Sanna's Post
On the 28th of March a council of war was held. The first business
transacted referred to disciplinary matters; the council then proceeded
to lay down the conditions under which the commandos were to operate. It
was decided that General De la Rey with his Transvaalers should remain
at Brandfort with certain Free State commandos under General Philip
Botha, and that the remaining troops, under my command, should withdraw
in the evening.
Great was the curiosity of the officers and burghers concerning our
movements, but no man learnt anything from me. I was determined that in
future my plans should be kept entirely secret. Experience had taught me
that whenever a commanding officer allows his intentions to become
public something is sure to go wrong, and I made up my mind to hold the
reins of discipline with a firmer hand.
It is, of course, true that scarcely anything could be done without the
free co-operation of the burghers. They joined the commando when they
wished, or, if they preferred it, stayed away. But now I intended that
the men who joined the commando should be under a far stricter
discipline than formerly, and success rewarded my efforts.
We left Brandfort on the same evening. My object was to surprise the
little garrison at Sanna's Post, which guarded the Bloemfontein Water
Works, and thus to cut off the supply of water from that town.
I started in the direction of Winburg, so as to throw every one off the
scent. On all sides one heard the question, "Where are we really going?
What can we have to do at Winburg?"
The following day I concealed my commando, and that evening some spies,
on whom I could rely, and who were aware of my secret intentions,
brought me all the information I required.
At this point I had a great deal of trouble with Commandant Vilonel. It
appeared that, notwithstanding the express interdiction of the council
of war, there were some thirty waggons, belonging to burghers from
Winburg who were under his orders. I reminded him of the decision to
which the council had come; but he replied that he did not wish his
burghers to have to undergo the hardship of travelling without waggons.
We started that evening, and, sure enough, there he was with his lumber
following behind us.
I gave him notice in writing the next morning that he must send back the
waggons that very night when we were on the march. This provoked from
him a written request that a war council should be summoned to revise
the decision come to at Kroonstad. I answered that I absolutely declined
to do any such thing.
In the course of that day I received a number of reports. I was informed
that General Olivier was driving General Broadwood from Ladybrand
towards Thaba'Nchu. A little later I heard from General Froneman and
Commandant Fourie how matters stood at Sanna's Post. I had disclosed my
plan to them, and sent them out to reconnoitre. There were--so they told
me--according to their estimation, about two hundred English troops
which were stationed in such and such positions.
I at once summoned Generals A.P. Cronje, J.B. Wessels, C.C. Froneman,
and Piet de Wet, and took council with them, telling them of my plans
and enjoining strict secrecy. I then gave orders that Commandant P.
Fourie and C. Nel, with their burghers, three hundred and fifty in
number, should proceed under my command to Koorn Spruit, and be there
before break of day.
[Illustration: SANNA'S POST.
FROM A SKETCH BY THE AUTHOR.]
We settled that Generals Cronje, Wessels, Froneman, and Piet De Wet
should proceed with the remaining burghers, numbering eleven hundred and
fifty, to the ridges east of the Modder River, right opposite Sanna's
Post. They were to take with them the guns, of which we had four or
five, and bombard Sanna's Post as soon as it was light.
The English, I expected, would retreat to Bloemfontein, and then from my
position in Koorn Spruit I should be able to decimate them as they
passed that ravine. I had sent a large number of burghers with the four
generals so that our force might be sufficiently strong to turn General
Broadwood, in case he should hear that there was fighting at Sanna's
Post and come up to reinforce the garrison.
Here again I had trouble with Commandant Vilonel. I had little time to
argue--the sun was already setting, and we had to be off at once. I had
declined to allow a single waggon to go with me, but the Commandant
declared that he would not abide by the decision of the council of war.
He also refused to allow his burghers to go into positions which he
himself had not reconnoitred. He asked that the attack should be
postponed until he had examined Sanna's Post through his telescope.
My patience was now at an end. I told Commandant Vilonel that he must
obey my orders, and that if he did not do so I should dismiss him,
unless he himself resigned. He preferred to resign. My secretary
procured paper, and the Commandant wrote out his resignation. I at once
gave him his dismissal, and felt that a weight had been taken off my
shoulders now that I was free from so wrong-headed an officer.
