History Of The War In South Africa 1899-1902 V. 1 (Of 4 - free ebook by Great Britain. War Office

MAJOR-GENERAL SIR FREDERICK MAURICE, K.C.B

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PREFACE.

The decision of His Majesty's late Government, mentioned on the first page of this history, was not finally given till November, 1905. It was, therefore, not till December 12th, 1905, that I was able to obtain approval for the form in which the political facts connected with the war are mentioned in the first chapter. Since then the whole volume has necessarily been recast, and it was not possible to go to page proof till the first chapter had been approved. Hence the delay in the appearance of

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APPENDICES.

( In separate case. ) MAPS....

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MAPS TO VOLUME I.

Pains have been taken to embody in the maps all topographical information existing up to date. A very considerable amount of valuable triangulation has been executed over portions of South Africa, but no systematic detailed survey has ever been made by any of the South African colonies or states. Maps have, however, been compiled by both Cape Colony and Natal. The former has prepared and published a map extending north as far as Lat. 26° 30'; this includes the Bechuanaland Protectorate and the O

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CHAPTER I.

PREPARATION FOR WAR. Scope of history. The war in South Africa which began on October 9th, 1899, ended so far happily on the 31st May, 1902, that, chiefly in consequence of the tactful management of the negotiations with the leaders who then guided them, those who had till then fought gallantly against the British Empire agreed to enter it as subjects of King Edward. Under the circumstances, His Majesty's late Government considered it undesirable to discuss here any questions that had been at is

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CHAPTER II.

THE OUTBREAK OF THE WAR. [50] Defence plans of local authorities. It has been convenient to carry the statement of the measures adopted for preparation at home in certain matters beyond the actual date of the declaration of war. It is now necessary to view the state of affairs in South Africa at that time. Although British preparations for war had been retarded by the hope of the Queen's Government that the grave issues with the Dutch Republics might be determined by diplomatic action, yet the w

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CHAPTER III.

THE THEATRE OF WAR. [61] Three chapters dealing with the ground and the two armies engaged. When the challenge to war, recorded in the first chapter, startled the British people, it met with an immediate response alike in the home islands, and in the Colonies, in India, or elsewhere, wherever they happened to be. In order to understand the problems of no small complexity confronting the statesmen at home and the generals who in the field had to carry out the will of the nation by taking up the g

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CHAPTER IV.

THE BOER ARMY. Many previous cases compare with Boer resistance. Any force of irregulars which offers a prolonged resistance, not unmarked by tactical successes, to a regular army of superior strength is apt to be regarded as a phenomenon. Yet, from the earliest times, history has shown how seasoned troops may be checked by an enemy who is inferior in numbers, discipline and armament, but possessed of certain counterbalancing resources, due either to the nature of his country, to his own natural

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CHAPTER V.

THE BRITISH ARMY. Various employments of British Army. Every army necessarily grows up according to the traditions of its past history. Those of the Continent having only to cross a frontier, marked by Royal, Imperial or Republican stones, have, in their rare but terrible campaigns, to pursue definite objects that can be anticipated in nearly all their details years beforehand. The British army, on the contrary, throughout the nineteenth century, since the great war came to an end in 1815, has h

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CHAPTER VI.

THE NAVY IN THE BOER WAR. [82] The duty of the Navy in this, as in all war was:— Command of Sea. During the Boer War the command of the sea was never disputed, so that it gave rise to no anxiety after the first few months. The second duty, that of transport, Transport. at once assumed extreme importance owing to the 6,000 miles distance of the base of operations (Cape Town) from England, the large number of men and animals, and the great quantity of stores to be dealt with. Stopping supplies. Th

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CHAPTER VII.

TALANA HILL. [86] Connection with Chap. II. The last four chapters have dealt with subjects affecting the whole course of the war, the theatre of operations, the two opposed armies, and the British navy. The present one, which describes the first action in the campaign, connects immediately with the second, that on the outbreak of the war, taking up the narrative from the time when, as a consequence of the conference at Maritzburg between the Governor (Sir W. Hely-Hutchinson), Sir George White,

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CHAPTER VIII.

THE RETREAT FROM DUNDEE, AND THE ACTION OF RIETFONTEIN. [95] Yule decides not to retreat, but shifts his ground. At 5, on the morning of October 21st, the troops again stood to arms. There was no sign of life upon Talana; the cavalry scouted out unmolested on that side. The mounted patrols, however, supported by "F." company of the Royal Irish Fusiliers, reconnoitring northward, discovered the enemy on the Dannhauser road, and the foremost scouts were driven in. At the same time information came

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CHAPTER IX.

ELANDSLAAGTE. [111] Early days in Ladysmith, Oct. 11th to 19th. During the time (Oct. 12th-Oct. 26th, 1899) occupied by the episode of the Dundee detachment, including the action of Rietfontein fought to assist it in retreat, much had happened elsewhere. Sir G. White arrived in Ladysmith on the 11th October. On the 12th telegraphic communication by Harrismith entirely ceased, and the mail train from that town failed to arrive. Early on the 12th a telegram from a post of observation of Natal Carb

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CHAPTER X.

