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THE UNION
JACK IS RAISED OVER THE RAADZAAL, PRETORIA
From: H. W. Wilson, With the Flag to Pretoria, 1902 |
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Arthur Conan
Doyle,
The Great Boer War
London, Smith, Elder &
Co., 1902
CHAPTER XXV
The March on Pretoria
IN
the early days of May, when the season of the rains was past and the veldt
was green, Lord Roberts's six weeks of enforced inaction came to an end. He
had gathered himself once more for one of those tiger springs which should
be as sure and as irresistible as that which had brought him from Belmont to
Bloemfontein, or that other in olden days which had carried him from Kabul
to Kandahar. His army had been decimated by sickness, and eight thousand men
had passed into the hospitals; but those who were with the colours were of
high heart, longing eagerly for action. Any change which would carry them
away from the pest-ridden, evils-smelling capital which had revenged itself
so terribly upon the invader must be a change for the better. Therefore it
was with glad faces and brisk feet that the centre column left Bloemfontein
on May 1st, and streamed, with bands playing, along the northern road.
On May 3rd the main force was assembled at Karee, twenty miles upon their
way. Two hundred and twenty separated them from Pretoria, but in little more
than a month from the day of starting, in spite of broken railway, a
succession of rivers, and the opposition of the enemy, this army was
marching into the main street of the Transvaal capital. Had there been no
enemy there at all, it would still have been a fine performance, the more so
when one remembers that the army was moving upon a front of twenty miles or
more, each part of which had to be co-ordinated to the rest. It is with the
story of this great march that the present chapter deals.
Roberts had prepared the way by clearing out the south-eastern corner of the
State, and at the moment of his advance his forces covered a semicircular
front of about forty miles, the right under Ian Hamilton near Thabanchu, and
the left at Karee. This was the broad net which was to be swept from south
to north across the Free State, gradually narrowing as it went. The
conception was admirable, and appears to have been an adoption of the Boers'
own strategy, which had in turn been borrowed from the Zulus. The solid
centre could hold any force which faced it, while the mobile flanks, Hutton
upon the left and Hamilton upon the right, could lap round and pin it, as
Cronje was pinned at Paardeberg. It seems admirably simple when done upon a
small scale. But when the scale is one of forty miles, since your front must
be broad enough to envelop the front which is opposed to it, and when the
scattered wings have to be fed with no railway line to help, it takes such a
master of administrative detail as Lord Kitchener to bring the operations to
complete success.
On May 3rd, the day of the advance from our most northern post, Karee, the
disposition of Lord Roberts's army was briefly as follows. On his left was
Hutton, with his mixed force of mounted infantry drawn from every quarter of
the empire. This formidable and mobile body, with some batteries of horse
artillery and of pom-poms, kept a line a few miles to the west of the
railroad, moving northwards parallel with it. Roberts's main column kept on
the railroad, which was mended with extraordinary speed by the Railway
Pioneer regiment and the Engineers, under Girouard and the ill-fated
Seymour. It was amazing to note the shattered culverts as one passed, and
yet to be overtaken by trains within a day. This main column consisted of
Pole-Carew's 11th Division, which contained the Guards, and Stephenson's
Brigade (Warwicks, Essex, Welsh, and Yorkshires). With them were the 83rd,
84th, and 85th R.F.A., with the heavy guns, and a small force of mounted
infantry. Passing along the widespread British line one would then, after an
interval of seven or eight miles, come upon Tucker's Division (the 7th),
which consisted of Maxwell's Brigade (formerly Chermside's - the Norfoiks,
Lincolns, Hampshires, and Scottish Borderers) and Wavel's Brigade (North
Staffords, Cheshires, East Lancashires, South Wales Borderers). To the right
of these was Ridley's mounted infantry. Beyond them, extending over very
many miles of country and with considerable spaces between, there came
Broadwood's cavalry, Bruce Hamilton's Brigade (Derbyshires, Sussex, Camerons,
and C.I.V.), and finally on the extreme right of all Ian Hamilton's force of
Highlanders, Canadians, Shropshires, and Cornwalls, with cavalry and mounted
infantry, starting forty miles from Lord Roberts, but edging westwards all
the way, to merge with the troops next to it, and to occupy Winburg in the
way already described. This was the army, between forty and fifty thousand
strong, with which Lord Roberts advanced upon the Transvaal.