There was no time now for the burghers to elect a new Commandant in the
usual way. I therefore assembled the Winburg commando, and told them
that Vilonel had resigned, that an opportunity of choosing a substitute
should be given to them later on, but that in the meanwhile I should
appoint Veldtcornet Gert Van der Merve. Nobody had anything to say
against "Gerie," who was a courageous and amiable man; and, after he had
given orders that the waggons should be sent home, we continued our
march.
I met some of my spies at a _rendezvous_ which I had given them on the
road to the Water Works, and learnt from them that the force under
General Broadwood had come that evening from the direction of Ladybrand
and now occupied Thaba'Nchu.
I had ordered my generals to take up positions opposite Sanna's Post and
east of the Modder River. I now left them and rode on to Koorn Spruit,
not knowing that General Broadwood had left Thaba'Nchu after nightfall
and had proceeded to the Water Works. My advance was made as quietly as
possible, and as soon as we reached Koorn Spruit I hid my burghers in
the ravine, placing some to the right and some to the left of the
drift[31] on the road from Thaba'Nchu and Sanna's Post to Bloemfontein.
As soon as it became light enough to see anything we discovered that
just above the spruit[32] stood a waggon, with some Kaffirs and a number
of sheep and cattle beside it. The Kaffirs told us that the waggon
belonged to one of the "hands-uppers" from Thaba'Nchu, and that they had
been ordered to get it down to Bloemfontein as quickly as possible and
to sell it to the English. The owner of the sheep and of the cattle,
they said, was with General Broadwood, whose troops had just arrived at
Sanna's Post.
The light grew brighter, and there, three thousand paces from us, was
Broadwood's huge force.
I had only three hundred and fifty men with me; the other generals, to
the east of the Modder River, had not more than eleven hundred and fifty
between them.
The numbers against us were overwhelming, but I resolved to stand my
ground; and, fortunately, the positions which I had chosen were much to
our advantage--there would be no difficulty in concealing my burghers
and their horses.
I ordered that every one should still remain hidden, even when our party
to the east of the Modder River began to shoot, and that not a round was
to be fired until I gave the command.
General Broadwood was preparing to strike camp. It was then that I told
my men to allow the British troops to get to close quarters and
"hands-up" them, without wasting a single bullet.
Then our guns began to fire.
The result was a scene of confusion. Towards us, over the brow of the
hill, came the waggons pell-mell, with a few carts moving rapidly in
front. When the first of these reached the spruit its occupants--a man
with a woman beside him--became aware that something was wrong.
I was standing at the top of the drift with Commandants Fourie and Nel.
I immediately ordered two of my adjutants to mount the cart and to sit
at the driver's side.
The other carts came one after the other into the drift, and I ordered
them to follow close behind the first cart, at the same time warning the
occupants that if they gave any signal to the enemy, they would be shot.
The carts were filled with English from Thaba'Nchu. I was very glad that
the women and children should thus reach a place of safety, before the
fighting began.
So speedily did the carts follow each other that the English had no
suspicion of what was occurring, and very shortly the soldiers began to
pour into the drift in the greatest disorder. As soon as they reached
the stream they were met by the cry of "Hands up!"
Directly they heard the words, a forest of hands rose in the air.
More troops quickly followed, and we had disarmed two hundred of them
before they had time to know what was happening. The discipline among
the burghers was fairly satisfactory until the disarming work began. If
my men had only been able to think for themselves, they would have
thrown the rifles on the bank as they came into their hands, and so
would have disarmed far more of the English than they succeeded in
doing. But, as it was, the burghers kept on asking:
"Where shall I put this rifle, General? What have I to do with this
horse?"
That the work should be delayed by this sort of thing sorely tried my
hasty temper.
Very soon the enemy in the rear discovered that there was something
wrong in the drift, for one of their officers suddenly gave orders that
the troops should fall back. But in the meantime, as I have already
stated, we had disarmed two hundred men; while, about a hundred paces
from us on the banks of the spruit stood five of their guns, and more
than a hundred of their waggons, in one confused mass. A little further
off--two or three hundred paces, perhaps--two more of the enemy's guns
had halted.
The English fell back some thirteen hundred yards, to the station on the
Dewetsdorp-Bloemfontein railway. I need scarcely say that we opened a
terrific fire on them as they retreated. When they reached the station,
however, the buildings there gave them considerable protection. I little
knew when I voted in the Volksraad for the construction of this line,
that I was voting for the building of a station which our enemies would
one day use against us.
