THE WAR.

New Zealand Mail, 15 February 1900, Page 31

THE WAR.

' xHE RELIEF OF LADYSMITH

across the tugela. LONDON, February 8. The War Office now confirms the news previously received ot General Buller’s forces having again crossed +Via Tucela river. It is officially stated that the army bolds a good position, and is now advancing towu-rds EFFECTIVE STRATEGY. ci OOESSFUL PASSAGE OF NOLAN DRIFT. DURBAN, February 8. From the available details of the operations and movements of the relieving army, it appears that General Buller evidently made a feint to cross the Tugela at two places. The Boers, imagining that the actual intention was to cross at both points, claim a victory. At Nolan Drift, where the actual passage of the river took place, the cannonading is described as having been, the fiercest of the war. Before making a forward movement a hundred additional stretcher-bearers were ordered from Durban. DEFEAT OF THE ENEMY. VICTORY FOR THE BRITISH. FIGHTING ON MONDAY AND TUESDAY. LONDON, February 8. The War Office has been informed that General Buller’s army crossed the Tugela on Monday, and is now advancing towards, the beleaguered garrison under Sir George White. A despatch from Reuter’s correspondent at Spearman’s Camp states that the Naval Brigade opened fire on the enemy’s entrenchments at 7 o’clock on Monday morning, three battalions of infantry, with sis batteries of artillery, making a feint attack from four positions towards Brakfontein. At 11 o’clock the Boers commenced ' shelling the infantry, who retired at noon; but in the meantime General Buller directed a vigorous attack on th 6 extreme right. A pontoon bridge bad previously been constructed by the engineers, and while this was being placed in position the Boer position was % heavily bombarded by guns hidden among tiie trees on Swartzkop. ~ Ultimately, everything being ready for advance, the infantry crossed the nver, completely surprising the enemy, and capturing Krantskloof, on the lakroncem range. The operations for •be attack were excellently timed and carried out. On Tuesday morning the hombardment was : .-sinned by the artillery a , replied to by the enemy, who worked a disappearing gun on Doorn*;Oot heights, to the north-eastward. unng the artillery duel, however, this weapon was disabled, and the attached to it exploded, by Oie bursting shells from the British

musket™ fl meamvlule . an intermittent musketry fire was maintained. During WfiSrrV 110 Boers made * debut fW ef -° 1 ' t to reca Pture the hills, adfancSt n e -fu ol i emeilts which arrived tb C ‘ heerS and re P«k®d tho f'u’ces then continued to advance _along the ridges.

FIGHTING AT THE BAYONET POINT. heavy artillery firing. Further LONDON, February 8. that ha- ? aitlc V^ ars ol the fighting second t > cn rrom General Buller’s the relieTof I C nd norti !, of the Tu S e . ,a foi ‘ ‘ The Timps d ' VSmit l are finished by front. correspondent at the pears 6 ° PP °' in - arm 3’ of Boers, it apalong tlie CC ko >i6l 1 po f itioil extending Spionkop t'Vi to , th ® eastward of with its eas'-pr'n C R S . Ib - of tliree miles, ward (towards ~c xllA ! ni(;. v curved souflitiirection of Zwaitzkom 1 river) - in the and 'mlnint-ibi * i£?S °‘ British naral, field ' '• ere - massed °» bank of tiie >■' ° 1 011 ;t * ie southern covering tlm toi ', t} . e Purpose of wand of the Bi-t; v i 5 ynne iad com ' general Lvttelt wmg and Majortatter scored r° f tho "W- The coss bveanturin n f,rst ini P° l 'tant suc•>e on'the norths t J i 6 s 9 utll eniniost kopFrom tC ? bank of the river. Posted on DonS,n rie « , wluch tliev ljad the Britisli cn dc ‘ oof the Boers,-shelled means of on<y .rl mU ' , lleavii >’’ and by ds advance t?,",- ‘ n^ p -hell fire arrested On TueadAv •? Ughoi,t Monday, the enemy’s 'forces ! ' S dlfficult to locat e L sl r ke!e Powder 0 " 1 " 8 ' t 0 their - tnred the 01 nottlm,A lay ! th ? Boers re-cap- ( >«ier a l Lyttelton of tlle k °Pj fi that >Uclt on had carried on Mon-

day, but the position was again carried by tne British infantry at the point of the bayonet.