In the meantime he had anticipated that his mobile and enterprising
opponents would work round and strike at our rear. Ample means had been
provided for dealing with any attempt of the kind. Rundle with the 8th
Division and Brabant's Colonial Division remained in rear of the right flank
to confront any force which might turn it. At Bloemfontein were
Kelly-Kenny's Division (the 6th) and Chermside's (the 3rd), with a force of
cavalry and guns. Methuen, working from Kimberley towards Boshof, formed the
extreme left wing of the main advance, though distant a hundred miles from
it. With excellent judgment Lord Roberts saw that it was on our right flank
that danger was to be feared, and here it was that every precaution had been
taken to meet it.
The objective of the first day's march was the little town of Brandfort, ten
miles north of Karee. The head of the main column faced it, while the left
arm swept round and drove the Boer force from their position. Tucker's
Division upon the right encountered some opposition, but overbore it with
artillery. May 4th was a day of rest for the infantry, but on the 5th they
advanced, in the same order as before, for twenty miles, and found
themselves to the south of the Vet River, where the enemy had prepared for
an energetic resistance. A vigorous artillery duel ensued, the British guns
in the open as usual against an invisible enemy. After three hours of a very
hot fire the mounted infantry got across the river upon the left and turned
the Boer flank, on which they hastily withdrew. The first lodgment was
effected by two bodies of Canadians and New-Zealanders, who were
energetically supported by Captain Anley's 3rd Mounted Infantry. The rushing
of a kopje by twenty-three West Australians was another gallant incident
which marked this engagement, in which our losses were insignificant. A
maxim and twenty or thirty prisoners were taken by Hutton's men. The next
day (May 6th) the army moved across the difficult drift of the Vet River,
and halted that night at Smaldeel, some five miles to the north of it. At
the same time Ian Hamilton had been able to advance to Winburg, so that the
army had contracted its front by about half, but had preserved its relative
positions. Hamilton, after his junction with his reinforcements at
Jacobsrust, had under him so powerful a force that he overbore all
resistance. His actions between Thabanchu and Winburg had cost the Boers
heavy loss, and in one action the German legion had been overthrown. The
informal warfare which was made upon us by citizens of many nations without
rebuke from their own Governments is a matter of which pride, and possibly
policy, have forbidden us to complain, but it will be surprising if it does
not prove that their laxity has established a very dangerous precedent, and
they will find it difficult to object when, in the next little war in which
either France or Germany is engaged, they find a few hundred British
adventurers carrying a rifle against them.
The record of the army's advance is now rather geographical than military,
for it rolled northwards with never a check save that which was caused by
the construction of the railway diversions which atoned for the destruction
of the larger bridges. The infantry now, as always in the campaign, marched
excellently; for though twenty miles in the day may seem a moderate
allowance to a healthy man upon an English road, it is a considerable
performance under an African sun with a weight of between thirty and forty
pounds to be carried. The good humour of the men was admirable, and they
eagerly longed to close with the elusive enemy who flitted ever in front of
them. Huge clouds of smoke veiled the northern sky, for the Boers had set
fire to the dry grass, partly to cover their own retreat, and partly to show
up our khaki upon the blackened surface. Far on the flanks the twinkling
heliographs revealed the position of the wide-spread wings.
On May 10th Lord Roberts's force, which had halted for three days at
Smaldeel, moved onwards to Welgelegen. French's cavalry had come up by road,
and quickly strengthened the centre and left wing of the army. On the
morning of the 10th the invaders found themselves confronted by a formidable
position which the Boers had taken up on the northern bank of the Sand
River. Their army extended over twenty miles of country, the two Bothas were
in command, and everything pointed to a pitched battle. Had the position
been rushed from the front, there was every material for a second Colenso,
but the British had learned that it was by brains rather than by blood that
such battles may be won. French's cavalry turned the Boers on one side, and
Bruce Hamilton's infantry on the other. Theoretically we never passed the
Boer flanks, but practically their line was so over extended that we were
able to pierce it at any point. There was never any severe fighting, but
rather a steady advance upon the British side and a steady retirement upon
that of the Boers. On the left the Sussex regiment distinguished itself by
the dash with which it stormed an important kopje. The losses were slight,
save among a detached body of cavalry which found itself suddenly cut off by
a strong force of the enemy and lost Captain Elworthy killed, and Haig of
the Inniskillings, Wilkinson of the Australian Horse, and twenty men
prisoners. We also secured forty or fifty prisoners, and the enemy's
casualties amounted to about as many more. The whole straggling action
fought over a front as broad as from London to Woking cost the British at
the most a couple of hundred casualties, and carried their army over the
most formidable defensive position which they were to encounter. The war in
its later phases certainly has the pleasing characteristic of being the most
bloodless, considering the number of men engaged and the amount of powder
burned, that has been known in history. It was at the expense of their boots
and not of their lives that the infantry won their way.
