COMMANDANT DEWET.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLII, Issue 7366, 18 January 1902, Page 4 (Supplement)

COMMANDANT DE WET.

A REMARKABLE RECORD.

While the name of De Wet is in everyone's mouth the following record of his earlier exploits in this campaign, published in the "Cape Illustrated Magazine" some months ago, cannot fail to interest: —

If South Africa has been the grave of 'reputations it has also by way of compensation been the forcingground which has produced many men whose names will go down to posterity for their work in this country. This applies -to the Boer side as well as to that of our army: Com-mandant-General Christian de Wet has in particular been fortune's favourite, and has experienced with special force the truth of the proverb about "an ill- wind which blows nobody good." A series of misfortunes in the enemy's lines, coupled with his owu personal bravery, have raised him' in the duration of the present war from the Free State ranks to the joint command of the allied forces of the Boers.

Christian de Wet first fought in Natal, where he distinguished himself at Nicholson's Nek, and earned the primary step in that rapid promotion which has eclipsed anything in Boer history. From Field-cornet to Commandant was but a short step, and the executive ability which he displayed quickly resulted in his transference as a fighting general to the then more active sphere around Magersfontein. His attempt to cut the British line of communications from this point, which was the beginning of his momentous achievements, will be remembered as one of the most daring of the many exploits which have made the name of Christian de Wet world famous. With only three hundred men he essayed to reach the railway line, which it was his intention to destroy, with the object of isolating Lord Methuen; and that he did not succeed was no reflection on the undaunted spirit which prompted him to run the gauntled of a large British force, supported by a mere handful of burghers. His subsequent defeat by General Macdonald, to -whom he offered stubborn resistance at Koodoosberg in February, is a matter of history. But we find him afterwards opposing General French on his memorable march to the relief of Kimberley, and endeavouring to. assist Piet Cronje while the latter was receiving the attention of Lord Roberts at Paardeberg-. On the death of the chief in command of the Free State forces, Commandant-General Ferreira, De Wet's service was immediately recognised by his appointment to the vacancy, he having been a candidate for the post at the time of the deceased officer's selection. The death on the 31st of March of General Joubert brought him further promotion, as he was appointed with General ISotha to the joint command of the Boer forces, the position which he at present holds.

The career of Christian de Wet from this stage has been undoubtedly the most remarkable of any single officer in the present war. The Sauna's Post disaster to our troops, which he planned, recited in our loss of five guns, over a hundred waggons aud 259 prisoners, ar.d the fuilher disaster at the Glen, near IJloemfontein, almost immediately alterwards, when a convoy and 17 New Zealanders fell into his hands, was another token of his daring enterprise. Then on April 6th, after an interval of only three days t three companies •of the Ros'al Irish Rifles and two. squads of mounted infantry were taken captive by the forces under him. The siege of Wepener by De v et's> burghers at a later stage caused considerable anxiety for the safety of Colonel Dalgety and the colonial forces. When the siege was raised by Generals French and Bundle, Generals Hamilton and Smith-Dorrien failed, to cut off hjs retreat, the Boer commandant demonstrating in a most effective way on this occasion his extreme mobility, which has since been alike the wonder and the admiration of the world. For some time De Wet was held successfully in check by Lord Roberts' forces, but towards the end of May he gave signs of renewed activity, which took form in the capture of over 400 Yeomanry prisoners, in addition to a casualty li.°t on our side of 40 killed and 71 wounded, and the destruction of a large tract of railway and an enormous quantity of stores. Working in a circle De Wet successfully eluded the British Genepals and continued to work havoc to the lines of communication and the troops along the line. At one time six companies of the Derbyshire Militia and two companies of the Imperial Yeomanry were the result of a single haul north of Kronstadt; at another 100 men of the Black Watch fell into his net. and the Railway Pioneers suffered the loss of 100 of their men in prisoners and other casualties in the capture of a mail train, on which occasion no less than eleven miles of railway were destroyed by the Boers under De Wet, a record not equalled in tflie history of warfare.