During General Wynne’s attack his forces were met by heavy shell fire from the Boer batteries.

The British Tosses in killed and wounded are estimated at two hundred and fifty. General Buller’s batteries comprised seventy-two guns. The work of the British artillerymen is described as superb, their guns raking the Boer trenches with deadly effect.

The Durham Light Infantry succeeded in carrying an important height known as Vaal Kranz by means of a bayonet charge. It is the key of the lower ridges.

It was the Rifle Brigade (the Cameronians, King’s Royal Rifles and First Durham Light Infantry) that made the brilliant charge which 'carried Kranzkloof, the position already described as being on the Brakfontein range. BRITISH LOSSES. CASUALTIES DURING MONDAY’S BAIIXE. LONDON, February 8. The War Office returns show that in Monday’s fighting, the First Battalion <6B th Foot ) of the Durban Light Infantry lost eighty men, the First Battalion of the Rifle Brigade seventy, and ocher regiments sixty.

The total strength of General Buller’s field force is thirty-four thousand, and the artillery have more than 100 guns.

BRITISH PLAN OF ATTACK

HOPEFULNESS OF THE GENERAL

DURBAN, February 9. JFrom the latest news from tiie front it appears that after the passage of the Tugela, three additional pontoons were thrown across the stream, by means of which heavier artillery and more infantry were transported to the northern bank.

General Buller is at present engaged in entrenching his base in wedge-shaped formation. His intention is to advance the artillery into a position to dominate the Boer guns. General Buller is hopeful of success, and describes the position taken up by the relieving army as effective. FIGHTING NEAR COLENSO. REPORTED BOER SUCCESS. CAPETOWN, February 9. The Boers assert that they compelled an armoured train with two thousand troops that was threatening their positions near Colenso on Tuesday to return to Chieveley. THE LATEST BOER RUSE. ATTEMPTING TO FLOOD LADYSMITH. LONDON. February 9. The Boer scheme to flood Ladysmith by turning the course of the Klip river is regarded as impracticable, although there are 1300 natives at work constructing a large dam. BULLER FAILS AGAIN WITHDRAWAL ACROSS THE TUGELA. HEAVILY SHELLED BY THE ENEMY. NEWS OFFICIALLY CONFIRMED. LONDON, February 11. Reports received through Boer sources indicate that after being heavily shelled General Buller again withdrew across the Tugela river. The War Office has also received official confirmation, of General Buller’s withdrawal.

Prior to the official confirmation of General Buller’s retirement across the Tugeja, the Hon A. J. Balfour. First Lord of the Treasury, said that the advance on Ladysmith was not being pressed from the position held by the British troops on Wednesday. The Government, proceeded Air Balfour. was not- pressing General Buller for information while operations against the enemy were in progress. REASONS FOlt THE RETREAT. BOER ARTILLERY IN ACTION. FIGHTING NEAR LADYSMITH. REPORTED SORTIE BY THE GARRISON. DURBAN, February 11. From the particulars which have reached here of the operation-' in the Tugela district, it appears that the British troops discovered the enemy to be in great strength, especially on the Brakfontein hills. An incessant fire was kept up by the Boers from masked guns, which rendered', Vaalkrantz untenable. Several shells’ from a “Lon§ Tom’' (or forty-pounder/* fell amongst the British transports, while others reached Swartzkop. Meanwhile the entrenched British infantry were assailed by Nordenfeldt fix'e,

and severe damage was done by a La Ureuzot siege gun and a hundred pounder on Doornt Kloof.

The retirement of. the Britisli troops commenced on Wednesday night and was conducted without special incident, th > casualties being mostly slight wounds.

