Manawatu Herald. TUESDAY, NOV. 14, 1899. The Mistake of the Boers.

Manawatu Herald, 14 November 1899, Page 2

Manawatu Herald. TUESDAY, NOV. 14, 1899. The Mistake of the Boers.

The more we examine into the present manner of fighting and the weapons j employed, the more glaring appears to be the mistake the Boers have made by invading Natal and actually commencing hostilities. The sketch given by the author of " The future war " of the ease with which a defending force can secure itself from attack by the use of the withering fire of quick firing guns, through which it is impossible for an attacking force to make its way has been illustrated by the news of the attempt of the Boers to storm Mafeking, a small town on a dry plain, only defended by lately erected earthworks, yet the investing forces were unable to withstand the Maxim and rifle fire of the defenders, and at last fled in a panic. The Boers are experiencing the same difficulty at Ladysmith, and •inless they have secured artillery of " better type than they have been using, the massing of all their troops around this town will have been of little value. If the cable news is correct the Boers appear to have denuded Johannesburg of all their men to bring them up to Ladysmith, and the Orange Free State forces seem also to have wandered away from their own land into the Cape Colony and adjoining British territories. These mistakes may help materially to shorten the war, for had they but remained behind the naturally fortified boundaries of the Transvaal they could have occassioned a deal of trouble to the British. As they are obligingly waiting around Ladysmith until the army corps arrives, which is now nearing South Africa, the Boers will find themselves in a particularly awkward position, as it is said the main attack on Pretoria will be made by travelling along the railway line that runs from Port Elizabeth right through the Orange Free State. The force near Kimberley and Mafeking will be withdrawn by the Boers to raise opposition to such a movement, but unless they move at once, which they do not seem to be doing, the railway will take the British forces quicker into the State than the troops on the western frontier can reach by road. And of course directly they move away from Mafeking and Kimberley they release the forces there which will then be in a position to attack them on the rear whilst they are opposing the invading British forces. It appears clear also that the Boers do not number particularly strong in this direction. A stronger British force is to be sent to Ladysmith, and if the Boers endeavour to return to the Transvaal on hearing of the invading force proceeding up the Orange Free State, they have only three ways of getting there, Van Reenan's Pass, De Beers Pass, and Laings Nek. It will have to be a very carefully thought out retreat to prevent a great 'disaster, as by the time the Boers move, the British force will be nearly as numerous as the Boers, and they will follow up and block the retreating forces at all the passes. It would have been better for the Boers of the Transvaal if the Orange Free State had kept neutral, as then the entrance to Natal i would have had to be effected by the Buluwayo railway line at Mafeking, or by the Laing's Nek which, as we know to our cost is a very easy place to defend. It seems likely that we shall learn of the Boers retreating if they find this last bombardment of Ladysmith is as ineffectual as the preceeding ones. i Should the greater portion of the Boers now around Ladysmith get away behind the mountains of their boundaries the large. British force at

Ladysmith would be of little use, and would probably be withdrawn to Port Elizabeth to join the invading army, as the General in command is determined to pick his own route to Pretoria, and through open country, and he will not waste his men or money by trying to force the passes. We may yet hear of a strong army corps getting to the Transvaal by Delagoa Bay, as it would place the Boers in a trap, but there is a fear that the short run through the Portuguese territory, which is low-lying and ■ fever-stricken, would be too deadly to British troops. As each day goes bye the news from the seat of war will be- 1 come increasingly interesting. j