A MILITARY DEMONSTRATION AND SOME GOOD NEWS
Chieveley: January 8, 1900.
BOOM. Thud, thud. Boom. Boom. Thud--thud thud--thud thud thud
thud--boom. A long succession of queer moaning vibrations broke the
stillness of the sleeping camp. I became suddenly awake. It was two
o'clock on the morning of January 6. The full significance of the sounds
came with consciousness. We had all heard them before--heavy cannonading
at Ladysmith. They were at it again. How much longer would the heroic
garrison be persecuted?
I turned to rest once more. But the distant guns forbade sleep. The
reports grew momentarily more frequent, until at last they merged into
one general roar. This was new. Never before had we heard such
bombarding. Louder and louder swelled the cannonade, and presently the
deep note of the heavy artillery could scarcely be distinguished above
the incessant discharges of field pieces. So I lay and listened. What
was happening eighteen miles away over the hills? Another bayonet attack
by the garrison? Or perhaps a general sortie: or perhaps, but this
seemed scarcely conceivable, the Boers had hardened their hearts and
were delivering the long expected, long threatened assault.
An officer came to my tent with the daylight. Something big happening at
Ladysmith--hell of a cannonade--never heard anything like it--worse than
Colenso--what do you think of it? But I was without opinion; nor did I
find anyone anxious to pronounce. Meanwhile the firing was maintained,
and we breakfasted to its accompaniment. Until half-past ten there was
not the slightest diminution or intermission. As the day advanced,
however, it gradually died away, showing either that the fight was over,
or, as it afterwards turned out, that it had passed into the hands of
riflemen.
We all spent an anxious morning speculating on the reason and result of
the engagement. About noon there arrived an unofficial message by
heliograph, which the young officer at the signal station confided to
his friends. It was brief. 'General attack all sides by
Boers--everywhere repulsed--but fight still going on.'
At one o'clock, just as were sitting down to luncheon, came an orderly
at full gallop with the order for the whole force in Chieveley to turn
out at once. Whereat the camp, till then dormant under the midday sun,
sprang to life like a disturbed ant-hill. Some said we were about to
make a regular attack on Colenso, while many of the covering army of
Boers were busy at Ladysmith. Others suggested a night assault--with the
bayonet. The idea was very pleasant to the hearts of the infantry. But I
soon learned that no serious operation was in contemplation, and that
the force was merely to make a demonstration before Colenso with the
object of bringing some of the Boers back from Ladysmith, and of so
relieving the pressure on Sir George White.
The demonstration was, however, a very imposing affair. First of all the
mounted forces threw out a long fringe of patrols all along the front.
Behind this the squadrons made a line of black bars. The mounted
infantry, Bethune's Horse, and the Natal Carabineers formed the left:
the South African Light Horse the centre, and the 13th Hussars and
Thorneycroft's Mounted Infantry twisted back to watch the right. Behind
this curtain marched the infantry, Hildyard's brigade on the right,
Barton's on the left, line after line of brown men ten yards apart, two
hundred yards between the lines, spreading in this open formation over a
wide expanse of country, and looking a mighty swarm. Behind these again
dark blocks of artillery and waggons moved slowly forward. Behind, and
above all, the naval battery began to throw its shells into the village.
The cavalry soon cleared the front, the squadrons wheeled about, the
patrols retreated. The South African Light Horse, with whom I now have
the honour to serve, were stationed in rear of Gun Hill, a rocky
eminence so called because a heavy battery was placed there in the last
engagement. From this feature an excellent view of the operation was
afforded, and thence we watched the whole development.
Sir Francis Clery, General Hildyard, and their respective Staffs had
also taken their position on Gun Hill, so that its crest was thickly
crowded with figures peering exhaustively through field glasses and
telescopes. The infantry, who were now moving steadily forward, were
literally sprinkled all over the country.
In the text-books compiled from the results of past experience the
military student reads that armies divide to march and concentrate to
fight. 'Nous avons changé tout cela.' Here we concentrate to march and
disperse to fight. I asked General Hildyard what formation his brigade
was in. He replied, 'Formation for taking advantage of ant-heaps.' This
is a valuable addition to the infantry drill.
Meanwhile the demonstration was in progress, and not without effect.
Only the well-informed realised that it was a demonstration, and the
privates, as they walked phlegmatically on, did not know that they were
not about to be plunged into another deluge of fire.
'You watch it, Bill,' I heard one man remark, 'we'll have that ----
laughing hyena' (the Vickers-Maxim gun) 'let off at us in a minute.'
The Boers, too, seemed to be deceived, or, at any rate, doubtful, for we
could see them in twos and threes, and presently in fives and sixes,
galloping into their trenches, which were evidently deep enough to
shelter horse and man. It was most probable that larger bodies had
already begun their countermarch from Ladysmith. We were not wasting our
time or our trouble.
