At no time was any body of them
exposed to our fire, while we, as usual, fought in the open. Their
numbers were probably less than ours, and the quality of their
shooting and want of energy in pursuit make the defeat the more
galling. On the other hand, their guns were served with skill and
audacity. They consisted of commandos from Bethulie, Rouxville, and
Smithfield, under the orders of Olivier, with those colonials whom
they had seduced from their allegiance.
This defeat of General Gatacre's, occurring, as it did, in a
disaffected district and one of great strategic importance, might
have produced the worst consequences.
Fortunately no very evil result followed. No doubt the recruiting
of rebels was helped, but there was no forward movement and Molteno
remained in our hands. In the meanwhile Gatacre's force was
reinforced by a fresh battery, the 79th, and by a strong regiment,
the Derbyshires, so that with the 1st Royal Scots and the wing of
the Berkshires he was strong enough to hold his own until the time
for a general advance should come. So in the Stormberg district, as
at the Modder River, the same humiliating and absurd position of
stalemate was established.
