Not since I wrote the tale of my escape from Pretoria have I taken up my pen with such feelings of satisfaction and contentment as I do to-night. The period of doubt and hesitation1 is over. We have grasped the nettle2 firmly, and as shrewdly as firmly, and have taken no hurt. It remains3 only to pluck it. For heaven's sake no over-confidence or premature4 elation5; but there is really good hope that Sir Redvers Buller has solved the Riddle6 of the Tugela—at last. At last! I expect there will be some who will inquire—'Why not "at first"?' All I can answer is this: There is certainly no more capable soldier of high rank in all the army in Natal7 than Sir Redvers Buller. For three months he has been trying his best to pierce the Boer lines and the barrier of mountain and river which separates Ladysmith from food and friends; trying with an army—magnificent in everything but numbers, and not inconsiderable even in that respect—trying at a heavy price of blood in Africa, of anxiety at home. Now, for the first time, it seems that he may succeed. Knowing the General and the difficulties, I am inclined to ask, not whether he might have succeeded sooner, but rather whether anyone else would have succeeded at all. But to the chronicle!
Anyone who stands on Gun Hill near Chieveley can see the whole of the Boer position about Colenso sweeping8 before him in a wide curve. The mountain wall looks perfectly9 unbroken. The river lies everywhere buried in its gorge10, and is quite invisible. To the observer there is only a smooth green bay of land sloping gently downward, and embraced by the rocky, scrub-covered hills. Along this crescent of high ground runs—or rather, by God's grace, ran the Boer line, strong in its natural features, and entrenched11 from end to end. When the map is consulted, however, it is seen that the Tugela does not flow uniformly along the foot of the hills as might be expected, but that after passing Colenso village, which is about the centre of the position, it plunges13 into the mountainous country, and bends sharply northward15; so that, though the left of the Boer line might appear as strong as the right, there was this difference, that the Boer right had the river on its front, the Boer left had it in its rear.
The attack of the 15th of December had been directed against the Boer right, because after reconnaissance Sir Redvers Buller deemed that, in spite of the river advantage, the right was actually the weaker of the two flanks. The attack of the 15th was repulsed16 with heavy loss. It might, therefore, seem that little promise of success attended an attack on the Boer left. The situation, however, was entirely17 altered by the great reinforcements in heavy artillery18 which had reached the army, and a position which formerly19 appeared unassailable now looked less formidable.
Let us now consider the Boer left by itself. It ran in a chain of sangars, trenches20, and rifle pits, from Colenso village, through the scrub by the river, over the rugged21 hill of Hlangwani, along a smooth grass ridge22 we called 'The Green Hill,' and was extended to guard against a turning movement on to the lofty wooded ridges23 of Monte Cristo and Cingolo and the neck joining these two features. Sir Redvers Buller's determination was to turn this widely extended position on its extreme left, and to endeavour to crumple24 it from left to right. As it were, a gigantic right arm was to reach out to the eastward25, its shoulder at Gun Hill, its elbow on Hussar Hill, its hand on Cingolo, its fingers, the Irregular Cavalry26 Brigade, actually behind Cingolo.
On February 12th a reconnaissance in force of Hussar Hill was made by Lord Dundonald. On the 14th the army moved east from Chieveley to occupy this ground. General Hart with one brigade held Gun Hill and Railhead. The First Cavalry Brigade watched the left flank at Springfield, but with these exceptions the whole force marched for Hussar Hill. The Irregular Cavalry covered the front, and the South African Light Horse, thrown out far in advance, secured the position by half-past eight, just in time to forestall27 a force of Boers which had been despatched, so soon as the general movement of the British was evident, to resist the capture of the hill. A short sharp skirmish followed, in which we lost a few horses and men, and claim to have killed six Boers, and which was terminated after half an hour by the arrival of the leading Infantry28 battalion29—the Royal Welsh Fusiliers. During the day the occupation was completed, and the brigades of Generals Wynne, Coke, and Barton, then joining Warren's Division with the Artillery, entrenched themselves strongly and bivouacked on the hill. Meanwhile Lyttelton's Division marched from its camp in the Blue Krantz Valley, east of Chieveley, along the valley to a position short of the eastern spurs of Hussar Hill. These spurs are more thickly wooded and broken than the rest of the hill, and about four o'clock in the afternoon some hundred Boers established themselves among the rocks and opened a sharp fire. They were, however, expelled from their position by the Artillery and by the fire of the advanced battalions30 of Lyttelton's Division operating from the Blue Krantz Valley.
