Story of the War in South Africa, 1899-1900

The good effect of Roberts's advance upon the general fortune of the war, and the correct military principle of the original plan, by him resumed, were clearly and quickly evident. Men from the Boer forces before Ladysmith were assembling already around Paardeberg before Cronje surrendered, seeking to relieve him, and Roberts on his march to Bloemfontein fought not only them but others from Colesberg and Stormberg, and generally from the regions over which French and Gatacre had vainly striven to advance. How far this helped Buller in his actual fighting before Ladysmith cannot certainly be said. The comparative ease with which Hlangwane Hill was carried was probably due chiefly to the correct direction given to the attack, while the heavy loss of the following days, February 22-24, may also be assigned to a frontal assault undertaken under a mistaken impression as to the enemy's force. The Boers did not then fight like men who were merely a rear guard covering a retreat. Nevertheless, there are indications that their numbers had been materially weakened, and the consciousness that Roberts's success would necessitate the abandonment of the siege may have affected the fighting, especially after Cronje's surrender became known.

The effect at Colesberg and in the Stormberg region is less doubtful. The imminence of Roberts's advance, when his purpose became apparent, drew away so many of the enemy to oppose him that the task of Clements and Gatacre became relatively easy and rapid. On March 15, two days after the occupation of Bloemfontein, Clements, whose temporary retirement has been noted, reached and held Norval's Pont, where the line from Naauwport to Bloemfontein crossed the Orange; while Gatacre, so long at a standstill, the same day occupied Bethulie, where the road from East London bridges the river. These two points are only about thirty miles apart, the converging roads meeting thirty miles beyond, at Springfontein. This junction was occupied next day, March 16, by a brigade sent back by Roberts. By the holding of these points, railroad communication was restored, in a military sense, from Bloemfontein to Cape Town and to East London. To assure it in practice as well, there was needed only certain repairs, and adequate guards disposed round these central positions.

Coincidently with the forward movement of Clements and Gatacre, a similar advance upon the latter's right flank, and, in a sense, covering it, was made by a colonial division of 2,000 men under a colonial officer, General Brabant. This took its direction to the eastward of the easternmost railway system, midway between it and the Basutoland boundary, traversing the mountainous region in which lay the districts of Cape Colony, Herschel, Aliwal North, etc., that early in the war had been annexed by proclamation of the President of the Free State. After crossing the Orange, this division continued to skirt the Basuto line by Rouxville and Wepener, thus entering the region south and east of Bloemfontein, which shortly became the scene of the enemy's movements threatening Roberts's communications with Cape Colony—movements characterised by a certain daring in conception and execution, but to which the customary caution of the Boers gave a direction too eccentric to constitute a home-thrust.

From February 11, when Roberts left the Modder, to March 13, when Bloemfontein was occupied, his operations and forward movement had been practically continuous. The subsequent halt, imperative as it was for the reasons stated, gave the Boers breathing time in which to recover themselves. Advance in force by the British main body was not resumed until May 2, but detachments were moved about in various directions on the near front, and on flank and rear, to occupy necessary outposts, to secure the communications, and to insure quiet among the inhabitants. During this prolonged period of recuperation and preparation the enemy resumed activity, scouring the country with their mounted men, seeking to cut off exposed parties, and by menacing the communications, to embarrass and retard the British commander in his new arrangements. In the first of these measures the Boers attained some successes; but in the second, either their numbers were too few for their object, or their habitual caution prevented resort to action in such force and at such risk as is absolutely necessary either seriously to "interrupt" communications—in the military sense of the phrase—or to produce any deterrent impression upon a commander of the experience and sound judgment of the one with whom they were dealing. Not only did they not materially threaten the communications, but it was perfectly evident that, whatever their reasons, they dared not attempt to do so.

As regards the cutting off of British detachments, of which the affairs of Reddersburg and of Koorn Spruit, near Thaba Nchu, were the most conspicuous illustrations, the only thing essential to be remarked is that such reverses on a small scale are always to be expected in war, in even the most successful campaigns. This does not mean that no blame attaches to them. Very probably in most such cases there has been carelessness or miscalculation, for which somebody merits either punishment or censure. But the Commander-in-Chief and the nation concerned have to reckon upon such mishaps; and, without affecting indifference, or neglecting to exact responsibility, they are to be regarded merely as the bruises and the barked limbs that men get in any rough sport. These they are, and usually they are nothing more. The player does not bleed to death in consequence; he simply goes on with the game. Military men, of course, understand this, but nations are too apt to be fretful as though some strange thing had happened to them.

