THE RAISING OF THE MOUNTED COLUMN.
Evacuation of Lindley--Regiment split up--Major du Moulin's
detachment--Men mounted at Bethulie--On convoy--The chase of De
Wet--Strydenburg--Colesberg--Edenburg--A vast convoy--
Bloemfontein--Smithfield--Action at Commissie Bridge--the
Fighting Column--Raw Yeomen--Deep Dene Drift--Jammersberg
Bridge--Springfontein.
The wearisome stay of the Regiment in Lindley came to an end in January,
1901. On the 13th of that month the filling in of the entrenchments was
begun, and orders to evacuate the town were finally received on the
afternoon of the 20th. The piquets were sent out as usual, but by 9 p.m.
the town was cleared, and the force (consisting of the Royal Sussex, two
companies of the Bedfords, and Col. Munro's column) started for
Kroonstad. There was great confusion at the drift outside the town,
several lines of wagons converging on it in the dark; and by dawn only 3
miles had been made. The secret, however, had been very well kept, and
the Boers had no inkling of the departure of the troops until well on
into the morning of the 21st. They then harassed the rear, but made no
other use of their considerable numbers, and the force reached Kroonstad
practically without incident.
Here the regiment was split up, and B, E, and H companies were sent up
the railway to Heilbron. From Heilbron they trekked to Frankfort and
back with Col. Williams' Column, assisting in the evacuation of that
place; and they then railed with Head Quarters down to Norval's Pont,
where the railway from Cape Town crosses the Orange River, and enters
the Orange River Colony. They relieved the Essex Regiment there, taking
over the piquets on the hills north of the river; subsequently
detachments were sent to Donkerpoort, and to Providence Siding, further
up the line.
On June 3rd these Companies were relieved by Militia, and sent to join
various columns, all men who would ride ultimately reaching the Sussex
column. Head Quarters remained at Norval's Pont till July, when they
were moved, first to Springfontein, and then (December 6th) to Bethulie,
on the Port Elizabeth line. Col. Donne had previously gone to Kroonstad
as Commandant of that place.
To return to January, 1901--A, C, D, F, and G companies entrained at
Kroonstad on the 25th of that month, under Major du Moulin, for
Ventersburg Road; and from there they moved out as escort to an ox
convoy on the evening of the 27th. The weather was appalling--very heavy
rain lit by vivid flashes of lightning, that showed men and oxen in a
sea of mud. Progress soon became impossible, and the column halted,
waiting where it stood for dawn. The crossing of Zand River on the 29th
gave great trouble, the huge convoy taking fifteen hours to complete it.
Smaldeel was reached on the 30th, and there the convoy was left, the
five companies entraining for Bethulie, where a great concentration was
taking place in view of De Wet's intended raid into Cape Colony. On
reaching Bethulie, the kit was reduced to one blanket and one waterproof
sheet per man, great-coats and tents being returned to store.
A bad railway accident involving several trains took place here on the
1st of February. The Sussex men turned out, and cleared the line after
the greatest exertions. Trucks had to be broken up, and great pieces of
them dragged out of the railway cutting by main force.
Want of mounted men was being most keenly felt at this time, and General
Lyttleton (who was at Bethulie) suggested that the Regiment might
provide the mounted escort required for a convoy. The idea was
enthusiastically taken up; many more men volunteered than could be
mounted. By the 7th of February an M.I. Company of 120 men had been
organised under Lieut. Harden and 2nd Lieut. Leachman; and in addition
to these, a number of men of C, D and F companies were mounted, and left
under their own officers.
The scenes that ensued during the two or three days, which were all that
could be allowed for training, had their humorous side. Many of the men
had never had anything to do with a horse before, and hardly knew one
end of it from the other. However, they stuck to their mounts nobly--as
long as they could. On one of the first treks, an officer, coming under
the eye of the authorities, and wishing to show off the accomplishments
of his men, gave the command "Trot!" The result was a surprise to all
parties. With a thundering of hoofs, a mob of galloping horsemen swept
past the officer, scattered the authorities, and disappeared in clouds
of dust. They knew how to start their horses--but had not yet learned
the art of stopping them.