The Leers report that heavy firing was heard m the direction of Ladysmith uurmg the same night, the garrison havmg attempted to make a sortie towards the Free State laager. * PARTICULARS OF RECENT FIGHTING. HOW THE RIVER WAS CROSSED. DURBAN, February 9. V\ hen the British artillery attached to .Major-General Wynne’s brigade were returning on Monday from, the feint to cross the Tugela river, one of the guns overturned. The efforts to right the gun were hampered by an enfilading fire from the Boer forces at the opposite side of the river, but the work was finally accomplished. *< Misled by the feints of the British brigades, the Boers believed that Geneml BulleFs main column would cross the Tugela at Skiet’s Drift. They accorumgly massed thousands of men on Doornt Kloof, the batteries on which were the chief factor in keeping back the British forces during Monday. Only a few hundred men were stationt on Kraatz Hill (thirteen miles from Ladysmith), the important height that was carried on Tuesday by the Durham Eight Infantry at the point of the bayonet, and which has been described as the key of the lower ridges. The heavy fire from the Boer artillery on Spionkop during Monday upon the left flank of the British advance, placed . the 78th Battery of Royal Artillery in ! serious danger of capture or destruction. - Through the coolness of Captain St. J. ■ H. Du Plat-Taylor, one of its owii l officers, however, the battery was able to withdraw to a position of safety, [ though Captain Taylor had been wound- | ed early in the engagement. The “Daily News” correspondent in . Fatal relates that on Tuesday last, after i Urn British troops had secured a footing at Nolan’s Drift, the pontoons were sent , further down the river in front of - Kraantskop, in order to obtain a short cut to the Boer positions across the river. 1 •"! ‘ J * 1 -I i r "W • 1 -.-r

In addition, the “Daily News.” in a footnote, concludes that the conformation of the ground misled the Boers at Doornt Kloof into imagining that the partial movement was in reality a withdrawal of the whole army.

DIFFICULTIES IN THE WAY OF

ADVANCE

BOERS AGAIN SOUTH OF THE ' RIVER.

PROBABILITIES OF AN ATTACK BY THE ENEMY.

LONDON, February 11. Lieut.-General the Hon N. G. Lyttelton. who commands the Rifle Brigade in the Ladysmith relief force, has reported that there were no facilities for the effective use of artillery on Vaalkrantz, the hill thirteen miles to the south-east of Ladysmith, which was carried by the British infantry on Tuesday last. He also reports that had the advance been pressed it would have been an extremely difficult matter to maintain

communication with the general army. From the particulars available it seems that the British troops have withdrawn to Frere, thirteen miles south of the Tugela, and seven miles south of Chieveley, the former base of operations. Boer troops have crossed southward over, the Tugela, and have occupied Broy’s farms, which are within ail hour’s ride of Chieveley. This manoeuvre on tha part of the enemy, combined with their operations in Zululand, has created an impression that they contemplate making a wide turning movement upon General Buller’s army via Grevtown.

[Greytown is situate about thirty-live miles east of Frere behind a high range of hills. There is a main road running from the Tugela in this direction, and there is apparently a permanent crossing over the river at a place known as Tugela ferry.] DISCOVERY OF A MASKED BATTERY. NARROW ESCAPE OF A PRINCE. DURBAN, February 11. With regard to General Buffer's retreat across the Tugela, it now appears that a reconnaissance made from one of the captive balloons revealed the fact that the enemy had cunningly masked about, a dozen guns at Doorakloof, in a position commanding the Ladysmith road, and had the British troops advanced thus far their losses must have been disastrous.

While the Boers were shelling the British troops on Wednesday last a shell from a hundred-pounder struck a rock on which Prince Christian Victor (a grandson of the Queen) was sitting. The concussion knocked him down. PREPARING TO GO ON AGAIN. LONDON, February 11. Lieutenant Winston Churchill, correspondent of the “Daily Mail,” cables that General Buller is preparing to make a fresh advance.

LONDON, February 112. Another reassuring heliograph message has been deceived from Ladysmith, to the effect that the garrison will be able to hold out for weeks yet.