With the Flag to Pretoria: A History of the Boer War of 1899-1900. Volume 1

by Herbert Wrigley Wilson

ESTCOURT.

Nov. 4-9, 1899.] Armoured Trains in Natal.

On November 5 the armoured train carried two companies of the Dublin Fusiliers close to Colenso, when the enemy was sighted. The infantry detrained, but, as it was clearly seen that the Boers were endeavouring to cut the British line of retreat, entrained again and fell back towards Estcourt. Then the enemy in his turn retired, and the train advanced cautiously as far as Colenso station, while the British troops entered the town and removed at their leisure four waggon loads of shell, provisions, and stores. On the 9th the train advancing on Colenso found the line torn up about a mile from that town.

INSIDE AN ARMOURED TRAIN.

Ladysmith bombarded.

Meantime the Boers had steadily bombarded Ladysmith. Day by day their heavy guns poured shell and shrapnel into the town, doing, however, very little damage, and inflicting insignificant loss of life. On November 4 General White opened negotiations with Joubert, in command of the Boer forces, for the removal of the sick and the women and children, who should have been sent away before the siege began, but who, with the lamentable want of foresight which characterised all our operations, had been allowed to remain in the town till the investment was complete. It is natural for a general officer in command of an investing force to refuse to allow a besieged force to rid itself of its encumbrances, but Joubert suggested that the non-combatants should be removed to a certain point outside the zone of fire. This point was afterwards known in the British camp as "Funkumdorf"; few of the wounded and very few indeed of the women consented to remove to it. In fact, the bearing of the British women was here, as in all other quarters, heroic, and above all praise.

THE LEE-ENFIELD RIFLE, USED BY THE BRITISH TROOPS.

The cartridges B are placed singly in the magazine A, from which a spring at the bottom forces them upwards till one of them enters the breech, when it is pushed forward by the bolt D into the chamber C and fired. The withdrawal of the bolt ejects the spent cartridge. There is a slide which, when required, cuts off the magazine and allows single cartridges to be used. F is a cleaner and oilcan carried within the butt.