Vietnam or Thailand ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
Updated: June 7, 2025
"The following chief officers have been chosen as Representatives for the commandos of the districts: Hoopstad, Boshof, and parts of Winburg and Bloemfontein, districts to the west of the railway line. General C. Badenhorst. Commandant J. Jacobsz. Commandant A. Bester. Any answer, previous to noon of the 11th inst., will reach me at Brandfort. "Commander-in-Chief, Orange Free State Armies."
The commandos of Rouxville, Smithfield, Wepener and Ladybrand, fell far short of their full complement of men, as a great number had remained behind at home. Of the burghers from Winburg, Kroonstad and Heilbron, many had already laid down their arms, and the drain upon our troops in these districts was still continuing.
Robertson says, 'There is only one heart in the Highland Brigade, and it is sad and sore. But good is being brought out of evil. At the meeting of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, held this year, the Moderator said he wished to read the following letter from Scottish soldiers at the front, which had just been put into his hands: 'WINBURG, May 7th, 1900.
The nearest Boer post was at Brandfort, a few miles north of Karee Siding. On the right was the Winburg intervening column, 14,000 strong, under Ian Hamilton, who dragged in his train a weak supporting Division under Colvile, his superior officer in an anomalous position obliged to conform to his movements, and without authority to direct them.
But before our train drew out of Pretoria Station we learned that the English had just occupied Brandfort, and that the Boer front had been pushed back to Winburg. We decided that Brandfort was an impossible position to hold anyway, and that we had better leave the train at Winburg.
He was not, however, to compel anybody to do so, because I was of opinion that a coerced burgher would be of no real value to us, and would besides be untrustworthy. The following officers were to serve under Fourie: Andrias, Van Tonder and Kritzinger. The last-named had been appointed in the place of Commandant Olivier, who had been taken prisoner at Winburg.
Kruger Bobs slapped his thigh noiselessly, vanished behind his smile, then reappeared to put his lips to Weldon's ear and whisper in raucous triumph "Syb down dere Winburg." "What? Who is Syb?" Weldon queried blankly. Kruger Bobs straightened, in dignified resentment at his master's ignorance. "Syb be my vrouw soon." "Oh, I see. No wonder you look elated, you rascal. So you have been courting?"
That night I marched to the west of Winburg, crossing the branch railway without meeting with any opposition, and arrived on the following morning at the Vet River to the south of the town. We did not advance very fast, as we expected that we should soon once more have to face the difficulty of marching with exhausted horses. In the afternoon we continued our way till we had passed Tabaksberg.
In spite of the defeat at Winburg and the repulse at Ladybrand, there still remained a fair number of broken and desperate men in the Free State who held out among the difficult country of the east. A party of these came across in the middle of September and endeavoured to cut the railway near Brandfort.
He had a slight success at Doornberg on 7 November, when his force amounted to 2000 men; but Botha now came south into the Orange State and completely defeated De Wet on the 11th to the east of Winburg. De Wet himself escaped and attempted a junction with Beyers who had fled south from the Transvaal.
Word Of The Day
Others Looking