History of the War in South Africa 1899-1902 Part 24

(2) General Gatacre wants another battalion and a battery of field artillery.

(3) General French should have the second battery Royal Horse artillery, and eventually three cavalry regiments, and, if possible, one more battalion.

10. With regard to Natal, I propose to send the 6th Dragoon Guards and 10th Hussars, the 63rd, 64th, and 73rd batteries Royal Field artillery, the remainder of General Hart's Brigade, _i.e._, three battalions, as soon as they come in. We must do with them the best we can.

11. I think the Colonial contingents had better go to Natal.

12. In my opinion, so long as General White holds Ladysmith the force able to attack you from the Orange Free State is not likely to be serious, but if Natal goes you will have to concentrate for defence, and you should make up your mind what positions to hold.

Probably the best military positions about Queenstown, Middleburg, and Beaufort West will be found most convenient.

REDVERS BULLER, General.

CHAPTER XII.

ADVANCE FROM THE ORANGE RIVER.

[Sidenote: Lord Methuen's instructions. Nov. 10/99.]

On the 10th of November Lord Methuen, with his staff, left Cape Town for Orange River station, where he arrived two days later. The orders which he had received from Sir Redvers Buller ran as follows:--

November 10th, 1899.

1. You will take command of the troops at De Aar and Orange River stations,[145] with the object of marching on Kimberley as rapidly as possible.

[Footnote 145: See map No. 9.]

2. In addition to the troops now at De Aar, the infantry of which are being formed into the 9th brigade under Colonel Fetherstonhaugh, you will have under your command:--

i. The 1st Infantry Brigade.--Major-Gen. Colvile.

ii. The Highland Brigade.--Major-Gen. Wauchope.

iii. The 9th Lancers.

iv. The Brigade Division, Royal Field Artillery, under Colonel Hall.

v. The Divisional Troops except Cavalry of the Division.

vi. Certain Royal Engineers, Army Service Corps and Medical Details which have been collected at the two stations.

I wish you to march from the Orange river to the Modder river, communicate with Kimberley, and to hold the line De Aar, Modder river, so that we shall be able to bring up stores and heavy guns and pa.s.s them into Kimberley.

3. The half-battalion Loyal North Lancashire regiment, which will form part of the 9th brigade, is to be left in Kimberley.

4. You will afford help to Kimberley to remove such of the natives as they wish to get rid of, and, generally, you will give such advice and a.s.sistance in perfecting the defences as you may be able to afford.

5. You will make the people of Kimberley understand that you have not come to remain charged with its defence, but to afford it better means of maintaining its defence, which will at the same time be a.s.sisted by an advance on Bloemfontein.

REDVERS BULLER, General.

Four days later, the Commander-in-Chief in South Africa addressed the following letter to General Methuen:--

[Sidenote: Personal advice from Sir Redvers, Nov. 14th.]

Cape Town, November 14th, 1899.

LORD METHUEN,--

I do not want to tie your hands in any way, but I send this letter for such use as you choose to make of it.

1. I think that you will find that the Guards and the 9th Brigade and two batteries Royal Field Artillery will be as large a portion of your force as you can take with advantage.

2. As to mounted men, you will of course take what you require. I think it will be advisable to leave one-half of Rimington's Guides, the party at Hanover Road, and sufficient others to scout 20 to 25 miles on all sides of the line held by General Wauchope.

3. On your departure General Wauchope will have, including the two half-battalions of Berkshire and Munster, four battalions; and if you leave him one battery, six guns Royal Field Artillery, with them he should be able to hold the line to Belmont with perfect safety. Orange River bridge must of course be held at all costs. I hope you will not remain a day longer at Kimberley than you can help.

5. I have already told you that I am sending with you a Naval brigade with four 12-pr. 12-cwt. guns; these guns range 6,000 yards. You will not start without them, will leave them at Kimberley, and such reinforcements not exceeding one-and-a-half battalions as the commandant may require.

6. I have said in my instructions that you will proceed to Modder river. If you can from there get a clear road to Kimberley, so much the better, but you will act according to circ.u.mstances. The main object is to save time.[146]

[Footnote 146: The remainder of the letter contains suggestions on tactics and so forth, which are not directly relevant to the subject of this chapter, and are therefore omitted.]

R. BULLER.

[Sidenote: Information gathered before the march, up to Nov. 21st.]

Before Lord Methuen's arrival at Orange River station, the mounted troops had been engaged in reconnoitring and sketching the country in the neighbourhood of the railway bridge. On the 6th of November a party of the 9th Lancers and mounted infantry, accompanied by guns, had scouted up the railway to within five miles of Belmont. On the 9th another reconnaissance was made up the line, past Belmont, to Honey Nest Kloof, 37 miles from Orange River station. No Boers were seen about Belmont, though they had left traces of their presence in broken culverts and other damage to the railway. After falling back for the night to Witteputs, the patrol marched north-eastward on the morning of the 10th, and encountered several hundred Boers, with field guns, a few miles to the east of Belmont. A skirmish ensued in which Lt.-Col.

C. E. Keith-Falconer was killed, Lt. C. C. Wood mortally wounded, and Lts. F. Bevan and H. C. Hall and four men wounded. To the westward of the railway line a detachment of thirty of Rimington's Guides successfully reconnoitred as far as Prieska. Though the information brought back by these reconnaissances was mainly negative, on the 18th November Major R. N. R. Reade, Lord Methuen's Intelligence officer, was able from various sources of information to report that a force, estimated at from 700 to 1,200 men, with four guns, was at or near Belmont; and that a small commando under Jourdaan had been successfully recruiting from the disloyal farmers in the districts of Barkly West, Campbell, Douglas, and Griquatown, which lay to the west and north-west of the line of advance to Kimberley.

[Sidenote: Const.i.tution of 1st Division.]

Thanks to the strenuous efforts of the staff and the departmental corps, the reconst.i.tuted first division[147] was by the 20th of November ready to take the field. Equipped with mule transport, and marching with a minimum of baggage, Lord Methuen's column consisted of about 7,726 infantry, 850 cavalry and mounted infantry, two batteries of Royal Field artillery, four companies of Royal engineers and a Naval brigade.

[Footnote 147: For the causes which led to the partial dispersion of the 1st division on its arrival in South Africa, see Chapter XI.]

It was thus composed:--

Naval brigade--Captain R. C. Prothero, R.N.:-- Four naval 12-pr. 12-cwt. guns, with 363 officers and men of the Royal Navy, sailors, Royal Marine artillery and Royal Marine Light Infantry.[148]

[Footnote 148: Owing to difficulties with transport, the Naval brigade did not reach the 1st division until 1 a.m. on the 23rd.]

Mounted troops:-- 9th Lancers.

One company mounted infantry Northumberland Fusiliers.

One company mounted infantry Loyal North Lancashire.

Half company mounted infantry King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry.

New South Wales Lancers (30 of all ranks).

Rimington's Guides.