LOMBARDS KOP. [123] Boer forces unite Oct. 26th. French reconnoitres, Oct. 27th. On the very day of Yule's junction with Coxhead [124] , Erasmus was in touch with A. P. Cronje, next day with Lukas Meyer, who, still feeling the blow of Talana, had moved timidly, wide on the left. At 4 a.m. on the morning of the 27th a brigade of cavalry left Ladysmith under Major-General French, and, proceeding to scout along the Newcastle and Helpmakaar roads, was sighted at dawn by Meyer, who was then in laager

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CHAPTER XI.

THE ARRIVAL OF SIR REDVERS BULLER. Hopes of Sir George White's strength felt at home. Reports of the concentration of large commandos of Transvaal and Free State burghers on the Natal border had been telegraphed home by the High Commissioner and the Governor of Natal on the 28th of September, and reached the Colonial Office during the night of the 28th-29th. The plan, therefore, of an advance through the Orange Free State, which was adopted by the Cabinet on the following day, by implication ass

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CHAPTER XII.

ADVANCE FROM THE ORANGE RIVER. 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. 2. In addition to the troops now at De Aar, the infantry o

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CHAPTER XIII.

BELMONT. [154] The Boer position Nov. 23rd/99. Lord Methuen's dispositions for attack were necessarily determined by the ground which the Boers had taken up to oppose his advance. Some two miles to the south-east of Belmont station a hill, in form like a sugar-loaf, rises abruptly about 280 feet above the veld. From it extends northwards a broken line of kopjes which for several miles runs parallel with the railway in its course from Orange River station to Kimberley. Twelve hundred yards to the

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CHAPTER XIV.

GRASPAN. [159] Boers gather at Graspan. Nov. 23rd/99. Eleven miles north of Belmont station the road and railway leading to Kimberley enter a network of kopjes, which dominate the line until the plain through which the Modder river flows is reached. These rough outcrops of rock and boulders from the plains of the open veld have been arranged by nature in clusters of small hills, the most southern group being so shaped as to form a natural redoubt astride of the railway, midway between Graspan an

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CHAPTER XV.

THE BATTLE OF THE MODDER RIVER. [167] Boers learn to change their ideas of a "strong position." When the Boers, after their defeat on the 25th November, retreated from the heights of Graspan, [168] the greater part of their force withdrew to Jacobsdal, little inclined to renew the combat. But General De la Rey induced the burghers to make another effort to arrest the British march on Kimberley, at a position of his own selection at the confluence of the Riet and the Modder rivers, where the terr

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CHAPTER XVI.

THE RAID ON SOUTHERN NATAL. [179] The relation of Ladysmith to the defence of Natal. Throughout the operations in Natal during the opening phase of the war, Sir G. White had held that a mobile force, concentrated north of the Tugela, afforded better protection to the central and southern portions of the colony than any number of detachments stationed on the lines of communication. Face to face as he was with an enemy in superior strength, the retention with his field force of every available uni

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CHAPTER XVII.

OPERATIONS ROUND COLESBERG UP TO THE 16th DECEMBER. [185] Schoeman at Norval's Pont Nov. 1st. A Boer force seized the passage of the Orange river at Norval's Pont on the 1st November. [186] It consisted of the Philippolis and Edenburg commandos, with a detachment from the Bethulie district and some burghers from the Transvaal, and was commanded by a Transvaaler named Schoeman. Schoeman's subsequent advance was extraordinarily cautious and hesitating, a caution probably more due to the existence

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CHAPTER XVIII.

STORMBERG. [189] The Boers occupy Stormberg, Nov. 25/99. President Steyn early in November ordered an invasion of the north-eastern portion of Cape Colony. In doing so he acted against the advice of a Krijgsraad held at Bethulie to discuss the project. A considerable party of the Free State burghers was, in fact, opposed to an offensive plan of campaign, but the President held that success in the struggle against Great Britain could not be attained without enlisting in his favour all the externa

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CHAPTER XIX.

HALT ON THE MODDER BEFORE MAGERSFONTEIN. [195] Reasons for the halt on the Modder. The Modder River battle (November 28th, Chap. XV .) had placed the 1st division within twenty miles of Kimberley. Signals were made to that town by a Naval searchlight fitted "with a flasher." [196] Lord Methuen [197] halted for a short time on the banks of the Modder. Horses and men, worn out by the fighting and marching of the last six days, required rest. Reinforcements of troops and supplies were on their way

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CHAPTER XX.

THE BATTLE OF MAGERSFONSTEIN. [200] The 1st Division takes up assigned places, Dec. 10th, for night march. The preliminary movements for the attack on Magersfontein Hill, the orders for which are given at the end of the last chapter, were duly executed. Major-General Wauchope's brigade spent the first part of the night of the 10th December bivouacked near the dam behind Headquarter Hill. Close to the Highlanders lay the artillery, the 9th Lancers, the detachment of New South Wales Lancers, the B

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CHAPTER XXI.