On May 11th Lord Roberts's army advanced twenty miles to Geneva Siding, and
every preparation was made for a battle next day, as it was thought certain
that the Boers would defend their new capital, Kroonstad. It proved,
however, that even here they would not make a stand, and on May 12th, at one
o'clock, Lord Roberts rode into the town. Steyn, Botha, and De Wet escaped,
and it was announced that the village of Lindley had become the new seat of
government. The British had now accomplished half their journey to Pretoria,
and it was obvious that on the south side of the Vaal no serious resistance
awaited them. Burghers were freely surrendering themselves with their arms,
and returning to their farms. In the south-east Rundle and Brabant were
slowly advancing, while the Boers who faced them fell back towards Lindley.
On the west, Hunter had crossed the Vaal at Windsorton, and Barton's
Fusiller Brigade had fought a sharp action at Rooidam, while Mahon's
Mafeking relief column had slipped past their flank, escaping the
observation of the British public, but certainly not that of the Boers. The
casualties in the Rooidam action were nine killed and thirty wounded, but
the advance of the Fusiliers was irresistible, and for once the Boer loss,
as they were hustled from kopje to kopje, appears to have been greater than
that of the British. The Yeomanry had an opportunity of showing once more
that there are few more high-mettled troops in South Africa than these good
sportsmen of the shires, who only showed a trace of their origin in their
irresistible inclination to burst into a 'tally-ho!' when ordered to attack.
The Boer forces fell back after the action along the line of the Vaal,
making for Christiana and Bloemhof. Hunter entered into the Transvaal in
pursuit of them, being the first to cross the border, with the exception of
raiding Rhodesians early in the war. Methuen, in the meanwhile, was
following a course parallel to Hunter but south of him, Hoopstad being his
immediate objective. The little union jacks which were stuck in the war maps
in so many British households were now moving swiftly upwards.
Buller's force was also sweeping northwards, and the time had come when the
Ladysmith garrison, restored at last to health and strength, should have a
chance of striking back at those who had tormented them so long. Many of the
best troops had been drafted away to other portions of the seat of war.
Hart's Brigade and Barton's Fusilier Brigade had gone with Hunter to form
the 10th Division upon the Kimberley side, and the Imperial Light Horse had
been brought over for the relief of Mafeking. There remained, however, a
formidable force, the regiments in which had been strengthened by the
addition of drafts and volunteers from home. Not less than twenty thousand
sabres and bayonets were ready and eager for the passage of the Biggarsberg
mountains.
This line of rugged hills is pierced by only three passes, each of which was
held in strength by the enemy. Considerable losses must have ensued from any
direct attempt to force them. Buller, however, with excellent judgment,
demonstrated in front of them with Hildyard's men, while the rest of the
army, marching round, outflanked the line of resistance, and on May 15th
pounced upon Dundee. Much had happened since that October day when Penn
Symons led his three gallant regiments up Talana Hill, but now at last,
after seven weary months, the ground was reoccupied which he had gained. His
old soldiers visited his grave, and the national flag was raised over the
remains of as gallant a man as ever died for the sake of it.
The Boers, whose force did not exceed a few thousands, were now rolled
swiftly back through Northern Natal into their own country. The long strain
at Ladysmith had told upon them, and the men whom we had to meet were very
different from the warriors of Spion Kop and Nicholson's Nek. They had done
magnificently, but there is a limit to human endurance, and no longer would
these peasants face the bursting lyddite and the bayonets of angry soldiers.
There is little enough for us to boast of in this. Some pride might be taken
in the campaign when at a disadvantage we were facing superior numbers, but
now we could but deplore the situation in which these poor valiant burghers
found themselves, the victims of a rotten government and of their own
delusions. Hofer's Tyrolese, Charette's Vendeans, or Bruce's Scotchmen never
fought a finer fight than these children of the veldt, but in each case they
combated a real and not an imaginary tyrant. It is heart-sickening to think
of the butchery, the misery, the irreparable losses, the blood of men, and
the bitter tears of women, all of which might have been spared had one
obstinate and ignorant man been persuaded to allow the State which he ruled
to conform to the customs of every other civilised State upon the earth.
