It was pitch dark when the column started—so dark that it was considered impossible for the men to keep touch with each other marching in line, and accordingly they moved in mass of quarter columns. Strangely enough, not a single scout was thrown out ahead, probably because the general thought that it would be impossible to follow them in the dark, and moreover, that, should they come upon the Boers suddenly and fire be opened, the attack by surprise would be altogether spoiled, and the Boers be fully prepared before the main body could arrive. It is certain, however, that had the usual precautions been adopted the catastrophe that followed would have been avoided. Slowly feeling their way along, the great column, four thousand strong, moved on silently. The men were drenched to the skin, hungry, in doubt as to the nature of the position they had to attack, and oppressed by the darkness and strangeness of the situation.
They were still some distance from the hill when orders were given for the column to open out into line; but instead of being, as their commander believed, a good half mile from the enemy's lines, they were within two hundred yards of them, for the Boers had, with great craft and ability, dug a great trench along the whole face of their position a quarter of a mile out on the plain. No suspicion had been entertained in our camp of the existence of this defence, and the Highlanders had marched unsuspectingly into the trap. As they were in the act of opening out, with the Black Watch in the centre, the Seaforths to the left, the Argyle and Sutherlands to the right, and the Highland Light Infantry in reserve, a light was flashed on their left by one of the Boers, who had probably kept near the column as it advanced. In an instant a blaze of fire ran along the whole front, and a storm of bullets smote the column. It told most heavily upon the Black Watch. For half a minute the roar of musketry was unceasing, then for a moment it ceased. The Boers had emptied the magazines of their rifles.
It was but a temporary pause, for in a few seconds the fire again burst out. The loss among the Black Watch had already been frightful. General Wauchope had fallen, together with a large number of the officers, and although at first the men had prepared to charge, it was impossible to withstand the fire, and they ran back, spreading confusion in the ranks of the Seaforths, who were still behind them. The latter, however, remained steady. They had naturally suffered less heavily than the corps in front of them, and they stood their ground, lying down and returning the fire of their hidden foes. The Black Watch halted and lay down behind them. As time went on the troops managed gradually to extend, two companies of the Seaforths moving out to the right, while the Argyle and Sutherlands, and the Highland Light Infantry crept farther still to the right in hopes of being able to open a flanking fire on the enemy.
But these movements were not executed without heavy loss. Twice the Seaforths sprang to their feet and advanced by rushes at the trenches. Some even made their way to within a few yards of them. But it was light now. The officers were shot down and the men decimated, and each time the survivors sullenly fell back. For three hours they lay upon the ground near the spot where they had been attacked. No help came to them, for incomprehensibly this brigade had been sent forward alone, and without reserves, to attack the whole force of the Boers in an immensely strong position. Some of the artillery had, however, advanced with great boldness, and their fire to some extent relieved the pressure. The Boers had now pushed along the low bush-covered hill between Magersfontein and the river, and had opened a flanking fire on the Highlanders. At seven o'clock Lord Airlie brought up the 12th Lancers, dismounted two squadrons, and, aided by a battery of horse artillery, who pressed forward to within two hundred yards of the fighting line, and took up their position on the right of the Highland Brigade, to some extent checked the fire from that quarter.
Two hours later the brigade of Guards came up. Two battalions of the Coldstreams occupied the ground next to the dismounted men. The Grenadiers prolonged the line until they were in touch with the Yorkshires, who were guarding the drift across the Modder River. The other half battalion took up a post by the three batteries, which had stationed themselves in rear of the Highland Brigade. Still farther to the left was the naval gun near the railway, which was protected from an attack in that direction by the Northamptons, while a Howitzer battery further in advance joined it in maintaining a heavy cannonade. At mid—day the Gordons arrived to support the Highlanders, who all these hours were lying within two or three hundred yards of the Boer trenches unable to move, while their foes were unwilling to risk taking the offensive. They had several times threatened to do so, but the fire of the Horse Artillery guns had each time caused them to abandon their intention.
At two in the afternoon the Boer fire, which had somewhat slackened, again broke out fiercely to the left. It appeared that an attacking force was at hand, and the men of the Highland Brigade, parched with thirst, unnerved by the fearful ordeal they had gone through, burned and blistered by the sun, staggered back, losing heavily, and little by little retired until they reached the line of the guns, three-quarters of a mile in their rear. They straggled in in groups, regiments mixed up together. Here they halted, and the few officers who remained alive did their utmost to restore order and cohesion. Not until five o'clock in the afternoon was this accomplished, when, just as they were about to advance again, the Boer batteries, which had strangely enough been silent all day, opened fire. A shell exploded a short distance away from the brigade, and at once they broke down again. The officers in vain endeavoured to restrain them; the men could not be rallied until they reached the field hospital camp.
For once nature had overcome the dauntless spirit of some of the finest soldiers in the world. For thirteen hours they had been under a tremendous fire; during that time they had been practically without orders. Their beloved general had fallen, together with many of the senior officers; but even if these had lived it would have been impossible to send orders from point to point, or to arrange for any general action, since the slightest movement of position was certain to attract a rain of bullets. They were, in fact, bewildered and dazed by the roar of musketry so terrible and unexpected, the heavy losses, the impossibility of movement, still more of getting at their foes. Their inability to do aught but suffer had broken them down. It speaks highly indeed for the discipline and courage of these soldiers that at Paardeberg they should have entirely recovered their morale, and have shown their old conspicuous bravery, unsurpassed by that of any other regiment.
The brigade of Guards maintained their position all night. They had covered the retreat of the Highlanders, and now prevented the Boers from taking the offensive, and held their post until they were next morning recalled to camp. They then drew off, suffering somewhat severely as they did so, under a heavy artillery fire.
The losses in the Highland Brigade were fifteen officers and one hundred and twenty-two men killed, thirty-one officers, four hundred and twenty-one men wounded, two officers and one hundred and ten men missing. The Boer loss was caused almost entirely by our artillery fire, as some of the guns had been able to sweep portions of their trenches. Their official account gave it as seventy killed and two hundred and three wounded, but an intercepted letter placed it very much higher, and reported their loss at from twelve hundred to fifteen hundred.