THE DASH TO KIMBERLEY
French's Pledge--The Task--The First Shell--"Hemmed in"--"We
must break through"--The Lancers' Charge--In and Out of
Kimberley--The Surrender of Cronje.
By the end of the year French had saved the situation in Cape Colony.
Realizing this, Roberts summoned him to Cape Town on more important
business. Into French's hands he placed the task which Methuen had
failed to accomplish through adverse circumstances--the Relief of
Kimberley. When Lord Roberts, with customary precision, had stated
exactly what he wanted, he was surprised to receive a dramatic pledge
from his General. "I promise faithfully," said French, "to relieve
Kimberley at 6 o'clock on the evening of the 15th, if I am alive."
It may be asked why the case of Kimberley was considered so urgent by
Lord Roberts. There are those who have suggested that the presence of
the millionaire, Cecil Rhodes, in the beleaguered city was
responsible for the authorities' energy in the matter. The mere
suggestion, however, refutes itself. For Rhodes was the one man who
did more than any other to have the defences of the city brought into
a state of some sort of efficiency. The fact is that there was
discontent among the civil population and a constant peril of
surrender. For this the great hundred pound shells which hurtled
destruction across the town's streets from the neighbouring heights
were chiefly responsible.
On the face of it, French's promise might then have been taken for a
piece of reckless bravado. The camp on the Modder River in which he
gathered his forces together was over a hundred miles from Kimberley.
The commander-in-chief had promised him a full cavalry division of
eight thousand five hundred men. But on February 11, French had barely
four thousand eight hundred men, with seven batteries of Horse
Artillery at his disposal. Between his camp and the mining city lay
Cronje with a mobile force as large as French's own. Add to this that
the ground to be covered consisted largely of arid and well-less
veldt, affording neither food nor drink for man or beast. The time too
was the African summer, with all the difficulties of handling partly
raw English troops to be faced. The task before French and his men
was certainly such as might have appalled a less courageous leader.
[Page Heading: DECEIVING CRONJE]
Guile as well as daring had much to do with the success of the
enterprise. The vast concentration camp, with its flapping seas of
canvas, was in itself a huge blind. Through its bustle and publicity
French meant Cronje to conclude that he was about to force the Pass of
Magersfontein, and thence to relieve Ladysmith. For this Cronje
prepared himself with customary care. Meantime, French proceeded, as
ever, to belie the very justifiable expectations he had aroused.
The most obvious route for French would be over Koodoesberg's Drift
towards the west. Accordingly Macdonald's Highland Brigade spent a
strenuous day in threatening the Drift and returned to camp.
After a day's rest Macdonald's horses were again ready for the field.
On Sunday morning therefore, February 11, the long column filed
silently out of camp. At 10 o'clock the main body had covered 22
miles, reaching the farmhouse of Ramdam. By that time Cronje's
outposts had probably realised that the camp which French had
carefully left standing at the Modder River was simply a city of
canvas from which the inhabitants had departed.
Next day the force was again on the march at 3.0 a.m. It now took an
easterly course in order to force a crossing on the Riet River. Its
goal was Waterval Drift. But so intense was the darkness that after an
hour of difficult movement the General ordered a halt, until dawn,
when he ordered the division to make the feint on Waterval. He was not
certain whether the Drift was held in force by the enemy or not. But
very soon conviction came in a shell nicely aimed at the General in
person. It burst between French and his staff. "There are too many of
us riding together," was his only comment, as he moved forward to
reconnoitre the ground from the top of the nearest kopje.
Very soon the Horse Artillery had the gun silenced, and the whole
division swerved to the right just as the Boers drew off down stream
to wait for the English crossing. Immediately the whole division was
making for De Kiel's Drift further up stream. The banks proved to be
steep and difficult, but a ford was discovered. As the cavalry neared
the bank a party of Boers saw the ruse, and a neck-to-neck race for
the Drift began. By a piece of daring horsemanship our cavalry got
home first, and the Boers arrived too late to dispute their passage.
