[Feb. 5-6, 1900.
Disappearing guns.
The night of the 5th was spent by the British troops in entrenching the position they had won, and providing cover against the enemy's shell fire. The Boers, on their part, were busy concentrating men from the east and the west to meet further attacks, and were mounting their 6-inch Creusots on the summit of Doorn Kloof. General Joubert's whole army was rapidly gathering to drive back the bold assailants, who had effected a lodgment in the centre. During the night skirmishing proceeded between the outposts, and with dawn the Boers opened a heavy fire upon Vaal Krantz and the British camps to the south of the Tugela. Several of the shells from the 6-inch guns on Doorn Kloof actually burst within a few yards of the British headquarters. Efforts were made to silence these inconveniently long-range weapons, but without success; and though, in the expressive words of a correspondent, the whole ground round these guns smoked with exploding shells like a lime kiln, the weapons were never hit or disabled. They were mounted on the disappearing principle, and their ugly muzzles only showed for a few seconds on the sky-line, vanishing when their messages of destruction were sped.
O. Eckhardt.] [After a sketch by E. Prater.
THE DURHAM LIGHT INFANTRY CAPTURING VAAL KRANTZ.
[Photo by C. Knight, Aldershot.
A short sketch of Major-General Lyttelton's military career is given on page [84]. He took a distinguished part in the actions during the "week of battles" before Spion Kop, and commanded the attacking force at Vaal Krantz.
Renewed attacks.