South Africa and the Boer-British War Part 33

[Sidenote: National Qualifications for Fighters]

The Boer States maintained their invasion of the British Colony of Natal for 100 days, and made for themselves a military reputation that has astonished and instructed the armed nations of the earth. We of the United States have less to learn from them than others have, because we are mobile as they are, and their horsemanship and marksmanship with rifles are among our accomplishments. The Americans, also, are as individuals self-reliant, and that makes men competent to take good care of themselves and keep their heads clear and their hands steady when there is a life and death business to do. Our traditions of Indian warfare have informed our people that among the military arts and qualifications must be ranked the preservation of the lives of soldiers, that they may not by carelessness on their own part or wantonness of superiors be wasted--though the commanding officers must be sure that orders are obeyed, when the reason why is not stated. Our volunteers have in great measure and likeness the same capacities that have distinguished the Boers in the wonderful fight they made against the British. The fact is that as fighting men the Boers closely resemble in many respects the Confederate soldiers who in the great state and sectional conflict in this country, fought with surprising address and displayed such activities--that the infantry under Stonewall Jackson were jocosely, but with justice in the compliment implied, called the "Southern Cavalry." They covered the ground nearly as fast on foot as the Boers have on horseback, and they were men whose rifles were always to be respected. There have been no bloodier wars since the days of Napoleon than that which occurred among the people of the United States when they were construing their Const.i.tution and having a trial of battle over it; and it is a subject of speculation very curious and of interest to people of inquiring minds, what effect upon our war it would have had if at the beginning both sides had been provided with the long range rifles and artillery that are now the necessary equipments of an army. Certainly the combats would have been radically changed, and what might have been the result is left to constructive imagination.

[Sidenote: Roberts and Buller in Co-operation]

The combination of movements with which Lord Roberts opened his campaign of invasion of the Orange Free State began by ma.s.sing an army of nearly 50,000 men in a place where it was expected, and this happened to be where the enemy were comparatively weak. At the same time, Sir Redvers Buller's army was hammering hard on the Tugela and the thunder of his guns continued to be heard at Ladysmith, from the outer-guarding trenches of which, the explosion of British sh.e.l.ls could be seen, announcing that the work of relief, if not progressing, was at least continued. It had long been known by the British officers that the Boers were constantly signalled of the arrival of troops at Durban, and able to correctly gauge the army under Buller's command. They were not so well informed promptly of the movements of troops from Cape Town, and had not believed in the speedy and eagerly swift advance of Roberts, whose reputation might have been known to them, of ability to make his men "keen," which was not the state of the troops whose fine edge had been removed by the "reverses" under Methuen, Gatacre and Buller. The first blow Roberts struck furnishes a fine military study on a large scale. Of course, it materially a.s.sisted in raising the siege of Ladysmith as well as that of Kimberley. The presence of the main body of the British army in the Orange Free State, the dispersion of the besiegers of Kimberley, and the capture of Cronje's army, made sure that the only hope of the Boers was in a rushing concentration of their forces, and the lines before Buller in Natal weakened at once.

[Sidenote: Roberts' Public Utterances]

An element in the character of Lord Roberts not generally familiarly known has been developed in his public utterances since he was commanded to save his country in South Africa. Before he sailed he consented to say something for the interviewer, which shows that he is abreast of the methods of talking to the people, and he said he had "entire confidence in the British soldier." He made a few terse remarks on meeting the Highlanders in Africa after they had suffered so severely in action, and said he had been with them in India and he was glad to see them around him, always wanted to see them when there was hard work to be done. He has repeatedly taken occasion to recognize the high spirit of the Colonial contingents, putting them in places that conveyed a compliment to their courage and effectiveness as soldiers, and he has ministered to their pride in his efficient reports. In announcing the surrender of Cronje, he hoped it was "satisfactory" to Her Majesty's Government, as it was on the anniversary of Majuba Hill. He especially and handsomely acknowledged the obligations of the army in that celebration of the anniversary to the Canadian contingent, "took a day off" to visit Kimberley and address the sickly and half-starved garrison in fitting terms, and dined with Mr. Cecil Rhodes, the strong man who represents British enterprise and ambition in South Africa.

In his correspondence with the Presidents of the Boer States which they opened, Lord Roberts has been courteous in form, but in substance aggressive and incisive. Born at Cawmpore, India, of Irish parents, he has the vivacity of his blood and a talent for saying as well as doing things. There is a statue of him at Calcutta which was decorated with flowers March 1st, and a cable was sent him from Cawmpore, "Your birthplace salutes you."

