In the early days of May, when the season of the rains was past and the
veld was green, Lord Roberts's six weeks of enforced inaction came to
an end. He had gathered himself once more for one of those tiger springs
which should be as sure and as irresistible as that which had brought
him from Belmont to Bloemfontein, or that other in olden days which
had carried him from Cabul to Candahar. His army had been decimated
by sickness, and eight thousand men had passed into the hospitals; but
those who were with the colours were of high heart, longing eagerly for
action. Any change which would carry them away from the pest-ridden,
evil-smelling capital which had revenged itself so terribly upon the
invader must be a change for the better. Therefore it was with glad
faces and brisk feet that the centre column left Bloemfontein on May
1st, and streamed, with bands playing, along the northern road.
On May 3rd the main force was assembled at Karee, twenty miles upon
their way. Two hundred and twenty separated them from Pretoria, but in
little more than a month from the day of starting, in spite of broken
railway, a succession of rivers, and the opposition of the enemy, this
army was marching into the main street of the Transvaal capital. Had
there been no enemy there at all, it would still have been a fine
performance, the more so when one remembers that the army was moving
upon a front of twenty miles or more, each part of which had to be
co-ordinated to the rest. It is with the story of this great march that
the present chapter deals.
Roberts had prepared the way by clearing out the south-eastern corner
of the State, and at the moment of his advance his forces covered a
semicircular front of about forty miles, the right under Ian Hamilton
near Thabanchu, and the left at Karee. This was the broad net which
was to be swept from south to north across the Free State, gradually
narrowing as it went. The conception was admirable, and appears to have
been an adoption of the Boers' own strategy, which had in turn been
borrowed from the Zulus. The solid centre could hold any force which
faced it, while the mobile flanks, Hutton upon the left and Hamilton
upon the right, could lap round and pin it, as Cronje was pinned at
Paardeberg. It seems admirably simple when done upon a small scale. But
when the scale is one of forty miles, since your front must be broad
enough to envelop the front which is opposed to it, and when the
scattered wings have to be fed with no railway line to help, it takes
such a master of administrative detail as Lord Kitchener to bring the
operations to complete success.
On May 3rd, the day of the advance from our most northern post, Karee,
the disposition of Lord Roberts's army was briefly as follows. On his
left was Hutton, with his mixed force of mounted infantry drawn from
every quarter of the empire. This formidable and mobile body, with some
batteries of horse artillery and of pom-poms, kept a line a few miles to
the west of the railroad, moving northwards parallel with it. Roberts's
main column kept on the railroad, which was mended with extraordinary
speed by the Railway Pioneer regiment and the Engineers, under Girouard
and the ill-fated Seymour. It was amazing to note the shattered culverts
as one passed, and yet to be overtaken by trains within a day. This
main column consisted of Pole-Carew's 11th Division, which contained
the Guards, and Stephenson's Brigade (Warwicks, Essex, Welsh, and
Yorkshires). With them were the 83rd, 84th, and 85th R.F.A., with the
heavy guns, and a small force of mounted infantry. Passing along the
widespread British line one would then, after an interval of seven or
eight miles, come upon Tucker's Division (the 7th), which consisted
of Maxwell's Brigade (formerly Chermside's--the Norfolks, Lincolns,
Hampshires, and Scottish Borderers) and Wavell's Brigade (North
Staffords, Cheshires, East Lancashires, South Wales Borderers). To the
right of these was Ridley's mounted infantry. Beyond them, extending
over very many miles of country and with considerable spaces between,
there came Broadwood's cavalry, Bruce Hamilton's Brigade (Derbyshires,
Sussex, Camerons, and C.I.V.), and finally on the extreme right of
all Ian Hamilton's force of Highlanders, Canadians, Shropshires, and
Cornwalls, with cavalry and mounted infantry, starting forty miles from
Lord Roberts, but edging westwards all the way, to merge with the troops
next to it, and to occupy Winburg in the way already described. This
was the army, between forty and fifty thousand strong, with which Lord
Roberts advanced upon the Transvaal.