Great difficulty was experienced in getting saddlery. This had to be
obtained locally, and the stuff in the town turned out to be mere
rubbish. Some more serviceable equipment was got from the Mounted
Infantry, but, when the detachment moved out on February 9th in charge
of a convoy, many of the men were using blankets as saddles, and looped
putties as stirrups.
The horses supplied were also very indifferent. A large proportion had
been cast by the columns for sore backs and wrung withers, from which
they had hardly recovered. However, all obstacles were surmounted, and
the convoy, consisting of some 300 ox wagons, crossed the main line at
Prior's siding on the 10th of February, and reached Philippolis on the
11th, after marching that day 24 miles.
The total strength of the detachment under Major du Moulin at this time
was 12 officers and 558 rank and file. This included two companies of
the Royal Irish Rifles, which were attached.
Striking down into the Colony, two days were taken up in crossing the
Orange River at Sand Drift, where many columns had collected, the river
being in flood. The water on the Drift was five feet deep in places, so
that the wagons were awash. The bottom was sandy, and the track had
constantly to be changed. A steep bank of heavy sand on the south side
added to the difficulties. The constant rain at this time was very
trying to the troops; the roads were knee-deep in slush, the camps
became marshes, and, as there were no tents, wet blankets were the order
of the day.
By the 17th the line was again reached at De Aar. Here more men were
mounted, Lieut. Ashworth having brought up a further instalment of
saddlery, and on the next day a start was made with a full convoy for
Britstown, to the west of the railway line.
At this time De Wet had crossed the Orange River with his raiders, had
reached Britstown, and had been headed off to the west in the
Strydenburg direction. A large number of columns had been thrown into
the Colony to deal with him, and the convoy under Major du Moulin was to
serve the Northern section of these. It reached Britstown on the 20th,
after some fighting; for it was actually ahead of the columns, and the
Boers only evacuated the town as the convoy came up.
An average trek of 20 miles a day brought the convoy to Strydenburg (by
way of Prieska) on the 23rd of February, hot on the trail of the Boers,
whose recent camps were found at farms along the road. Maxwell's column
was already in the town, and Munro's arrived with the convoy. Bethune's
column was in rear. De Wet, who could not recross the Orange River on
account of the floods, lost on this day a 15 pr., a pom-pom and 100 men,
captured by Plumer.--The return journey of the convoy to Paau Pan, on
the railway, was completed on the 26th.
The long marches to and from Strydenburg were wearisome and hot. Day
after day the convoy plodded on, while the Karoo country stretched all
round, brown, dusty, waterless, and quite flat. There was little sign of
life--a few sheep, perhaps, a few ostriches, and a very occasional farm.
The scrubby bush was most trying to the horses' legs. A "pan" here and
there promised relief to the thirsty men and beasts, but the water as
often as not turned out to be salt.
De Wet managed to cross the River on the 28th of February, and the
column's next piece of convoy work consisted in taking 100 ox wagons and
19 mule wagons from Orange River Station to Colesberg, a distance of 100
miles. This was done in the remarkably quick time of six days, making an
average of 17 miles a day in spite of bad weather. As 2-1/2 miles an hour
is fast for an ox wagon, this entailed eight hours a day actually on the
move. The convoy reached Colesberg on the 8th of March, after a trek
that formed a delightful contrast to the preceding one. The road led
through a green and smiling country, lying among its hills by the Orange
River. It was the season of fruit, and there was a great abundance of
all kinds. Colesberg itself was a pleasant and friendly town, behind
which rose the towering sides of Coles Kop. It seemed impossible that a
gun should have been taken to its summit, but the feat had been
accomplished, and the gun was there. A signal station on the top
maintained helio communication within a radius of 30 or 40 miles, and
exchanged occasional messages at 70 miles or more.