[Sidenote: General Conditions Favoring the English]

Sir Redvers Buller was not idle when the decisive movements of Lord Roberts were made, and at last his pounding away battered the Boer fortresses, and the Boer commanders, seeing it was too late to take Ladysmith, retreated even more rapidly than they had advanced. General Buller did not permit them to hold him with a thin line while they were making haste to abandon Natal to defend the Transvaal. The distance between the lines of operation by Roberts and Buller made the concentration of the British and Boer armies in their new relations and change of scene a matter of time. The mobility of the Boer mounted infantry and their use of inner lines of rails enabled them to get together and prepare for actions of increased seriousness and magnitude of results. The combatants were released from monotonous sieges by the relief of Kimberley and Ladysmith. The British have had such heavy losses and bitter lessons that, while rejoicing over the good fortune of their arms, they have not weakly acted upon the theory that the war was over when Cronje surrendered and they marched deeper into the hostile state.

[Sidenote: What a Military Specialist Says]

When the third effort of General Buller to relieve Ladysmith by way of the Tugela River approaches failed, the cleverest of the military specialists, writing for the London _Press_, said, February 10th: "We must now hope that the resources of Ladysmith will last until strong pressure can be brought to bear in another part of the theatre of war, and meanwhile Sir R. Buller is at least detaining in his front the best force the Boers have placed in the field. Whatever may happen in Natal, the further course of the war will not be materially affected.

The terrible initial strategic mistake of abandoning a princ.i.p.al objective for a subsidiary operation still over-weights the campaign; but the time is at hand when its baneful influence will cease to fetter our action. The great issues of the war will not be decided in Natal."

That the Boers were sufferers in Natal to an extent much greater than they have reported is shown by a Boer correspondent with the Natal Commandos, dated February 8th, from Lorenzo Marques. He called attention to the necessity of more men and wagons for the prompt removal of the wounded from the battlefield. He states that the present arrangements are most inadequate. He suggests that volunteers should be invited to form ambulance corps at Johannesburg.

[Sidenote: The Spion Kop Affair]

After the battle of Colenso, and before the successful storming of Pieter's Hill, the public attention was excited and fixed with intensity for some days on the fighting about Spion Kop--the key to the Boer position which was a.s.sailed by General Buller, January 21st and 23d. The Kop was carried by a night attack which was a very daring and hardy movement, and abandoned only after a long and b.l.o.o.d.y conflict.

The British began to climb the mountain an hour after midnight, and at 3 o'clock were challenged by a Boer sentinel. When this was done, they, as had been ordered to do, threw themselves flat on their faces and the Boer picket not more than fifteen in number and only thirty yards away, emptied their magazines into the darkness and fled for their lives. "One brave man alone remained" and was killed as the British flung themselves into the trench, "with a cheer that was heard by those who were anxiously listening in the camp below."

The Boers soon yielded their second line of trenches and the British attempted, having gained this much ground, to prepare themselves for the a.s.sault that they knew was coming with the daylight. It was very dark and, though they worked hard to protect themselves, found they had laid out their trenches so that they afforded very little shelter.

Indeed they were enfiladed and raked on all sides; and it appeared the Boers had six guns ready for them. Two of them Maxim-Nordenfeldts and four other guns on a ridge, completely concealed from our batteries, but able to command them, as was shown by their dropping sh.e.l.ls among them periodically during the day. The Boer riflemen followed their usual tactics. They were scattered all over the hill, lying wherever they found cover, and firing coolly and steadily all the time. "To our men they were as usual, practically invisible, and they were far too widely scattered for sh.e.l.l fire to have much effect upon them. At 8 their attack began. It was a most vigorous infantry attack, supported by a converging sh.e.l.l fire from three directions. For the first time in this war the Boer artillery was as deadly as their musketry. The Maxim-Nordenfeldts scoured first one side of the hill and then the other, raising great clouds of dust, and sh.e.l.l after sh.e.l.l bursting where our men lay thickest.

[Sidenote: A Fierce Struggle]

"This condition lasted three hours when the Boers advanced closer and closer, without giving our men a chance, and drove them out of their first line of trenches, but did not stay there long; for the second time we drove them back again at the point of the bayonet, and in one of the trenches this happened three times.

"Two British battalions came up as re-inforcements, and all the way up the men were under fire from the top and from sharpshooters in trenches and behind rocks on the flanks, yet they never wavered once. The climb took over two hours, and when they at last reached the summit they surrounded it and went up the last part with a rush and cheer. It was a stirring sight, and to those who watched it seemed that now, at any rate, the hill was ours. The only ominous thing was that not a Boer left the hill, and the ceaseless fire went on without even a break.

