CHAPTER VIII

GENERAL BULLER'S ADVANCE TO NEWCASTLE

The relief of Ladysmith caused the Boers to fall back towards the Drakensberg, and Sir Redvers Buller, whose troops were thoroughly exhausted, encamped his army to north and west of the dilapidated town, and there remained stationary for several weeks. It was necessary that the force should thoroughly recuperate and get into working order in time to co-operate with the great central advance when Lord Roberts should give the word. There was an immense amount to be done. The mounted troops, many of them, needed to be remounted, and winter clothing was required. The reconstruction of the transport also demanded alteration, while it was necessary, in conjunction with Lord Roberts's operations, to keep a wary eye on the Boers and prevent them from crossing into the Free State and swelling the enemy's forces opposing the great advance.

As with the departure of Sir Charles Warren to the western frontier, some slight changes had taken place in the Natal Field Force, it becomes necessary to inspect a rough table of the divisions at this time under Sir Redvers Buller:--

NATAL

GENERAL SIR REDVERS BULLER.

SECOND DIVISION.

Lieutenant-General Sir C. F. CLERY.

2nd Brigade (Major-General Hamilton).

2nd East Surrey. 2nd West Yorks. 2nd Devons. 2nd West Surrey.

4th Brigade (Colonel C. D. Cooper).

1st Rifle Brigade. 1st Durham Light Infantry. 3rd King's Royal Rifles. 2nd Scottish Rifles (Cameronians).

7th, 14th, and 66th Field Batteries.

FOURTH DIVISION.

Lieutenant-General LYTTELTON.

7th Brigade (Brigadier-General F. W. Kitchener).

1st Devon. 1st Gloucester. 1st Manchester. 2nd Gordon Highlanders.

8th Brigade (Major-General F. Howard).

1st Royal Irish Fusiliers. 1st Leicester. 1st King's Royal Rifles. 2nd King's Royal Rifles.

Two Brigade Divisions Royal Artillery. 13th, 67th, 69th Field Batteries. 21st, 42nd, 53rd Field Batteries.

FIFTH DIVISION.

Lieutenant-General H. J. T. HILDYARD.

10th Brigade (Major-General J. T. Coke).

2nd Dorset. 2nd Middlesex. 1st Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers.

11th Brigade (Major-General A. S. Wynne).

2nd Royal Lancaster. 2nd Lancashire Fusiliers. 1st South Lancashire. 1st York and Lancaster.

19th, 28th, and 78th Field Batteries.

CORPS TROOPS.

2nd Royal Dublin Fusiliers. 2nd Rifle Brigade. 1st King's Liverpool. Imperial Light Infantry. 61st Field Battery (Howitzers). Two Nordenfeldts (taken from the Boers). Natal Battery 9-pounders. Fourteen naval 12-pounder quick-firers. 4th Mountain Battery. 10th Mountain Battery, two guns. Four 4.7 naval guns. Naval 6-in. gun. Part of Siege Train.

CAVALRY DIVISION.

1st Brigade (Major-General J. F. Burn Murdoch).

2nd Brigade (Major-General J. F. Brocklehurst).

3rd Brigade (Major-General the Earl of Dundonald).

5th Dragoon Guards. 1st Royal Dragoons. 5th Lancers. 13th Hussars. 18th Hussars. 19th Hussars. A Battery Royal Horse Artillery. South African Light Horse. Thorneycroft's Mounted Infantry. Bethune's Mounted Infantry. Natal Carabineers. Natal Mounted Rifles. Border Mounted Rifles. Umvoti Mounted Rifles. Natal Police. Colt Battery.

ZULULAND.

Addison's Colonial Scouts.

For some weeks it appeared as though no move were contemplated; but on the 7th of May the machinery began to revolve. General Clery's Division proceeded from Ladysmith to Modder Spruit, while Lord Dundonald and General Dartnell also prepared to move their troops out of camp at Bug's Farm. Lord Roberts at this time had reached a point in the Free State level with Ladysmith, and Sir Redvers Buller thus became included in the scheme of advance, and was able to act in conjunction with him. The Boers, numbering some 7000 or 8000, were swarming on the Biggarsberg range, having prepared entrenchments on all points commanding the road from Ladysmith to the Transvaal and as far as Helpmakaar. They knew well by experience, however, the discomforts attendant on their position, for their only clear way of escape was by Laing's Nek--the passes over the Drakensberg on the west, and Zululand on the east being now closed to them.

