The ground was becoming more open, being mainly covered with knee-high bush and grass, when a few hundred yards before us we observed men moving about and tents pitched close together. The men were moving about in such unconcerned fashion that I almost took them for our own patrol, but at 200 yards we were received with violent and at first very well directed rifle and machine-gun fire. It was fortunate that our men did not answer it, for I had happened to get in advance and was between the two parties. After a time the enemy, who had apparently become very excited, began to fire high. It started to grow darker, so that my patrol was able to get back to our line. We had, at any rate, reached certainty. We knew that the enemy with a strength of several companies was lying before us in an entrenched position with a good field of fire. His advanced detachments had been thrown back. His depots lay in part outside the trenches, and later fell into our hands. I did not want to undertake the storming of the position, which would have been costly, but the opportunity seemed favourable to bombard the enemy, massed as he was in the position, with our trench-mortar, and also from a height with our gun, as well as with rifle and machine-gun fire if he should show himself. Our machine guns were accordingly moved forward in the night close to his position and entrenched. Reconnaissance for a good gun position was postponed to the next day. It was probable that the opening of our trench-mortar and gun-fire would lead the enemy advancing from New Langenburg to attack us. Such an attack against our heights would have been very difficult. But in spite of the bombardment on the 2nd November, which was observed to cause some losses, no new enemy appeared. The definite success for which we hoped against the camp was not achieved, since our trench-mortar was destroyed at one of the first shots by a prematurely bursting shell. Flat trajectory fire alone could do nothing against the well-protected enemy. In the afternoon, therefore, our main body, with its herds of cattle more than 400 strong, marched off, between Fife and the Mwenzo mission towards Rhodesia. When we had reached camp, we saw heavy columns of smoke rising from the depots at Fife, to which Müller’s detachment had set fire after our departure. From the direction of the Mwenzo mission we heard short bursts of fire on several occasions.