Part 3 (1/2)

CHAPTER IV

ELANDSLAAGTE AND RIETFONTEIN

The Unknown Co without Reinforce--The Chess-Player--The Victor in Anecdote

From the end of the South African War until the outbreak of the European War the British nation had never taken its army seriously At best it had shown very tepid interest in its work Soht eneral upon the public mind But for the ranted, forgetful of Mr

Dooley's sage pronounce armies are useful in tinorance on the subject was even : A NEW STAR]

At the opening of the South African caue discussion as to who should have the cavalry command in Natal

But General French was not one of the officers prominently mentioned

Yet, he had already risen to a position analogous to that which General von Bernhardi then occupied in the German army In any other European country his name would have been practically a household word Even to the English newspaper writer it was a paradox and a problem

”Who is this General French?” people asked one another, when news of his first victories came to hand Scarcely anyone was able to answer the question One finds curious corroboration of the prevailing ignorance of French's career in a society journal of that date In January of 1900, a thenits perturbation on the point After giving a description of General French, the writer goes on rather in wrath than in apology--”Since I wrote the above paragraph, I have found a letter in an Irish paper, which declares that the French of who The French of who French is John Denton Pinkstone French Of John Denton Pinkstone French I have found no details in any of the ordinary books of reference Probably some correspondent will supply me with the details” There was a lapse or six weeks before any further infor

But there was one man who knew his French General Sir Redvers Buller had found his worth on the Nile Expedition, in repeated autu discussion onvote, therefore, made French Commander of Cavalry in Natal

Major Arthur Griffiths has supplied an admirable little sketch of French's appearance at this tiure Although he can stick on a horse as well as anyone, rides with a strong seat, and is indefatigable in the saddle, he is not at all a pretty horseman His mind is more set on essentials, on effective leadershi+p with all it means, rather than what soldiers call 'Spit and polish': he is sound in judg quietly, the rough with the s to wait, and still more ready to act, when the opportunity comes, with treeneral, if not in detail For patience is certainly not one of French's personal, if it be one of his reed to the word ”te his teood soldier, in fact, French has a temper, for which he is none the worse If apt to fla no touch of resent: RECALLED TO LADYSMITH]

Ten days after the Boer ultient at Pretoria, French was in Ladysmith He arrived there, to be pedantically accurate, on October 20, 1899, at 5 a a colute, which, with a newly-arrived train of troops, the Boers had seized overnight No sooner had his un to locate the enemy, than French was recalled to Ladyse White's sht attack Soon afterwards, however, news of General Symons' victory at Talana came in to cheer the e White saw his opportunity It was the Boers, and not the British, who now stood in peril of a sudden attack There was little sleep for French's ain on the ht o'clock on one of those perfectheat, French's force caers As the e nus and over the yellow veldt French ordered the Natal Battery to turn its little seven-pounder on the station One of the first shots told; and the Boers ca the trainload of British soldiers, captured the previous night, free to join their comrades Soon afterwards the station was in the hands of the British, as the result of a dashi+ng cavalry charge

But the Boers were only teuns very soon shelled the station fro kopjes with deadly effect French was co the telegraph wires uncut, enabled hie White with the peril of his situation White's orders were ereat importance” The necessary reinforce: IN HIS ELEMENT]

French did not wait for their arrival before striking at the eneht Horse, under Colonel Scott Chishole near the railway station, which fronted the e French had the satisfaction of seeing infantry, cavalry and artillery co up the railway line to his assistance In the late afternoon his force nu like three thousand five hundredthe enemy by more than two to one

Those who ask why so many men were required, do not understand the position in which the British force found itself The eneh, boulder-strewn tablelands, which offered almost perfect cover Between these tablelands and French's force lay a wide and partly scrubless stretch of veldt Over that terrible exposed slope his e of the enemy French was faced with a most perilous and difficult enterprise However, that is precisely what French likes He rose to the situation with ready resource It was not easy to locate the exact position of the ene hills

So in the afternoon he ordered a simultaneous frontal and flank attack Just which was front and which was flank it was for his lieutenants to discover Sir Ian Hamilton's instructions to the infantry were brief but decisive ”The enemy are there,” he said, ”and I hope you will shi+ft them out before sunset--in fact, I know you will”

When the action had fairly coalloped over from Ladysmith French approached, saluted, and asked for instructions The chivalrous White's only reply was, ”Go on, French; this is your show” All the afternoon he stayed on the field, watching the progress of events, and approving French's dispositions

The battle proved to be, in many ways, one of the most spectacular in history For as the infantry advanced, under a steady hail of shell and bullets, the sky began to darken The Boer positions stood silhouetted by stray puffs of white s curound with an inferno of sound, the storm burst The thunder of the heavens becauns One correspondent has described how he found hi the ”Ride of the Valkyries” that was being played on such a dread orchestra Slipping and stu, the Devons crept forward across the sodden grass Many of the bravest, a them Chisholme, went down on that plain of death Far beyond the level veldt there were so like 800 feet to clith, however, the top of the ridge was reached There stood the three guns that had wrought such havoc, now silent ahers who had served the: THE WHITE FLAG TRICK]

The Boers still kept up the fight, however, on the further side of the plateau The cheering Gordons, the Manchesters and the Devons now flung the was seen to flutter defeat froer On the instant the soldiers paused at the surprising notes of the ”Cease fire,”