The standing army of the Orange Free State, commanded by Major Albrecht, who sits near the centre of the front row in the photograph, in a light uniform braided across the front.] [Sidenote: NOV. 28, 1899.] _General Cronje Commands the Boers._] [Sidenote: [NOV. 28, 1899.] [Sidenote: Scene of the battle.] About the centre of the British front was the railway to Kimberley, which crosses the Modder upon an iron bridge. That bridge had been entirely destroyed by the Boers, and culverts on the line two miles to the south of the river had been blown up, thereby rendering it impossible for the armoured train with Lord Methuen's column to approach. Half-a-mile to the east of the railway bridge was the confluence of the Riet and Modder Rivers, the Riet coming in from the south-east and the Modder from the north-east. As far as the confluence, the width of the bed of the Riet is about 300 yards; below the confluence the stream, now known as the Modder, flows in a bed 400 to 500 yards wide. Two miles below the railway bridge a dam had been erected to make a sheet of water for pleasure seekers from Kimberley, and the banks of the river were thickly covered with trees and brushwood. In this sylvan scene straggled a village consisting mainly of hotels, built of corrugated iron, stone, brick, adobe, and mud. In spite of Lord Methuen's information as to the fordability of the river, there were only three drifts--one over the Riet on the extreme British right; the other in the centre close to the railway bridge, and the third on the left just below the dam. [Sidenote: Boer preparations.] Unknown to Lord Methuen, the Boers had made the most elaborate preparations to meet his force. General Cronje was in command of the Boers, and had with him from 8,000 to 10,000 men, one half of whom were Transvaalers. Entrenchments had been constructed for five miles along both banks of the river. They were masked by shrubs and brushwood, and even the best field-glass could not detect their outline. On the Boer right were the Free Staters under Delarey; on the left the Transvaalers under Cronje. On the north bank of the river were stationed seven field guns, with one heavy gun--probably a 100-pounder--on high ground, about two miles back. On the tongue of land between the Riet and Modder, ready to enfilade the British, were a "Pom-Pom" and two field guns, whilst several Maxims and machine guns were scattered along the enemy's front. [Illustration: MAJOR ALBRECHT. In command of the Free State Artillery at Modder River.] [Sidenote: NOV. 28, 1899.] _The Battle of the Modder._] [Sidenote: Battle of the Modder.]