During the 15th and 16th a desultory31 artillery duel32 proceeded on both sides with slight loss to us. The water question presented some difficulty, as the Blue Krantz River was several miles from Hussar Hill and the hill itself was waterless. A system of iron tanks mounted on ox waggons33 was arranged, and a sufficient though small supply maintained. The heavy artillery was also brought into action and strongly entrenched. The formidable nature of the enemy's position and the evident care with which he had fortified34 it may well have added to the delay by giving cause for the gravest reflection.
On the afternoon of the 16th Sir Redvers Buller resolved to plunge14, and orders were issued for a general advance at dawn. Colonel Sandbach, under whose supervision35 the Intelligence Department has attained36 a new and a refreshing37 standard of efficiency, made comprehensive and, as was afterwards proved, accurate reports of the enemy's strength and spirit, and strongly recommended the attack on the left flank. Two hours before dawn the army was on the move. Hart's Brigade, the 6-inch and other great guns at Chieveley, guarded Railhead. Hlangwani Hill, and the long line of entrenchments rimming38 the Green Hill, were masked and fronted by the display of the field and siege batteries, whose strength in guns was as follows:
Guns
Four 5-inch siege guns.......................... 4
Two 4.7-inch naval guns.............................. 2
One battery howitzers........................... 6
Two brigade divisions R.F.A ....................36
One mountain battery............................ 6
—
66
and which were also able to prepare and support the attack on Cingolo Neck and Monte Cristo Ridge. Cingolo Ridge itself, however, was almost beyond their reach. Lyttelton's Division with Wynne's Fusilier Brigade was to stretch out to the eastward and, by a wide turning movement pivoting41 on the guns and Barton's Brigade, attack the Cingolo Ridge. Dundonald's Cavalry Brigade was to make a far wider detour43 and climb up the end of the ridge, thus making absolutely certain of finding the enemy's left flank at last.
By daybreak all were moving, and as the Irregular Cavalry forded the Blue Krantz stream on their enveloping44 march we heard the boom of the first gun. The usual leisurely45 bombardment had begun, and I counted only thirty shells in the first ten minutes, which was not very hard work for the gunners considering that nearly seventy guns were in action. But the Artillery never hurry themselves, and indeed I do not remember to have heard in this war a really good cannonade, such as we had at Omdurman, except for a few minutes at Vaal Krantz.
The Cavalry Brigade marched ten miles eastward through most broken and difficult country, all rock, high grass, and dense46 thickets47, which made it imperative48 to move in single file, and the sound of the general action grew fainter and fainter. Gradually, however, we began to turn again towards it. The slope of the ground rose against us. The scrub became more dense. To ride further was impossible. We dismounted and led our horses, who scrambled49 and blundered painfully among the trees and boulders50. So scattered51 was our formation that I did not care to imagine what would have happened had the enemy put in an appearance. But our safety lay in these same natural difficulties. The Boers doubtless reflected, 'No one will ever try to go through such ground as that'—besides which war cannot be made without running risks. The soldier must chance his life.
The general must not be afraid to brave disaster. But how tolerant the arm-chair critics should be of men who try daring coups52 and fail! You must put your head into the lion's mouth if the performance is to be a success. And then I remembered the attacks on the brave and capable General Gatacre after Stormberg, and wondered what would be said of us if we were caught 'dismounted and scattered in a wood.'