In the meantime he had anticipated that his mobile and enterprising
opponents would work round and strike at our rear. Ample means had been
provided for dealing with any attempt of the kind. Rundle with the 8th
Division and Brabant's Colonial Division remained in rear of the right
flank to confront any force which might turn it. At Bloemfontein were
Kelly-Kenny's Division (the 6th) and Chermside's (the 3rd), with a force
of cavalry and guns. Methuen, working from Kimberley towards Boshof,
formed the extreme left wing of the main advance, though distant a
hundred miles from it. With excellent judgment Lord Roberts saw that
it was on our right flank that danger was to be feared, and here it was
that every precaution had been taken to meet it.
The objective of the first day's march was the little town of Brandfort,
ten miles north of Karee. The head of the main column faced it, while
the left arm swept round and drove the Boer force from their position.
Tucker's Division upon the right encountered some opposition, but
overbore it with artillery. May 4th was a day of rest for the infantry,
but on the 5th they advanced, in the same order as before, for twenty
miles, and found themselves to the south of the Vet River, where the
enemy had prepared for an energetic resistance. A vigorous artillery
duel ensued, the British guns in the open as usual against an invisible
enemy. After three hours of a very hot fire the mounted infantry got
across the river upon the left and turned the Boer flank, on which
they hastily withdrew. The first lodgment was effected by two bodies
of Canadians and New Zealanders, who were energetically supported
by Captain Anley's 3rd Mounted Infantry. The rushing of a kopje by
twenty-three West Australians was another gallant incident which marked
this engagement, in which our losses were insignificant. A maxim and
twenty or thirty prisoners were taken by Hutton's men. The next day (May
6th) the army moved across the difficult drift of the Vet River, and
halted that night at Smaldeel, some five miles to the north of it. At
the same time Ian Hamilton had been able to advance to Winburg, so that
the army had contracted its front by about half, but had preserved its
relative positions. Hamilton, after his junction with his reinforcements
at Jacobsrust, had under him so powerful a force that he overbore all
resistance. His actions between Thabanchu and Winburg had cost the Boers
heavy loss, and in one action the German legion had been overthrown.
The informal warfare which was made upon us by citizens of many nations
without rebuke from their own Governments is a matter of which pride,
and possibly policy, have forbidden us to complain, but it will be
surprising if it does not prove that their laxity has established a very
dangerous precedent, and they will find it difficult to object when, in
the next little war in which either France or Germany is engaged, they
find a few hundred British adventurers carrying a rifle against them.
The record of the army's advance is now rather geographical than
military, for it rolled northwards with never a check save that which
was caused by the construction of the railway diversions which atoned
for the destruction of the larger bridges. The infantry now, as always
in the campaign, marched excellently; for though twenty miles in the day
may seem a moderate allowance to a healthy man upon an English road,
it is a considerable performance under an African sun with a weight of
between thirty and forty pounds to be carried. The good humour of the
men was admirable, and they eagerly longed to close with the elusive
enemy who flitted ever in front of them. Huge clouds of smoke veiled
the northern sky, for the Boers had set fire to the dry grass, partly
to cover their own retreat, and partly to show up our khaki upon the
blackened surface. Far on the flanks the twinkling heliographs revealed
the position of the wide-spread wings.
On May 10th Lord Roberts's force, which had halted for three days at
Smaldeel, moved onwards to Welgelegen. French's cavalry had come up by
road, and quickly strengthened the centre and left wing of the army. On
the morning of the 10th the invaders found themselves confronted by a
formidable position which the Boers had taken up on the northern bank
of the Sand River. Their army extended over twenty miles of country, the
two Bothas were in command, and everything pointed to a pitched battle.
Had the position been rushed from the front, there was every material
for a second Colenso, but the British had learned that it was by brains
rather than by blood that such battles may be won. French's cavalry
turned the Boers on one side, and Bruce Hamilton's infantry on the
other. Theoretically we never passed the Boer flanks, but practically
their line was so over-extended that we were able to pierce it at any
point. There was never any severe fighting, but rather a steady advance
upon the British side and a steady retirement upon that of the Boers. On
the left the Sussex regiment distinguished itself by the dash with which
it stormed an important kopje. The losses were slight, save among a
detached body of cavalry which found itself suddenly cut off by a strong
force of the enemy and lost Captain Elworthy killed, and Haig of
the Inniskillings, Wilkinson of the Australian Horse, and twenty men
prisoners. We also secured forty or fifty prisoners, and the enemy's
casualties amounted to about as many more. The whole straggling action
fought over a front as broad as from London to Woking cost the British
at the most a couple of hundred casualties, and carried their army over
the most formidable defensive position which they were to encounter.