Buller was now moving with a rapidity and decision which contrast pleasantly
with some of his earlier operations. Although Dundee was only occupied on
May 15th, on May 18th his vanguard was in Newcastle, fifty miles to the
north. In nine days he had covered 138 miles. On the 19th the army lay under
the loom of that Majuba which had cast its sinister shadow for so long over
South African politics. In front was the historical Laing's Nek, the pass
which leads from Natal into the Transvaal, while through it runs the famous
railway tunnel. Here the Boers had taken up that position which had proved
nineteen years before to be too strong for British troops. The Rooineks had
come back after many days to try again. A halt was called, for the ten days'
supplies which had been taken with the troops were exhausted, and it was
necessary to wait until the railway should be repaired. This gave time for
Hildyard's 5th Division and Lyttelton's 4th Division to close up on Clery's
2nd Division, which with Dundonald's cavalry had formed our vanguard
throughout. The only losses of any consequence during this fine march fell
upon a single squadron of Bethune's mounted infantry, which being thrown out
in the direction of Vryheid, in order to make sure that our flank was clear,
fell into an ambuscade and was almost annihilated by a close-range fire.
Sixty-six casualties, of which nearly half were killed, were the result of
this action, which seems to have depended, like most of our reverses, upon
defective scouting. Buller, having called up his two remaining divisions and
having mended the railway behind him, proceeded now to manoeuvre the Boers
out of Laing's Nek exactly as he had maneuvered them out of the Biggarsberg.
At the end of May Hildyard and Lyttelton were despatched in an eastern
direction, as if there were an intention of turning the pass from Utrecht.
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ROBERTS
AND KITCHENER ENTER KROONSTAD
From: H. W. Wilson, With the Flag to Pretoria, 1902
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It was on May 12th that Lord Roberts occupied Kroonstad, and he halted there
for eight days before he resumed his advance. At the end of that time his
railway had been repaired, and enough supplies brought up to enable him to
advance again without anxiety. The country through which he passed swarmed
with herds and flocks, but, with as scrupulous a regard for the rights of
property as Wellington showed in the south of France, no hungry soldier was
allowed to take so much as a chicken as he passed. The punishment for
looting was prompt and stern. It is true that farms were burned occasionally
and the stock confiscated, but this was as a punishment for some particular
offence and not part of a system. The limping Tommy looked askance at the
fat geese which covered the dam by the roadside, but it was as much as his
life was worth to allow his fingers to close round those tempting white
necks. On foul water and bully beef he tramped through a land of plenty.
Lord Roberts's eight days' halt was spent in consolidating the general
military situation. We have already shown how Buller had crept upwards to
the Natal Border. On the west Methuen reached Hoopstad and Hunter
Christiana, settling the country and collecting arms as they went. Rundle in
the south-east took possession of the rich grain lands, and on May 21st
entered Ladybrand. In front of him lay that difficult hilly country about
Senekal, Ficksburg, and Bethlehem which was to delay him so long. Ian
Hamilton was feeling his way northwards to the right of the railway line,
and for the moment cleared the district between Lindley and Heilbron,
passing through both towns and causing Steyn to again change his capital,
which became Vrede, in the extreme north-east of the State. During these
operations Hamilton had the two formidable De Wet brothers in front of him,
and suffered nearly a hundred casualties in the continual skirmishing which
accompanied his advance. His right flank and rear were continually attacked,
and these signs of forces outside our direct line of advance were full of
menace for the future.
On May 22nd the main army resumed its advance, moving forward fifteen miles
to Honing's Spruit. On the 23rd another march of twenty miles over a fine
roiling prairie brought them to Rhenoster River. The enemy had made some
preparations for a stand, but Hamilton was near Heilbron upon their left and
French was upon their right flank. The river was crossed without opposition.
On the 24th the army was at Vredefort Road, and on the 26th the vanguard
crossed the Vaal River at Viljoen's Drift, the whole army following on the
27th. Hamilton's force had been cleverly swung across from the right to the
left flank of the British, so that the Boers were massed on the wrong side.
