Men were wounded, and, to save themselves, a line of them stood
up at full length on the trench and cheered and waved at the
artillery until it had ceased to play upon them. The Boers continued
to fire upon them with rifles for over two hours. But it was only a
demonstration to cover the retreat of the greater number, and at
daybreak the hills were in complete and peaceful possession of the
English.
These hills were a part of the same Railway Hill which four nights
before the Inniskillings and a composite regiment had attempted to
take by a frontal attack with the loss of six hundred men, among whom
were three colonels. By this flank attack, and by using nine
regiments instead of one, the same hills and two others were taken
with two hundred casualties. The fact that this battle, which was
called the Battle of Pieter's Hill, and the surrender of General
Cronje and his forces to Lord Roberts, both took place on the
anniversary of the battle of Majuba Hill, made the whole of Buller's
column feel that the ill memory of that disaster had been effaced.
II - THE RELIEF OF LADYSMITH
After the defeat of the Boers at the battle of Pieter's Hill there
were two things left for them to do.
