TOPIC:

Translation of the Kroonstad telegram ( see last post ), as printed in "War Telegrams. Officially Issued by the Late O.F.S. Government up to the Occupation of Bloemfontein", Curling's Standard Printing Works, Bloemfontein, 1900.

[Issued November 16, 1899]
Commandant General, Head Laager, Ladysmith, wires that he arrived at Colenso on the 13th inst., in order to acquaint himself with the positions, and saw the British advance guard. They advanced towards the patrol of Commandant David Joubert. Nothing happened, excepting that a train advanced on three of our burghers. These three fired on the train, after which it returned, but we wished to occupy this position.
The Ermelo and Middelburg Commandos went at once, together with a portion of the Krugersdorp Commando to take up the position, as the other burghers only left at 3 o’clock.
When we arrived at the spot we discovered an armoured train, which steamed back immediately, but one of our commandos had crossed over and placed stones on the line, which derailed her. The place was a very unsuitable one for our burghers, as also for our cannon. As soon as the train was derailed they began to fire on us with an Armstrong and a Maxim, with the result that five of our burghers and some horses were slightly wounded. At last the locomotive was freed, and proceeded with half the trucks that were not derailed. Thus we captured five trucks, three of which were armoured.
Two of the enemy were killed, 10 wounded, and 56 prisoners taken, amongst whom is Mr Winston Spencer Churchill – reporter for the "Morning Post".
It is raining heavily, so that all the burghers and prisoners are wet through. We are expecting a stronger onslaught.


Bloemfontein 16den Nov. 12.15, Ontv. 2.55 pm
Donderdag v.m., 16 Nov. '99. Commandant General Hoofd Lager seint dat hij 13 dezer te Colenso aankwaam ten einden de toestanden te verkennen en toen de brandwachten bespeurde zij trokken in de richting van de patrouille onder Commandant David Joubert het kwam echter niet tot eenig treffen met uitzondering dat een trein op 3 onzen Burgers afkwam. Deze 3 schoten op den trein waarna de trein terug keerde doch wij wenschten deze positie in te nemen onmiddellijk gingen dan ook Ermelo en Middelburg Commandos, en ook een gedeelte van Krugersdorp Commando om deze plek in te nemen terwijl de andere Burgers eerst om drie uur gisteren uittrokken.
Toen wij op die plek aan kwamen ontwaarden wij ook juist den gepantserden trein en die toen dadelijk terug stoomde doch een onzer Commando was in middels omgetrokken en had klippen op de rails gelegd waardoor de trein ontspoorde maar het was een zeer ongelegen plek voor de Burgers alsook voor de kanonnen. Zoodra de trein ontspoorde schoten zij op ons met een Armstrong en een maxim met het gevolg dat 5 onzer manschappen licht gewond werden eindelijk raakte de locomotief los en trok op met de helft van de wagens die niet ontspoord waren wij namen zoo doende slechts 5 trucks waaronder 3 gepantserde in bezit. Van den Vijand werden 2 gedood, 10 gewond en 56 gevangenen genomen waaronder Windstone Spencer Churchill, rapporteur van de 'Morning Post'.
Het regent nu hevig zoodat alle Burgers en gevangenen dood en door nat zijn wij verwachten veel sterker aanval.






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Some time ago there was a discussion about armoured trains during the Siege of Ladysmith ( starting here ).
I, amongst others, stated that there was no armoured train in Ladysmith. This, I have just discovered, is quite incorrect.

This photograph, Plate XLIV in Kisch & Tugman (1900), "The Siege of Ladysmith", shows that they did have such a train but that it was never used.

Henry Kisch was the resident photographer during the siege.




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This is a reply to post 81605 , in the Artillery & Ammunition thread.

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pfireman wrote: Adjutant Roos is the man who Churchill spoke with after the shelling of the armoured train.

"At length we reached the guns which had played on us for so many minutes—two strangely long barrels sitting very low on carriages of four wheels, like a break in which horses are exercised. They looked offensively modern, and I wondered why our Army had not got field artillery with fixed ammunition and 8,000 yards range. Some officers and men of the Staats Artillerie, dressed in a drab uniform with blue facings, approached us.

The commander, Adjutant Roos—as he introduced himself—made a polite salute. He regretted the unfortunate circumstances of our meeting; he complimented the officers on their defence—of course, it was hopeless from the first; he trusted his fire had not annoyed us; we should, he thought, understand the necessity for them to continue; above all he wanted to know how the engine had been able to get away, and how the line could have been cleared of wreckage under his guns. In fact, he behaved as a good professional soldier should, and his manner impressed me."

So lucky to put a face with a name. No wonder Churchill was impressed. Thanks Mr. Heunis!

Here is a photographic portrait of Lieutenant and Adjutant Carl Roos (with thanks to MC Heunis), and a second image showing him with his men (With the Flag to Pretoria, p. 181).





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Hi
Whilst researching one of my medal recipients, Dr George Oliver Moorhead, I found an article in The Contempory Review Dec 1901, written by him under the pseudonym of Raymond Maxwell.
Interestingly, he writes this passage dated Nov 15th .