Preparations for resistance had been made on the line of the railway, but
the wide turning movements on the flanks by the indefatigable French and
Hamilton rendered all opposition of no avail. The British columns flowed
over and onwards without a pause, tramping steadily northwards to their
destination. The bulk of the Free State forces refused to leave their own
country, and moved away to the eastern and northern portion of the State,
where the British Generals thought -incorrectly, as the future was to prove
- that no further harm would come from them. The State which they were in
arms to defend had really ceased to exist, for already it had been publicly
proclaimed at Bloemfontein in the Queen's name that the country had been
annexed to the Empire, and that its style henceforth was that of 'The Orange
River Colony.' Those who think this measure unduly harsh must remember that
every mile of land which the Freestaters had conquered in the early part of
the war had been solemnly annexed by them. At the same time, those
Englishmen who knew the history of this State, which had once been the model
of all that a State should be, were saddened by the thought that it should
have deliberately committed suicide for the sake of one of the most corrupt
governments which have ever been known. Had the Transvaal been governed as
the Orange Free State was, such an event as the second Boer war could never
have occurred.
Lord Roberts's tremendous march was now drawing to a close. On May 28th the
troops advanced twenty miles, and passed Klip River without fighting. It was
observed with surprise that the Transvaalers were very much more careful of
their own property than they had been of that of their allies, and that the
railway was not damaged at all by the retreating forces. The country had
become more populous, and far away upon the low curves of the hills were
seen high chimneys and gaunt iron pumps which struck the north of England
soldier with a pang of homesickness. This long distant hill was the famous
Rand, and under its faded grasses lay such riches as Solomon never took from
Ophir. It was the prize of victory; and yet the prize is not to the victor,
for the dust-grimed officers and men looked with little personal interest at
this treasure-house of the world. Not one penny the richer would they be for
the fact that their blood and their energy had brought justice and freedom
to the gold fields. They had opened up an industry for the world, men of all
nations would be the better for their labours, the miner and the financier
or the trader would equally profit by them, but the men in khaki would tramp
on, unrewarded and uncomplaining, to India, to China, to any spot where the
needs of their worldwide empire called them.
The infantry, streaming up from the Vaal River to the famous ridge of gold,
had met with no resistance upon the way, but great mist banks of cloud by
day and huge twinkling areas of flame by night showed the handiwork of the
enemy. Hamilton and French, moving upon the left flank, found Boers thick
upon the hills, but cleared them off in a well-managed skirmish which cost
us a dozen casualties. On May 29th, pushing swiftly along, French found the
enemy posted very strongly with several guns at Doornkop, a point west of
Klip River Berg. The cavalry leader had with him at this stage three horse
batteries, four pom-poms, and 3,000 mounted men. The position being too
strong for him to force, Hamilton's infantry (19th and 21st Brigades) were
called up, and the Boers were driven out. That splendid corps, the Gordons,
lost nearly a hundred men in their advance over the open, and the C.I.V.s on
the other flank fought like a regiment of veterans. There had been an
inclination to smile at these citizen soldiers when they first came out, but
no one smiled now save the General who felt that he had them at his back.
Hamilton's attack was assisted by the menace rather than the pressure of
French's turning movement on the Boer right, but the actual advance was as
purely frontal as any of those which had been carried through at the
beginning of the war. The open formation of the troops, the powerful
artillery behind them, and perhaps also the lowered morale of the enemy
combined to make such a movement less dangerous than of old. In any case it
was inevitable, as the state of Hamilton's commissariat rendered it necessary
that at all hazards he should force his way through.
Whilst this action of Doornkop was fought by the British left flank, Henry's
mounted infantry in the centre moved straight upon the important junction of
Germiston, which lies amid the huge white heaps of tailings from the mines.
At this point, or near it, the lines from Johannesburg and from Natal join
the line to Pretoria. Colonel Henry's advance was an extremely daring one,
for the infantry were some distance behind; but after an irregular
scrambling skirmish, in which the Boer snipers had to be driven off the mine
heaps and from among the houses, the 8th mounted infantry got their grip of
the railway and held it. The exploit was a very fine one, and stands out the
more brilliantly as the conduct of the campaign cannot be said to afford
many examples of that well-considered audacity which deliberately runs the
risk of the minor loss for the sake of the greater gain. Henry was much
assisted by J battery R.H.A., which was handled with energy and judgment.