On the 11th of May activities began. Dundonald's Cavalry Brigade and Clery's Infantry Division were assembled in the neighbourhood of Sunday River Drift south of Elandslaagte. The General's plan was to post his left at Elandslaagte and swing his right flank round by Helpmakaar and crumple the Boers up towards Dundee.

On the 12th Sir Redvers Buller, with the right column, moved towards Helpmakaar, following the same route as that taken by General Yule in his famous retreat from Glencoe, while General Hildyard (the central column) made a demonstration by crossing Sunday River, near the railway line, and Lyttelton's Division (the left column) prolonged the line farther west. Meanwhile, the brigades of Clery and Dundonald--over ruts and obstacles, mere apologies for roads--had reached Waschbank, and were facing the frowning heights of the Biggarsberg, which loomed large and ominous and threatening about fifteen miles in the distance.

The Biggarsberg region, now so pregnant with historical interest is so called after one of the early pioneers of Durban, an Englishman, named Edward Biggar, who in 1838 fought side by side with the Boers against Dingaan. Of the great range in those days a Natalian writer said: "Besides being the first eastern plateau terrace of the Drakensberg, musically termed 'Quathlamba' by the natives residing in it, it consists of two long lines of elevation, divided by great ravines abounding in romantic cascades, dizzy precipices, and great pointed peaks towering towards the heavens in fantastic forms, veritable mountain forts,--

'Which like the giants stand To sentinel enchanted land.'

Majestic krantzes were round us bristling in great tree ferns, huge aloes, and African Euphoboebia, the latter's bright scarlet blossoms contrasting sharply with the dark green foliage, nursing the base of isolated lofty hills, whose sunless pillars were hidden in earth's depths, unknown to human search."

This picturesque range runs across North Natal south-east towards the junction of the Tugela (the "Angry" River of the Kaffirs) and the Mooi River, and some of the peaks tower above the land of Natal 5000 to over 7000 feet; and from these, on a clear day, may be traced the whole crimson history of Buller's relief of Ladysmith. In the present onward march great precautions had to be taken, as this--a comparatively short cut to save a round of some thirty miles--was teeming with the enemy, whose flank on the Biggarsberg it was the chief's design to turn. The march was resumed the whole day under menace of the enemy, who hovered, vulture-like, in the distant heights, and towards afternoon came into the plains, attacking and wounding some of the British patrols. They also succeeded in taking prisoners three of the South African Light Horse, Australians lately joined, who, mistaking the enemy in their kharki disguise for friends, walked unsuspectingly into their arms. By nightfall the troops were encamped at Vermaak's Farm, with the Boers and their guns not very far distant.

Sunday's proceedings were opened in the haze of the morning with a shell from the hostile band, and after a time the naval guns woke up, spat forth some four times, and reduced the Dutchmen to silence. The Mounted Brigades, with a battery of Royal Horse Artillery, had moved on beforehand, and by the time the passage at arms between the big guns was in full swing, they and the transport were safely in a place of shelter. The Mounted Infantry and the 2nd Brigade, under General Hamilton, then engaged in the herculean task of getting up the rugged steeps of the Biggarsberg, and there, securing a nek which was the key to the summit, prevented the enemy from attempting to waylay the advancing army. On the ridges taken by General Hamilton were formidable trenches prepared for defence, which could now serve the foe no longer.

While this flanking process was taking place, Colonel Bethune, with his composite force of Mounted Infantry, was co-operating in the direction of Helpmakaar, thus threatening the Boers' left flank, and rendering their position at Helpmakaar distinctly uncomfortable. The guns on both sides worked furiously--those of the Boers with poor success; and at dusk, when the troops bivouacked, there was reason to hope that by morning the region of Helpmakaar would be purged of the enemy. And so it proved.