The war in its later phases certainly has the pleasing characteristic of
being the most bloodless, considering the number of men engaged and the
amount of powder burned, that has been known in history. It was at the
expense of their boots and not of their lives that the infantry won
their way.
On May 11th Lord Roberts's army advanced twenty miles to Geneva Siding,
and every preparation was made for a battle next day, as it was thought
certain that the Boers would defend their new capital, Kroonstad. It
proved, however, that even here they would not make a stand, and on May
12th, at one o'clock, Lord Roberts rode into the town. Steyn, Botha,
and De Wet escaped, and it was announced that the village of Lindley had
become the new seat of government. The British had now accomplished half
their journey to Pretoria, and it was obvious that on the south side
of the Vaal no serious resistance awaited them. Burghers were freely
surrendering themselves with their arms, and returning to their farms.
In the south-east Rundle and Brabant were slowly advancing, while the
Boers who faced them fell back towards Lindley. On the west, Hunter had
crossed the Vaal at Windsorton, and Barton's Fusilier Brigade had fought
a sharp action at Rooidam, while Mahon's Mafeking relief column had
slipped past their flank, escaping the observation of the British
public, but certainly not that of the Boers. The casualties in the
Rooidam action were nine killed and thirty wounded, but the advance of
the Fusiliers was irresistible, and for once the Boer loss, as they were
hustled from kopje to kopje, appears to have been greater than that of
the British. The Yeomanry had an opportunity of showing once more that
there are few more high-mettled troops in South Africa than these good
sportsmen of the shires, who only showed a trace of their origin in
their irresistible inclination to burst into a 'tally-ho!' when ordered
to attack. The Boer forces fell back after the action along the line of
the Vaal, making for Christiana and Bloemhof. Hunter entered into the
Transvaal in pursuit of them, being the first to cross the border, with
the exception of raiding Rhodesians early in the war. Methuen, in the
meanwhile, was following a course parallel to Hunter but south of him,
Hoopstad being his immediate objective. The little union jacks which
were stuck in the war maps in so many British households were now moving
swiftly upwards.
Buller's force was also sweeping northwards, and the time had come when
the Ladysmith garrison, restored at last to health and strength, should
have a chance of striking back at those who had tormented them so long.
Many of the best troops had been drafted away to other portions of the
seat of war. Hart's Brigade and Barton's Fusilier Brigade had gone
with Hunter to form the 10th Division upon the Kimberley side, and the
Imperial Light Horse had been brought over for the relief of Mafeking.
There remained, however, a formidable force, the regiments in which had
been strengthened by the addition of drafts and volunteers from home.
Not less than twenty thousand sabres and bayonets were ready and eager
for the passage of the Biggarsberg mountains.
This line of rugged hills is pierced by only three passes, each of which
was held in strength by the enemy. Considerable losses must have ensued
from any direct attempt to force them. Buller, however, with excellent
judgment, demonstrated in front of them with Hildyard's men, while the
rest of the army, marching round, outflanked the line of resistance, and
on May 15th pounced upon Dundee. Much had happened since that October
day when Penn Symons led his three gallant regiments up Talana Hill, but
now at last, after seven weary months, the ground was reoccupied which
he had gained. His old soldiers visited his grave, and the national flag
was raised over the remains of as gallant a man as ever died for the
sake of it.
The Boers, whose force did not exceed a few thousands, were now rolled
swiftly back through Northern Natal into their own country. The long
strain at Ladysmith had told upon them, and the men whom we had to meet
were very different from the warriors of Spion Kop and Nicholson's Nek.
They had done magnificently, but there is a limit to human endurance,
and no longer would these peasants face the bursting lyddite and the
bayonets of angry soldiers. There is little enough for us to boast of in
this. Some pride might be taken in the campaign when at a disadvantage
we were facing superior numbers, but now we could but deplore the
situation in which these poor valiant burghers found themselves, the
victims of a rotten government and of their own delusions. Hofer's
Tyrolese, Charette's Vendeans, or Bruce's Scotchmen never fought a finer
fight than these children of the veld, but in each case they combated a
real and not an imaginary tyrant. It is heart-sickening to think of the
butchery, the misery, the irreparable losses, the blood of men, and
the bitter tears of women, all of which might have been spared had one
obstinate and ignorant man been persuaded to allow the State which he
ruled to conform to the customs of every other civilised State upon the
earth.
