The Night Had Been Dark And Wet, And The Boers Under Cover Of It
Had Crept Between The Sleeping Convoy And The Town.
Some bushes
which afford excellent cover lie within a few hundred yards of the
road, and here the main ambush was laid.
In the first grey of the
morning the long line of the convoy, 130 wagons in all, came
trailing past - guns and Yeomanry in front, Fusiliers upon the
flanks and rear. Suddenly the black bank of scrub was outlined in
flame, and a furious rifle fire was opened upon the head of the
column. The troops behaved admirably under most difficult
circumstances. A counter-attack by the Fusiliers and some of the
Yeomanry, under cover of shrapnel from the guns, drove the enemy
out of the scrub and silenced his fire at this point. It was
evident, however, that he was present in force, for firing soon
broke out along the whole left flank, and the rearguard found
itself as warmly attacked as the van. Again, however, the
assailants were driven off. It was now broad daylight, and the
wagons, which had got into great confusion in the first turmoil of
battle, had been remarshalled and arranged. It was Colonel
Anderson's hope that he might be able to send them on into safety
while he with the escort covered their retreat. His plan was
certainly the best one, and if it did not succeed it was due to
nothing which he could avert, but to the nature of the ground and
the gallantry of the enemy.
The physical obstacle consisted in a very deep and difficult
spruit, the Jagd Spruit, which forms an ugly passage in times of
peace, but which when crowded and choked with stampeding mules and
splintering wagons, under their terrified conductors, soon became
impassable. Here the head of the column was clubbed and the whole
line came to a stand. Meanwhile the enemy, adopting their new
tactics, came galloping in on the left flank and on the rear. The
first attack was repelled by the steady fire of the Fusiliers, but
on the second occasion the horsemen got up to the wagons, and
galloping down them were able to overwhelm in detail the little
knots of soldiers who were scattered along the flank. The British,
who were outnumbered by at least three to one, made a stout
resistance, and it was not until seven o'clock that the last shot
was fired. The result was a complete success to the burghers, but
one which leaves no shadow of discredit on any officer or man among
those who were engaged. Eleven officers and 176 men fell out of
about 550 actually engaged. The two guns were taken. The convoy was
no use to the Boers, so the teams were shot and the wagons burned
before they withdrew. The prisoners too, they were unable to
retain, and their sole permanent trophies consisted of the two
guns, the rifles, and the ammunition. Their own losses amounted to
about fifty killed and wounded.
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