On the 10th of March the force under Major du Moulin started by rail for
Edenburg. The men were not yet very skilled at entraining horses, and
one company omitted to look to the bolts of the door on the far side of
its truck. A few miles from Colesberg, a telegram overtook the train to
say that horses were dropping out. The side of the truck had swung open,
the train was going slow, and, looking back, three or four horses could
be seen careering about the veldt. The door was quickly secured, and the
train went on.
Soon after passing Norval's Pont, the train again came to a standstill.
A swarm of locusts was on the rails, and the wheels of the engine could
get no grip. The men had to turn out, and throw sand in front of the
engine till the swarm was passed.
The country south of Dewetsdorp and east of Edenburg is intersected by a
series of long ridges from two to five hundred feet in height, between
which lie valleys and plains of irregular shape, often many miles
across. At this time these valleys were full of stock of all kinds, the
inhabitants were on their farms, and the local commandos, under
Commandant Brand and others, had lived undisturbed upon the fat of the
land. The size of the country, and the power of splitting up possessed
by the commandos, made it extremely difficult to get at the latter. An
effort was therefore made to cut off their supplies, and General
Lyttleton's columns were turned into the district to clear it. Major du
Moulin started from Edenburg with a convoy of 152 wagons for these
columns on the 13th of March, reached Dewetsdorp on the 16th after some
sniping, and on the 21st handed in at Bloemfontein 2,000 horses, 5,000
cattle, and 80,000 sheep collected during the week. A number of refugees
were also brought in. The Boers had been engaged at Geluk on the 19th,
two of them being killed and three wounded. Some South African Light
Horse had been attached, to assist the escort of the convoy.
This trek into Bloemfontein from Dewetsdorp was a truly remarkable one.
The convoy had grown so enormously in taking over the captures of the
various columns, that it was no less than 10 miles long. Sometimes the
rearguard did not leave one camping ground until two hours after the
advanced guard had reached the next. The rearguard had a very difficult
job. The great masses of sheep were very slow, and often a kopje had to
be held until it was difficult to get away in the face of the Boer
snipers, who constantly harassed the rear. This sniping continued right
up to the outposts of Bloemfontein.
Here a great change was noticed in the look of the troops in the town.
Instead of the torn and dirty uniforms of Lord Roberts' advance, neat
new Khaki was to be seen all round, while at the Club starched collars
and red tabs seemed the rule.
At Bloemfontein Capt. Montresor joined the column, and there the Royal
Irish Rifles left it. The weather continued extremely bad, the heavy
rain causing the greatest discomfort to the troops.
Entraining for Springfontein, the force started thence with another
convoy for the east of the line on the 27th of March. There were then
under Major du Moulin 12 officers and 375 men of the Royal Sussex, of
whom 250 were mounted; and a section each of the 39th and 85th batteries
R.F.A.
The convoy was constantly sniped; but a trap laid by the Boers near
Leeuwfontein failed, the widely extended flank guards getting in their
rear without being conscious of the fact. The want of a pom-pom was very
much felt, as the guns could not leave the convoy.
Smithfield was reached on the 30th, and some cycles found there formed
the nucleus of a cyclist section, subsequently elaborated under Lieut.
Crawley-Boevey. From Smithfield a four days' trek brought the convoy to
Bethulie, after destroying by the way a Boer supply depot, with ovens
for the baking of bread, at Gryskop. Near the same place D company
(under Capt. Montresor) found itself in a warm corner at a farm to which
it had been sent foraging, and lost four horses killed and three
wounded. The guns, however, galloped up, and the Boers retired under a
heavy fire.
Smithfield was reached on the return journey on the 7th of April, and
Edenburg on the 10th. At the latter place, prisoners, refugees and stock
were handed in.[13]
While trekking, the Mounted Infantry furnished the advanced and rear
screens, and the flank guards, the latter keeping well out. The order of
march of the remainder was as follows:--
Advanced Guard:--
Section R.F.A.
1 Coy. Infantry in wagons (when available).
Main Body:--
1 Coy. Infantry in Cape Carts.
Baggage Column, R.A. leading.