Buller was now moving with a rapidity and decision which contrast
pleasantly with some of his earlier operations. Although Dundee was only
occupied on May 15th, on May 18th his vanguard was in Newcastle, fifty
miles to the north. In nine days he had covered 138 miles. On the 19th
the army lay under the loom of that Majuba which had cast its sinister
shadow for so long over South African politics. In front was the
historical Laing's Nek, the pass which leads from Natal into the
Transvaal, while through it runs the famous railway tunnel. Here the
Boers had taken up that position which had proved nineteen years before
to be too strong for British troops. The Rooineks had come back after
many days to try again. A halt was called, for the ten days' supplies
which had been taken with the troops were exhausted, and it was
necessary to wait until the railway should be repaired. This gave time
for Hildyard's 5th Division and Lyttelton's 4th Division to close up
on Clery's 2nd Division, which with Dundonald's cavalry had formed our
vanguard throughout. The only losses of any consequence during this fine
march fell upon a single squadron of Bethune's mounted infantry, which
being thrown out in the direction of Vryheid, in order to make sure that
our flank was clear, fell into an ambuscade and was almost annihilated
by a close-range fire. Sixty-six casualties, of which nearly half were
killed, were the result of this action, which seems to have depended,
like most of our reverses, upon defective scouting. Buller, having
called up his two remaining divisions and having mended the railway
behind him, proceeded now to manoeuvre the Boers out of Laing's Nek
exactly as he had manoeuvred them out of the Biggarsberg. At the end of
May Hildyard and Lyttelton were despatched in an eastern direction, as
if there were an intention of turning the pass from Utrecht.
It was on May 12th that Lord Roberts occupied Kroonstad, and he halted
there for eight days before he resumed his advance. At the end of that
time his railway had been repaired, and enough supplies brought up to
enable him to advance again without anxiety. The country through which
he passed swarmed with herds and flocks, but, with as scrupulous a
regard for the rights of property as Wellington showed in the south of
France, no hungry soldier was allowed to take so much as a chicken as he
passed. The punishment for looting was prompt and stern. It is true that
farms were burned occasionally and the stock confiscated, but this was
as a punishment for some particular offence and not part of a system.
The limping Tommy looked askance at the fat geese which covered the dam
by the roadside, but it was as much as his life was worth to allow his
fingers to close round those tempting white necks. On foul water and
bully beef he tramped through a land of plenty.
Lord Roberts's eight days' halt was spent in consolidating the general
military situation. We have already shown how Buller had crept upwards
to the Natal Border. On the west Methuen reached Hoopstad and Hunter
Christiana, settling the country and collecting arms as they went.
Rundle in the south-east took possession of the rich grain lands, and
on May 21st entered Ladybrand. In front of him lay that difficult hilly
country about Senekal, Ficksburg, and Bethlehem which was to delay him
so long. Ian Hamilton was feeling his way northwards to the right of the
railway line, and for the moment cleared the district between Lindley
and Heilbron, passing through both towns and causing Steyn to again
change his capital, which became Vrede, in the extreme north-east of the
State. During these operations Hamilton had the two formidable De Wet
brothers in front of him, and suffered nearly a hundred casualties in
the continual skirmishing which accompanied his advance. His right flank
and rear were continually attacked, and these signs of forces outside
our direct line of advance were full of menace for the future.
On May 22nd the main army resumed its advance, moving forward fifteen
miles to Honing's Spruit. On the 23rd another march of twenty miles over
a fine rolling prairie brought them to Rhenoster River. The enemy had
made some preparations for a stand, but Hamilton was near Heilbron upon
their left and French was upon their right flank. The river was crossed
without opposition. On the 24th the army was at Vredefort Road, and on
the 26th the vanguard crossed the Vaal River at Viljoen's Drift, the
whole army following on the 27th. Hamilton's force had been cleverly
swung across from the right to the left flank of the British, so that
the Boers were massed on the wrong side.