On July 17th notwithstanding- an attempt to form a cordon around De Wet by Generals Hunter and Rundle. he managed ro break through with I.jOO men and 5 guns. Proceeding to Lindley he was closely pursued by Pa»et's and Broad wood.-; Brigades: after thi.s he entrenched himself on the bank.-, of the Vaal River near Klerksdovp; it was at this time that his brother Piet De Wet surrendered about the Sth August, 1900. He. however, suddenly vacated his potion in spite of Lord Methuen's efforts to c.itch him, and in spite of being- liarrassed by a rear-guard engagement with Lord Kitchener near Lhidique. Shortly after thi.s De Wet blew up •three of his waggons — being- 3iard pressed — and GO British prisoners, including one officer, managed to escape from his camp: then he broke J nil hi.s force into small bodies and : himself went in the direction of Kustenber". It was here ibat Lord Kitchener realised the Dutch general's marvellous mobility, as he was enabled to march all night, the ground being well known to him, while the British troops were obliged to march in the day time. On the ISth August De Wet reappeared between Rustenberg and Commando Xek, and sent a messenger with a flag of truce to Baden-Powell, calling upon him to surrender; the latter in his reply derisively asked whav terms he was prepared to give. Finding Commando Nek strongly held he suddenly moved in an east- 1 ward direction, but recrossed the Magaliesberg with a few mounted i men. Colonel Mackinnon, commanding- the C.l.V.'s. then made attempts to overtake him, having marched 224 miles in 14 days. On September 3rd De Wet appeared in the 0.R.C., breaking the line in two places north and south of Kronstadt, and capturing 19 trucks of supplies and 25 trucks of ordnance stores. General Chas. Knox. who was near this town, captured two of his despatch riders.

It was at Rensberg Drift that General Knox came upon De Wet when he was crossing the river, and poured a terrible rifle fire into the Boers. •

The latter were obliged to abandon no less than five Krupp guns which belonged to the Free State Artillery. General De Wet tried to move to the right, but was met by a galling fire which forced him in confusion to the left, where a contingent was ready to meet him. Unfortunately a thick heavy storm of rain came down 11 c this time which enabled De Wet to cover' his retreat. The' Eng-lis.i troops, who had marched a considerable distance, had received no rations since the previous day. and all were wet, hungry and tired. *On November sth. Colonel Le Gallais surprised the Boers three miles south of Bothaville. The number of guns captureJ were the twelve-pounder, of "Q " Battery, 3 fifteen-pounder, of " 14 " Battery. 4 Krupp guns. 1 pompom, 1 Maxim, with ammunition and waggons and 100 prisoners; 25 Boers wei-e killed and 30 wounded; among-si the dead was a Boer doctor with "R-.ml Cross flag on his arm, rifle in hand and bandolier half emptied.

In this engagement Colonel Le Guilds w-a« killed. The "U" Battery. inidci- Major Taylor, served t'ueir guns ir> a magnificent manner, and \><is in action at one time at a r-angS of 400 yards. This has been callel the battle of Bothaville ("Cape Times Weekly"), Nov. 28th, 1900.

We next hear of General De Wei appearing before De Wetsdorp and capturing the garrison, over 400 s + rorg. who. after defending the position for some time .were forced to surrender. He then marched eastward between the Caledon and Orange Rivers, being closely followed by General Charles Knox'

At Kareepoort Drift, on the Caledon River, the British General captured a y-pounder Krupp gun and a waggon containing 2500 rounds of ammunition. It is reported that De Wet treated his British prisoners very badly. Many of them were sjamboked, because they could not keep up the pace when marching. Do Wet llhmj divided his forces into two commandoes, one going south and entering- Cape Colony; the other with De Wet himself, about 20th Decembei-, succeeded in crossing the Caledon River and made rapidly for the north, breaking through the lines at Uritish posts, between Ladybrand and Thalm N'ehu.

