With
This Force In Constant Touch With Botha's Rearguard, Ian Hamilton
Pushed On Once More On May 4th.
On May 5th he fought a brisk
cavalry skirmish, in which Kitchener's Horse and the 12th Lancers
distinguished themselves, and on the same day he took possession of
Winburg, thus covering the right of Lord Roberts's great advance.
The distribution of the troops on the eastern side of the Free
State was, at the time of this the final advance of the main army,
as follows - Ian Hamilton with his mounted infantry, Smith-Dorrien's
brigade, Macdonald's brigade, Bruce Hamilton's brigade, and
Broadwood's cavalry were at Winburg. Rundle was at Thabanchu, and
Brabant's colonial division was moving up to the same point.
Chermside was at Dewetsdorp, and had detached a force under Lord
Castletown to garrison Wepener. Hart occupied Smithfield, whence he
and his brigade were shortly to be transferred to the Kimberley
force. Altogether there could not have been fewer than thirty
thousand men engaged in clearing and holding down this part of the
country. French's cavalry and Pole-Carew's division had returned to
take part in the central advance.
Before entering upon a description of that great and decisive
movement, one small action calls for comment. This was the cutting
off of twenty men of Lumsden's Horse in a reconnaissance at Karee.
The small post under Lieutenant Crane found themselves by some
misunderstanding isolated in the midst of the enemy. Refusing to
hoist the flag of shame, they fought their way out, losing half
their number, while of the other half it is said that there was not
one who could not show bullet marks upon his clothes or person. The
men of this corps, volunteer Anglo-Indians, had abandoned the ease
and even luxury of Eastern life for the hard fare and rough
fighting of this most trying campaign. In coming they had set the
whole empire an object-lesson in spirit, and now on their first
field they set the army an example of military virtue. The proud
traditions of Outram's Volunteers have been upheld by the men of
Lumsden's Horse. Another minor action which cannot be ignored is
the defence of a convoy on April 29th by the Derbyshire Yeomanry
(Major Dugdale) and a company of the Scots Guards. The wagons were
on their way to Rundle when they were attacked at a point about ten
miles west of Thabanchu. The small guard beat off their assailants
in the most gallant fashion, and held their own until relieved by
Brabazon upon the following morning.
This phase of the war was marked by a certain change in the temper
of the British. Nothing could have been milder than the original
intentions and proclamations of Lord Roberts, and he was most ably
seconded in his attempts at conciliation by General Pretyman, who
had been made civil administrator of the State. There was evidence,
however, that this kindness had been construed as weakness by some
of the burghers, and during the Boer incursion to Wepener many who
had surrendered a worthless firearm reappeared with the Mauser
which had been concealed in some crafty hiding-place.
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