MOBILIZATION OF ZULULAND FIELD FORCE.—MANSEL ENGAGES THE ENEMY AT BOBE.
The news that Sigananda had, with practically the whole of his tribe, together with sections of two other adjoining tribes, espoused Bambata's cause, commonly said at the time to have Dinuzulu's full support, had hardly been made public before offers of substantial assistance were received from the Cape Colony and the Transvaal. The Prime Minister of the former telegraphed on the 17th April: "Extremely sorry to hear of your further Native trouble; can we be of assistance, you may depend on our ready help in anything that it is possible for us to undertake." The reply was: "Many thanks for your telegram. Should assistance be necessary, we shall not hesitate to ask your help."
On the 23rd April, the following message was received from the Lieutenant-Governor of the Transvaal (Sir Richard Solomon, G.C.M.G., K.C.B.)[184]: "Please inform your Ministers that, with the High Commissioner's warmest approval, Transvaal Government offers to send to assistance of Government of Natal, whenever required, 500 Transvaal Volunteers fully armed and equipped, and offers to maintain them while in the field." To this the following reply was sent: "Ministers beg to express their very grateful thanks for the most generous offer made by the Transvaal Government, which they gladly accept. They beg me to assure your Government that they highly appreciate the spirit which has prompted this offer." On the 25th it was added: "The regiment we have offered will be a mounted one, and will be kept up to its full strength."
The Prime Minister, Cape Colony, wired again: "I have thought that possibly a battery of six Maxim guns, fully equipped and manned by Cape Mounted Riflemen, might be of service to you in the present campaign. Government, Cape Colony, willing therefore to place these at your disposal, fully manned, equipped and with pack saddles and mules, of course free of all cost to your Government. Should you be short of signallers, we can also supply them fully equipped. I merely make these special suggestions as a part of my original offer of general assistance." To this it was replied: "We are deeply grateful for the repetition of your generous offer of assistance, but are advised that at present we have sufficient forces in the field to deal with the Rebellion in Zululand. We shall certainly avail ourselves of your offer should the insurrection spread to other parts of the Colony."
On the 8th June, the Government, referring to the foregoing, asked the Cape Government for a battery of six Maxim guns. Within a week, the guns, fully manned and equipped, under the command of Captain M. Humphery, C.M.R., together with twenty signallers, under Lieutenant R. Stopford, C.M.R., were in Natal and proceeded at once to take the field.
The offer of the Transvaal having been accepted, it became necessary for that Colony to issue a proclamation, in which, inter alia, it was made known that, as it was "desirable in the interests of this Colony, that a Volunteer Corps, formed under the Volunteer Corps Ordinance, 1904, should be called out for service in this Colony, and in the said Colony of Natal," and as the Lieutenant-Governor of the Transvaal had "accepted the service of certain persons desiring to be formed into a Volunteer Corps," and such Corps had been lawfully formed and designated the First Transvaal Mounted Rifles, therefore the said Corps "shall be and is hereby required to serve within this Colony or in the said Colony of Natal."
The formation of the corps, 500 strong, took effect as from 26th April. It was placed under the command of Lieut.-Col. William Frank Barker,[185] with Captain Walter Jardine as Adjutant.
Great care was taken in the selection of the other officers, non-commissioned officers and men. It was decided to accept volunteers from several existing mounted volunteer corps, in order that each such unit should participate in the campaign. The corps was accordingly constituted as follows:
| Officers. | W.O.'s, N.C.O.'s and Men | |
| A Squadron, Imperial Light Horse | 7 | 99 |
| B " South African Light Horse | 5 | 87 |
| C " Johannesburg Mounted Rifles and Scottish Horse | 8 | 122 |
| D " Northern, Eastern, and Western, Mounted Rifles | 5 | 82 |
| Maxim gun, Searchlight, Transport and Medical Detachments | 4 | 15 |
| Regimental Staff | 4 | 5 |
| — | — | |
| 33 | 410 |