Roberts and Buller in Co-operation
The combination of movements with which Lord Roberts opened his campaign of invasion of the Orange Free State began by massing an army of nearly 50,000 men in a place where it was expected, and this happened to be where the enemy were comparatively weak. At the same time, Sir Redvers Buller's army was hammering hard on the Tugela and the thunder of his guns continued to be heard at Ladysmith, from the outer-guarding trenches of which, the explosion of British shells could be seen, announcing that the work of relief, if not progressing, was at least continued. It had long been known by the British officers that the Boers were constantly signalled of the arrival of troops at Durban, and able to correctly gauge the army under Buller's command. They were not so well informed promptly of the movements of troops from Cape Town, and had not believed in the speedy and eagerly swift advance of Roberts, whose reputation might have been known to them, of ability to make his men "keen," which was not the state of the troops whose fine edge had been removed by the "reverses" under Methuen, Gatacre and Buller. The first blow Roberts struck furnishes a fine military study on a large scale. Of course, it materially assisted in raising the siege of Ladysmith as well as that of Kimberley. The presence of the main body of the British army in the Orange Free State, the dispersion of the besiegers of Kimberley, and the capture of Cronje's army, made sure that the only hope of the Boers was in a rushing concentration of their forces, and the lines before Buller in Natal weakened at once.
Roberts' Public Utterances
An element in the character of Lord Roberts not generally familiarly known has been developed in his public utterances since he was commanded to save his country in South Africa. Before he sailed he consented to say something for the interviewer, which shows that he is abreast of the methods of talking to the people, and he said he had "entire confidence in the British soldier." He made a few terse remarks on meeting the Highlanders in Africa after they had suffered so severely in action, and said he had been with them in India and he was glad to see them around him, always wanted to see them when there was hard work to be done. He has repeatedly taken occasion to recognize the high spirit of the Colonial contingents, putting them in places that conveyed a compliment to their courage and effectiveness as soldiers, and he has ministered to their pride in his efficient reports. In announcing the surrender of Cronje, he hoped it was "satisfactory" to Her Majesty's Government, as it was on the anniversary of Majuba Hill. He especially and handsomely acknowledged the obligations of the army in that celebration of the anniversary to the Canadian contingent, "took a day off" to visit Kimberley and address the sickly and half-starved garrison in fitting terms, and dined with Mr. Cecil Rhodes, the strong man who represents British enterprise and ambition in South Africa.
In his correspondence with the Presidents of the Boer States which they opened, Lord Roberts has been courteous in form, but in substance aggressive and incisive. Born at Cawmpore, India, of Irish parents, he has the vivacity of his blood and a talent for saying as well as doing things. There is a statue of him at Calcutta which was decorated with flowers March 1st, and a cable was sent him from Cawmpore, "Your birthplace salutes you."
General Conditions Favoring the English
Sir Redvers Buller was not idle when the decisive movements of Lord Roberts were made, and at last his pounding away battered the Boer fortresses, and the Boer commanders, seeing it was too late to take Ladysmith, retreated even more rapidly than they had advanced. General Buller did not permit them to hold him with a thin line while they were making haste to abandon Natal to defend the Transvaal. The distance between the lines of operation by Roberts and Buller made the concentration of the British and Boer armies in their new relations and change of scene a matter of time. The mobility of the Boer mounted infantry and their use of inner lines of rails enabled them to get together and prepare for actions of increased seriousness and magnitude of results. The combatants were released from monotonous sieges by the relief of Kimberley and Ladysmith. The British have had such heavy losses and bitter lessons that, while rejoicing over the good fortune of their arms, they have not weakly acted upon the theory that the war was over when Cronje surrendered and they marched deeper into the hostile state.
What a Military Specialist Says
When the third effort of General Buller to relieve Ladysmith by way of the Tugela River approaches failed, the cleverest of the military specialists, writing for the London Press, said, February 10th: "We must now hope that the resources of Ladysmith will last until strong pressure can be brought to bear in another part of the theatre of war, and meanwhile Sir R. Buller is at least detaining in his front the best force the Boers have placed in the field. Whatever may happen in Natal, the further course of the war will not be materially affected. The terrible initial strategic mistake of abandoning a principal objective for a subsidiary operation still over-weights the campaign; but the time is at hand when its baneful influence will cease to fetter our action. The great issues of the war will not be decided in Natal."
That the Boers were sufferers in Natal to an extent much greater than they have reported is shown by a Boer correspondent with the Natal Commandos, dated February 8th, from Lorenzo Marques. He called attention to the necessity of more men and wagons for the prompt removal of the wounded from the battlefield. He states that the present arrangements are most inadequate. He suggests that volunteers should be invited to form ambulance corps at Johannesburg.