With Buller in Natal, Or, a Born LeaderHenty, G. A. (George Alfred)
General
With Buller in Natal, Or, a Born Leader
Henty, G. A. (George Alfred)
South African War, 1899-1902 -- Fiction
The men of the Imperial Light Horse, who had dismounted and joined in
the advance, were fighting side by side with the Highlanders and
Manchesters. The pace was now increased to a run, and shouting and
cheering the men went forward with levelled bayonets. Many of the
Boers, lying behind rocks, maintained their fire until the troops were
within two yards of them, and then rising, called for quarter. The men,
furious at seeing their comrades shot down when all hope of resistance
was over, would have spared none, had not the officers with the
greatest difficulty restrained them from bayoneting the Boers, and many
of these were in fact killed. As the troops, now joined by the Devons,
were rushing down upon the camp, the Boers raised a white flag, and the
bugle sounded "Cease firing". The men halted for a moment and then were
advancing quietly when a tremendous fire broke out from the Boers, who
were scattered over the ridges of the hillside and a slope leading to
its summit.
Hitherto the British loss had been wonderfully small considering the
storm of bullets through which they had passed, but numbers now
dropped, and taken wholly by surprise, the troops ran up the hill
again. But not for long. Halting when they reached the crest, and
furious at the treachery that had been practised with such success upon
them, they turned again, and rushed down the hill, scattering the
Boers, who still clung to their shelters, with their fire. It was just
six o'clock when the Devons carried the last defence of the Boers and
then with the Manchesters swept down into the camp. It was now the turn
of the cavalry. These had in the darkness moved forward unnoticed, and
the Lancers and Dragoons, with a few of the Colonials, among whom were
the Maritzburg Scouts, fell upon the flying Boers and cut them up with
great slaughter, and, although it was now quite dark, followed them for
upwards of two miles, and then returned to camp.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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