South Africa and the Transvaal War, Vol. 2 From the Commencement of the War to the Battle of Colenso, 15th Dec. 1899

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Title: South Africa and the Transvaal War, Vol. 2 (of 6)

From the Commencement of the War to the Battle of Colenso,

15th Dec. 1899

Author: Louis Creswicke

Release Date: August 6, 2008 [EBook #26198]

Language: English

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ALL THAT WAS LEFT OF THEM.

THE BLACK WATCH AFTER THE BATTLE OF MAGERSFONTEIN.

From the Drawing by R. Caton Woodville.

South Africa

and the

Transvaal War

BY

LOUIS CRESWICKE

AUTHOR OF ROXANE, ETC.

WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS

IN SIX VOLUMES

VOL. II.—FROM THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE WAR TO THE BATTLE OF COLENSO, 15TH DEC. 1899

EDINBURGH: T. C. & E. C. JACK

1900

CONTENTS—Vol. II.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS—Vol. II.

CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE—Vol. II.

OCTOBER.

11.—Boer Ultimatum time-limit expired. Great Britain commenced to be at war with Transvaal and Orange Free State.

12.—Text of Great Britain's reply to Boer Ultimatum issued. It stated that the conditions demanded were such as her Majesty's Government deemed it impossible to discuss.

Mr. Conyngham Greene recalled.

Armoured train captured by Boers near Mafeking.

Colonel Baden-Powell moved a large force outside Mafeking, and took up a strong defensive position.

13.—Newcastle abandoned.

14.—Sir R. Buller and Staff left England.

15.—Boers occupied Newcastle.

16.—Dundee evacuated.

17.—Parliament opened.

Successful sortie by Colonel Baden-Powell from Mafeking.

Armoured train in action near Kimberley during reconnaissance.

18.—Mr. Balfour announced that the Militia and Militia Reserves were to be called out.

19.—Transvaal flag hoisted at Vryburg.

20.—Boers repulsed by British at Talana Hill (Glencoe).

21.—General French, with about 2000 men, attacked a Boer force under General Kock at Elandslaagte.

22.—General Symons promoted to be Major-General.

General Yule retired from Dundee on Ladysmith.

23.—Death of General Symons.

Mafeking bombarded.

Transvaal National Bank seized at Durban.

24.—Sir George White engaged Boers at Reitfontein.

Services accepted of Sir William M'Cormac, President of the Royal College of Surgeons, to attend the wounded.

26.—Generals Yule and White joined forces at Ladysmith.

Bombardment of Mafeking commenced.

28.—Boers were closing round Ladysmith.

Proclamation issued declaring the Boer commandeering of certain portions of Cape Colony null.

30.—Engagement at Lombard's Kop.

Sir George White sent out from Ladysmith to Nicholson's Nek a Mountain Battery, with the Irish Fusiliers and the Gloucesters, to turn the enemy's right flank. Mules, with guns and reserve ammunition, stampeded into enemy's lines. After gallantly defending their position for six hours, men's ammunition was exhausted, and about 800 were captured. Naval Brigade did excellent work.

31.—Sir Redvers Buller landed at Cape Town.

NOVEMBER.

1.—Boers invaded Cape Colony.

2.—Free Staters' position at Besters brilliantly taken by cavalry. Boers lost heavily; our casualties slight. Boers treacherously used white flag.

Colenso evacuated by the British.

Arrangements for a supplementary Naval Brigade completed.

Orders issued for mobilising the Militia.

3.—Naauwpoort and Stormberg evacuated by the British garrisons.

5.—Death of Commander Egerton, of Powerful.

6.—Ladysmith isolated.

9.—Boers attacked Ladysmith, and repulsed with heavy loss.

Orders issued for mobilisation of a Fifth Division.

10.—Engagement of Belmont. Colonel Keith Falconer killed.

11.—Captain Percy Scott, of H.M.S. Terrible, appointed commandant of the forces defending Durban.

12.—Lord Methuen arrived at Orange River.

14.—Lieutenant-General Sir Charles Warren appointed to command the Fifth Division for service in South Africa.

15.—Armoured train wrecked by Boers near Frere. Mr. Winston Churchill and a number of Dublin Fusiliers and Volunteers captured.

Boers defeated at Estcourt.

16.—Fighting near Orange River.

17-22.—Transports arrived at Cape Town with 22,000 troops.

20.—Lord Methuen's force reached Witteputts.

23.—Lord Methuen attacked Boers at Belmont.

Boers routed at Willow Grange.

25.—Lord Methuen engaged the Boers at Graspan (Enslin), and after four hours' hard fighting carried position.

26.—Mooi River Column joined at Frere by General Hildyard.

28.—Lord Methuen engaged enemy, 8000 strong, at Modder River, and after ten hours' desperate fighting, drove them back.

30.—Sixth Division for South Africa notified.

DECEMBER.

2.—General Clery reached Frere.

3.—Transport Ismore wrecked 180 miles north of Cape Town—all troops landed.

