Part 6 (1/2)

He iht front The members of his Staff expected that the General would now take up a position of security in the rear of the coluan But he kept his place in the van with his Staff His officers were practically certain that not only the first, but several of the leading squadrons would be utterly wiped out There appeared to be nothing in heaven or earth which could prevent huge losses Gordon led his men--the Ninth and Sixteenth Lancers--in superb style Despite the pitiable condition of the horses, it was a charge worthy of the British Ar fire poured in froe ained the inevitable momentum and pounded down upon the enemy in a cloud of sword-lit dust, the Boers fled before these clattering hoofs Throwing up their guns they begged forcould stop the terrific ie Nearly one hundred and fifty Boers fell as the Lancers ploughed through their trenches Behind the Lancers the whole division noept on in perfect order, led by the Greys ”So the whole division swung up the plain at the gallop It was a thrilling tiotten,” wrote Boyle So as the Boer fire that our casualties only amounted to four men wounded and two horses wounded

The plain once cleared, a halt was uns to come up, to hold the enemy on the left When the Artillery had joined the un The plain once crossed, the sht of these dingy symbols of the commerce they had risked all to save, the h the nervous operators to whoraph the fact, persisted in pessi that he was the enemy

By far the worst of the as now over Before French reached Kimberley, however, the Boers made a last effort to stay his victorious advance But they were driven back with heavy loss Only the frightful condition of his horses prevented French fro rout into annihilation But his worn-out ani even a beaten enee sand cloud on the horizon, came to the conclusion that it enveloped the horsemen, not of Cronje but of French About six o'clock in the evening an officer rode out of the besieged city to meet the soldier who had saved it At 7--just one hour after the moment of French's historic promise, the General entered Kiht at De Beer's Sanatorium

But there was no rest for the conquerors At 330 on the followingthe Boers to the north-east At 5 o'clock they cae, ere covering the ar to the condition of his forces, French forced them to draw in their outposts But it was impossible to do more His horses were half dead And in the terrific heat ”the tongues ofthe hopelessness of the situation, French returned to the town

[Page Heading: A MAGNIFICENT RESPONSE]

Rest was not yet, however Scarcely had he retired than news caersfontein No confirmation followed, however The General, therefore, advised his Staff that at last a night's rest was possible A couple of hours later a telegra that Cronje, with ten thousand ons and equip the north bank of the Modder River towards Bloeuard action with hiuns could head hi the river, the infantry from Klip Drift would press on and annihilate or take the whole force prisoners”

General French responded ht have pleaded that his troops and horses were utterly unfit for work, but with French the greater the obstacles, the stronger is his deterh! Of all his five thousand men, only two thousand could be found whose horses were fit to carry them in that wild dash to head off the Boer Commando

At 3 am on February 17, French left Kihted calculationwhich Cronje himself had chosen His horses died on the way, but French reached the river first and seized the Drift, almost under the enemy's eyes

Cronje was co, French had been in pursuit of the Boers north of Kimberley; now he had suddenly appeared 35the enemy, determined to cut off his retreat Swiftly Cronjestretch between Gaardeberg Drift and Wolveskraal Drift

It ht for General French, for had Cronje realised how small was the force that thus held hih, there would have been little chance of thwarting him But Cronje lay still in the river bed, while the British forces closed swiftly in and the net was drawn closer round hi days the Boer General held out, while the British artillery poured shells into his laager Meanwhile the Boers flocked in from every side to endeavour to rescue Cronje from his hopeless position French undertook to check the the main army to deal with the surrounded enemy

General French and his men were in continual action for the next few days But the soldiers gloried in their work, for they were cheered by the e from Queen Victoria in appreciation of their excellent work, particularly in the relief of Kiratitude of the whole nation”

At length, on February 27, Cronje surrendered, and four thousand men laid down their arms Thus closed the most brilliant exploit of the British Arely traced to the extraordinary e, practical acuenius of Sir John French

FOOTNOTES:

[12] _The Cavalry Rush to Kimberley_ By Captain Cecil Boyle, _Nineteenth Century_, June, 1900

CHAPTER VIII

ROUNDING UP THE BOERS

French in the Modder--At Bloe the Iain--Short Shrift with Barberton Snipers--Some French Stories

To have relieved Kimberley and partially effected the capture of the redoubtable Cronje in the course of a fortnight, was no e commander would have been content to rest his forces after such exertions But French is never tired The very day that Cronje surrendered news ca to Cronje's assistance, and already held a hill on the south-east of the Modder Although the river was in flood, as the result of torrential rains, French forthwith led out two brigades with their batteries tothe stream both French and his AAG very nearly lost their lives Losing its foothold the General's horse took fright and fell, flinging hi torrent As the ani, as co rider and horse into an over-hangingtree Both French and Haig luckilyani but determined, they jumped on to fresh mounts, and advanced in two steamy haloes across the dusty veldt Of course, not a solitary Boer was in sight for ten : AT POPLAR GROVE]

It very quickly transpired, however, that the Boers were strongly entrenched at Poplar Grove At their head were French's n--De Wet and Delarey

For once his old antagonists were able to get back at least a little of their own Their position extended across the river and was protected by a chain of hills, with kopjes between, not to mention the wired fences, ditches and other wiles in which they excelled

Lord Roberts determined that an attack must be delivered before the enemy had time to recover from the shock of Cronje's surrender French was, therefore, ordered to circle round the Boer left flank, thus cutting off his retreat, while the infantry delivered a frontal attack

The result was a compliment to the terrible French and his cavalry

No sooner did the Boers realise that the horsemen were upon them, than they beat a hasty retreat Before the cavalry were in position, the Boers and their wagons could be seen scurrying off for the river