Preparations for resistance had been made on the line of the railway,
but the wide turning movements on the flanks by the indefatigable French
and Hamilton rendered all opposition of no avail. The British columns
flowed over and onwards without a pause, tramping steadily northwards
to their destination. The bulk of the Free State forces refused to leave
their own country, and moved away to the eastern and northern portion
of the State, where the British Generals thought--incorrectly, as the
future was to prove--that no further harm would come from them. The
State which they were in arms to defend had really ceased to exist, for
already it had been publicly proclaimed at Bloemfontein in the Queen's
name that the country had been annexed to the Empire, and that its style
henceforth was that of 'The Orange River Colony.' Those who think this
measure unduly harsh must remember that every mile of land which the
Freestaters had conquered in the early part of the war had been solemnly
annexed by them. At the same time, those Englishmen who knew the history
of this State, which had once been the model of all that a State should
be, were saddened by the thought that it should have deliberately
committed suicide for the sake of one of the most corrupt governments
which have ever been known. Had the Transvaal been governed as the
Orange Free State was, such an event as the second Boer war could never
have occurred.
Lord Roberts's tremendous march was now drawing to a close. On May
28th the troops advanced twenty miles, and passed Klip River without
fighting. It was observed with surprise that the Transvaalers were very
much more careful of their own property than they had been of that
of their allies, and that the railway was not damaged at all by the
retreating forces. The country had become more populous, and far away
upon the low curves of the hills were seen high chimneys and gaunt
iron pumps which struck the north of England soldier with a pang of
homesickness. This long distant hill was the famous Rand, and under its
faded grasses lay such riches as Solomon never took from Ophir. It was
the prize of victory; and yet the prize is not to the victor, for the
dust-grimed officers and men looked with little personal interest at
this treasure-house of the world. Not one penny the richer would they be
for the fact that their blood and their energy had brought justice
and freedom to the gold fields. They had opened up an industry for the
world, men of all nations would be the better for their labours, the
miner and the financier or the trader would equally profit by them, but
the men in khaki would tramp on, unrewarded and uncomplaining, to India,
to China, to any spot where the needs of their worldwide empire called
them.
The infantry, streaming up from the Vaal River to the famous ridge of
gold, had met with no resistance upon the way, but great mist banks
of cloud by day and huge twinkling areas of flame by night showed the
handiwork of the enemy. Hamilton and French, moving upon the left flank,
found Boers thick upon the hills, but cleared them off in a well-managed
skirmish which cost us a dozen casualties. On May 29th, pushing swiftly
along, French found the enemy posted very strongly with several guns at
Doornkop, a point west of Klip River Berg. The cavalry leader had with
him at this stage three horse batteries, four pom-poms, and 3000 mounted
men. The position being too strong for him to force, Hamilton's infantry
(19th and 21st Brigades) were called up, and the Boers were driven out.
That splendid corps, the Gordons, lost nearly a hundred men in their
advance over the open, and the C.I.V.s on the other flank fought like
a regiment of veterans. There had been an inclination to smile at these
citizen soldiers when they first came out, but no one smiled now save
the General who felt that he had them at his back. Hamilton's attack
was assisted by the menace rather than the pressure of French's turning
movement on the Boer right, but the actual advance was as purely frontal
as any of those which had been carried through at the beginning of the
war. The open formation of the troops, the powerful artillery behind
them, and perhaps also the lowered morale of the enemy combined to
make such a movement less dangerous than of old. In any case it was
inevitable, as the state of Hamilton's commisariat rendered it necessary
that at all hazards he should force his way through.
Whilst this action of Doornkop was fought by the British left flank,
Henry's mounted infantry in the centre moved straight upon the important
junction of Germiston, which lies amid the huge white heaps of tailings
from the mines. At this point, or near it, the lines from Johannesburg
and from Natal join the line to Pretoria. Colonel Henry's advance was
an extremely daring one, for the infantry were some distance behind; but
after an irregular scrambling skirmish, in which the Boer snipers had to
be driven off the mine heaps and from among the houses, the 8th mounted
infantry got their grip of the railway and held it. The exploit was a
very fine one, and stands out the more brilliantly as the conduct of the
campaign cannot be said to afford many examples of that well-considered
audacity which deliberately runs the risk of the minor loss for the sake
of the greater gain. Henry was much assisted by J battery R.H.A., which
was handled with energy and judgment.