Supply wagons (mule).
Ox wagons.
Refugee wagons and ambulances.
Rear Guard:--
Section R.F.A.
1 Coy. Infantry in wagons (when available).
The company of Infantry at the head of the main body was used as a
species of mounted (or rather carted) infantry; on the convoy being
threatened, the Cape carts were turned in the required direction, and
galloped across the veldt, disgorging their occupants at points of
vantage. All the mounted men were thus freed for more important duties
further afield. Each Cape cart contained one or two boxes of ammunition,
and thus acted as ammunition reserve for any other troops who came up.
In April, General Lyttleton gave up command of the Southern District of
the Orange River Colony, and on doing so published the following
order:--
The Officer Commanding
1st Royal Sussex Regt.
Lieut. General Lyttleton desires me, before he leaves this command,
to convey to you his appreciation of the very efficient manner in
which the men of your Battalion, under Major du Moulin, have
carried out the arduous duties of escort to convoys, on which they
have been frequently employed.
They have been admirably trained and handled by that Officer, who
has singular qualifications for that sort of work, and O.C.'s of
columns in the field have reported in high terms on them.
General Lyttleton hopes that his good opinion may be conveyed to
all ranks, in Battalion Orders, or in whatever way the Commanding
Officer thinks best.
A. J. M. MacAndrew, Capt.
Edenburg, for C.S.O.
April 12, 1901 Genl. Lyttleton's Force.
A convoy of 120 wagons was again taken out to Dewetsdorp on the 11th of
April, 250 I.Y. and 50 South African Light Horse (all freshly raised)
being added to the escort. Dewetsdorp was cleared of inhabitants, and
also all the farms along the route; and a vast body of refugees was
brought in on the return to Edenburg, many having been handed over by
the columns.[14] There was a good deal of sniping during the trek, in
which one man[15] was severely wounded. A bicyclist of the advanced
guard had been captured, with his machine, on the first day out. The man
was of course set free: the bicycle was recovered months afterwards in a
farm some distance away.
The force then set out for Smithfield with a convoy, reaching that place
on the 24th of April, after having had a brush with a party of Boers
near Rietput the day before. The town was cleared, and all the ovens and
cooking utensils found in the houses were destroyed. On the morning of
the 26th, when the convoy moved on, the Boers attempted to hold
Commissie Bridge over the Caledon River. A sharp engagement followed,
during which 2nd Lieut. Thorne collected men from among the wagons,
dashed across the bridge, and seized a kopje on the further side,
thereby gaining a mention in column orders. The Boers were driven off,
but followed the convoy almost to Rouxville, which was reached on the
27th of April; and from this date to the 20th of May the force under
Major du Moulin was occupied in escorting a convoy between Aliwal and
Rouxville, bringing out stores from the latter place, and returning with
refugees and stock taken over from the columns working the district.
On the 20th of May orders were received from General Bruce Hamilton that
the column was to clear the country north of Smithfield as a fighting
column. The task of watching the trek ox plod slowly and gloomily
through the dust was over, to the great delight of all ranks, and, with
a roving commission, the column set out in a northerly direction. In
addition to men of the Royal Sussex (5 companies M.I. and an Infantry
escort), Major du Moulin had under him at this time a company of the
Connaught Rangers M.I. and a section of the 43rd Battery, R.F.A.
On the 22nd a retreating Boer convoy was sighted--probably belonging to
Brand's Commando, then at Rietput. On the 24th the baggage of the column
was well sniped by some sixty Boers at Kopjeskraal, on the way to
Vaalbank. What followed was characteristic of Major du Moulin's methods.
The cooks and other duty men, together with the wagon escort in Cape
carts, were immediately set to charge round the flank of the hill at a
gallop, Cape carts and all. This was too much for the nerves of the
Boers, who streamed away. The guns came into action, without, however,
any luck, the retreating Boers having separated in all directions.
