243
CHAPTER XV.
THE BATTLE OF THE MODDER RIVER.*
When the Boers, after their defeat on the 25th November, retreated from the heights of Graspan.j- the greater part of their force withdrew to Jacobsdal, little inclined to renew the combat. But General De la Rey induced the burghers to make another effort to arrest the British march on Kimberley, at a position of his own selection at the confluence of the Riet and the Modder rivers, where the terrain differed in character from that which had been occupied at Belmont and Graspan. In those engagements the Boers had entrenched themselves upon high and rugged kopjes, of which the apparent strength became a source of weakness. The hills afforded an excellent target for the British artillery. The riflemen who held the works had to aim downwards at the enemy as he advanced to the attack, and a “ plunging ” fire never yields satisfactory results. At their base was dead ground, inaccessible to the musketry of the defenders. Here the attacking infantry, after their rush across the open, could halt for breathing space before delivering the final assault. For these reasons De la Rey decided to adopt completely new tactics and to fight from the bed of a river, surrounded on every side by a level plain, destitute of cover
* As a point of historical accuracy it should be noticed that, for the battle of the 28th November, the “ Modder River ” is a misnomer. The fighting, as will be seen in this chapter, took place on the banks of the Riet ; but since the battle honours for the engagement have been given for “ Modder River,” the name has become officially recognised, and is therefore used here. See map No. 12. t See map No. 9 and freehand sketch.
VOL. I. 16*
Boers learn to change their
ideas of a “ strong position.”