It is not by such affairs that contests are decided—on the playground or in strategy. Lord Roberts proceeded with his preparations undisturbed by the mosquito buzzings about his ears or on his trail. At last, when ready, a second long leap was made. The British army, leaving Bloemfontein on the 2nd of May, was on the 12th at Kroonstad, over 100 miles distant. On the 24th the Vaal was crossed, and on the 31st Roberts entered Johannesburg. Five days later, on the 5th of June, the British flag was hoisted in Pretoria, the capital of the Transvaal, 250 miles from Bloemfontein. The sustained momentum of this advance, achieved in very little over a month, testifies at once to the solidity of the preparations of the British leader, and to the fruitlessness of such disseminated operations, by small bodies, as were conducted by the Boers during the British halt at Bloemfontein, and are now being carried on by Botha and De Wet. Subsidiary to the greater plan of a campaign by massed forces, they have their advantage; as a main dependence, they merely protract the agony of endurance and suffering.

Sir Redvers Buller had to await in Natal the movement of the central mass of the British force in the Orange Free State. Towards the middle of May his advance began, directed against the positions which the Boers had taken upon the Biggarsberg mountains, and on the 15th he reoccupied Dundee and Glencoe. Into the detail of these movements it is not proposed to enter. The retirement of the Boer forces before Roberts, in the Free State, uncovered the flank and endangered the communications of their brethren on the other side of the mountains. There was therefore for these nothing to do but to fall back, abandoning with a show of opposition positions whence otherwise they might have inflicted considerable loss upon the superior force assaulting them.

At the present moment, July 26, the British have communication from Johannesburg and Pretoria to the sea-coast by two routes—to Cape Town and to Durban. The actions of the Boers show that it is not in their power seriously to incommode either the one or the other. The trivial raids performed by their mounted men under De Wet and Botha may protract the sufferings of the war, and add to the close of the struggle a certain lustre of persistent resistance; but, barring events now unforeseen and scarcely to be anticipated, they cannot change the issue, which has become simply a question of endurance between combatants immeasurably unequal in resources.

INDEX

Admiralty, the British, utmost credit due to its efforts in transporting troops and material, 86.

American colonies, the, action of, in the old wars contrasted with colonial action of to-day, 77.

Army Reserve, 25,000 men called out, 32.

Army Service Corps, the, 103.

Australasia and the war, 75.

Australia supplies wheat to the Transvaal, 16.

Barbed-Wire obstacles at battle of Elandslaagte, 54;

defences at Magersfontein, 163.

Barter's, Colonel, brave deed at Modder River, 158.

Barton, Major-General, advances to Chieveley, 217.

Beira, port of, 11.

Belmont, battle of, 148-150.

Bethlehem, 15.

Biggarsberg Range, 39, 48.

Black week of the war for the British, 168.

Bloemfontein, 11;

occupied by the British, 305.

Boers, original plan of campaign of the, 9, 26;

helped by nature of the country, 21;

their decided superiority in numbers at the beginning of hostilities, 25, 36;

ultimatum, the, 31;

guns, position of, betrayed by their flashes, 52;

procrastination, 58, 123, 129;

forces, estimation of the, 116;

trenches and tactics, 133, 144, 163;

losses in battle, difficulty of arriving at the truth respecting, 202.

Bonaparte, 111.

Brabant, General, 311.

British Army, first order to mobilize issued, 32;

gallantry and skill of the, at the opening of the campaign, 27;

officers' "stupidity," Captain Mahan's striking question on it, 201.

British Columbia and the war, 77.

British Cabinet decides to send 2,000 men to Natal, 29.

British Navy and transport service, splendid tribute to, 86 et seq.

Buffalo River, 37, 40.

Buller, General Sir Redvers, arrives at Cape Town to take chief command, 68;

assumes the command in Natal, 195.

Buluwayo, 11.

Campaign, the, compared with that of 1881, 117;

its enormous difficulties unforeseen by the British Government and people, 73;

the question as to its future conduct at the time of General Buller's arrival, 132.

Canada and the war, 75.

Canadian Regiment, gallant conduct of the, at Paardeberg, 289.

Cape, the, 4;

seized by the British 1795, again in 1806, 5.

