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Updated: June 22, 2025
With General Hertzog things went even better. He had soon twelve hundred men under arms. General Fourie had not succeeded in getting together an equally large force in his division, because many burghers from these districts had been taken prisoner at the time of the surrender of Prinsloo. General Hertzog also fought more than one battle at Jagersfontein and Fauresmith.
He sent the horses of the gun-carriage with the gunners, back to Commandant Hasel, who subsequently followed us to Ijzernek, to the west of Thaba'Nchu. My ambulance with Dr. Fourie and Dr. Poutsma, were stopped by the English. Dr. Fourie had, as was quite proper, remained outside the fighting line, with the intention of coming through afterwards. This he was permitted to do on the following day.
Sub-district of Rouxville: the men under Commandant Frederik Rheeders. Sub-district of Wepener: the men under Commandant R. Coetzee. All of these were under Vice-Commander-in-Chief Piet Fourie, and later on under George Brand.
The division that was marching to Heilbron suddenly turned aside towards Kroonstad, only to meet with General Botha, who left them in anything but an undamaged condition. The division which had been despatched to deal with General Fourie and Commandant Prinsloo entered Senekal.
I ordered General Froneman to proceed from the source of the Kaffir River in the direction of Jagersfontein Road Station, to the west of Dewetsdorp: General Fourie I despatched in the direction of Odendaalsstroom, on the Orange River, to the farm of Klein Kinderfontein, to the west of Smithfield. I then sent scouts to the neighbourhood of Odendaalsdrift.
We were unable to obtain bread, and our flour had remained behind in the waggons. The sound of an explosion had told us that General Fourie had not been able to save them, and that by now they must have been burnt. I heard later on that General Fourie had been attacked by the English and had not been able to set fire to the waggons himself.
This letter was taken by Commandant Michal Prinsloo and some despatch riders to General Fourie. The night that he crossed the line a train was passing, and he wrecked the railway both in front of it and behind it. The train could thus neither advance nor retreat, and it fell into the hands of Commandant Prinsloo, who, after having taken what he wanted, burnt it.
With four of my adjutants and Piet Fourie, I succeeded in driving away quite one thousand five hundred head of cattle. The bombs fell heavily on them also, but I got them safely away. Late that evening we arrived at the spot where we had left President Steyn, only to find that he had gone away.
The attack was pressed with the greatest vigour on the positions held by Commandants Van Aard and Piet Fourie. It became impossible for these officers to maintain their ground; and, at about twelve o'clock, before I was able to send them any reinforcements, they were compelled to give way. Thus retreat became inevitable, and the enemy entered Bethlehem.
On January 19, on which day Warren moved to Venter's Spruit three miles from Trickhardt's Drift, they were in occupation of the whole line from Vaalkrantz to the Rangeworthy Heights. Fourie was in command of the left, Schalk Burger of the centre, which included the important features of Green Hill, Spion Kop, and the Twin Peaks; and L. Botha of the right, in which was Bastion Hill.
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