6.—Sortie from Kimberley. Major Scott Turner killed.

7.—Arundel occupied by British.

8.—British sortie from Ladysmith, Lombard's Kop being carried.

9.—General Gatacre sustained serious reverse at Stormberg, having been misled by guides.

Lieutenant-Colonel Metcalfe, 2nd Rifle Brigade, with 500 men from Ladysmith, captured Surprise Hill, destroying a howitzer.

10.—General French drove the enemy from Vaal Kop.

11.—Lord Methuen attacked 12,000 Boers entrenched at Majesfontein, but attack failed, although British troops held their position. Major-General Wauchope, Major Lord Winchester, and Colonel Downman killed.

13.—General French defeated 1800 Boers between Arundel and Naauwpoort. British loss, 1 killed, 8 wounded.

14.—Orders given for the mobilisation of a Sixth Division, and a Seventh in reserve.

Sir Charles Warren and Staff arrived at the Cape.

15.—General Buller suffered a serious reverse at Colenso, troops having to retire to Chieveley, leaving behind 11 guns.

General Hector Macdonald appointed to succeed General Wauchope.

CHART OF STAFF APPOINTMENTS MADE AT THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE WAR,

as issued by the War Office, 7th October, 1899.

LINES OF COMMUNICATION.

The Lines of Communication will be under the general command and direction of Lieut.-General Sir F. W. E. F. Forestier-Walker, K.C.B., C.M.G.

The following Officers will be employed and will have the Staff position shown opposite their names:—

Coleridge Grove, M.S.

War Office, 4th October 1899.

Note.—The above list only shows the Officers employed on Staff duties on the Lines of Communication. It does not show those employed on medical, ordnance, clerical, supply, pay, &c., services.—C. G.

FOOTNOTES:

[A] Graded as Assistant Adjutant-Generals.

[B] Graded as Deputy-Assistant Adjutant-Generals.

[C] Graded as Staff Captains.

NATAL FIELD FORCE.

Coleridge Grove, M.S.

War Office, 3rd October 1899.

FOOTNOTES:

[D] Graded as a Deputy-Assistant Adjutant-General.

STAFF OF 1st ARMY CORPS.

FOOTNOTES:

[E] Graded as Assistant Adjutant-General.

[F] Graded as Deputy-Assistant Adjutant-Generals.

1st ARMY CORPS—1st DIVISION.

FOOTNOTES:

[G] Graded as Deputy-Assistant Adjutant-General.

1st ARMY CORPS—2nd DIVISION.

FOOTNOTES:

[H] Graded as a Deputy-Assistant Adjutant-General.

1st ARMY CORPS—3rd DIVISION.

FOOTNOTES:

[I] Graded as a Deputy-Assistant Adjutant-General.

STAFF OF CAVALRY DIVISION.

Coleridge Grove, M.S.

2nd October 1899.

FOOTNOTES:

[J] Graded as Assistant Adjutant-General.

[K] Will act for both Brigades.

[L] Graded as Deputy-Assistant Adjutant-Generals.

MAP OF THE SEAT OF WAR

Illustrating South Africa and the Transvaal War, by Louis Creswicke.

SOUTH AFRICA AND THE TRANSVAAL WAR

CHAPTER I

THE CRISIS AT HOME

"Patience, long sick to death, is dead. Too long

Have sloth and doubt and treason bidden us be

What Cromwell's England was not, when the sea

To him bore witness, given of Blake, how strong

She stood, a commonweal that brooked no wrong

From foes less vile than men like wolves set free,

Whose war is waged where none may fight or flee—

With women and with weanlings. Speech and song

Lack utterance now for loathing. Scarce we hear

Foul tongues, that blacken God's dishonoured name

With prayers turned curses and with praise found shame,

Defy the truth whose witness now draws near

To scourge these dogs, agape with jaws afoam,

Down out of life. Strike, England, and strike home."

—Algernon Charles Swinburne.

In the face of the insolent Ultimatum which had been addressed to Great Britain by the South African Republic, the nation closed its ranks and relegated party controversy to a more appropriate season. The British people were temporarily in accord. A wave of indignation surged over the country, and united men of different shades of politics and of varying religious creeds, making them forget their private feuds, and remember only the paramount fact that they were sons of the Empire. There were some, it is true, who remained afar off—a few exceptions to prove the rule of unanimity, beings with souls so dead that never to themselves had said, This is my own, my native land, and who yet looked upon the Boer as an object of commiseration. But these were, first, men linked either by birth or family ties with the Afrikander cause; second, fractious Irishmen and political obstructionists who posed for notoriety at any price; and, third, eccentrics and originals, whose sense of opposition forbade them from floating at any time with the tide of public opinion. Every one else cried aloud for a chance to uphold Great Britain's prestige, and the War Office was so beset with applications from volunteers for the front that it was found almost impossible even to consider them. Nor was the excitement confined to officers alone. Recruiting went on apace, and not only did recruits pour in, but deserters, who had slunk away from regimental duty, now returned and gave themselves up, praying to be allowed to suffer any penalty and then march out to battle as soldiers of the Queen! Two Royal Proclamations having been issued—the one directing the continuance in army service, until discharged or transferred to the reserve, of soldiers whose term of service had expired or was about to expire; the other, ordering the army reserve to be called out on permanent service—some 25,000 men received notice to rejoin the colours. These in large numbers promptly appeared. The New South Wales Lancers, who had been going through a course of cavalry training at Aldershot, at once volunteered their services and started for the Cape amidst scenes of great enthusiasm. Other colonial troops were as eager to join, and the spirit of military rivalry throughout Her Majesty's dominions was both amazing and inspiriting.