Cape Police, the, and the defence of Kimberley, 137.

Cape Route, the, may not be equal to carrying the traffic of the Suez Canal in war time, 100.

Cattle and sheep the chief wealth of the Boer farmers, 8.

Chamberlain, Mr. Joseph, 28;

and the Colonies, 83.

Clark, Rear-Admiral Bouverie, great credit due to, as Director of Transports, 86.

Clements, General, takes Colesberg, 176.

Clery, Lieut.-Gen. Sir Francis, 195.

Codrington, Colonel, at Modder River battle, 156.

Colenso, effect of reverses at, 81;

battle of, 220-232;

occupied by Buller's army, February 19, 296.

Colesberg taken by General Clements, 176.

Colonial Government of Natal calls for Imperial aid, 29.

Colonies, the, and the transports, 71;

splendid response of the, 74 et seq.

"Communications dominate war," 73.

Congestion at docks, wharves, and railroads in South Africa and its cause, 99.

Country, its nature favours defence, 20.

Cronje, General, and President Kruger, anecdote of, 122;

recalled from Kimberley to oppose Methuen's advance, 147;

leaves his entrenchments at Magersfontein, and commences his retreat towards Bloemfontein, 275;

surrounded and captured at Paardeberg, 275-291

De Aar Junction, strategic importance of, 11, 33, 104.

"Defence exhausts quicker than offence," 44.

Delagoa Bay, a thorn in the side of the British, 3.

Denniss, Lieut., gallant conduct and death of—"not in vain," 245.

Devonshire Regiment, the, "save Ladysmith," 247.

Diaz, Bartholomew, 3.

Driefontein, battle of, 304.

Dundee, 22;

battle of Talana Hill, near, 43.

Dundonald, Lord, enters Ladysmith, 303.

Durban, 9.

Dutch settle at the Cape in 1652, 4.

East London, 11.

Elandslaagte, occupied by the Boers, 39, 47;

battle of, described, 49-59.

Enslin, 161.

Federation, imperial, a most momentous fact in the world's history, 77.

Forte, men of the cruiser, under Captain Jones, bombard kopjes near Colenso, 217.

Free State, the, at the commencement of hostilities, 35.

French, General, his first move against the enemy at Elandslaagte, 49;

leaves Ladysmith by the last train out, 68;

at Naauwport and Colesberg, 169, 173;

tribute to his skill, 175, 176;

relieves Kimberley, 266-274; joins in the pursuit of Cronje to Paardeberg, 275.

French settlers at the Cape, 1686, 4.

Frere, Buller concentrates at, 216.

"Front attack a desperate business," 59.

Gama, Vasco da, 3.

Gatacre, General, and the surprise at Stormberg, 171.

Glencoe, 22, 30, 38.

Graspan, 144;

battle of, 150-152.

Great Britain unprepared and unwilling for war, 31;

no other nation has or will have such colonial responsibilities and experience, 91.

Great Trek, the, 5.

Hex River Pass, 26.

Highland Brigade, the, at Magersfontein, 164-168.

Hildyard, General, attacks Beacon Hill, 208.

Hlangwane occupied by Buller's army, February 19, 294.

Horse-sickness, 13, 97.

Horses and mules, enormous numbers imported for the war in South Africa, 98.

Imperial Federation, the dream of, converted into "a concrete and most pregnant fact" by Paul Kruger's Ultimatum, 74;

"A most momentous fact in the World's History," 77.

Imperial Government, the, and the colonies, 76, 80.

Imperial Light Horse, the, General White's tribute to, 242.

India, despatch of troops from, 30;

arrival of the first transports from, 35, 84.

Johannesburg, 11;

occupied by Lord Roberts, May 31, 314.

Jones, Digby, Lieutenant, gallant conduct and death of—"not in vain," 245.

Jones, Captain, of the cruiser Forte, at Colenso, 217.

Joubert, General, of French descent, 4;

reports engagement at Dundee, 39;

attacks Ladysmith, November 9, 195;

Boer estimate of, 197.

Kekewich, Lieut.-Col., and the defence of Kimberley, 136-141.

Kimberley, 33, 106;

its defence, 136-141;

relief of, by General French, 266.

Kitchener, General Lord, arrives with Lord Roberts at Cape Town, January 10, 1900, 232;

fights a succession of rearguard actions with Cronje, 275 et seq.

