South Africa and the Transvaal War, Vol. 6 (of 8): From the Occupation of Pretoria to Mr. Kruger's Departure from South Africa, with a Summarised Account of the Guerilla War to March 1901Creswicke, Louis
History
South Africa and the Transvaal War, Vol. 6 (of 8): From the Occupation of Pretoria to Mr. Kruger's Departure from South Africa, with a Summarised Account of the Guerilla War to March 1901
Creswicke, Louis
South African War, 1899-1902; Transvaal (South Africa) -- History
=Creusot Gun.=--The famous "Long Toms" of the Boers are Creusot guns.
They were originally named after the place of Le Creuzot, where the firm
of Schneider & Co. manufacture these weapons. But the term is now applied
to other guns made by the same firm.
=De Aar.=--Important junction of the Cape Town and Port Elizabeth
Railways.
=Division.=--First unit of a _corps d'armée_, and commanded by a general
officer. Consists of two or more brigades, and is composed of three arms
of the service, infantry, cavalry, and artillery.
=Donga.=--River bed with high banks on either side. Generally dry, save
in the rainy season.
=Dorp.=--A hamlet.
=Dundee.=--Town in Natal, north of Ladysmith. Noted for its coal-fields,
which are the best in S. Africa. They produced about 1000 tons a day
before the war. The locality is rich in iron, and the future of this now
historic region promises to be commercially rosy.
=Durban.=--Flourishing port of Natal. Population about 39,245, of which
over 17,700 are whites. It is twenty-nine hours' journey by rail from
Pretoria, and 6800 miles by sea from Southampton. It has several good
hotels, restaurants, and clubs; and two daily newspapers are published
there. Trams and electric lights form part of the attractions of the
town.
=Earthworks.=--In fortification, all works thrown up for attack or
defence in which earth enters chiefly into the construction. It is a
question whether--in the defence of a place--earth be preferable to
masonry. In the latter case, the defenders are liable to be injured by
splinters, while in the former, repairs are more readily effected. The
reason why the capture of the Mamelon during the Crimean War was so hard
a task, is attributed to the fact that repairs were very easily
accomplished during the night.
=Elandslaagte= (The Glen of the Eland).--Small and now ever memorable
village near Ladysmith. _See_ vol. ii. p. 20.
=Engineers.=--The duties of this branch are so numerous, it is almost
impossible to define them. They are required to be jack-of-all-trades,
and masters of each. The construction of works and bridges, and of
military buildings--the planning and direction of the attack and defence
of a fortification, and a thousand and one other duties fall to their
lot. The following lines by Rudyard Kipling form a summary of the
Sappers' accomplishments:--
"We lay down their sidings an' help 'em entrain,
An' we sweep up their mess through the bloomin' campaign.
They send us in front with a fuse an' a mine,
To blow up the gates that are rushed by the Line;
They send us behind with a pick an' a spade,
To dig for the guns of a bullock-brigade....
Now the Line's but a man with a gun in his hand,
An' Cavalry's only what horses can stand.
Artillery moves by the leave o' the ground;
But _we_ are the men that do something all round:
For _we_ are her Majesty's Royal Engineers,
With the rank and pay of a Sapper!"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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