DETAILS OF THE BATTLE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVI, Issue 11201, 23 October 1899, Page 5

DETAILS OF THE BATTLE.

A GALLANT EXPLOIT, COLONEL SYMONS SEVERELY WOUNDED. London, October 20. ' I The Boers are attacking Glencoe < in great force, and a general battle is raging. Reports received, by the War Of- j fice state that Colonel Sir W. P. j Symons, who was in command at' Natal before the arrival of General • White, and now commanding at j Glencoe, was wounded. It is also rumoured that the Bri- - tish captured the Boer position with ■ five guns. A later report states that 9000 ! Boers attacked Glencoe at daybreak, shelling the town from the surround- j ing hills. Four thousand British defended. . Durban, Octobei 20. The British artillery at Glencoe made excellent practice, and silenced the Boer guns. ; The infantry, after hard fighting, captured an almost inaccessible position, driving out the Boers, who retired eastward. i The British losses are heavy. ■ London, October 20. j The Boers captured a goods train, on which were several war correspondents, at Elandslaagte, thus pre- i venting reinforcements reaching ; Glencoe. 1 The Natal Carbineers gallantly I engaged 2000 of the enemy at Bes- j ter's. I Sixteen of the British were., wounded. j Lieutenant Gallwey, son of Sir , Michael Henry Gallwey, Chief Jus- 1 tice of Natal, is amongst the missing. ' Durban, October 22. General White and Lieutenant- . General French expelled the enemy - from Elands Laagte, where they had ( destroyed the railway. j The British captured the Boers' j: equipment, horses, and waggons. j' British cavalry are pursuing the ' 1 enemy. . , | General Joubert's main column ot, 7000 strong, with headquarters at j • Dannhauser, sent out an advance body 2000 strong, but the Leicester- . shire 15th Battery checked their advance at Hatting spruit. . On Thursday night 2000 Free Staters reached Actinghomes, Blaauwbank, and Bester's from Mintwa Pass and Van Reenen's Pass. The Natal Carbineers were engaged nearly all day at Bestei s. They narrowly escaped disaster, but the splendid service of the Maxim gun held the Boers in check. ! The railway at Elands Laagte has already been destroyed by a handful of Boer cavalry., :n order to prevent the troops at Ladysmith assisting. Glencoe. . | At six o'clock on Friday, in clear; weather, 4000 men, with four guns, from Utrecht and Dejagersdrift, occupied Impati Hill, 800 ft high, and three miles east of Glencoe, also overlooking Dundee. ! The Boers then began to lire plugged shells, harmlessly, into the , British camp. I General Joubert's plan was ior | tl i Free Staters to attack General ! White's main body at Ladysmith, while the Utrecht force and main column attacked Glencoe, .but only the Utrecht force was engaged. j Colonel Symons ordered the 13th, 67th, and 69th batteries into action. They made splendid shooting practice, the majority of the Boer guns, being dismounted within an hour, I causing consternation in their rank. Many Boers descended the slopes. Infantry and cavalry were ordered forward, preventing these men from wetting behind Glencoe, another section preventing the enemy's connection with the main column at Dann-, hauser. The 2nd Dublin Fusiliers, _ Ist King's Royal Rifles, and Ist Leicester advanced under cover of artillery. , Taking advantage of cover they, splendidly stormed an almost impregnable height. It was a marvellous feat, somewhat the counterpart of Majuba Hill, - and the - storming of tl,e heights at Spicheren by the Germans in the-Franco-Prussian war. '' _ . v Advancing in waves of skirmishers, their difficulties began at the foot, of the mountain.' - 1

| The Boer marksmen were well posted, and Britishers dropped fast. The enemy for a moment were disposed to stand, but a section outflanked them, and drove them wildly down the hill for the main road. The Boers fled precipitately, their | guns being captured. Cavalry and mounted infantry and ! a few field guns are pursuing the enemy towards the Buffalo River. | During the route many surrendered. The battle lasted five hours. A laige proportion of officers were ! killed, refusing to seek shelter like i their men. j Colonel Symons was terribly | wounded in the groin, , Lieut.-Colonel J. It. Yule, of the Devonshire Begimenji, who succeeded him, telegraphed that victory was : due to Colonel Symons' skill. The Boers were demoralised through distrust of General Joubert. j Their losses are estimated at 600. ' Their artillery and rifle firing was : bad. 1 Ten British officers and 35 rank and file were killed. Thirty officers and 150 rank and file were wounded. COLONEL SYMONS PROMOTED. London, October 21. The Queen has promoted Colonel Symons to be Major-General. REJOICING AT THE YICTORY. Capetown, October 21. There is immense rejoicing at the Cape at the victory. DEPARTURE OP TROOPS, ENTHUSIASTIC FAREWELL. 20,000 TO SAIL BY TO-MORROW. London, October 21. There was great enthusiasm at Southampton on the departure of five transports with troops for South Atrica. Lord Wolseley and Baron Loch, ex-High Commissioner in South Africa, were among the large gathering who farewelled the troops. The Duke of Connaught, addressing the First Battalion of the Scots Guards at Chelsea Barracks, prior to their departure, conveyed to them the Queen's well wishes. Twenty thousand troops will sail for the Cape by Tuesday.