An attempt was made by the English to save the five guns, but it was far
beyond their powers to do so. They did succeed, however, in getting the
other two guns away, and in placing them behind the station buildings.
From there they severely bombarded us with shrapnel shell.
While the English troops were running to find cover in the buildings,
they suffered very heavily from our fire, and the ground between the
station and the spruit was soon strewn with their dead and wounded,
lying in heaps. But having arrived at the railway they rallied, and
posting themselves to the right and left of the station, they fired
sharply on us.
The eleven hundred and fifty burghers who were to the east of the Modder
River now hurried up to my assistance. But unfortunately, when they
attempted to cross the river, they found that the Water-Works dam had
made it too deep to ford. So they proceeded up stream over some very
rough ground, being much inconvenienced by the dongas which they had to
cross. When they had covered three miles of this they were again
stopped, for an impassable donga blocked the way. They had therefore to
retrace their steps to the place whence they had started. Ultimately
they crossed the river below the dam, in the neighbourhood of the
waggon-drift.
This delay gave General Broadwood a good three hours in which to tackle
us. And had it not been for the excellent positions we had taken on the
banks of the spruit, we would have been in a very awkward predicament.
But, as it was, only two of my men were hit during the whole of that
time.
As soon as our reinforcements had crossed the river, General Broadwood
was forced to retire; and his troops came hurrying through Koorn Spruit
both on the right and on the left of our position. We fired at them as
they passed us, and took several more prisoners. Had I but commanded a
larger force, I could have captured every man of them. But it was
impossible, with my three hundred and fifty men, to surround two
thousand.
Our men on the Modder River now attacked the enemy with the greatest
energy, and succeeded in putting them to flight, thus bringing the
battle to an end.
The conduct of my burghers had been beyond praise. I had never seen
them more intrepid. Calm and determined, they stood their ground, when
the enemy streamed down upon them like a mighty river. Calm and
determined they awaited their arrival, and disarmed them as they came.
It was a fresh proof to me of the courage of the Afrikander, who indeed,
in my judgment, is in that quality surpassed by no one.
Our loss was three killed and five wounded. Among the latter was
Commandant General Van der Merve, who, although very seriously injured,
fortunately recovered. I had no time myself to note the enemy's losses,
but, from their own report, it amounted to three hundred and fifty dead
and wounded. We captured four hundred and eighty prisoners, seven guns,
and one hundred and seventeen waggons.
Here again I had the greatest trouble in unravelling the medley. Many of
the horses, mules and oxen had been killed, whilst some of the waggons
were broken. Everything was in a state of indescribable confusion, and
at any moment a force might arrive from Bloemfontein.
But, fortunately, no reinforcement appeared. Our burghers who had
pursued the retreating English, saw, at about twelve o'clock, a body of
mounted troops approaching from Bloemfontein. But this force at once
came to a halt, remaining at the spot where we had first seen it.[33]
When everything was over a party of troops from General Olivier's
commando arrived on the scene of the recent operations. They had been
following General Broadwood, and on hearing the firing that morning, had
hastened in our direction, maintaining on their arrival, that it was
quite impossible for them to have come any sooner.
[Footnote 31: Ford.]
[Footnote 32: Water-course or ravine.]
[Footnote 33: I may note here that it seemed very strange to me and to
all whose opinion I asked, that Lord Roberts, with his sixty thousand
men, sent no reinforcements from Bloemfontein. The battle had taken
place not more than seventeen miles from the capital, and it had lasted
for four hours; so that there had been ample time to send help. The
English cannot urge in excuse that, owing to our having cut the
telegraph wire, Lord Roberts could know nothing of General Broadwood's
position. The booming of the guns must have been distinctly heard at
Bloemfontein, as it was a still morning. In addition to this plain
warning, the English had an outpost at Borsmanskop, between Koorn Spruit
and Bloemfontein. I do not mention these things with the object of
throwing an unfavourable light upon Lord Roberts' conduct, but merely to
show that even in the great English Army, incomprehensible
irregularities were not unknown, and irregularities of such a character
as to quite put in the shade the bungles we were sometimes guilty of.
But the Republics, young though they were, never thought of boasting
about the order, organization, or discipline of their armies; on the
contrary they were perhaps a little inclined to take too lenient a view
when irregularities occurred.]