SIR REDVERS BULLER IN FACE OF COLENSO. [213] Sir Redvers, 25th Nov./99, to 6th Dec./99, in Natal. Sir Redvers Buller reached Durban on 25th November. He was greeted by the good news that the invaders were falling back from Mooi river, that Lord Methuen had driven the Boers from Belmont and Graspan, and that Generals French and Gatacre were holding their own at Naauwpoort and Queenstown. He spent a few days at Maritzburg in inspecting this advanced base of the Natal army, and in directing prepara

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CHAPTER XXII.

COLENSO, DECEMBER 15th, 1899. [226] The move begins. Power of the Naval guns. In the cool of the early morning of December 15th, 1899, while it was yet dark, [227] the British troops were set in motion. The day was to prove intensely hot, a sign, at this period of the Natal summer, of the approaching rains. Captain E. P. Jones, R.N., commanding the Naval brigade, moved with two 4·7-in. and four 12-pounder guns to a site pointed out to him personally by Sir Redvers on the previous day, to the wes

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CHAPTER XXIII.

LORD ROBERTS' APPOINTMENT TO THE COMMAND IN SOUTH AFRICA. Realisation at home of the magnitude of the task before the country. After three reverses at Stormberg, Magersfontein and Colenso, it was clear to all that forces far larger than had been estimated would be now required for the war. Much had already been done before the news of Colenso arrived. Another division—the 5th—prepared at home early in November for service in South Africa, was due in a few days' time at Cape Town. A sixth divisio

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CHAPTER XXIV.

OPERATIONS ROUND COLESBERG—DECEMBER 16th, 1899, TO FEBRUARY 6TH, 1900. [259] French's operations during Lord Roberts' voyage. Whilst Lord Roberts was on his voyage to the seat of war, the three portions of the army which had sustained severe checks were chiefly employed in recuperating and receiving reinforcements. General French, on the other hand, was continuing his successful operations. These, therefore, with the exceptions mentioned in the last chapter, alone represent the active work in th

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CHAPTER XXV.

LORD ROBERTS AT CAPE TOWN; REORGANISES. [284] 10th Jan. 1900. Lord Roberts lands. Situation at that date. Field-Marshal Lord Roberts landed at Cape Town on the 10th January, 1900, and assumed the supreme command. The situation with which he was confronted will be more easily realised if a brief summary be here given of the facts as they now presented themselves at each of the several widely separated points of contact between the opposed forces. French before Colesberg. As described in detail in

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CHAPTER XXVI.

THE ARMY MOVES FORWARD. The intended stroke. The first stage in the realisation of Lord Roberts' plan of campaign must necessarily be the transfer to the neighbourhood of Lord Methuen's camp of the army with which it was his purpose to manœuvre Cronje out of Magersfontein, to relieve Kimberley, and strike for Bloemfontein. The problem. How solved. The problem was to carry out this transfer without allowing the Boer General to suspect the design with which it was made, and, till this first moveme

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APPENDIX 2.

The distribution of British forces under arms in Cape Colony on 11th October, 1899....

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APPENDIX 3.

The distribution of British forces under arms in Natal on 11th October, 1899....

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APPENDIX 5.

List of H.M. ships and vessels serving on the Cape station October 11th, 1899, to June 1st, 1902, showing the approximate dates when they were so engaged. Those that were present on the station at the beginning of the war are shown with an asterisk. Showing Approximate Strength, Casualties, &amp;c., in The Principal Engagements described in Volume I. Talana Hill, October 20th, 1899. CHAPTER VII. APPROXIMATE STRENGTH OF TROOPS ENGAGED. SUMMARY OF BRITISH CASUALTIES. Approximate Boer Losses :—

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APPENDIX 7.

The Expeditionary Force as originally organised and sent to South Africa....

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APPENDIX 8.

The composition and distribution of British troops in southern Natal, 23rd November, 1899, the morning of the fight at Willow Grange....

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APPENDIX 9.

Reinforcements Landed in South Africa up to the 13th of February, 1900, other than those given in Appendices 1. and 7. These companies arrived in various ships....

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APPENDIX 10.

Distribution of troops in South Africa on 11th February, 1900, when the march from Ramdam began. FIELD-MARSHAL LORD ROBERTS. Commander-in-Chief's Bodyguard. Lieut.-General Lord Methuen, Modder River. Lieut.-General Sir F. Forestier-Walker. Major-General R. A. P. Clements, Naauwpoort and Colesberg. Lieut.-General Sir W. Gatacre, Sterkstroom. Colonel R. G. Kekewich, Kimberley. Colonel R. S. S. Baden-Powell, Mafeking. South Rhodesia and Bechuanaland Protectorate. General Sir G. White, Ladysmith. Ge

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