General Gatacre Part 26

On March 16 General Pole-Carew was sent down the line from Bloemfontein to meet Gatacre and Clements.

"He found at Edenburg that he had just missed Grobler's contingent proceeding north-east. This was only the first of two parties escaping from Colesberg, the second being under Lemmer, while Du Plessis and Olivier were leading a third party in the same direction from Bethulie and Aliwal North. When the three parties united in the neighbourhood of Ladybrand, they formed the imposing total of 5,500 Boers, 1,000 Kaffirs, 10,000 oxen and 800 waggons, covering a total extent of twenty-four miles on the march.

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"As soon as Pole-Carew heard of Grobler's movements on the 16th, he urged upon the Commander-in-Chief the advisability of sending out a strong force east of Bloemfontein, to intercept the Boer commandoes as they came up from the south, and of bringing Brabant from Aliwal North and Gatacre from Springfontein to close in upon their rear."[3]

[3] See _Times History_, vol. iv. p. 7.

[Sidenote: A pacific policy]

The Field-Marshal was not, however, ready to undertake such an extensive movement; his force had only reached its goal the day before, and neither his men nor his horses would have been equal to such a chase. Moreover the situation presented itself to him in quite a different light. The ready submission of the Boer farmers in the vicinity of the main army led him to exaggerate the effect on the nation at large of the capture of General Cronje and his four thousand fighting men. He was led to believe by reports from various outlying districts that there was no fight left in the Boers, and in his desire to win them without unnecessary blood-shed he decided to try a policy of pacification.

On his arrival at Bloemfontein Lord Roberts issued a Proclamation by which, in the name of Her Majesty the Queen, he offered pardon and protection to all such burghers as would lay down their arms and swear an oath of allegiance.[4] A week later he telegraphed to the War Office:

[4] For words of Proclamation see _Official History_, vol. ii. p. 260.

"So many burghers have expressed their {244} desire to surrender under the terms of the last proclamation that I have sent small columns in various directions to register the names and to take over arms."[5]

[5] See _Times History_, vol. iv. p. 8.

In pursuance of this policy the Field-Marshal on March 19 telegraphed the following order to Sir William Gatacre, whose headquarters were at Springfontein:

"Could you manage to take a small force, say two battalions, one battery, and some mounted infantry, as far as Smithfield? It is very desirable British troops should be seen all over the country and opportunity given to burghers to surrender and deliver up their arms under the conditions of the Proclamation of March 15."[6]

[6] See _Official History_, vol. ii. p. 301.

Gatacre's command at this time had increased to four battalions of infantry, with such mounted infantry as he had been able to raise from their ranks, and this Brigade was now employed as line-of-communication troops. Two battalions were needed at Bethulie Bridge, where the men's a.s.sistance was required in pa.s.sing stores, etc., over the road-bridge until the railway should be repaired; from the other two he had to supply guards for 115 miles of railway from Bethulie to Bloemfontein.

The Colonial section of his force was acting more or less independently under General Brabant, who had established his headquarters at Aliwal North.

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To the telegram given above Gatacre replied that he could not spare more than one battalion (the 2nd Royal Irish Rifles), a field battery, a company of the mounted infantry of the Royal Scots and a section of that of the Royal Irish Rifles. His suggested reduction was approved, and the column started on its fifty-mile march to Smithfield on the 20th.

On the 21st Sir William rode about twenty miles west of the railway to Philipolis, where he took over the keys from the Landrost without opposition, returning the same evening to Springfontein.

In order to understand Sir William's part in the affairs of the next ten days, it will be necessary to follow in detail the messages that pa.s.sed daily between the Field-Marshal Commanding-in-Chief and the Divisional General.

[Sidenote: Troops sent to Wepener]

On Monday, March 26, instructions were received directing that two squadrons of Brabant's Mounted Colonials from Aliwal North, together with the mounted infantry company of the Royal Scots already at Smithfield, should push on to Wepener, which lies fifty miles to the north-east of Smithfield.

On Tuesday, the 27th, the 1st Derbyshire Regiment and the 11th Brigade Division of the Royal Field Artillery were called up to complete a Division at headquarters, thus reducing Gatacre's small force by about 1,000 men.

On the same day Sir William telegraphed to Headquarters reporting a rumoured concentration of the enemy at Modder Poort, expressing {246} his anxiety for the detachment that was marching on Wepener, and suggesting that he should reinforce the column. In reply he was informed that the Field-Marshal did not antic.i.p.ate danger at Wepener, but that he concurred in the strengthening of the party there.

On March 28 the following telegram was received from Headquarters:

"If you have enough troops at your disposal, I should wish you to occupy Dewetsdorp will make road from here to Maseru safe preventing enemy's forces from using telegraph lines to the south let me know what you can do to this ends."[7]

[7] From _True Copy_, furnished by D.A.A.G. in 1900.

Now there are two versions of this telegram. The above is the version as it was received by General Gatacre at 9.40 a.m. on March 28.

Between the words "_Dewetsdorp_" and "will" he mentally supplied the word "_I_" to fill in the sense. When, however, this important telegram was quoted by Lord Roberts in a despatch to the War Office (dated April 16, 1900), the following verbal variations occur. We find "_I should like_" for "_I should wish_"; the words "_it would_" take the place of "_will_"; "_and prevent enemy_" stands for "_preventing enemy's forces_"; and the last word "_ends_" appears in the singular, thus bringing it into the body of the message.[8] These differences will seem trifling to the reader, but the meaning of this telegram has since been questioned. Gatacre {247} read it as an order to send a detachment to Dewetsdorp similar to the one already ordered to Wepener, and the writer of the _Official History_ so reads it, even in the secondary form.[9]

[8] See _Official History_, vol. ii. app. vii. p. 614.

[9] See marginal note, _Official History_, vol. ii. p. 302.

[Sidenote: Detachments]

Dewetsdorp lies on the main road that runs from Bloemfontein south-east through Wepener into Basutoland; the distance from the capital to Dewetsdorp is forty miles, and it is twenty-five miles on to Wepener.

A detachment sent there was therefore in far less danger than the post at Wepener, and was a source of strength to the latter. It was also known to Gatacre that General French was operating with a mounted force at Thaba'Nchu, so that he naturally concluded that the road Bloemfontein--Thaba'Nchu--Ladybrand, or Maseru, was strongly held. As he himself said in evidence before the Royal Commission, he "never sent them [the troops] there as an outpost, nor expected them to act as such, but merely to hold a post on an interior road."[10]

[10] See _Report South African War Commission_, vol. iii. p. 276.

On the same day, March 28, Gatacre sent this reply to the disputed telegram:

"Following moves are in progress, in view to covering whole country east of railway.

"Three squadrons Brabant's Horse moving Rouxville to Wepener; two will reach Wepener Sunday next (April 1), the third on Tuesday.

"One squadron Brabant's is moving to Bushman's Kop half-way between Rouxville and Wepener.

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"One company Royal Scots Mounted Infantry reaches Wepener Sunday.

"Two companies 2nd Royal Irish, Rifles reach Dewetsdorp Sunday.