“NO SURRENDER!” THE DEFENCE OF FORT ITALA ON SEPTEMBER 26, 1901
Drawing by R. Caton Woodville
At Fort Prospect the British post was equally tenaciously held by thirty-five men of the 5th Division Mounted Infantry and fifty-one men of the Durham Artillery Militia under the command of Captain C. A. Rowley, 2nd Battalion Dorsetshire Regiment, who contrived with the small force at his disposal to send the 500 attacking Boers to the right-about with considerable aplomb.
He, fortunately, was warned as to the coming commandos, and made haste to prepare for them a warm welcome; providing also extra food, water, and ammunition for his men in the trenches. At 4.30 A.M. the Boers made a violent lunge on the west and north of the position, directing the main fury of their attack at the two laagers held by the Durham Company of Artillery. They penetrated the wire around the laagers and got to within twenty yards of the defenders, but Lieutenant R. G. M. Johnson and his splendid companions were too much for them, and finally the Boers were driven off. They then fought wildly in the rear of the camp, but again met with the same dogged resistance. The defence lasted about thirteen hours and reflected credit on all concerned, especially on Captain Rowley, whose foresight had averted great loss of life. In addition to the splendid work done by the Militia Artillery and the Dorsetshire Regiment, the Zululand Native Police distinguished themselves. Gallantly led by Sergeant Gambi, thirteen of them came four miles from their own post to reinforce the garrison. The British loss was only 1 killed and 8 wounded, a small total considering the thirteen hours’ risk run by the little party.
The necessity of combing this difficult and at times almost impenetrable country of Boers caused General Lyttelton to direct a movement which occupied the tempestuous close of September and the early days of October, in which Generals Bruce-Hamilton, Clements, and Walter Kitchener vigorously engaged. Despite the unfavourable elements they succeeded, if not in striking them when concentrated, at least in forcing the Boers gradually to retreat north to Boschoek, Kromellenbog, and Leeuwnek. Here they were held for a time by General Kitchener, but on the night of the 5th of October, at the cost of their baggage and waggons, they succeeded in rushing round the left flank and retreating in the direction of Piet Retief. General Kitchener followed and had a smart engagement with the rearguard, which—in a strong position—covered the flight of the main body.
On the 11th the enemy was moving through Swaziland by Mahamba, and this news caused Colonel Colville adroitly to arrange a plan which resulted in the intercepting of a convoy belonging to the Ermelo and Amsterdam commandos. The Colonel’s column at the time was covering the construction, by General Bullock’s troops, of the blockhouse line from Wakkerstroom. He pushed on hurriedly from Piet Retief and pounced on the Boers’ much needed convoy, harassing Botha and his burghers, who scurried to escape before the British advance. By now the blockhouse line was sufficiently advanced to be a serious impediment to the enemy’s movements: it not only forced him to abandon his waggons but also the two guns of 69th Battery which were lost during Gough’s reverse at Blood River Poort.
Brigadier-General Reeves (temporarily commanding in the absence of General Blood, who had left for India), with Colonels Park and Benson, continued to operate north and south of the Delagoa Railway. Colonel Benson, on the 10th, made a splendid march on an extremely dark night and surprised a party of Boers at Pullen’s Hope (south of Middelburg), where he took 33 prisoners, 73 horses, together with cattle-carts and ammunition. On the 15th he, with two squadrons of the 2nd Scottish Horse and 19th Battalion Mounted Infantry, repeated his adventurous tactics, again surrounded and surprised the enemy at Tweefontein, and, though some made good their escape, added 10 Boers to his roll of prisoners and 250 oxen to his herd of cattle. Still indefatigable, he and his doughty band on the 17th, after a forty miles’ march from Carolina, fell on the foe. The early mist was lifting round two laagers full of slumbering Boers at Middeldrift and Busby, when with a rush and a yell the British troops covered the scene. The usual rout, the usual stampede, and finally 54 prisoners—among them P. Botha, late Landdrost of Pretoria, and Commandant Nieuwhondt were captured, together with vehicles, horses, and cattle. Colonel Benson then pushed on and on—a triumphal progress—for he gleaned Boers wherever he went; 12 on the 28th near Bethel, and 7 early in October at Driefontein, in addition to horses, mules, and cattle, thus compelling those who evaded him to scuttle north denuded and demoralised. In the course of their chasing, this intrepid British band covered over fifty miles in nineteen hours. The Boers seldom spent a night in one place, and saddled up regularly at 3 A.M. in readiness for flight, therefore the captures made were the result not only of alertness and dash, but of indomitable perseverance.
Colonel Park had been engaging in like adventures, and had taken many prisoners. With six companies of Mounted Infantry and two companies of the Manchester Regiment, he began October by a search between Kruger’s Post and Ohrigstad. He secured some armed burghers, and destroyed such ammunition and forage as could not be removed. On his return journey he came in collision with Viljoen at Rustplaats, and after an engagement covering hours the Boers withdrew. On the 7th of October he attacked a party of Boers at a farm at Rosenkrans, captured their ammunition, mealies, and waggons, but not their persons.
The Constabulary posts running from Eerste Fabriken, viâ Springs and Heidelberg, to the Vaal River were pushed forward by Colonel Pilkington (S.A. Constabulary) to the line Wilge River Station, Greylingstad, and the junction of Kalk Spruit with the Vaal, thus enabling a more vast tract of country to be cleared. Sir Henry Rawlinson cleared the front of the Constabulary between Standerton and the Vaal River with increasing vigour, chasing Boers westward and southward before him. On the 3rd of October, at Greylingstad, he organised a night patrol to Barnard’s Kop, which resulted in the capture of three armed burghers, and subsequently, on the 5th, he surprised Field-Cornet Botha at Kaffir Spruit, captured 7 of his men, 20 of his carts, and 250 cattle. Pretorius, whose laager was near by, though followed with zest, made good his escape. Colonels Hacket Thompson and Bewicke Copley also engaged in the work of protecting the Constabulary, but came in collision with few of the enemy, who were now moving south.