It Would Not Be
Fair, However, To Suppose That They Had Failed Because They Ended
Where They Began.
Their primary object had been to prevent the
further advance of the Freestaters into the colony, and, during the
most critical period of the war, this had been accomplished with
much success and little loss.
At last the pressure had become so
severe that the enemy had to weaken the most essential part of
their general position in order to relieve it. The object of the
operations had really been attained when Clements found himself
back at Arundel once more. French, the stormy petrel of the war,
had flitted on from Cape Town to Modder River, where a larger prize
than Colesberg awaited him. Clements continued to cover Naauwport,
the important railway junction, until the advance of Roberts's army
caused a complete reversal of the whole military situation.
CHAPTER 15.
SPION KOP.
Whilst Methuen and Gatacre were content to hold their own at the
Modder and at Sterkstroom, and whilst the mobile and energetic
French was herding the Boers into Colesberg, Sir Redvers Buller,
the heavy, obdurate, inexplicable man, was gathering and organising
his forces for another advance upon Ladysmith. Nearly a month had
elapsed since the evil day when his infantry had retired, and his
ten guns had not, from the frontal attack upon Colenso. Since then
Sir Charles Warren's division of infantry and a considerable
reinforcement of artillery had come to him. And yet in view of the
terrible nature of the ground in front of him, of the fighting
power of the Boers, and of the fact that they were always acting
upon internal lines, his force even now was, in the opinion of
competent judges, too weak for the matter in hand.
There remained, however, several points in his favour. His
excellent infantry were full of zeal and of confidence in their
chief. It cannot be denied, however much we may criticise some
incidents in his campaign, that he possessed the gift of impressing
and encouraging his followers, and, in spite of Colenso, the sight
of his square figure and heavy impassive face conveyed an assurance
of ultimate victory to those around him. In artillery he was very
much stronger than before, especially in weight of metal. His
cavalry was still weak in proportion to his other arms. When at
last he moved out on January 10th to attempt to outflank the Boers,
he took with him nineteen thousand infantry, three thousand
cavalry, and sixty guns, which included six howitzers capable of
throwing a 50-pound lyddite shell, and ten long-range naval pieces.
Barton's Brigade and other troops were left behind to hold the base
and line of communications.
An analysis of Buller's force shows that its details were as
follows: -
Clery's Division.
Hildyard's Brigade.
2nd West Surrey.
2nd Devonshire.
2nd West Yorkshire.
2nd East Surrey.
Hart's Brigade.
1st Inniskilling Fusiliers.
1st Border Regiment.
1st Connaught Rangers.
2nd Dublin Fusiliers.
Field Artillery, three batteries, 19th, 28th, 63rd; one squadron
13th Hussars; Royal Engineers.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 146 of 435
Words from 75585 to 76090
of 225456