The work of clearing farms continued, two companies of M.I. being sent
out daily on each flank for the purpose. In many cases the farms were
found empty, with every sign that the occupants had just hurriedly left.
Sometimes a room had been bricked up, in which a supply of grain or the
family treasures were stored.
On the 3rd of June the line was again reached at Jagersfontein Road, in
cold and snow. A trek northwards along the line brought the column to
Edenburg, where a new batch of mounted men from the Regiment joined. The
30th and 31st Imperial Yeomanry were also attached, and the much-desired
pom-pom (under Capt. A. A. Montgomery, R.A.) was obtained. Two guns of
the 39th Field Battery were with the column.
This batch of Yeomanry consisted of men utterly raw and untrained. They
knew nothing about the work, so that it was necessary to assign each
Yeoman to a Sussex man for instruction. As the pay of the latter was
only one shilling a day, while the Yeoman was receiving five shillings,
the position was rather absurd. On the first day out a spare wagon was
filled with stuff that the Yeomen had left in camp--saddles, blankets,
ammunition, etc. While on trek they were constantly losing horses and
rifles. A system of heavy fines, proportionate to their pay, was
instituted for these offences. In one case it was strongly suspected
that a horse had been shot and left, saddle and all, by its rider when
out on flank guard--presumably because he had no turn for mounted work,
and disliked his animal.
No doubt some of these men developed into useful soldiers. Under the
circumstances, however, the process was an annoying and even dangerous
one for their instructors.
On the 6th of June the column set out to the West of the line. Capt.
Gilbert raided the farm of Lokshoek on the night of the 6th, and Capt.
Montresor that of Kranzhoek on the 7th, capturing 13 and 11 prisoners
respectively. At Lokshoek was a laager of women and children, with Cape
carts and wagons. During the following days this process was repeated
elsewhere, with the result that on the return of the column to Edenburg
on the 15th, 53 prisoners were handed in, besides many refugees and a
large amount of stock.[16]
In Army Orders of the 4th of June, Major du Moulin was granted the local
rank of Lieut.-Colonel. He was subsequently awarded a brevet
Lieut.-Colonelcy.
At Edenburg, Lieuts. Crawley-Boevey and Bond, and 2nd Lieut. Paget
joined the column--the latter with 50 mounted men, who had been raised
at Norval's Pont, and employed round Edenburg.
On the 18th, the column set out to the East of the line, and worked once
more in the now familiar country south of Dewetsdorp. Parties were
constantly sent out to surround farms at night on the chance of finding
Boers. The enemy had, however, realised by this time the danger of
sleeping under a roof.
The 25th of June provided a long day's work. The column was fired at in
the morning at Koetzee's Post, some 300 Boers being among the hills west
of that place. The troops turned into the hill, successfully forcing the
difficult nek to Klip Huis. Fourteen Cape carts and two wagons
containing women and children were captured, but the commando was in
flight, and the mounted troops chased them as far as Helvetia, 12 miles
off, getting back to camp at Klip Huis after eleven hours in the saddle
without food. A signal lamp stuck up in camp helped the tired companies
to find their way in.
On the 28th of June some Boers successfully trapped a small flanking
party at Mooifontein. The column had gone by Hex River, a pass some
miles to the south; the baggage and escort were to cross the ridge by a
road running close to Mooifontein farm. While the baggage was crossing
the nek, a message was received by the Yeomanry Officer commanding the
left flanking party that a Boer woman at the farm wished to be brought
in to a refugee camp, and had asked for a wagon to take her and her
boxes, which were ready packed. The Officer accordingly rode up to the
farm, after passing the message on, and waited there with seven men of
the Yeomanry and G company till a wagon should be sent back. It seems
that the men paid more attention to catching chickens than to keeping a
look-out. At any rate, as soon as the baggage was out of sight over the
nek, some Boers, who were in hiding behind the farm, opened fire at the
party point blank, killing three in the first volley and wounding
two.[17] The bugler only escaped, and missing his way, arrived at the
camp of the column late at night. A party sent back of course found the
farm unoccupied.