At length we reached the foot of the hill and halted to reconnoitre the slopes as far as was possible. After half an hour, since nothing could be seen, the advance was resumed up the side of a precipice53 and through a jungle so thick that we had to cut our road. It was eleven o'clock before we reached the summit of the ridge and emerged on to a more or less open plateau, diversified54 with patches of wood and heaps of great boulders. Two squadrons had re-formed on the top and had deployed55 to cover the others. The troopers of the remaining seven squadrons were working their way up about four to the minute. It would take at least two hours before the command was complete: and meanwhile! Suddenly there was a rifle shot. Then another, then a regular splutter of musketry. Bullets began to whizz overhead. The Boers had discovered us.
Now came the crisis. There might be a hundred Boers on the hill, in which case all was well. On the other hand there might be a thousand, in which case——! and retreat down the precipice was, of course, quite out of the question. Luckily there were only about a hundred, and after a skirmish, in which one of the Natal Carabineers was unhappily killed, they fell back and we completed our deployment56 on the top of the hill.
The squadron of Imperial Light Horse and the Natal Carabineers now advanced slowly along the ridge, clearing it of the enemy, slaying57 and retrieving58 one field cornet and two burghers, and capturing ten horses. Half-way along the Queen's, the right battalion of Hildyard's attack, which, having made a smaller detour, had now rushed the top, came into line and supported the dismounted men. The rest of the Cavalry descended59 into the plain on the other side of the ridge, outflanking and even threatening the retreat of its defenders60, so that in the end the Boers, who were very weak in numbers, were hunted off the ridge altogether, and Cingolo was ours. Cingolo and Monte Cristo are joined together by a neck of ground from which both heights rise steeply. On either side of Monte Cristo and Cingolo long spurs run at right angles to the main hill.
By the operations of the 17th the Boer line had been twisted off Cingolo, and turned back along the subsidiary spurs of Monte Cristo, and the British forces had placed themselves diagonally across the left of the Boer position thus:
Plan of position at Monte Cristo
Plan of position at Monte Cristo
The advantages of this situation were to be enjoyed on the morrow.
Finding our further advance barred by the turned-back position the enemy had adopted, and which we could only attack frontally, the Cavalry threw out a line of outposts which were soon engaged in a long-range rifle duel, and prepared to bivouac for the night. Cingolo Ridge was meanwhile strongly occupied by the Infantry, whose line ran from its highest peak slantwise across the valley of the Gomba Stream to Hussar Hill, where it found its pivot42 in Barton's Brigade and the Artillery. The Boers, who were much disconcerted by the change in the situation, showed themselves ostentatiously on the turned-back ridge of their position as if to make themselves appear in great strength, and derisively61 hoisted62 white flags on their guns. The Colonial and American troopers (for in the South African Light Horse we have a great many Americans, and one even who served under Sheridan) made some exceedingly good practice at the extreme ranges. So the afternoon passed, and the night came in comparative quiet.
At dawn the artillery began on both sides, and we were ourselves awakened63 by Creusot shells bursting in our bivouac. The enemy's fire was chiefly directed on the company of the Queen's which was holding the top of Cingolo, and only the good cover which the great rocks afforded prevented serious losses. As it was several men were injured. But we knew that we held the best cards; and so did the Boers. At eight o'clock Hildyard's Brigade advanced against the peak of the Monte Cristo ridge which lay beyond the neck. The West Yorks led, the Queen's and East Surrey supported. The musketry swelled64 into a constant crackle like the noise of a good fire roaring up the chimney, but, in spite of more than a hundred casualties, the advance never checked for an instant, and by half-past ten o'clock the bayonets of the attacking infantry began to glitter among the trees of the summit. The Boers, who were lining65 a hastily-dug trench12 half way along the ridge, threatened in front with an overwhelming force and assailed66 in flank by the long-range fire of the Cavalry, began to fall back. By eleven o'clock the fight on the part of the enemy resolved itself into a rearguard action.
