1899 - Diary of the siege of Mafeking by Edward Ross
Tuesday, 26 December
This has been absolutely the worst day’s work since the siege began. At daybreak two squadrons of the P.R., viz. C. and D., made an attack on the enemy’s position at Game Tree. Our three seven-pounders, the i-pound Maxim and 20 men of the P.R. were placed on the left flank 2 000 yards from the enemy, on purpose to draw their fire, whilst the armoured train went out with the Volunteers to support the right. But the Boers were too wily, and concentrated their fire on the direct attacking force. The men of C and D regiment [sic] crept up as close as possible to the Boer position, but by the time they had fairly got on their way, it was broad daylight and the Boers of course could see them coming. The charge made by these two squadrons was worthy of all Englishmen, but the deadly fire of the enemy at such close quarters, in fact almost hand to hand and in broad daylight, proved too withering for our men to live under, and eventually, after some of our men even getting on the top of the Boer fort, sticking their arms through the portholes and firing their revolvers, found that it was impossible for them to take the fort and, seeing that the Boers’ reinforcements were coming up, they were compelled to retire. Out of a force of about 80 men in the attack, we lost 22 killed and 34 wounded, most of them very seriously. The killed included Captains Vernon and Sandford, and Lieutenant Paton. Paton and Sandford were killed right in the trenches of the enemy’s fort, after emptying their revolvers through the Boer portholes. Amongst the wounded was Lieutenant FitzClarence, shot in two places, but was afterwards found propped up against an ant-heap smoking a cigarette. After all our fellows had retired the armoured train went out for the purpose of bringing in the dead and wounded, and it was found that some of our dead were lying so close in the Boer trenches that the enemy stopped us getting them, but brought them out to us instead. It was a most horrible sight to see the killed and wounded after they were brought in. A lot of them must have been killed with explosive bullets, and being at such close quarters their wounds were fearful. The whole affair has been a very sad mistake, and has cast a heavy gloom over the town. The loss is a very serious calamity in many ways, for we cannot afford to lose one man out of our small garrison, let alone 50 odd. What with previous casualties and illness this almost wipes out two troops out of four comprising Colonel Hore’s P.R.
B.P. himself was up at the station to meet the armoured train with the dead and wounded, and one could see that he was terribly upset.
Was the whole thing the usual mistake of underrating the enemy? Or was it through incorrect information?
The men themselves say the Boers have erected an almost impregnable fort out there, their breastworks being eight to ten feet high, with three tiers of loop-holes.
The number of the enemy behind the earthworks on the day of the attack appears to be about 80 to 100. These were afterwards reinforced by about 200 men coming from the enemy’s laager at Signal Hill and the water works.
I am told that a shell from one of our seven-pounders was planted into another squad of the enemy who were trying to come up and reinforce their breastworks. The shell burst in the middle of them, doing severe damage and forcing them to retreat, [but] by all accounts the enemy do not seem to have suffered very much. Another eye witness says that the Boers, previous to the charge of the P.R., had retired back into tire bush, 100 yards each side of the fort, and when the attacking force came close up to their trenches fired cross volleys into our men, simply mowing them down. B.P. was heard to say that he had been given away, inasmuch as the Boers had done a lot more work to their fort during last night in the way of building up their breastworks, and having three or four times the number of men there than there were before; also that the enemy had destroyed the railway lines much closer in to the town than had previously been done, as on going out the first truck of the armoured train ran off the rails at a place where it had passed over many times previously. It was supposed also that B.P. sent out a man during the night to report on their fort. The man returned and gave us his version but it turned out afterwards that he had not been near the place, presumed too frightened to go there.
The funeral is to be tonight at 7 o’clock, the officers in separate graves, and the men in one long hole. No time for coffins, they are to be sewn up in sheets. The whole day’s work is too awful to contemplate.
The military surgeon, Doctor Anderson, went out and dressed the wounded on the field, all the Boers clustering round him watching the operation.
The Boers do not seem to have the slightest sort of respect to the dead, and our men had been searched by them, and everything taken out of their pockets, and even their boots removed. Captain Paton’s dead body was robbed of a very valuable gold watch and chain, [and] they tried even to annex FitzClarence’s sword, but after a long parley it was given back.
The enemy are crowing over their victory, and some of them can be seen with their own rifles slung on their backs riding about carrying a Lee Metford with fixed bayonets, shouting and hurrahing. We only hope we shall soon have a chance of retaliating.
The enemy again fired on our Red Cross flag this morning, but later on after remonstrations had been sent out Commandant Botha wrote apologizing, saying it was done by some young Boers who knew no better.
One of the best men we have in the camp, Sergeant Matthew's of the C.P., badly wounded this morning. He was out sniping in what is now known as chapel trench when a bullet struck him in the foot taking off two of his toes.
Just to show you what brutes these Boers are. It was well known by them that we were having our big funeral tonight at 7 o’clock and, whilst a lot of people were on the way to the cemetery for the funeral of the men killed this morning, the Boers opened fire with their 94-pound shells, and their one-pound Maxim right over the town. They cannot even leave us in peace while we perform the last rites for our dead.