By mid-day the division was able to cross and bivouac on the right
bank, pending the arrival of the baggage train, left far behind.
[Page Heading: DELAYED TRANSPORT]
The Riet River is by no means a refreshing torrent; it winds its slow
way in muddy melancholy to the cleanly water of the Vaal. But at least
it contained water in which both men and horses could forget the heat
of the veldt. All day the weary cavalrymen waited for the supplies,
which did not come until they were attempting to snatch a few hours of
sleep. The transport horses stumbled and strained their way up the
banks in the early hours of the morning.
There was pleasant excitement in camp, however, when both Roberts and
Kitchener rode over to congratulate French on his progress, and wished
him "good luck" for the rest of the journey. But the delay in
transport was annoying to French. Neither the men nor their horses
received any supplies until the morning was well advanced. And the sun
was already scorching the veldt before the division was ready to
advance. That delay was to be paid for in sweat and suffering. On that
day alone over one hundred horses died or fell out from exhaustion.
Their tired riders were forced to trudge across the veldt at what pace
they could, or to find ignominious relief in the ammunition carts.
Shortly after mid-day, however, a welcome well of water was reached.
Here, thought the parched and foot-sore men, was relief at last. But
once again they were doomed to disappointment. It is one of French's
characteristics that he practises an exquisitely perfect loyalty both
to the army and to his superiors. That well of sparkling water was
destined for the infantry tramping on behind. Reluctantly the troopers
turned aside on their tedious way. Not a drop of the water was
touched.
By this time the men's sufferings from thirst and dust were intense.
At two o'clock they neared Klip Drift, where they were fiercely
attacked by a large body of Boers. The guns of the first brigade,
however, quickly put the enemy to flight, but the General thought it
well to make certain alterations in the order of his advance. These
changes were only accomplished with the greatest difficulty. So tired
were the horses that even the General's gallopers, who were
continually traversing the column's half-mile front, were often unable
to spur their horses to anything better than a walk. Very quickly the
enemy returned to the attack, pestering French on the right. Realising
his peril, he changed his course suddenly and headed away from the
Klip Kraal Drift. Naturally, the enemy rushed off to block his way.
For an hour and a half the Drift appeared to be the division's urgent
objective. Then, without warning, he as suddenly turned about and
swung back to Klip Drift.
[Page Heading: THE BOERS FLEE]
These manoeuvres had reduced the horses almost to the last stage of
exhaustion. Many of them fell dead by the way. But at last the river
was reached. Still the actual crossing was not yet. Once again French
showed his extraordinary mastery of finesse. He ordered preparation to
be made for the actual crossing at Klip Drift and Rondeval Drift.
Having thrown Gordon to the left to effect one crossing and Broadwood
to the right to effect another, French advanced so rapidly that Cronje
was utterly nonplussed. Gordon opened a heavy shell fire which
completely disconcerted him, although only a very few of the guns
could come into action. Soon afterwards Gordon was crossing the river
in pursuit. The Boers fled, in spite of the natural strength of their
positions and the utterly exhausted state of our men. But neither
Gordon on the left, nor Broadwood on the right, was satisfied with
merely effecting a crossing. Both went in pursuit of the enemy towards
Kimberley. The result was a complete rout. The Boers' camp, their
ammunition, their wagons, fell entirely into our hands.
The rout was not without spasmodic touches of humour, even for these
jaded men. "One of the Staff plunged into the river and caught some
geese, but someone else ate them; a pig ran the gauntlet through the
camp--amidst roars of laughter, even from the serious General--of
lances, bayonets, knives, sticks, boots, water-bottles, anything to
hand, and at length was caught by a lucky trooper, who shared his
feast that night with his friends. A wagon of fresh fruit was taken,
sufficient to make thirsty men's mouths water, but some thought the
grapes were sour."[12]
The next day was perforce spent in camp, resting the tired troops and
awaiting the arrival of supplies. The baggage was not on the scene
until late in the afternoon, much to the discomfort of French's men.
