FIGHTING ON THE SURREY HILLS.
Our valiant defenders were striking swift, decisive blows for England's
honour. The French, demoralised by their severe defeat in the south of
London, and suffering considerable loss in every other direction, fought
desperately during the two days following the disastrous bombardment.
In darkness and sunlight fierce contests took place along the Surrey
Hills, where our Volunteers, under Major-Gen. Lord Methuen, were still
entrenched. Every copse bristled with rifles; red coats gleamed among
the foliage, and winding highways were, alas! strewn with corpses.
Guildford had again been reoccupied by our Regulars, who were
reorganising; and Leatherhead, holding out for another day, was retaken,
after a terribly hard-fought battle, by the Highland, South of Scotland,
and Glasgow Brigades, with the 1st Ayrshire and Galloway Artillery,
under Col. J. G. Sturrock, V.D.; 1st Lanarkshire, under Col. R. J.
Bennett, V.D.; 1st Aberdeenshire, under Col. J. Ogston, V.D.; and 1st
North Riding Yorkshire Volunteer Artillery, under Major C. L. Bell. In
such a splendid and gallant manner had our comparatively small force
manoeuvred, that on the second night following the bombardment the whole
of the invaders who had penetrated beyond our line of defence towards
the metropolis had been completely wiped out, in addition to which the
breach in our line had been filled up by strong reinforcements, and the
enemy driven from the high ground between Box Hill and Guildford.
The invaders, finding how vigorously we repelled any attack, made
terrific onslaughts on our position at various points they believed were
vulnerable, but everywhere they were hurled back with appalling
slaughter. Volunteers from Australia and the Cape, in addition to the
other contingent of 10,000 Indian native troops, had been landed near
Southampton, and had advanced to assist in this terrific struggle, upon
the result of which the future of our Empire depended. Among these
Colonials were 500 Victorian Rangers, 900 Victoria Mounted Rifles, and
seven companies of Queensland Mounted Infantry, with two ambulance
corps.
The Indians landed in splendid form, having brought their full war
equipment with them without any contribution whatever from the Home
Government, as it will be remembered they did when they landed at Malta
during Lord Beaconsfield's administration. Having received intelligence
of the movements of the two columns of the enemy that had gone to London
after taking Leatherhead and Guildford, they pushed on to Petworth. By
the time they arrived there, however, both towns had been recaptured by
the British, who were then being severely harassed by the enemy massed
along the south side of our defensive line. Although numerically
inferior to the enemy occupying that part of the country, the Indians
were already well accustomed to actual warfare, the majority having been
engaged in operations against the hill tribes; therefore the commander
decided to push on at once, and endeavour to outflank the large French
force who with some Russian infantry had again attacked Guildford, and
the manner in which this was accomplished was a single illustration of
the valuable assistance the Indians rendered us in these days of
bloodshed and despair.
One of the native officers of a Sikh regiment, the Subadar Banerji
Singh, having served with Sir Peter Lumsden's expeditionary force some
years before, had frequently come into contact with the Russians, and
could speak Russian better than some of the soldiers of the Tsar's
Asiatic corps. The commander of the Indian force, determined that his
men should strike their blow and sustain their reputation, advanced with
great caution from Petworth, and late in the afternoon of the second
evening after the bombardment of London, two Sikhs scouting in front of
the advance guard sighted a Russian bivouac on the road on the other
side of the Wye Canal beyond Loxwood Bridge, which latter had been
demolished. The Indians were thereupon halted on the road which runs
through the wood near Plaistow, and the officers held council. Their
information was unfortunately very meagre and their knowledge of the
country necessarily vague; but the Subadar Banerji Singh, who was of
unusually fair complexion, volunteered to don a Russian uniform, which
had been taken with other property from a dead officer found upon the
road, and endeavour in that disguise to penetrate the enemy's lines.
Towards dusk he set out on his perilous journey, and, on arriving at the
wrecked bridge, shouted over to two Russian sentries, explaining that he
had been wounded and left behind after the fight at Haslemere, and
requesting their assistance to enable him to cross. Believing him to be
one of their infantry officers, they told him there were no means of
crossing unless he could swim, as their engineers had sounded the canal
before blowing up the bridge, and had found it twenty feet deep.
Banerji Singh questioned them artfully as to the position of their
column, which they said intended, in co-operation with a great force of
French cavalry and infantry, to again attack Guildford at dawn; and
further, they told him in confidence that the rearguard to which they
belonged only numbered about two thousand men, who had halted for the
night with the transport waggons on the Guildford road, about two miles
north of Alfold.
Then, after further confidences, they suggested that he should continue
along the canal bank for about a mile and a half, where there was a
bridge still intact, and near which he would find the rearguard.
Thanking them, he withdrew into the falling gloom, and a quarter of an
hour later entered the presence of his commanding officer, who, of
course, was delighted with the information thus elicited. The Subadar
had carefully noted all the features of the canal bank and broken
bridge, and the valuable knowledge he had obtained was at once put to
account, and the General at once formed his force into two divisions.
Then, after issuing instructions for the following day, he gave orders
for a bivouac for the night.
The pioneers, however, were far from idle. During the night they worked
with unflagging energy, quietly preparing a position for the guns to
cover the contemplated passage at Loxwood Bridge, and before day broke
the guns were mounted, and the Engineers were ready for action. As soon
as there was sufficient light the laying of the pontoon commenced, but
was at once noticed by the Russians, who opened fire, and very soon it
was evident that information had been conveyed to the enemy's rearguard,
and that they were returning to contest the passage.
In the meantime one division of the Indians, setting out before
daybreak, had been cautiously working round to the main road crossing
the canal north of Alfold, and succeeded in getting over soon after the
majority of the Russian rearguard had left for the assistance of the
detachment at Loxwood Bridge, and, after a sharp, decisive fight,
succeeded in capturing the whole of the transport waggons. The
Engineers, with the Indians, had in the meantime succeeded in completing
their pontoon under cover of the guns, and the second division of the
Indians, dark-faced, daring fellows, rushed across to the opposite bank,
and descended upon the enemy with frightful effect. In the hot
engagement that followed, the Russians, now attacked in both front and
rear, were totally annihilated, and thus the whole of the reserve
ammunition of the force assaulting Guildford fell into our hands.
This victory on the enemy's left flank caused the tide of events to turn
in our favour, for the huge Russian and French columns that intended to
again carry the hills from Dorking to Guildford were hampered by want
of ammunition, and so vigorously did our Volunteers along the hills
defend the repeated attacks, that the invaders were again driven back.
Then, as they drew south to recover themselves, they were attacked on
their left by a large body of our Regulars, and in the rear by the
Indians and Australians. Over the country stretching across from Cranley
through Ewhurst, Ockley, Capel, and Newdigate to Horley, the fighting
spread, as each side struggled desperately for the mastery.
The fate of England, nay, of our vast British Empire, was in the hands
of those of her stalwart sons of many races who were now wielding
valiantly the rifle and the sword. Through that blazing September day,
while the people of London wailed among the ruins of their homes, and,
breathlessly anxious, awaited news of their victory or their doom, the
whole of East Kent, the southern portion of Surrey and northern Sussex,
became one huge battlefield. Of the vast bodies of troops massed over
hill and dale every regiment became engaged.
The butchery was awful.