With the Flag to Pretoria: A History of the Boer War of 1899-1900. Volume 1Wilson, Herbert Wrigley
History
With the Flag to Pretoria: A History of the Boer War of 1899-1900. Volume 1
Wilson, Herbert Wrigley
South African War, 1899-1902
The feature of the artillery fight was a duel between the "Pom-Pom"
and the 18th Field Battery. "The Boer gun," says Mr. Julian Ralph,
the brilliant correspondent of the _Daily Mail_, "was never seen, and
the man who served it never once saw us. His piece was hidden beyond
the ridge on the further slope, and a comrade gave him his range and
direction. For a long time this gunner devoted his attention to one
of the field batteries. Next he attacked the black mass made by their
horses and limbers. Later he paid his respects to the naval gun and its
crew. He never achieved perfect excellence, for he did no damage to
any British gun; he killed but two horses in the field, and he wounded
but five of our men altogether. And yet he got his range so quickly
and well, and he was so persistent and so wholly invisible, that our
men set their teeth in grim determination to destroy him. They had
for a target nothing but the thin smoke which rose over his gun, but
into that little floating cloud they planted shot and shell, until at
the end of the day they had given out 210 rounds, if I remember the
extraordinary figure correctly. All the other Boer guns were silenced
before this one was, and at twenty minutes to ten this was silenced and
every gun of the enemy was speechless."
[Illustration: NO. 1 BASE HOSPITAL, WYNBERG.
Where our wounded officers are nursed.]
Says an officer in command of one section (two guns) of the 18th Field
Battery:--"I had a warm time of it, from a quick-firing gun, firing
one-inch common shell, but luckily all the rounds (about 100) fell
just about 100 yards beyond my guns. We didn't get a scratch. In the
meantime I plugged away at the right hand line of kopjes, but couldn't
for the life of me see where their cursed little gun was."
[Illustration:
[_Photo by Fyne, Capetown._
STAFF OF THE OFFICERS' HOSPITAL AT WYNBERG.]
[Sidenote: [NOV. 25, 1899.]
[Sidenote: Reinforcements sent for.]
Noting the intensity of the artillery and rifle fire, and receiving
reports that a fresh commando of the enemy was advancing from the
north-east and threatening his rear, Lord Methuen came to the
conclusion that the Boer force before him was far stronger than 400.
Accordingly he heliographed orders back to Belmont to the battalion of
Coldstreams and to the Guards' Brigade, now on their march to Enslin,
for them to hasten immediately to his help.
[Illustration: _Drawn by J. H. Thornely._ A LANCER AT THE "CHARGE."]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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