This was 5.15, and things were not going well with the main attack."

Information had been given the British that there was a supply of water on the Kop, but that was a mistake, and the troops suffered greatly from thirst, and the rifle fire of the Boers never slackened. There was unusual energy and resolution on the part of the British, notwithstanding their disadvantages and losses, to adhere to the position they had gained in the night, and many valorous efforts, all in vain, to clear the Boers out of the way and overcome their fire, so that at last the various regiments and companies and battalions of the British force engaged, were very much mixed up. They were resolute, but between the darkness and the rough ground and the changes of position there was no little confusion. Six hundred Royal Engineers received orders to go up after nightfall in order to intrench the position, and a part of General Hildyard's Brigade bivouacked under Three Tree Hill, with orders to advance against the main ridge of Taba Myama at dawn. Colonel Thorneycroft, who was in the most critical position, was in ignorance of all this. The condition, in which his force was, has already been described, but besides this his men were suffering considerably from the effects of the day. "The losses had been heavy; his own men had lost 122 out of 194 who had climbed the hill, and the men, who had been under fire all day, although not in the slightest degree demoralized, were yet considerably shaken, and it was exceedingly doubtful whether they would be able to stand another such day's sh.e.l.l fire."

[Sidenote: The Kop Retaken by The Boers]

Each hour's fighting added evidence that the British could not sustain themselves on the Kop and retirement was judiciously ordered and began at 8.30 P.M., January 24th, and as the leading troops went down they met the sappers coming up. The descent was conducted with the utmost order and dispatch, but it was early morning before the last man was off the hill. With the failure to retain Spion Kop failed General Warren's attempt to cross the Spion Kop Taba Myama range, so, on the 25th, a withdrawal across the Tugela was ordered. It took the heavy transport wagons all day to cross the pontoons, and in the night the troops followed them.

CHAPTER XI

Cronje's Surrender and the Occupation of Bloemfontein.

[Sidenote: Cronje Hard Pressed]

The main body of the British army on the Modder soon disposed of the reproach of immobility, and the Boers were disconcerted. They were not prepared for "leaps and bounds" to the front. It has been important in the history of Lord Roberts that his troops became confident and moved with alacrity. Cronje, finding himself getting into the air, confronting Roberts, made a long night march February 15th, and the British swung to the left in hot pursuit, some of the regiments outstripping the supplies; but there was no complaint of fatigue or short rations, or other commonplace troubles, though the rains were heavy and the winds cold. Cronje was driven to the precarious shelter of a river bed, where he formed a laager. Roberts sh.e.l.led the Boer force and pushed regular approaches to insure victory and save life.

[Sidenote: Cronje Capitulates]

A gallant rush by the Canadians made the Boer position untenable in a strict military sense. There was a fusilade at 3 A.M. on the morning of the 15th, and the most dramatic incident of the eventful day was the appearance of a small white flag moving from the Boer laager to the British lines. It was understood by all who saw it to convey the tidings that Cronje had surrendered. A British officer advanced to meet the flag, and the bearer of it turned back disappearing behind the fortifications. For a few moments the flag-bearer reappeared, and at his side walked--as a correspondent present describes him--"a little, grizzly, old man." The word pa.s.sed along the British lines, "That's Cronje." It was Cronje, and he was soon in the presence of Roberts, who invited him to take a seat. The Boer commander, when on his way to the British headquarters, was described as a "heavy shouldered, heavy bearded, heavy-lipped man, clad in farm-like garb, wearing a broad-brimmed felt hat and lumbering along on a little gray pony." He showed no emotion, accepted the situation with fort.i.tude, and said he had had a very uncomfortable time. Between 3,000 and 4,000 prisoners marched out of the laager with Mrs. Cronje and her grandson. The prisoners said the onslaught of the Canadians had astonished them.

They had been cooped up for ten days and suffered greatly. Cronje was treated with courtesy, and all his personal requests granted. As he desired, his wife, grandson and servants accompanied him. Considering the disparity in forces, he had made a great fight, and to have detained the powerful army of Roberts so long was the best service he could render his cause. The words in which Lord Roberts announced his victory were that Cronje and his force capitulated at daylight, February 27th. The dispatch was dated at Paardeburg, at 7.45 in the morning. Lord Roberts added the capitulation was unconditional, and Cronje was now a prisoner in his camp, and then said, "I hope that Her Majesty's Government will consider that this is very satisfactory, occurring as it does on the anniversary of Majuba."