Queensland had the honour of opening the ball. Her sympathy with the policy of Great Britain and her loyalty to the mother country was shown in practical form. She intimated, in the event of hostilities, her willingness to send 250 mounted infantry and a machine-gun to the front. New Zealand followed suit; she also offered two companies of mounted rifles fully equipped at the cost of the Colony. These offers were gratefully accepted. Not to be behind-hand, Western Australia and Tasmania made similar offers, and Her Majesty's Government gladly agreed to accept one unit of 125 men from each. The Parliament of Victoria voted the despatch of a contingent of 250 men to South Africa, and the Governments of New South Wales and South Australia actively discussed similar measures. This expression of Colonial public opinion, embodying as it did the independent judgments of so many free juries, uninfluenced by personal or direct interests, had a significance which, besides being politically important, was eminently satisfactory. All Her Majesty's dominions, on which the sun never sets, were at this critical moment holding hands in a wide circle that encompassed the earth, and the picture of the small mother country with all her big children gathered around her in her hour of need was not one that the romance of history can afford to disregard.

IN SOUTH AFRICA

Before hostilities had actually begun, refugees from Johannesburg began to pour down to Natal and the Cape, and there were daily reports of insults received by the Uitlanders at the hands of the Boers. Ladies were spat upon, and passengers suffered indignities sufficient to make an Englishman's blood boil. Fresh troops began to arrive from India, and Sir George White, in a chorus of farewell shouts, Remember Majuba, went off from Durban to Pietermaritzburg. This was on the 7th of October 1899. At that time the troops were thus distributed:—

At Pietermaritzburg—1st Battalion Manchester Regiment and Mounted Infantry Company; 2nd Battalion King's Royal Rifle Corps.

At Estcourt—Detachment Natal Naval Volunteers; Natal Royal Rifles.

At Colenso—Durban Light Infantry.

At Ladysmith—5th Lancers; Detachment 19th Hussars; Brigade Division, Royal Artillery; 10th Mountain Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery; 23rd Company, Royal Engineers; 1st Battalion Devonshire Regiment; 1st Battalion Liverpool Regiment, and Mounted Infantry Company; 26th (two sections) British Field Hospital, and Colonial troops.

At Glencoe—18th Hussars; Brigade Division, Royal Artillery; 1st Battalion Leicestershire Regiment, and Mounted Infantry Company; 1st Battalion King's Royal Rifle Corps, and Mounted Infantry Company; 2nd Battalion Royal Dublin Fusiliers, and Mounted Infantry Company; 6th Veterinary Field Hospital.

There was also one Company 1st Battalion King's Royal Rifle Corps at Eshowe, and a detachment of the Umvoti Mounted Rifles at Helpmakaar.

Meanwhile, at Pretoria, the Boers, protesting at the notice taken of the chimerical grievances of the so-called Uitlanders, made energetic efforts to appoint General Viljeon, a rabid anti-Briton,in place of General Joubert as Commander-in-Chief of the Transvaal forces.

The troops under Commandant Cronje, the hero of Potchefstroom, advanced nearer to the border, in the direction of Mafeking, and in the expectation of attack, this town was securely fortified, while all the women and children were advised to leave. The fortification of Kimberley was also commenced. The European exodus from all quarters continued, defenceless men and women alike being subjected to insult and ill-treatment by the Boers. Mr. Kruger's birthday was kept at Pretoria with general rejoicing, and on the following day a telegram was sent by President Kruger to the New York World saying:—

"Through the World I thank the people of the United States most sincerely for their sympathy. Last Monday the Republic gave Great Britain forty-eight hours' notice within which to give the Republic an assurance that the present dispute would be settled by arbitration or other peaceful means, and that the troops would be removed from the borders. This expires at five to-day. The British Agent has been recalled. War is certain. The Republics are determined, if they must belong to Great Britain, that a price will have to be paid which will stagger humanity. They have, however, full faith. The sun of liberty will arise in South Africa as it arose in North America."

From this letter it was patent that Mr. Kruger was either pursuing his policy of bluff, or had made long and elaborate preparations for war with the British. On the same date an announcement was published in the town of Pretoria:—

"

Government House

, October 11.

"Her Majesty's Agent at Pretoria was to-day instructed to make the following communication to the Government of the