It was midnight before Lord Kitchener and his Staff were near the
camp. One of French's aides-de-camp, Captain J. Laycock, rode out in
solitary peril, and although continually sniped at by the Boers, was
able to lead Lord Kitchener and his Staff safely into camp. All day
the Boers had been making the men's lives a burden through unexpected
sniping and feints. French is said to have admitted that had any of
their attacks been driven home, his plans might have been seriously
disconcerted. "Could the Boers learn to attack they would be a most
formidable foe," was his verdict on the situation.
[Page Heading: THE ROAD BLOCKED]
At 9.30 on February 15 the column set out on the last stage of their
journey. French, with the idea of putting the enemy off the track, led
his men towards Bloemfontein. His idea was eventually to dash straight
for Kimberley with his whole division, hemming the enemy's rear and
flank in at Magersfontein, where Methuen's force could hold him in
front. Scarcely had the advance begun, however, when a murderous fire
broke out from the river on the south-west, followed almost
instantaneously by a cross fire from a line of kopjes on the
north-west. The road to Bloemfontein was blocked; and the road to
Kimberley was exposed to a cross fire from the enemy's two positions.
This was checkmate with a vengeance. It was thought that some two
thousand Boers held the kopjes ahead of French. At once he ordered the
guns into position and boldly replied to the enemy's fire. The column
was now nearing a plain several miles in width, guarded on one side by
a ridge running from north to south, and on the other by a hill. The
Boers held both hill and ridge in force. So that whatever the guns
might do, the position was difficult--if not impossible. By all
military rules French was "hemmed in." To a lesser man retreat would
have seemed inevitable, though disastrous. Once again it was French
_v._ The Impossible. A member of his staff relates how, sweeping the
horizon with his glass, while riderless horses from the guns galloped
past, he muttered, squaring the pugnacious jaw, "They are over here to
stop us from Bloemfontein and they are there to stop us from
Kimberley--we have got to break through." In an instant his decision
was taken. He would attempt the impossible--a direct cavalry charge in
the teeth of the enemy's fire.
[Page Heading: A TERRIFIC CHARGE]
He immediately ordered Gordon to charge the right front. The members
of his Staff expected that the General would now take up a position of
security in the rear of the column, before the grim work began. But he
kept his place in the van with his Staff. His officers were
practically certain that not only the first, but several of the
leading squadrons would be utterly wiped out. There appeared to be
nothing in heaven or earth which could prevent huge losses. Gordon led
his men--the Ninth and Sixteenth Lancers--in superb style. Despite the
pitiable condition of the horses, it was a charge worthy of the
British Army. A strong fire poured in from the Boer trenches and from
the kopjes above. But as the huge masses of armed men gained the
inevitable momentum and pounded down upon the enemy in a cloud of
sword-lit dust, the Boers fled before these clattering hoofs. Throwing
up their guns they begged for mercy. But nothing could stop the
terrific impetus of the charge. Nearly one hundred and fifty Boers
fell as the Lancers ploughed through their trenches. Behind the
Lancers the whole division now swept on in perfect order, led by the
Greys. "So the whole division swung up the plain at the gallop. It was
a thrilling time never to be forgotten," wrote Boyle. So wild was the
Boer fire that our casualties only amounted to four men wounded and
two horses wounded.
The plain once cleared, a halt was made for the guns to come up, to
hold the enemy on the left. When the Artillery had joined the main
force, the advance was again begun. The plain once crossed, the smoke
stacks of Kimberley came into view. At sight of these dingy symbols of
the commerce they had risked all to save, the men raised a tired
cheer. Kimberley was relieved--although the nervous operators to whom
French attempted to heliograph the fact, persisted in pessimistically
believing that he was the enemy.