Under the pressure of the advancing and enveloping army this degenerated67 very rapidly. When the Dutchman makes up his mind to go he throws all dignity to the winds, and I have never seen an enemy leave the field in such a hurry as did these valiant68 Boers who found their flank turned, and remembered for the first time that there was a deep river behind them. Shortly after twelve o'clock the summit of the ridge of Monte Cristo was in our hands. The spurs which started at right angles from it were, of course, now enfiladed and commanded. The Boers evacuated69 both in great haste. The eastern spur was what I have called the 'turned-back' position. The Cavalry under Dundonald. galloped70 forward and seized it as soon as the enemy were seen in motion, and from this advantageous71 standpoint we fired heavily into their line of retreat. They scarcely waited to fire back, and we had only two men and a few horses wounded.
The spur on the Colenso or western side was none other than the Green Hill itself, and judging rightly that its frowning entrenchments were now empty of defenders Sir Redvers Buller ordered a general advance frontally against it. Two miles of trenches were taken with scarcely any loss. The enemy fled in disorder72 across the river. A few prisoners, some wounded, several cartloads of ammunition73 and stores, five camps with all kinds of Boer material, and last of all, and compared to which all else was insignificant74, the dominating Monte Cristo ridge stretching northward to within an easy spring of Bulwana Hill, were the prize of victory. The soldiers, delighted at the change of fortune, slept in the Boer tents—or would have done had these not been disgustingly foul75 and stinking76.
From the captured ridge we could look right down into Ladysmith, and at the first opportunity I climbed up to see it for myself. Only eight miles away stood the poor little persecuted77 town, with whose fate there is wrapt up the honour of the Empire, and for whose sake so many hundred good soldiers have given life or limb—a twenty-acre patch of tin houses and blue gum trees, but famous to the uttermost ends of the earth.
The victory of Monte Cristo has revolutionised the situation in Natal. It has laid open a practicable road to Ladysmith. Great difficulties and heavy opposition78 have yet to be encountered and overcome, but the word 'impossible' must no longer be—should, perhaps, never have been used. The success was won at the cost of less than two hundred men killed and wounded, and surely no army more than the Army of Natal deserves a cheaply bought triumph.
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1
hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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nettle
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| n.荨麻；v.烦忧，激恼 | |
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remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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premature
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| adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的 | |
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elation
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| n.兴高采烈，洋洋得意 | |
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6
riddle
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| n.谜，谜语，粗筛；vt.解谜，给…出谜，筛，检查，鉴定，非难，充满于；vi.出谜 | |
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natal
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| adj.出生的，先天的 | |
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sweeping
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| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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10
gorge
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| n.咽喉，胃，暴食，山峡；v.塞饱，狼吞虎咽地吃 | |
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11
entrenched
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| adj.确立的，不容易改的(风俗习惯) | |
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12
trench
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| n./v.(挖)沟，(挖)战壕 | |
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13
plunges
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| n.跳进，投入vt.使投入，使插入，使陷入vi.投入，跳进，陷入v.颠簸( plunge的第三人称单数 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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14
plunge
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| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
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15
northward
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| adv.向北；n.北方的地区 | |
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repulsed
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| v.击退( repulse的过去式和过去分词 )；驳斥；拒绝 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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artillery
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| n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队) | |
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formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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trenches
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| 深沟，地沟( trench的名词复数 )； 战壕 | |
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21
rugged
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| adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的 | |
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ridge
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| n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭 | |
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ridges
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| n.脊( ridge的名词复数 )；山脊；脊状突起；大气层的)高压脊 | |
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24
crumple
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| v.把...弄皱，满是皱痕，压碎，崩溃 | |
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eastward
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| adv.向东；adj.向东的；n.东方，东部 | |
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cavalry
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| n.骑兵；轻装甲部队 | |
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forestall
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| vt.抢在…之前采取行动；预先阻止 | |
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infantry
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| n.[总称]步兵(部队) | |
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29
battalion
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| n.营；部队；大队(的人) | |
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battalions
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| n.（陆军的）一营（大约有一千兵士）( battalion的名词复数 )；协同作战的部队；军队；（组织在一起工作的）队伍 | |
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31
desultory
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| adj.散漫的，无方法的 | |
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duel
