Chapter 31

THE GUERILLA WARFARE IN THE TRANSVAAL:
NOOITGEDACHT

Leaving De Wet in the Ficksburg mountains, where he lurked until after
the opening of the New Year, the story of the scattered operations in
the Transvaal may now be carried down to the same point -- a story
comprising many skirmishes and one considerable engagement, but so
devoid of any central thread that it is difficult to know how to
approach it. From Lichtenburg to Komati, a distance of four hundred
miles, there was sporadic warfare everywhere, attacks upon scattered
posts, usually beaten off but occasionally successful, attacks upon
convoys, attacks upon railway trains, attacks upon anything and
everything which could harass the invaders. Each General in his own
district had his own work of repression to perform, and so we had best
trace the doings of each up to the end of the year 1900.

Lord Methuen after his pursuit of De Wet in August had gone to
Mafeking to refit. From that point, with a force which contained a
large proportion of yeomanry and of Australian bushmen, he conducted a
long series of operations in the difficult and important district
which lies between Rustenburg, Lichtenburg, and Zeerust. Several
strong and mobile Boer commandos with guns moved about in it, and an
energetic though not very deadly warfare raged between Lemmer, Snyman,
and De la Rey on the one side, and the troops of Methuen, Douglas,
Broadwood, and Lord Errol upon the other. Methuen moved about
incessantly through the broken country, winning small skirmishes and
suffering the indignity of continual sniping. From time to time he
captured stores, wagons, and small bodies of prisoners. Early in
October he and Douglas had successes. On the 15th Broadwood was
engaged. On the 20th there was a convoy action. On the 25th Methuen
had a success and twenty-eight prisoners. On November 9th he
surprised Snyman and took thirty prisoners. On the 10th he got a
pom-pom. Early in this month Douglas separated from Methuen, and
marched south from Zeerust through Ventersdorp to Klerksdorp, passing
over a country which had been hardly touched before, and arriving at
his goal with much cattle and some prisoners. Towards the end of the
month a considerable stock of provisions were conveyed to Zeerust, and
a garrison left to hold that town so as to release Methuen's column
for service elsewhere.

Hart's sphere of action was originaUy round Potchefstroom. On
September 9th he made a fine forced march to surprise this town, which
bad been left some time before with an entirely inadequate garrison to
fall into the hands of the enemy. His infantry covered thirty-six and
his cavalry fifty-four miles in fifteen hours. The operation was a
complete success, the town with eighty