Klip River, the, 20.

Koch, General, 39;

occupies Elandslaagte, 48.

Koorn Spruit, reverse at, 313.

Kruger, President, 28;

his ultimatum converts the dream of Imperial Federation into a "most pregnant fact," 74;

anecdote of his "roaring" and "bellowing," 122;

and Joubert, 196.

Ladysmith, 15, 20, 22;

causes which led to its investment, 27;

Sir George White takes command at, 36;

all communications with, cut off November 2, 67;

decisive part played by, in the campaign, 111;

importance of its tenure on the events of the campaign, 178;

siege of, 192 et seq.;

successful sorties by the British against Gun Hill and Surprise Hill, 215;

Boer attack on Cæsar's Camp and Wagon Hill, 239;

relief of, by General Buller, 303.

Lambton, Captain, and the naval guns, 190.

Landman's Drift, 40.

Macdonald, General Hector, 268;

at Paardeberg, 289.

Mafeking, 33, 106;

heroic endurance, 112;

importance of its defence, 123;

Kruger refuses to allow Cronje to storm it, 122.

Magersfontein, 81;

battle of, 162-167.

Majuba Day, Cronje surrenders on, 289.

Majuba Hill, 18, 22.

Methuen, General Lord, appointed commander of the British corps at Orange River bridge, 109;

and the battle of Belmont, 148-150;

and the battle of Graspan, 150-152;

and Modder River battle, 152-161;

and the battle of Magersfontein, 162-167.

Meyer, Commandant Lucas, 39.

Milner, Sir Alfred, 28.

Modder River, battle of, 152-161.

Modern arms, power of, greatly exaggerated, 159, 161.

Mooi River, the, 19.

Naauwport Junction, 33, 104.

Napoleon, 184, 186.

Natal, 9; the rivers of, 21;

opening of the campaign in, 28;

campaign from the investment of Ladysmith through the battle of Colenso, 177 et seq.

Naval brigade with guns from the Powerful gets into Ladysmith, 66.

Nelson's dictum on "five minutes of delay," 58, 130.

Newcastle occupied by the Boers 38.

New Zealand and the war, 75.

Nicholson's Nek, the disaster at 63-65.

Orange Free State, its neutrality possibly more dangerous to the British than its hostility, 14.

Orange River, strategic importance of the, 113.

Origin of the two Boer states, 6.

Over-sea transport of troops, &c., English system described, 92.

Paardeberg, 14, 20;

Cronje's fight and surrender at, 281-221.

Park, Colonel, gallant conduct of, 246.

Physical conditions of South Africa, 6.

Pieter's Hill, battle of, 302.

Plevna, 187.

Port Elizabeth, 11.

Portuguese East Africa, 3.

Powell, Colonel Baden-, and Kruger, 122.

Powerful, naval brigade from the cruiser, reaches Ladysmith with long-range guns "in the nick of time," 65.

Pretoria, 11; occupied by Lord Roberts June 5, 314.

Reddersburg, reverse at, Reitz, Secretary, anecdote of, 121.

"Reverses always to be expected in war," 313.

Rhodesia, 11.

Rietfontein, White's action at, 60.

Roberts, General Lord, 15;

leaves England December 23, arrives at Cape Town January 10, 232;

arrives at Modder Camp February 9, 267;

enters Bloemfontein March 13, 305;

occupies Johannesburg, 314;

occupies Pretoria June 4, 314.

Scott, Captain Percy, and the naval brigade guns, 67.

Smith's Nek, 40.

South African colonies, the, and the war, 83;

seaports, importance of to British, 9.

Spion Kop, battle of, 249-265.

Springfontein, 11, 12.

Spytfontein, 164.

Steevens' description of the retreat of the Dundee column, 60;

quoted, 103, 115, 118.

Stormberg, 33, 104;

British reverse at, 168-172.

"Stupidity" of British officers, "where has it placed Great Britain among the nations of the earth?" 201.

Suez Canal, 2;

traffic of the, in war time, a warning, 100.

Symons, General Sir Penn, his views as to the force needed, 29;

takes command at Dundee, 36;

wounded, 44;

tribute to, 57;

death of, 63, 69.

Talana Hill described, 40;

assault of by British, 43;

the battle of, 43.

Temper, the, which wins in war, 128.

Transports and the colonies, 71;

British arrangements, "a triumph of organisation," 86.