With the dawn of day it was discovered that the Dutchmen were in full retreat towards Dundee, pursued by the cavalry. But the enemy were covered in their retreat by some 1500 Boers, whose tactics were excellent. Each section as it fell back set fire to the grass, thus drawing a veil of smoke between them and Dundonald's men, and intercepting the rush of the pursuers, who more than once were almost within a lance-length of them. They succeeded in getting clear away, in spite of the magnificent dash of the pursuit, which covered some forty miles. Then, having secured some kops, they made sufficient stand to check our advance through the rippling sea of flame made by the veldt fires, while their main body vanished, leaving open the road to Dundee.

The Boers, finding themselves outflanked, decided to make no stand, either at Dundee or Glencoe, and both these places, of now historical interest, were occupied in the course of the 15th, and the 16th was spent in resting after the fatigues of the preceding days. Dundee was a sad and deserted-looking place. Though the coal-mines were untouched, its houses were denuded of furniture, and bore evidences of Boer occupation and Boer mischief. Wall papers hung in shreds, doors were unhinged and broken, windows were merely gaps, and the word dilapidation was marked everywhere. The inhabitants, such few as remained, gave the troops a cordial welcome.

On Thursday the 17th the force was again up and doing, the earliest birds being the Mounted Infantry. They journeyed along towards Dannhauser Station, midway between Dundee and Newcastle. On the afternoon of the 18th the troops swarmed into the pleasing green-girt town of Newcastle, after a long and fatiguing march along a fire-blackened plain, devilishly prepared by the departing Boers for the purpose of showing up the advance of the kharki-clad legions. Joy and welcome was writ on every face, and hearty cheers greeted the arrival of the army. Sir Redvers Buller was presented with a banner which had been secretly worked by the ladies of the locality in anticipation of his coming. The town they found had been rechristened Viljoensdorp by the Boers, whose labours there had also been anticipatory. They had destroyed the large water-tanks for supplying the engines at Glencoe, Dannhauser, and Newcastle, but the inconveniences were merely temporary, and repairs were actively set on foot. Report came in that the Dutchmen were full of activity, swarming in the direction of the famous Laing's Nek and Majuba Hill, therefore on the afternoon of Saturday the 19th, Lord Dundonald, with naval guns, went ahead to unearth them. They, however, remained buried wherever they were, and the desperately-fatigued men and horses of the Mounted Brigades returned towards Ingogo Station, while some of the troops encamped on the battlefield. But their fatigues or its grievous memories scarcely damped their spirits, for they were on the confines of the Transvaal, and Pretoria, the land of promise, seemed near at hand.

Sir Redvers Buller forthwith issued the following proclamation:--

"The troops of Queen Victoria are now passing through the Transvaal. Her Majesty does not make war on individuals, but is, on the contrary, anxious to spare them, as far as may be possible, the horrors of war. The quarrel England has is with the Government and not with the people of the Transvaal. Provided they remain neutral no attempt will be made to interfere with persons living near the line of march, every possible protection will be given them, and any of their property that it may be necessary to take will be paid for. But, on the other hand, those who are thus allowed to remain near the line of march must respect and maintain their neutrality, and residents of any locality will be held responsible both in persons and property if any damage is done to the railway or telegraph, or if any violence is done to any member of the British forces in the vicinity of their homes."

On this, many Natal Dutch gave themselves up and others were captured, but it was again observed that those farmers who tendered their submission tendered with it, not Mausers, but other weapons of more ancient pattern.

Affairs at this time were going on most satisfactorily, the troops, after a 120-mile march, accomplished in nine days, including a day's halt and two days' fighting, had almost cleared Natal of the invaders, and were in possession of the country from Van Reenan's Pass to the Buffalo River. A message of congratulation on their efforts was received from the Queen, and the General expressed his satisfaction at the successful work accomplished. One unfortunate affair damped the spirits of the advancing army.