French was now on the west of the town, Henry had cut the railway on the
east, and Roberts was coming up from the south. His infantry had covered 130
miles in seven days, but the thought that every step brought them nearer to
Pretoria was as exhilarating as their fifes and drums. On May 30th the
victorious troops camped outside the city while Botha retired with his army,
abandoning without a battle the treasure-house of his country. Inside the
town were chaos and confusion. The richest mines in the world lay for a day
or more at the mercy of a lawless rabble drawn from all nations. The Boer
officials were themselves divided in opinion, Krause standing for law and
order while Judge Koch advocated violence. A spark would have set the town
blazing, and the worst was feared when a crowd of mercenaries assembled in
front of the Robinson mine with threats of violence. By the firmness and
tact of Mr. Tucker, the manager, and by the strong attitude of Commissioner
Krause, the situation was saved and the danger passed. Upon May 31st,
without violence to life or destruction to property, that great town which
British hands have done so much to build found itself at last under the
British flag. May it wave there so long as it covers just laws, honest
officials, and clean-handed administrators - so long and no longer!
And now the last stage of the great journey had been reached. Two days were
spent at Johannesburg while supplies were brought up, and then a move was
made upon Pretoria thirty miles to the north. Here was the Boer capital, the
seat of government, the home of Kruger, the centre of all that was
anti-British, crouching amid its hills, with costly forts guarding every
face of it. Surely at last the place had been found where that great battle
should be fought which should decide for all time whether it was with the
Briton or with the Dutchman that the future of South Africa lay.
On the last day of May two hundred Lancers under the command of Major Hunter
Weston, with Charles of the Sappers and. Burnham the scout, a man who has
played the part of a hero throughout the campaign, struck off from the main
army and endeavoured to descend upon the Pretoria-Delagoa railway line with
the intention of blowing up a bridge and cutting the Boer line of retreat.
It was a most dashing attempt; but the small party had the misfortune to
come into contact with a strong Boer commando, who headed them off. After a
skirmish they were compelled to make their way back with a loss of five
killed and fourteen wounded.
The cavalry under French had waited for the issue of this enterprise at a
point nine miles north of Johannesburg. On June 2nd it began its advance
with orders to make a wide sweep round to the westward, and so skirt the
capital, cutting the Pietersburg railway to the north of it. The country in
the direct line between Johannesburg and Pretoria consists of a series of
rolling downs which are admirably adapted for cavalry work, but the detour
which French had to make carried him into the wild and broken district which
lies to the north of the Little Crocodile River. Here he was fiercely
attacked on ground where his troops could not deploy, but with extreme
coolness and judgment beat off the enemy. To cover thirty-two miles in a day
and fight a way out of an ambuscade in the evening is an ordeal for any
leader and for any troops. Two killed and seven wounded were our trivial
losses in a situation which might have been a serious one. The Boers appear
to have been the escort of a strong convoy which had passed along the road
some miles in front. Next morning both convoy and opposition had
disappeared. The cavalry rode on amid a country of orange groves, the
troopers standing up in their stirrups to pluck the golden fruit. There was
no further fighting, and on June 4th French had established himself upon the
north of the town, where he learned that all resistance had ceased.
Whilst the cavalry had performed this enveloping movement the main army had
moved swiftly upon its objective, leaving one brigade behind to secure
Johannesburg. Ian Hamilton advanced upon the left, while Lord Roberts's
column kept the line of the railway, Colonel Henry's mounted infantry
scouting in front. As the army topped the low curves of the veldt they saw
in front of them two well-marked hills, each crowned by a low squat
building. They were the famous southern forts of Pretoria. Between the hills
was a narrow neck, and beyond the Boer capital.
For a time it appeared that the entry was to be an absolutely bloodless one,
but the booming of cannon and the crash of Mauser fire soon showed that the
enemy was in force upon the ridge. Botha had left a strong rearguard to hold
off the British while his own stores and valuables were being withdrawn from
the town. The silence of the forts showed that the guns had been removed and
that no prolonged resistance was intended; but in the meanwhile fringes of
determined riflemen, supported by cannon, held the approaches, and must be
driven off before an entry could be effected. Each fresh corps as it came up
reinforced the firing line. Henry's mounted infantrymen supported by the
horse-guns of J battery and the guns of Tucker's division began the action.