Nov. 15th . — On again at daylight, and crossed the waggon bridge over the Tugela, and passed through Colenso. Round about Colenso were various forts and defences, consisting of sandbags, etc. , with trenches. If it were not for the reality of the business one would be inclined to laugh at them. They were all, with two exceptions, placed right out in the open flat plain, and faced every where, except on the Chieveley side, by kopjes affording most excellent cover. Boer artillery posted anywhere amongst the stony ridges on the north of the Tugela would have been able to blow all the forts, and any one in them, clean out of existence. If one did not know better, one would say they had been planned by the same mind that put the Dundee camp in the open quite surrounded by high hills left unoccupied. The naturally strong positions about the north of the Tugela will, I am afraid, give the English much trouble before they can get through to Ladysmith, unless there is some way round.
The rain came down in torrents all day, and our mules only made slow progress, but we caught up with our commando at Chieveley station. Heard rifle and artillery fire from here, and on getting further on towards Frere station found the Boers just capturing an armoured train and some 56 prisoners. The train had come up from Estcourt to Chieveley, passing clean through Boers lying on both sides of the line without seeing them. While it was up in Chieveley, some Boers went and fixed in big stones just where the line crossed a culvert. Just as they were finished, back came the train at a great rate, with the engine in the middle. On reaching the obstruction the wheels on one side left the line, but still it ran 250 yards without overturning, but then the front trucks upset trying to negotiate a curve , and one lay across the lines obstructing further progress. All the time the Boers were pouring in a dreadful fire from practically perfect cover, and the artillery kept putting shells clean through the trucks. At last the engine managed to butt the obstructing truck out of the way , and got off loaded up with what seemed about 40 men. The other soldiers who had been lying behind what cover they could get were compelled to surrender, several of them being wounded. In one of the overturned trucks were three dead soldiers, one being a D.L.I, man, and further down the line were two more dead soldiers, shot dead while trying to get away on foot.
The trucks were riddled through and through by the shells, and are thus proved to be absolutely useless against artillery. The value of armoured trains as scouting machines is amply proved by the fact that this one passed through quite 1,500 Boers all within rifle range, and never saw one of them. Some time later a party of the Ermelo commando, who had gone on ahead to break up the line, were completely surprised by a patrol, and received a volley without any warning, which killed two men.
The farms have all been completely looted and smashed up, and God help Natal if our commandos get further in. Many a poor farmer will have a heartache after the war.

Thanks Adrian - interesting reading. I'm still annoyed with myself for letting Moorhead's group elude my clutches!

Dr G O Moorhead also wrote an article in The Cornhill Magazine, this is what he said about the same incident here:

"General Joubert joined the column neat the drift through the Klip River, there was a brief halt for breakfast, and then their whole column streamed forward again, over the railway across Pieter’s Hill to Colenso, which had been for some days in the possession of the Free Staters. The idea was, I believe, to attack the British troops at Escourt, about whose numbers very contradictory reports were current. The expedition was accompanied by two guns and a Maxim, as far as I know, and consisted of some three thousand Transvaalers: a thousand Free Staters were to join with artillery at Colenso. We arrived at the Tugela in the afternoon, and lay there all next day, encamping on a tiny green spot under an abandoned fort on Hart’s Hill near the railway bridge. Though I had started late, the impossibility of keeping clear of stragglers became abundantly evident. They swarmed along the road, riding near us when driven away from the wagons; they were looting in the village of Colenso, which had already been most comprehensively plundered, and seemed in no hurry to re-join the column.
Outside the village we met a messenger dashing along, who told us they were fighting in front, but the fog was so thick and the rain so heavy that we could hear and see nothing, and the wagons plodded through the mud at a hopelessly slow rate. At Chieveley station we heard that an armoured train had been upset and was still fighting desperately, and after a very short halt we pressed on. Gleeful Boers whom we met returning told us that we were too late to see any fighting, and that the crew had surrendered, some fifty or more; and soon afterwards we saw trudging towards us in the rain and mud a little compact body of men on foot surrounded by mounted burghers. As they came near us we distinguished the sodden soiled khaki uniforms: a few officers marched stolidly in front, a man in mufti with an injured hand among them, the others plodded resignedly along—seamen some of them we could tell by their hats— marching back to Colenso.
One of the burgher guards stopped to tell us all about it. The train had been derailed by some of the Wakkerstroom men, who had ridden hurriedly down and placed stones on the line near a curve. They were now escorting the prisoners, and were beside themselves with delight. They told Dr. Watt, their doctor, who knew most of them, that there had been a stiff fight for it, and gave glowing details about Winston Churchill's gallantry, which they must have heard of from the soldiers. In the afternoon I rode over to look at the wrecked train: some of the trucks were on the line, two others were off, one of which was overturned and the other on its side. Battered helmets, empty cartridge cases lay about; the silent khaki-clad forms, their helmets over their faces, lay sheltered from the falling rain inside the half overturned track; curious burghers were continually riding up and hovering about. The trucks themselves showed very faint scratches where the Mauser bullets had struck the hard steel, but ugly holes gaped where the Boer shells had gone through and through. ‘They think they can boss us with their trains and inventions,’ a young Boer was saying, ‘but we Afrikanders are too much for them! ’