On the 17th, Colonel Bethune was detached, with about 500 men, from Dundee. His column consisted of five squadrons of mounted infantry, two Hotchkiss and two Maxim guns. His instructions were to show his force in N'qutu, in the centre of British Zululand (to which a magistrate and civil establishment were about to return), and afterwards to rejoin Sir Redvers Buller at Newcastle. The orders were executed, and Colonel Bethune moved towards Newcastle on the 20th May, _via_ Vryheid, due north of the road which leads to Utrecht. About six miles north-west of Vryheid, the Boers were ambushed in the thick shrub that abounds in the neighbourhood, with the result that E squadron of Mounted Infantry, which had pushed ahead to reach Vryheid before dark set in, suffered severe loss. Few escaped to tell the tale, the outline of which was as follows: The Boers no sooner saw the troopers approaching than they jumped from their hiding-place and surrounded them. Captain Goff (6th Dragoon Guards), who was commanding the squadron, dismounted his men and made a valiant stand, but the Boers poured a volley on them, incapacitating most of the horses and many of the men. The commanding officer was shot dead. Still the party continued to reply to the fire of the enemy till, ammunition running short, they knew resistance would soon be unavailing. Meanwhile, the scene of confusion was horrible. The Boers had set the crisp, dry grass into a blaze, and behind the smoke of it were able to fire with impunity at the helpless British force. The rest of the column had hastened towards the scene of the disaster, but what with the crackling glare of the flamboyant grass, the suffocating clouds of smoke, and the deceptive darkness of the gloaming, Colonel Bethune dared not open fire at close quarters lest he should injure his own already wounded force. Gallantly the men of D squadron dashed into the mêlée, and rescued from thence such troopers as survived. Lieutenant Capell, who gave his horse to an injured trooper, was taken prisoner, and Lord De la Warr, while going to the relief of another, was slightly injured in the leg.

He afterwards gave to a correspondent of the _Central News_ an interesting narrative of his experiences on that eventful day. He was acting as aide-de-camp to Colonel Bethune, and was directed to take messages to the captains of E and D squadrons, in the thickest of the fight. His instructions were to order them to retire, but when he came upon the scene he found that E squadron was already practically surrounded. He was able, however, to deliver his order to Captain Ford of D squadron, and then set out to return to Colonel Bethune through a heavy fire. In galloping back he saw Trooper Cooper, of Durban, lying wounded in the grass, which was then blazing. The flames were gradually making their way towards the wounded man, who was unable to move. A horrible death in a few minutes was certain, unless succour could be rendered him. Earl De la Warr instantly dismounted, crept up through the smoke, and was in the act of rescuing the man when he was pounced upon by about twenty Boers, who fired at him at close range. He was wounded, though not severely, and just managed to drag himself away from the burning grass. His horse had bolted, and he was only rescued when he had practically given up all hope.

The following casualties among officers occurred: Killed--3rd Dragoon Guards, Captain W. E. D. Goff; Bethune's Mounted Infantry, Lieutenant H. W. Lanham and Lieutenant W. McLachlan. Wounded--Bethune's Mounted Infantry, Captain Earl De la Warr and Lieutenant De Lasalle. Missing--Bethune's Mounted Infantry, Lieutenant A. E. Capell.

The whole of the wounded were taken by the enemy, and Colonel Bethune had no resource but to retire on N'qutu.

The Boers were falling back from Natal, and the British at this date were in possession of Christiana, Kroonstad, Lindley, and Newcastle. Thus, it will be seen, we were sweeping up, like an incoming tide, from all quarters. Sir Redvers Buller now halted to concentrate his army, collect supplies, and repair the rail, in order that his next move should be both rapid and effective. That being the case, his programme for the celebration of the Queen's Birthday took an unique form. The General decided that the men should spend "a record day" in repairing the rail. This they did with a will, as, indeed, they did all things at the behest of their much-respected chief. Repairs on all sides were prosecuted with ardour, the railway engineering staff working away at bridging operations on the Ingagane River at Waschbank, till, by the 28th, the line was clear to Newcastle. To clear the right flank Generals Hildyard and Lyttelton had been directed to Utrecht and Vryheid respectively, and the month closed with the entry into Utrecht, the first Transvaal town to be taken by the Natal Field Force. In the skirmishing which occurred, Captain St. John and Lieutenant Pearse had their horses shot under them, and Lieutenant Thompson had the misfortune to be wounded and taken prisoner. The town, however, was not really occupied till some weeks later.

Their part of the strategical programme accomplished, General Hildyard's Division left for Ingogo, while that of General Lyttelton marched to Coetze's Drift, due east of Ingogo, for the purpose of clearing the country between Vryheid and Wakkerstroom.