A writer for the _Journal_ says that Cronje was anxious to attempt to cut his way out of the river bed and seize a hill and oppose the idea of surrender to the last moment, but was overcome by a council of war, and that his theory about it was that, rather than lose men in storming the Boer position, Roberts would grant terms. However, when Cronje consented to a council of war, he must have known what the result would be. The scene on the inside of the laager is thus described: "The wrecks of wagons, carca.s.ses of horses and cattle are strewn everywhere, not to speak of scores of corpses partially unburied. The Red Cross men who buried the dead and collected the wounded at Magersfontein, Belmont and Graspan declare they have seen nothing so awful as this terrible spectacle.

"A mute story is told by the fearful sight that Cronje had no alternative but to surrender unless he wished to see his camp converted into a wholesale shambles. Hundreds of dead bodies of both men and cattle were washed down through the British main camp when the river was flooded last week. It is impossible therefore to estimate how many actually fell in Cronje's last stand."

[Sidenote: Cronje and Roberts Meet]

The historical scene of surrender is thus described: "A group of hors.e.m.e.n then approached. On General Prettyman's right rode an elderly man clad in a rough, short overcoat, a wide brimmed hat, ordinary tweed trousers and brown shoes. It was the redoubtable Cronje. His face was almost burned black, and his curly beard was tinged with gray.

"Lord Roberts walked to and fro in front of the cart until the Boer general arrived, when the British commander advanced gravely and kindly saluted the Boer commander. He then motioned General Cronje to a seat in a chair which had been brought for his accommodation, and the two officers conversed through an interpreter.

"Cronje's face was absolutely impa.s.sive when he approached Lord Roberts, exhibiting no sign of his inner feelings. Lord Roberts was surrounded by his staff when General Prettyman, addressing the Field Marshal, said:

"'Commandant Cronje, sir.'

[Ill.u.s.tration: MAJOR W. A. WEEKS, Charlottetown, P.E.I., Canada, LIEUTENANT J. C. OLAND, Halifax, Company H, CAPTAIN F. CAVERHILL JONES, St. John's, 3d Regt. Canadian Artillery, CORPORALS H. W. ACKHURST AND C. HANc.o.c.k, both of Halifax. GROUP OF CANADIAN OFFICERS, TRANSVAAL CONTINGENT. PLATE II]

[Ill.u.s.tration: AN ARMORED TRAIN FROM LADYSMITH RECONNOITERING]

"The commandant touched his hat in salute, and Lord Roberts saluted in return. The whole group then dismounted, and Lord Roberts stepped forward and shook hands with the Boer commander.

"'You made a gallant defence, sir,' was the first salutation of Lord Roberts to the vanquished Boer leader.

"General Cronje afterward breakfasted with the British officers."

Cronje's army was promptly sent to Cape Town as prisoners of war, accompanied by their gallant leader--"the Lion of South Africa"--whose heroism everywhere commanded respect.

The detailed report of Lord Roberts is as follows:

"PAARDEBERG, 11 o'clock Tuesday Morning.--From information furnished daily to me by the intelligence department it became apparent that General Cronje's force was becoming more depressed and that the discontent of the troops and the discord among the leaders were rapidly increasing. This feeling was doubtless accentuated by the disappointment caused when the Boer re-inforcements which tried to relieve General Cronje were defeated by our troops on Feb. 2.

"I resolved, therefore, to bring pressure to bear upon the enemy. Each night the trenches were pushed forward toward the enemy's laager so as to gradually contract his position, and at the same time we bombarded it heavily with artillery which was yesterday aided by the arrival of four six-inch howitzers which I had ordered up from De Aar. In carrying out these measures a captive balloon gave great a.s.sistance by keeping us informed of the dispositions and movements of the enemy.

"At 3 A.M. to-day a most dashing advance was made by the Canadian regiment and some engineers, supported by the First Gordon Highlanders and Second Shropshires, resulting in our gaining a point some 600 yards nearer the enemy and within about eighty yards of his trenches, where our men intrenched themselves and maintained their positions till morning, a gallant deed worthy of our colonial comrades, and which, I am glad to say, was attended by comparatively slight loss.

"This apparently clinched matters, for, at daylight to-day, a letter signed by General Cronje, in which he stated that he surrendered unconditionally, was brought to our outposts under a flag of truce.

"In my reply I told General Cronje he must present himself at my camp and that his forces must come out of their laager after laying down their arms. By 7 A.M. I received General Cronje and dispatched a telegram to you announcing the fact.