On the 29th of June a special company was organised under Capt.
Montresor to perform scouting duties, raids, and surprise visits to
farms by day and night. The men were to receive a daily ration of rum,
with an extra issue to those engaged in night work; while they were to
be exempt from piquets and guards. One hundred men were easily obtained,
and the "Raiders" came into existence.
On the 5th of July Lieut. Woodruffe was left with 14 men in ambush at
Weltevreden, the camp of the night before, to wait for Boers, who were
expected to visit the camp when the column had left, in the hope of
picking up food or ammunition. Three Boers came along, one to the farm
where the men were hidden. He would not surrender when challenged, but
turned and galloped away, and so was shot.
Thirty Boers now opened fire upon the farm, and four of the horses of
Woodruffe's party broke loose, delaying his retirement. His difficulties
were further increased by one of the Yeomen with him, who became
panic-stricken, and refused to mount. The Boers surrounded the small
kopje upon which Woodruffe took up a position (not, however, before a
boy had been sent back with a note to the column), and, working among
the rocks, gradually closed in upon him. He was slightly wounded in the
head, and one of his men (Weston) was hit. Things were looking rather
black, when Lieut. Howes, I.Y., with 25 men of the rear guard, came back
to his support, and the Boers retired with two killed.
On the 5th of July Dewetsdorp was raided in conjunction with Col.
Rochfort, but the Boers were not there. They sent a letter by a released
prisoner, saying they were sorry not to be at home.
Moving down to the Caledon River, the column arrived at Deep Dene on the
7th of July. There was no drift over the river at this point, and Col.
du Moulin determined to make one. The banks, which were very steep, were
dynamited, and horses and oxen were put to trample down and harden the
loose deep sand of the river bed.
Great care had to be taken to avoid the quick-sands. Five small donkeys
got involved in these, and sank lower and lower, in spite of all
attempts to haul them out by ropes. They made the most pitiable noise in
their terror, and ultimately had to be despatched, when little but their
heads remained visible.
After enormous efforts, all the mule wagons were got across by 8 p.m.,
but the drift was found impassable for ox wagons; these, accordingly,
moved on the following day up to Jammersberg Bridge, being shelled by
another column on the way, and joined the mule wagons again at Wepener.
On the 10th of July, Col. Rochfort and Col. du Moulin, reconnoitring
over Jammersberg Bridge with the Raiders (under Capt. Montresor) and the
pom-pom (under Capt. Montgomery), found seventy Boers holding the kopjes
on the further side. Attacking at once, the hills were stormed on foot,
and the Boers were turned out of their position and pursued for some
miles. One prisoner was taken, and four saddled horses. Serjt.
Nightingale was killed during the action, when very pluckily leading
his section over the bridge.
The column was shortly ordered into Edenburg, and thence down the line
to Springfontein, in order to operate on the west of the line. Orders
had by this time been given that every man of the Regiment who was
willing should be mounted, and join Col. du Moulin; and accordingly
Major Church with the mounted men of H company, and Capt. Beale with
those of the second Volunteer company, were waiting for the column at
Springfontein. Major Church and the Volunteers had been trekking with
Williams' and Byng's columns respectively.
FOOTNOTES:
[13] 20 Prisoners, 9 Male Refugees, 41 Women, 124 Children, 6,179 Sheep,
337 Cattle, 136 Horses.
[14] 100 prisoners, 30 male refugees, 300 women, 980 children, 400 black
refugees, 30,000 sheep, 6,000 cattle, 300 horses.
[15] Pte. Pruce, E Company.
[16]
Prisoners of War 53
Rifles 4
Ammunition 500 rounds
Dynamite 10 lbs.
Horses 558
Ox wagons 36
Cape carts 30
Cattle 2052
Sheep 15000
Refugees.
White men 3
" women 131
" children 467
Black men 2
" women 7
" children 70
[17] Pte. Boniface, of G Company, was killed there. On the same day Pte.
Shorney, of H Company, was mortally wounded at Hex River.