By far the worst of the work was now over. Before French reached
Kimberley, however, the Boers made a last effort to stay his
victorious advance. But they were driven back with heavy loss. Only
the frightful condition of his horses prevented French from turning
rout into annihilation. But his worn-out animals were quite beyond
pursuing even a beaten enemy.
At length, Kimberley, seeing the huge sand cloud on the horizon, came
to the conclusion that it enveloped the horsemen, not of Cronje but of
French. About six o'clock in the evening an officer rode out of the
besieged city to meet the soldier who had saved it. At 7--just one
hour after the moment of French's historic promise, the General
entered Kimberley with his Staff. He dined that night at De Beer's
Sanatorium.
But there was no rest for the conquerors. At 3.30 on the following
morning the cavalry was harrying the Boers to the north-east. At 5
o'clock they came upon a body of Boers on a well-fortified ridge, who
were covering the army's retreat. Unable to operate vigorously against
them owing to the condition of his forces, French forced them to draw
in their outposts. But it was impossible to do more. His horses were
half dead. And in the terrific heat "the tongues of men and horses
become black from thirst." Realising the hopelessness of the
situation, French returned to the town.
[Page Heading: A MAGNIFICENT RESPONSE]
Rest was not yet, however. Scarcely had he retired than news came that
Cronje had decided to evacuate Magersfontein. No confirmation
followed, however. The General, therefore, advised his Staff that at
last a night's rest was possible. A couple of hours later a telegram
arrived from Lord Kitchener, announcing that Cronje, with ten thousand
men, was in full retreat from Magersfontein, with "all his wagons and
equipment and four guns, along the north bank of the Modder River
towards Bloemfontein, that he had already fought a rearguard action
with him, and if French with all available horses and guns could head
him and prevent his crossing the river, the infantry from Klip Drift
would press on and annihilate or take the whole force prisoners."
General French responded magnificently to the call of this
opportunity. Another man might have pleaded that his troops and horses
were utterly unfit for work, but with French the greater the
obstacles, the stronger is his determination to win through! Of all
his five thousand men, only two thousand could be found whose horses
were fit to carry them in that wild dash to head off the Boer
Commando.
At 3 a.m. on February 17, French left Kimberley, and by a marvellous
piece of far-sighted calculation made straight for Koodoos Rand Drift,
the very crossing which Cronje himself had chosen. His horses died on
the way, but French reached the river first and seized the Drift,
almost under the enemy's eyes.
Cronje was completely surprised. The previous evening, French had been
in pursuit of the Boers north of Kimberley; now he had suddenly
appeared 35 miles to the south, and was facing the enemy, determined
to cut off his retreat. Swiftly Cronje moved down the river and took
possession of a long stretch between Gaardeberg Drift and Wolveskraal
Drift.
It must have been an anxious night for General French, for had Cronje
realised how small was the force that thus held him at bay, and made a
desperate effort to break through, there would have been little chance
of thwarting him. But Cronje lay still in the river bed, while the
British forces closed swiftly in and the net was drawn closer round
him.
[Page Heading: CRONJE SURRENDERS]
For ten long days the Boer General held out, while the British
artillery poured shells into his laager. Meanwhile the Boers flocked
in from every side to endeavour to rescue Cronje from his hopeless
position. French undertook to check them and hold them back, leaving
the main army to deal with the surrounded enemy.
General French and his men were in continual action for the next few
days. But the soldiers gloried in their work, for they were cheered by
the message from Queen Victoria in appreciation of their excellent
work, particularly in the relief of Kimberley, which had earned for
them "the gratitude of the whole nation."
At length, on February 27, Cronje surrendered, and four thousand men
laid down their arms. Thus closed the most brilliant exploit of the
British Arms in South Africa--an exploit whose success can be largely
traced to the extraordinary mixture of dauntless courage, practical
acumen and remorseless persistence which mark the genius of Sir John
French.
FOOTNOTES:
[12] _The Cavalry Rush to Kimberley._ By Captain Cecil Boyle,
_Nineteenth Century_, June, 1900.