French was now on the west of the town, Henry had cut the railway on the
east, and Roberts was coming up from the south. His infantry had covered
130 miles in seven days, but the thought that every step brought them
nearer to Pretoria was as exhilarating as their fifes and drums. On May
30th the victorious troops camped outside the city while Botha retired
with his army, abandoning without a battle the treasure-house of his
country. Inside the town were chaos and confusion. The richest mines in
the world lay for a day or more at the mercy of a lawless rabble drawn
from all nations. The Boer officials were themselves divided in opinion,
Krause standing for law and order while Judge Koch advocated violence.
A spark would have set the town blazing, and the worst was feared when
a crowd of mercenaries assembled in front of the Robinson mine with
threats of violence. By the firmness and tact of Mr. Tucker, the
manager, and by the strong attitude of Commissioner Krause, the
situation was saved and the danger passed. Upon May 31st, without
violence to life or destruction to property, that great town which
British hands have done so much to build found itself at last under the
British flag. May it wave there so long as it covers just laws, honest
officials, and clean-handed administrators--so long and no longer!
And now the last stage of the great journey had been reached. Two days
were spent at Johannesburg while supplies were brought up, and then a
move was made upon Pretoria thirty miles to the north. Here was the Boer
capital, the seat of government, the home of Kruger, the centre of
all that was anti-British, crouching amid its hills, with costly forts
guarding every face of it. Surely at last the place had been found where
that great battle should be fought which should decide for all time
whether it was with the Briton or with the Dutchman that the future of
South Africa lay.
On the last day of May two hundred Lancers under the command of Major
Hunter Weston, with Charles of the Sappers and Burnham the scout, a man
who has played the part of a hero throughout the campaign, struck off
from the main army and endeavoured to descend upon the Pretoria to
Delagoa railway line with the intention of blowing up a bridge and
cutting the Boer line of retreat. It was a most dashing attempt; but the
small party had the misfortune to come into contact with a strong Boer
commando, who headed them off. After a skirmish they were compelled to
make their way back with a loss of five killed and fourteen wounded.
The cavalry under French had waited for the issue of this enterprise
at a point nine miles north of Johannesburg. On June 2nd it began its
advance with orders to make a wide sweep round to the westward, and so
skirt the capital, cutting the Pietersburg railway to the north of
it. The country in the direct line between Johannesburg and Pretoria
consists of a series of rolling downs which are admirably adapted for
cavalry work, but the detour which French had to make carried him into
the wild and broken district which lies to the north of the Little
Crocodile River. Here he was fiercely attacked on ground where his
troops could not deploy, but with extreme coolness and judgment beat off
the enemy. To cover thirty-two miles in a day and fight a way out of an
ambuscade in the evening is an ordeal for any leader and for any troops.
Two killed and seven wounded were our trivial losses in a situation
which might have been a serious one. The Boers appear to have been the
escort of a strong convoy which had passed along the road some miles
in front. Next morning both convoy and opposition had disappeared. The
cavalry rode on amid a country of orange groves, the troopers standing
up in their stirrups to pluck the golden fruit. There was no further
fighting, and on June 4th French had established himself upon the north
of the town, where he learned that all resistance had ceased.
Whilst the cavalry had performed this enveloping movement the main army
had moved swiftly upon its objective, leaving one brigade behind to
secure Johannesburg. Ian Hamilton advanced upon the left, while Lord
Roberts's column kept the line of the railway, Colonel Henry's mounted
infantry scouting in front. As the army topped the low curves of the
veld they saw in front of them two well-marked hills, each crowned by
a low squat building. They were the famous southern forts of Pretoria.
Between the hills was a narrow neck, and beyond the Boer capital.
For a time it appeared that the entry was to be an absolutely bloodless
one, but the booming of cannon and the crash of Mauser fire soon showed
that the enemy was in force upon the ridge. Botha had left a strong
rearguard to hold off the British while his own stores and valuables
were being withdrawn from the town. The silence of the forts showed that
the guns had been removed and that no prolonged resistance was intended;
but in the meanwhile fringes of determined riflemen, supported by
cannon, held the approaches, and must be driven off before an entry
could be effected. Each fresh corps as it came up reinforced the firing
line. Henry's mounted infantrymen supported by the horse-guns of J
battery and the guns of Tucker's division began the action. So hot was
the answer, both from cannon and from rifle, that it seemed for a
time as if a real battle were at last about to take place. The Guards'
Brigade, Stephenson's Brigade, and Maxwell's Brigade streamed up and
waited until Hamilton, who was on the enemy's right flank, should be
able to make his presence felt. The heavy guns had also arrived, and a
huge cloud of debris rising from the Pretorian forts told the accuracy
of their fire.