So hot was the answer, both from cannon and from rifle, that it seemed for a
time as if a real battle were at last about to take place. The Guards'
Brigade, Stephenson's Brigade, and Maxwell's Brigade streamed up and waited
until Hamilton, who was on the enemy's right flank, should be able to make
his presence felt. The heavy guns had also arrived, and a huge cloud of
DEBRIS rising from the Pretorian forts told the accuracy of their fire.
But either the burghers were half-hearted or there was no real intention to
make a stand. About half-past two their fire slackened and Pole-Carew was
directed to push on. That debonnaire soldier with his two veteran brigades
obeyed the order with alacrity, and the infantry swept over the ridge, with
some thirty or forty casualties, the majority of which fell to the Warwicks.
The position was taken, and Hamilton, who came up late, was only able to
send on De Lisle's mounted infantry, chiefly Australians, who ran down one
of the Boer maxims in the open. The action had cost us altogether about
seventy men. Among the injured was the Duke of Norfolk, who had shown a high
sense of civic virtue in laying aside the duties and dignity of a Cabinet
Minister in order to serve as a simple captain of volunteers. At the end of
this one fight the capital lay at the mercy of Lord Roberts. Consider the
fight which they made for their chief city, compare it with that which the
British made for the village of Mafeking, and say on which side is that
stern spirit of self-sacrifice and resolution which are the signs of the
better cause.
In the early morning of June 5th, the Coldstream Guards were mounting the
hills which commanded the town. Beneath them in the clear African air lay
the famous city, embowered in green, the fine central buildings rising
grandly out of the wide circle of villas. Through the Nek part of the
Guards' Brigade and Maxwell's Brigade had passed, and had taken over the
station, from which at least one train laden with horses had steamed that
morning. Two others, both ready to start, were only just stopped in time.
The first thought was for the British prisoners, and a small party headed by
the Duke of Marlborough rode to their rescue. Let it be said once for all
that their treatment by the Boers was excellent and that their appearance
would alone have proved it. One hundred and twenty-nine officers and
thirty-nine soldiers were found in the Model Schools, which had been
converted into a prison. A day later our cavalry arrived at Waterval, which
is fourteen miles to the north of Pretoria. Here were confined three
thousand soldiers, whose fare had certainly been of the scantiest, though in
other respects they appear to have been well treated. [Footnote: Further
information unfortunately shows that in the case of the sick and of the
Colonial prisoners the treatment was by no means good.] Nine hundred of
their comrades had been removed by the Boers, but Porter's cavalry was in
time to release the others, under a brisk shell fire from a Boer gun upon
the ridge. Many pieces of good luck we had in the campaign, but this
recovery of our prisoners, which left the enemy without a dangerous lever
for exacting conditions of peace, was the most fortunate of all.
In the centre of the town there is a wide square decorated or disfigured by
a bare pedestal upon which a statue of the President was to have been
placed. Hard by is the bleak barnlike church in which he preached, and on
either side are the Government offices and the Law Courts, buildings which
would grace any European capital. Here, at two o'clock on the afternoon of
June 5th, Lord Roberts sat his horse and saw pass in front of him the men
who had followed him so far and so faithfully - the Guards, the Essex, the
Welsh, the Yorks, the Warwicks, the guns, the mounted infantry, the dashing
irregulars, the Gordons, the Canadians, the Shropshires, the Cornwalls, the
Camerons, the Derbys, the Sussex, and the London Volunteers. For over two
hours the khaki waves with their crests of steel went sweeping by. High
above their heads from the summit of the Raadzaal the broad Union Jack
streamed for the first time. Through months of darkness we had struggled
onwards to the light. Now at last the strange drama seemed to be drawing to
its close. The God of battles had given the long-withheld verdict. But of
all the hearts which throbbed high at that supreme moment there were few who
felt one touch of bitterness towards the brave men who had been overborne.
They had fought and died for their ideal. We had fought and died for ours.
The hope for the future of South Africa is that they or their descendants
may learn that that banner which has come to wave above Pretoria means no
racial intolerance, no greed for gold, no paltering with injustice or
corruption, but that it means one law for all and one freedom for all, as it
does in every other continent in the whole broad earth. When that is learned
it may happen that even they will come to date a happier life and a wider
liberty from that 5th of June which saw the symbol of their nation pass for
ever from among the ensigns of the world.
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MAP OF THE
ROUTE TO PRETORIA AND JOHANNESBURG
From: H. W. Wilson, With the Flag to Pretoria, 1902
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