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Military History – South Africa – Europe – England 19th Century
.Article – Online Historic Information | Military
.Page 167
The British were reluctant to take action as they had fought three battles in the space of a week
and the medical officers said they needed rest. In addition, Methuen was recovering from the wound
he had received at the Modder River, a replacement for the blown railway bridge over the Modder
was being built, reinforcements were awaited and various other reasons for a respite could be found.
It is, however, clear that the failure to maintain the advance was responsible for what followed.
By 10 December Methuen had some 12,000 men, a 4.7-inch naval gun, six 5-inch howitzers and
eighteen 15-pounder and six 12-pounder field guns. There were also four naval 12-pounders to guard
his camp. To his left was a desert and to his right the Boers held sufficient territory to prevent a
successful flanking movement, reducing the choices to the road or the railway. Methuen chose the
hills between them in order to be able to use the road, the most direct route and one on which he
could concentrate his forces. With the information available to Methuen, this must have seemed a
sound decision, but it was made without knowledge of the Boer defensive positions. The attacking
force was in three columns. On the right, ready to undertake the principal attack, was the Highland
Brigade under Major-general Andrew Wauchope. The Brigade consisted of, in the order of march,
2nd Black Watch, 2nd Seaforth Highlanders, 1st Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders and the 1st
Highland Light Infantry. All the field artillery and the howitzers were with Wauchope, as were the 9th
Lancers and, to guard the south-eastern flank, were the 2nd King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry. On
the left was Major-general R. Pole-Carew’s force consisting of 9th Brigade and the Naval Brigade
(1st Northumberland Fusiliers, 2nd Northamptonshires, Rimington’s Guides and the 4.7-inch naval
gun) to make a demonstration against the Boer right. In reserve was Major-general Sir Henry Colvile
with the Guards Brigade (1st and 2nd Coldstream Guards, 3rd Grenadier Guards and 1st Scots
Guards), 12th Lancers and No. 7 Field Company Royal Engineers. The rest of the force was guarding
the Modder River camp, except for the Gordon Highlanders who were to bring up supplies in the
wake of the Highland Brigade.
Awaiting their approach were some 8,500 Boers with, probably, five 75mm Krupp guns, of
which three faced south-west from the Magersfontein feature, and five Pom-Poms. The trenches at the
foot of the Magersfontein kopje were held by men of the Kroonstad and Hoopstad Commandos of
Cronjé’s Orange Free State force and more of his men, of Kroonstad, Heilbron, Bethlehem,
Ladybrand and Ficksburg, held the northern end of the ridge to the east with De le Rey’s Bloemhof,
Lichtenburg and Wolmaranstad Commandos holding the line down to Moss Drift. Forward of the
ridge in the north was the Scandinavian Corps, a small group of volunteers. The positions beyond the
railway to the north-west were held by men under Commandant Andries Cronjé, brother of Piet.
On 10 December Methuen’s artillery bombarded what they took to be the Boer positions. The
4.7-inch gun, nicknamed Joe Chamberlain, was west of the railway and the rest of the
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