Jie w;is Irotly pursued by General Charles Knox, and retreated in great contusion, losing 30 killed, and leaving '2 guns and many carts and wag-g-ons. It was evident from the spoor 1 that he was making for Springham's Xek. and Knox made all arrangements to hem him in. White was sent to move on the left, Barker and General Knox were in the centre, and Williams moved to the right by a circuitous route necessitated by the impassable nature of the country. Just as the exultant troops came in sight of Springham's Nek, confident that they had cornered their quarry at last, the message came: "De Wet has* broken through." Although he had to pass through a nek, held on each .side by British troops, and only about four miles broad, or be captured by the pursuing force, already within four miles of his rear, he had succeeded. His quick grasp of the situation had shown him instantly the only method by which it was at all possible to escape. Had he galloped his forces straig-ht through the middle of the passage they would

| ii;i\e been raked by two tired. They, ' t-herefore, galloped along- the foot of j.i.e western hill, led by Steyn and ! i'lei l-'ourie, where the fire of only i one post was effective". It was a magnificent piece of daring, and thoroughly succeeded, but JJe Wet lost a 10-pounder, captured j from us at De Wetsdorp, a pompom i and 23 prisoners.

I We next hear of the gallant gent- ! ru! north of Philipstown, whence he ! moved west, crossing 1 Bartrnann's biding on the loth February, closely followed by Plumer, having, however, si cceeded in cutting the line nortti and south of the siding. On the 16th lie came in contact with Plumer' s force, and left his convoy, including nine ox waggons, one spring waggon, and one- ambulance cart, the two latter being in use for the transport of ammunition. Besides this, 100,000 rounds of small arm ammunition, three pompom ammunition, and twenty prisoners were taken. On the 20th. February, 1901, being closely pursued ' by Plumer's force, De Wet, who had been marching towards Mark's Drift and had found the river in flood, turned south again, and after blowing up the line north and south of the Ox*ange liiver Station, divided his force into several parties and crossed the railway at various points. Plumer finding that his men were worn out on the 23rd, resigned the pursuit to Colonel Ilenniker. P>eing hard pressed, De Wet now doubled back, crossed the line at Krankuil. and made straight for Orange liiver. While Plumer's starving- and exhausted men were resting at Hope Town, Thorneycroft took up the running, came by train to Krankuil, and followed close on De Wets' rear. Colonels Henniker and Crabbe extended from Thorneycroft's position on the right, and Colonel llickman marched via Philipstown to fiJl in a centre gap, Colonels Haigh and Williams marched from Hanover, and Colonel Byng from Colesberg to fill the right gap. The river ros* daily. Plumer now having rested Ris force, prepared to meet De Wet north of the river. Henniker pushed him gradually along the bank towards Colonel Byng's force, colonels Hickmann, Haigh, and Williams preventing- his doubling back. It seemed as if most of the fighting would fall to Colonel Byng's share. He, however, was ordered to Heinmelsfontein, thus leaving De Wet an opening, which he, of course, instantly perceived, and used^' crossing the river at Liliefontein before Byng could return. Nine men of Nesbitt's Horse witnessed the crossing, and having- secured good cover, fired on them. They were so hard pressed that some of them roue off without clothing, having left it be.-.ud in ..neir flight. Being unable to locate their assailant's lire, they could not return it. This unsuccessful invasion, although not resulting in De Wet's capture, cost him 4000 horses and nearly all his convoj r . It is much to be regretted that a ' general who has proved himself to be both brave and capable should have stained his character with acts of unnecessary cruelty, such as the sjamboking- of his prisoners, and such as he indulged in, when having- held up the mail train, the mail bags were opened, their contents- mutilated and strewn broadcast over the veldt, which would have been perfectly allowable if he had confined his operalions to official documents, but was a most heartless act when it prevented individuals from receiving news of friends, home and family.

These acts are the more* to be deplored as his conduct up to the time T hat the guerilla warfare was instituted, had been that of a humane and honourable enemy.