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| n./v.决斗；(双方的)斗争 | |
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waggons
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| 四轮的运货马车( waggon的名词复数 )； 铁路货车； 小手推车 | |
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fortified
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| adj. 加强的 | |
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supervision
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| n.监督，管理 | |
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attained
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| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
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refreshing
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| adj.使精神振作的，使人清爽的，使人喜欢的 | |
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rimming
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| n.（沸腾钢）结壳沸腾作用 | |
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naval
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| adj.海军的，军舰的，船的 | |
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corps
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| n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组 | |
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pivoting
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| n.绕轴旋转，绕公共法线旋转v.（似）在枢轴上转动( pivot的现在分词 )；把…放在枢轴上；以…为核心，围绕（主旨）展开 | |
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pivot
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| v.在枢轴上转动；装枢轴，枢轴；adj.枢轴的 | |
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43
detour
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| n.绕行的路，迂回路；v.迂回，绕道 | |
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44
enveloping
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| v.包围，笼罩，包住( envelop的现在分词 ) | |
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45
leisurely
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| adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的 | |
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46
dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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47
thickets
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| n.灌木丛( thicket的名词复数 )；丛状物 | |
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imperative
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| n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的 | |
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49
scrambled
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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50
boulders
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| n.卵石( boulder的名词复数 )；巨砾；（受水或天气侵蚀而成的）巨石；漂砾 | |
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51
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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coups
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| n.意外而成功的行动( coup的名词复数 )；政变；努力办到难办的事 | |
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53
precipice
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| n.悬崖，危急的处境 | |
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54
diversified
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| adj.多样化的，多种经营的v.使多样化，多样化( diversify的过去式和过去分词 )；进入新的商业领域 | |
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deployed
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| （尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用 | |
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56
deployment
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| n. 部署,展开 | |
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57
slaying
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| 杀戮。 | |
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58
retrieving
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| n.检索（过程），取还v.取回( retrieve的现在分词 )；恢复；寻回；检索（储存的信息） | |
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59
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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60
defenders
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| n.防御者( defender的名词复数 )；守卫者；保护者；辩护者 | |
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61
derisively
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| adv. 嘲笑地，嘲弄地 | |
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62
hoisted
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| 把…吊起，升起( hoist的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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63
awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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swelled
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| 增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情） | |
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lining
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| n.衬里，衬料 | |
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assailed
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| v.攻击( assail的过去式和过去分词 )；困扰；质问；毅然应对 | |
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67
degenerated
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| 衰退，堕落，退化( degenerate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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68
valiant
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| adj.勇敢的，英勇的；n.勇士，勇敢的人 | |
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evacuated
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| 撤退者的 | |
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70
galloped
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| （使马）飞奔，奔驰( gallop的过去式和过去分词 )； 快速做[说]某事 | |
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71
advantageous
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| adj.有利的；有帮助的 | |
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disorder
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| n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调 | |
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73
ammunition
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| n.军火，弹药 | |
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74
insignificant
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| adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的 | |
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75
foul
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| adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规 | |
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76
stinking
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| adj.臭的，烂醉的，讨厌的v.散发出恶臭( stink的现在分词 )；发臭味；名声臭；糟透 | |
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77
persecuted
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| （尤指宗教或政治信仰的）迫害(~sb. for sth.)( persecute的过去式和过去分词 )； 烦扰，困扰或骚扰某人 | |
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opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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