the invaders, who, having passed the
river at Norval's Pont, had now occupied Colesberg. The former task
was, as already shown, committed to General Gatacre. The latter was
allotted to General French, the victor of Elandslaagte, who had
escaped in the very last train from Ladysmith, and had taken over
this new and important duty. French's force assembled at Arundel
and Gatacre's at Sterkstroom. It is with the operations of the
former that we have now to deal.
General French, for whom South Africa has for once proved not the
grave but the cradle of a reputation, had before the war gained
some name as a smart and energetic cavalry officer. There were some
who, watching his handling of a considerable body of horse at the
great Salisbury manoeuvres in 1898, conceived the highest opinion
of his capacity, and it was due to the strong support of General
Buller, who had commanded in these peaceful operations, that French
received his appointment for South Africa. In person he is short
and thick, with a pugnacious jaw. In character he is a man of cold
persistence and of fiery energy, cautious and yet audacious,
weighing his actions well, but carrying them out with the dash
which befits a mounted leader. He is remarkable for the quickness
of his decision - 'can think at a gallop,' as an admirer expressed
it. Such was the man, alert, resourceful, and determined, to whom
was entrusted the holding back of the Colesberg Boers.
Although the main advance of the invaders was along the lines of
the two railways, they ventured, as they realised how weak the
forces were which opposed them, to break off both to the east and
west, occupying Dordrecht on one side and Steynsberg on the other.
Nothing of importance accrued from the possession of these points,
and our attention may be concentrated upon the main line of action.
French's original force was a mere handful of men, scraped together
from anywhere. Naauwpoort was his base, and thence he made a
reconnaissance by rail on November 23rd towards Arundel, the next
hamlet along the line, taking with him a company of the Black
Watch, forty mounted infantry, and a troop of the New South Wales
Lancers. Nothing resulted from the expedition save that the two
forces came into touch with each other, a touch which was sustained
for months under many vicissitudes, until the invaders were driven
back once more over Norval's Pont. Finding that Arundel was weakly
held, French advanced up to it, and established his camp there
towards the end of December, within six miles of the Boer lines at
Rensburg, to the south of Colesberg. His mission - with his present
forces - was to prevent the further advance of the enemy into the
Colony, but he was not strong enough yet to make a serious attempt
to drive them out.
Before the move to Arundel on December 13th his detachment had
increased in size, and consisted largely of mounted men, so that it
attained a mobility very unusual for a British force. On December
13th there was an attempt upon the part of the Boers to advance
south, which was easily held by the British Cavalry and Horse
Artillery. The country over which French was operating is dotted
with those singular kopjes which the Boer loves - kopjes which are
often so grotesque in shape that one feels as if they must be due
to some error of refraction when one looks at them.