The infantry halted about three thousand yards from the enemy's
position, and the artillery, which numbered fourteen guns, trotted
forward and came into action. All these movements, which had been very
deliberately made, had taken a long time, and it was now nearly five
o'clock. Dark thunder-clouds and a drizzle of rain descended on the
silent Boer position, and the range of hills along which it stretched
lay in deep shadow as if under the frown of Heaven. Our batteries also
were ranged in this gloomy zone, but with the reserves and on the hill
whence we were watching there was bright sunlight.
The bombardment and the storm broke over the Boer entrenchments
simultaneously. A swift succession of fierce red flashes stabbed out
from the patches of gunners, teams, and waggons, and with yellow gleams
soft white balls of smoke appeared among the houses of Colenso and above
the belts of scrub which extend on either side. The noise of explosions
of gun and projectile came back to us on the hill in regular order, and
above them rang the startling discharges of the 4.7-inch naval guns,
whose shells in bursting raised huge brown dust clouds from houses,
trench, or hillside. At the same time the thunder began to rumble, and
vivid streaks of blue light scarred the sombre hills. We watched the
impressive spectacle in safety and the sunlight.
Besides creating a diversion in favour of Ladysmith the object of our
demonstration was to make the enemy reveal his position and especially
the positions of his guns. In this latter respect, however, we were
defeated. Though they must have suffered some loss and more annoyance
from the bombardment, and though much of the infantry was well within
the range of their guns, the Boers declined to be drawn, and during two
hours' shelling they did not condescend to give a single shot in reply.
It needs a patient man to beat a Dutchman at waiting. So about seven
o'clock we gave up trying.
It had been intended to leave the troops on the enemy's front until
night and withdraw them after dark, the idea being to make him anxious
lest a night attack should be designed. But as some of the battalions
had turned out without having their dinners, Sir Francis Clery decided
not to keep them under arms longer, and the whole force withdrew
gracefully and solemnly to camp.
Here we found news from Ladysmith. 'Enemy everywhere repulsed for the
present.' For the present! Hold on only a little longer, gallant
garrison, and if it be in the power of 25,000 British soldiers to help
you, your troubles and privations shall soon be ended--and what a dinner
we will have together then!
That night we tried to congratulate or encourage Ladysmith, and the
searchlight perseveringly flashed the Morse code on the clouds. But
before it had been working half an hour the Boer searchlight saw it and
hurried to interfere, flickering, blinking, and crossing to try to
confuse the dots and dashes, and appeared to us who watched this curious
aerial battle--Briton and Boer fighting each other in the sky with
vibrations of ether--to confuse them very effectually.
Next morning, however, the sun came out for uncertain periods, and
Ladysmith was able to tell her own story briefly and jerkily, but still
a very satisfactory account.
At two o'clock, according to Sir George White, the Boers in great
numbers, evidently reinforced from Colenso, surprised the pickets and
began a general attack on the outpost line round the town, particularly
directing their efforts on Cæsar's Camp and Waggon Hill. The fighting
became very close, and the enemy, who had after all hardened their
hearts, pushed the attack with extraordinary daring and vigour. Some of
the trenches on Waggon Hill were actually taken three times by the
assailants. But every time General Hamilton--the skilful Hamilton as he
has been called--flung them out again by counterattacks. At one place,
indeed, they succeeded in holding on all day, nor was it until the dusk
of the evening, when the rain and thunderstorm which we saw hanging over
Colenso broke on Ladysmith, that Colonel Park led forth the Devon
Regiment--who, having had half their officers killed or wounded by a
shell some days before, were probably spiteful--and drove the Dutchmen
helter skelter at the point of the bayonet. So that by night the Boers
were repulsed at every point, with necessarily great slaughter, greater
at any rate than on our side. Their first experience of assaulting!
Encore!
Battles now-a-days are fought mainly with firearms, but no troops,
however brave, however well directed, can enjoy the full advantage of
their successes if they exclude the possibilities of cold steel and are
not prepared to maintain what they have won, if necessary with their
fists. The moral strength of an army which welcomes the closest personal
encounter must exceed that of an army which depends for its victories
only on being able to kill its foes at a distance. The bayonet is the
most powerful weapon we possess out here. Firearms kill many of the
enemy, but it is the white weapon that makes them run away. Rifles can
inflict the loss, but victory depends, for us at least, on the bayonets.
Of the losses we as yet know nothing, except that Lord Ava is seriously
wounded, a sad item for which the only consolation is that the Empire is
worth the blood of its noblest citizens. But for the general result we
rejoice. Ladysmith, too, is proud and happy. Only ten thousand of us,
and look what we do! A little reproachfully, perhaps; for it is dull
work fighting week after week without alcohol or green vegetables.
Well, it looks as if their trials were very nearly over. Sir Charles
Warren's Division marches to Frere to-day. All the hospitals have been
cleared ready for those who may need them. If all's well we shall have
removed the grounds of reproach by this day week. The long interval
between the acts has come to an end. The warning bell has rung. Take
your seats, ladies and gentlemen. The curtain is about to rise.
'High time, too,' say the impatient audience, and with this I must
agree; for, looking from my tent as I write, I can see the smoke-puff
bulging on Bulwana Hill as 'Long Tom' toils through his seventy-second
day of bombardment, and the white wisp seems to beckon the relieving
army onward.