But either the burghers were half-hearted or there was no real intention
to make a stand. About half-past two their fire slackened and Pole-Carew
was directed to push on. That debonnaire soldier with his two veteran
brigades obeyed the order with alacrity, and the infantry swept over the
ridge, with some thirty or forty casualties, the majority of which fell
to the Warwicks. The position was taken, and Hamilton, who came up
late, was only able to send on De Lisle's mounted infantry, chiefly
Australians, who ran down one of the Boer maxims in the open. The action
had cost us altogether about seventy men. Among the injured was the Duke
of Norfolk, who had shown a high sense of civic virtue in laying aside
the duties and dignity of a Cabinet Minister in order to serve as a
simple captain of volunteers. At the end of this one fight the capital
lay at the mercy of Lord Roberts. Consider the fight which they made for
their chief city, compare it with that which the British made for the
village of Mafeking, and say on which side is that stern spirit of
self-sacrifice and resolution which are the signs of the better cause.
In the early morning of June 5th, the Coldstream Guards were mounting
the hills which commanded the town. Beneath them in the clear African
air lay the famous city, embowered in green, the fine central buildings
rising grandly out of the wide circle of villas. Through the Nek part of
the Guards' Brigade and Maxwell's Brigade had passed, and had taken over
the station, from which at least one train laden with horses had steamed
that morning. Two others, both ready to start, were only just stopped in
time.
The first thought was for the British prisoners, and a small party
headed by the Duke of Marlborough rode to their rescue. Let it be said
once for all that their treatment by the Boers was excellent and that
their appearance would alone have proved it. One hundred and twenty-nine
officers and thirty-nine soldiers were found in the Model Schools, which
had been converted into a prison. A day later our cavalry arrived at
Waterval, which is fourteen miles to the north of Pretoria. Here were
confined three thousand soldiers, whose fare had certainly been of
the scantiest, though in other respects they appear to have been well
treated. [Footnote: Further information unfortunately shows that in the
case of the sick and of the Colonial prisoners the treatment was by
no means good.] Nine hundred of their comrades had been removed by the
Boers, but Porter's cavalry was in time to release the others, under
a brisk shell fire from a Boer gun upon the ridge. Many pieces of good
luck we had in the campaign, but this recovery of our prisoners, which
left the enemy without a dangerous lever for exacting conditions of
peace, was the most fortunate of all.
In the centre of the town there is a wide square decorated or disfigured
by a bare pedestal upon which a statue of the President was to have been
placed. Hard by is the bleak barnlike church in which he preached, and
on either side are the Government offices and the Law Courts, buildings
which would grace any European capital. Here, at two o'clock on the
afternoon of June 5th, Lord Roberts sat his horse and saw pass in
front of him the men who had followed him so far and so faithfully--the
Guards, the Essex, the Welsh, the Yorks, the Warwicks, the guns, the
mounted infantry, the dashing irregulars, the Gordons, the Canadians,
the Shropshires, the Cornwalls, the Camerons, the Derbys, the Sussex,
and the London Volunteers. For over two hours the khaki waves with their
crests of steel went sweeping by. High above their heads from the summit
of the Raad-saal the broad Union Jack streamed for the first time.
Through months of darkness we had struggled onwards to the light. Now
at last the strange drama seemed to be drawing to its close. The God of
battles had given the long-withheld verdict. But of all the hearts which
throbbed high at that supreme moment there were few who felt one touch
of bitterness towards the brave men who had been overborne. They had
fought and died for their ideal. We had fought and died for ours. The
hope for the future of South Africa is that they or their descendants
may learn that that banner which has come to wave above Pretoria means
no racial intolerance, no greed for gold, no paltering with injustice or
corruption, but that it means one law for all and one freedom for all,
as it does in every other continent in the whole broad earth. When that
is learned it may happen that even they will come to date a happier life
and a wider liberty from that 5th of June which saw the symbol of their
nation pass for ever from among the ensigns of the world.