Transvaal, the, imports wheat from Australia;

poorness of the country in all but gold, 16;

had for some years prepared for war, 35.

Tugela River, the, 19;

Buller's first attempt to pass the, 219;

passage of the, by Buller's army and capture of Pieter's Hill, 300.

Ultimatum presented by the Transvaal Government, 34, 35.

United Kingdom's, the, effort, gigantic, unprecedented and unsurpassed in its success in military history, 85.

United States, expansion of the, and Imperial Federation "secondary in importance to nothing contemporaneous," 80.

Vaal Krantz, battle of, 264.

Volunteers, the Natal Volunteers called out, 31.

War, theatre of the, described, 1-28;

was not desired by the British, 31;

initiated by the Transvaal at 5 P.M., October 11, 1899, 34;

effect of the, in uniting the Empire, 75.

Warren, Lieut.-General Sir Charles, and Spion Kop, 249-265.

Wauchope, General, killed at Magersfontein, 164-168.

Weapons, modern, effect of, perhaps over-estimated, 59.

Wessels at Kimberley, 124.

Western frontier, the, 102.

White, General Sir George, takes the Natal command, 31;

takes command at Ladysmith, 36;

tribute to, 69;

gazetted Governor of Gibraltar, 103;

and the siege of Ladysmith, 191.

Wilkinson, Spencer, quoted, 69.

Yule, General, succeeds General Symons, 46, 57;

his famous retreat, 59.

Zandspruit, 37.

1

Younghusband's "South Africa of To-day." Second Edition, 1899.

2

"Impressions of South Africa." Third Edition, p. 291.

3

"From Cape Town to Ladysmith," p. 79.

4

"Lessons of the War," p. 13.

5

More have sailed since the above information, but exact figures are wanting to the author.

6

The distance from Southampton, the chief though not the only port of departure, to Cape Town is 5,978 miles.

7

There may have been one or two more battalions of infantry, but I have not been able to trace such.

8

"From Cape Town to Ladysmith," pp. 16-20.

9

May 19, 1900.

10

Harper's Monthly Magazine, May, 1900, p. 827.

11

Ralph's "Toward Pretoria," p. 97.

12

Ralph's "Toward Pretoria," p. 104.

13

Julian Ralph, "Toward Pretoria," p. 153.

14

London Weekly Times, May 18.

15

I should greatly like here to take up my parable against those who base their calculations for the numbers and kinds of naval vessels upon the idea of "a navy for defence only"; but space and relevancy both forbid.

16

London Weekly Times, June 1, 1900. Captain the Hon. Hedworth Lambton, Commander of the "Powerful," accompanied the naval guns to Ladysmith, and was there throughout the siege.

17

London Weekly Times, April 27, 1900. Some other interesting siege statistics will be found in the same number.

18

London Times, June 25, 1900.

19

Harper's Monthly Magazine, July, 1900, p. 174.

20

The latest revised official returns of casualties now (July 18) accessible to the author are to be found in the London Times of July 4, and are complete to June 30.

21

Atkins, "Relief of Ladysmith," p. 117.

22

Burleigh, "Natal Campaign," p. 127.

23

Burleigh, "Natal Campaign," p. 128, 129. Atkins, "Relief of Ladysmith," p. 116.

24

Burleigh, "Natal Campaign," p. 129.

25

London Weekly Times, December 22, 1899.

26

Four statute miles equal 7,040 yards.

27

London Weekly Times, January 19, 1900. On the other hand, another correspondent who shared this view has said, "The consensus of military opinion seems to be that the ground being too rough and broken to the eastward, the chief column will try and effect a crossing far to the westward of Colenso." (Burleigh—p. 155).

28

This "3" in the copy before me may be a misprint for "8." The London Times correspondent gives 800 yards for the rifle fire.

29

Burleigh, "Natal Campaign," p. 240.

30

Burleigh's "Natal Campaign," p. 410.

31

London Weekly Times, February 23, 1900. In default of official reports, the author has depended chiefly upon the Times correspondence, and upon "Four Months Besieged," by Mr. H. H. Pearse, correspondent of the Daily News.

32

"The Cavalry Rush to Kimberley," by Captain Cecil Boyle, additional aide to General French. The Nineteenth Century, June, 1900, p. 907.

33

Lord Roberts' telegram.

34

London Weekly Times, March 23, 1900, p. ii.; also February 23, p. 114.

35