South Africa and the Transvaal War, Vol. 7 (of 8) / The Guerilla War, from February 1901 to the Conclusion of Hostilities

by Louis Creswicke

ORANGE RIVER COLONY

A magnificent programme for the sweeping up of infesting marauders in the region of Vrede and Reitz was planned out early in November. The difficulty and the extent of its plan may be gauged by the fact that the rendezvous and starting-points of the outermost columns engaged upon it were roughly at the angles of a parallelogram, whose diagonal was 175 miles in length, and of which no side was less than 100 miles, marked by the points Standerton, Harrismith, Winburg, and Heilbron; but of the details of this enormous movement, the energy and precision with which it was carried forth, nothing can here be said. It was arranged like an enormous and intricate game of chess, with tortuous and well-designed curves to keep the enemy from detecting the object of the manœuvres, but the whole thing was a failure. The weather, firstly, was atrocious, and highly favourable to such Boers who might wish to straggle and draggle to cover; secondly, the immensity of the converging movement rendered it impossible to entirely fill all gaps, and these gaps the Boers were naturally “slim” enough to discover and to make use of. Thus, when all the splendidly managed and patiently executed marches concluded by the arrival of the columns at their objective, they found most of the birds flown. But the Boer stock and transport had to be left behind, and there was some consolation in knowing that the machinations of the marauders would be hampered for want of supplies for some time to come. Ninety-eight prisoners were taken and twenty-two of the enemy were killed, and horses and cattle in large quantities were secured. The troops returned to their original points of departure without incident, save in the case of Colonels Byng and Wilson. On the 14th of November a party of 400 Boers, who had evaded the cordon before it was drawn, attacked the troops near Heilbron. Two hours of stiff fighting ensued, and the enemy, said to be commanded by De Wet, was successfully repulsed on all sides by Colonel Byng’s rearguard, which was brilliantly handled by Colonel Wilson of Kitchener’s Fighting Scouts. The Boers left eight dead on the field. Lieutenant Hughes was killed and three other officers of Kitchener’s Fighting Scouts were wounded.

Colonel Rimington and Major Damant continued to pursue their special guerilla tactics from Frankfort to the Valley of the Vaal with a diamond-cut-diamond agility which was highly disconcerting to the Boers. Many captures they made, the most satisfactory of all being that of Commandant Buys, who, wounded in a skirmish with the “Railway Pioneers,” fell afterwards into the hands of Colonel Rimington, who had gone to their assistance. The skirmish took place near Villiersdorp. Major Fisher’s small patrol was attacked north and south by some 350 of the enemy. The British were overpowered; Major Fisher was killed, and Captain Langmore was dangerously wounded.

General Dartnell and the Imperial Light Horse Brigade—real veterans by now—were perpetually on the move in the Bethlehem and Harrismith region, but the Boers were wary, and, at the rumour of their coming, seemed to evaporate! The 2nd Imperial Light Horse, however, caught them napping on the 24th of November between Elands River Bridge and Bethlehem. In the attack they killed two of the enemy and captured twelve more. The bag was furthered replenished on the 27th by the addition of 24 prisoners, 150 horses, and 800 cattle, which were the prizes of a dashing raid of the combined force of the 1st and 2nd Imperial Light Horse under Colonel Mackenzie.

The end of November was spent in sweeping and hunting, surprising and night-raiding by General Elliot, who with three columns (Broadwood, De Lisle, and Lowe) moved gradually upward from Harrismith to Kroonstad. Here he arrived on the 1st of December with 15 prisoners, 89 carts, 2470 cattle, and 1280 horses (most of them worn-out). Colonel Barker from Bethlehem engaged the enemy frequently, thus protecting Broadwood’s left flank and inflicting considerable damage. Colonel Rimington having effected a junction with Colonel Wilson (Kitchener’s Fighting Scouts), south-west of Frankfort, on the 28th had some exciting experiences with the enemy, who pursued certain buzzing tactics for the purpose of drawing off attention to a proposed lunge by De Wet on the baggage and rearguard. The attack when delivered was brilliantly repulsed. The troops made a dashing charge on the enemy, during which Lieutenant Oliver (Inniskilling Dragoons) lost his life. Field-Cornet Klopper and 2 burghers were killed and 4 wounded, and 13 prisoners captured. Colonel Rimington then returned to Heilbron.

MAJOR-GENERAL ARTHUR PAGET.
Photo J. Russell & Sons, London.

Various groups of columns under General Knox and Colonel Rochfort harassed and hunted the remnants of the commandos of Brand, Ackerman, and Loetzee, which still hung and clung to their ancient haunts. The work was fatiguing and monotonous in the extreme, but the clearance of that part of the country was accomplished. One hundred and seventy prisoners were swept up in the course of the month.

West of the rail the establishment of constabulary posts between Boshof and Bultfontein went on apace, while Colonel Henry watched the country and kept the Boers at a distance.