The Transvaal.

Manawatu Herald, 10 May 1900, Page 2

The Transvaal.

BATTLE OF BRANDFORT.

Further and more detailed informa- [ tion has come to hand of the advance , northwards from Bloemfontein and the capture of the advanced Boer position at Brandfort. It appears that when the troops had moved as fat as Karee, Lord Roberts heliographed from a kopje to the different divisional commanders ordering a co-ordination of the British movements, against a force of four thousand Boers who held a strong line of defences. In accordance with these instructions Major-General lan Hamilton's Colonial Brigade followed a line of kopjes to the east, while Major-General Tucker's 7th Division advanced nearer to the line of Communication. Major-General Pole-Carew (3rd Division) moved up to the centre, and Major-General Hutton took his Colonial Division on a wide detour, and arriving unexpectedly to the east of Brandfort, seized a number of unoccupied kopjes. The colonials then opened a raking j fire on the enemy from the 9th Battery R. A., driving the Boers on to the plains towards the hills overlooking the town. Several shells were magnificently placed in the midst of the enemy. Colonel Rimington's Guides then seized the hills, when the enemy vacated the town. Lieutenant-General Maxwell's 14th Brigade was in the meantime forcmg the Boer position to the eastwards and the whole section of the Boer army in that direction streamed north nearly losing a convoy and some guns. The commandant ot the town was captured while ' returning to destroy the telegraph instruments. Reuter's correspondent states that Colonel Blake's Irish-American Brigade was in a state of riot, and had refused to fight. The mercenaries merely manned some kopjes near the town. ' LORD ROBERTS. . Lord Roberts has reported to the War Office a further success on the part of the British troops at the Vet river. Major-General Hutton's artillery shelled the enemy's position at the river for three hours on Saturday after which the nlounted infantry of his brigade made a dashing advance, and succeeded in turning the enemy's right flank. Then the brigade forced the passage of the stream in the face of a heavy fire from the Boer musketry and artillery. In the forward movements from Brandfort Field-Marshal Lord Roberts personally accompanied LieutenantGeneral Pole-Carew's column as far as the Vet, leaving his headquarters staff with Major-General Wavell's Brigade, two miles in the rear. Major-General Maxwell's Brigade moved in support of the Carew division, two miles to the right. At latest reports the Commander-in-Chief has reached Smaldeel, where the Winburg railway branches off from the main line. POSITION OF VARIOUS DIVISIONS. The various British forces in the eastern part of the Free State have been particularly active during the past week. At latest advices Brigadier-General Brabant's column, of South African troops occupies a position near Dewetsdorp ; Lieut-General Rundle's force is in occupation of Thabanchu : and Lieutenant-General French with his cavalry division is busily engaged in operations at the front. <J BOUND FOR PRETORIA. The general impression in official circles at Capetown is that Lord Roberts intends to make a rapid advance upon Pretoria. PREPARING FOR THE END. It is again reported from the Transvaal that the Boers of that State are busy fortifying Lydenburg, a town to the north-east of Pretoria, and stocking it with provisions, with the intention of making it their new capital. CAPTURE OF WINBURG. After having forced the passages of the Vet River, the British troops marched on to Winburg, some twelve miles further to the north-east. There they took possession of the town, capturing a Maxim gun and one piece of artillery. On examining the branch railway which connects Winburg with the main line at Smaldeel, Lieut.-General Hamilton's troops found packages of , high explosives laid down at intervals of 100 yards. Extensive captures of forage and railway material were made by General Hamilton's column on its arrival in the town. CAVALRY OPERATIONS. The junction of two forces of Boers was prevented by Lieut.-General lan Hamilton's column- on' Friday in the course of its advance-to the Vet River. The Household the Twelfth Lancers, and the. South African mounted corps known as Kitchener's Horse, charged between the crossing-in columns and inflicted heavy loss upon them. The enemy were put to flight, and forced to the unusual course, with them, of leaving their dead and wounded on the field. THE SMALDEEL DISTRICT. An examination of the farmhouses j in the Smaldeel district revealed the ' fact that they were minature arsenals.

The Boers have destroyed a bridge and a number of culverts to the northwards.

General Lucas Meyer (who led the Boers at the Battle of Dundee) was in command of the enemy's forces on the Vet River. The loss amongst his commando amounted to forty killed.

MAFEKING RELIEF FORCE.

Lieut.-General Sir Archibald Hunter, leader of the southern expedition for the relief of Mafeking, after crossing the Vaal River, sent MajorGeneral Barton's Brigade to dislodge three thousand Boers from Klipdam and Windsorton, towns to the southeast of the river, who were posted on hilly and bushy ground at Rooidam. The enemy's front extended for four miles, and a severe engagement was fought. At five hundred yards the Boers opened fire on the Imperial Yeomanry, who were approaching in extended order. A few men were hit and several horses killed . The British infantry fought at close quarters on ridge after ridge. Ultimately, as their line of retreat was threatened, the enemy retired, leaving thirteen dead on the field, while a batch of others were captured by the British. The British casualties were five men killed and twenty-five wounded, the latler being mostly Welsh Fusiliers. The Imperial Yeomanry chased the enemy for miles to the northwards. Colonel Arthur Paget, of the and Scots Guards, at Warrenton, just south of the Vaal, kept the Boers of that district busy, and prevented them sending reinforcements to the commandoes at Wicdsorton. BOERS DRIVEN BACK. Later news shows that MajorGeneral Hunter's forces have expelled the Boers from Fourteen Streams. » General Hunter in his report of his latest operations pays a tribute to the gallantry of the Yedmanry. The British troops are now encamped on the northern bank, but several thousands of the enemy occupy positions to the northward, posted in a semi-circular form. GENERAL RUNDLE'S COLUMN. Lieut.-General Rundle, Commander of the Eighth Division, is in pursuit of the Boers who were lately in the Thabanchu district. When last heard of they got as far as Branspruit. EVACUATION OF THABANCHU. The British troops around Thabanchu, Koransberg and Fricksburg in the eastern districts of the Free State are enclosing great herds of cattle, food stuffs and fodder. It is officially announced that the Boers have withdrawn from Thabanchu and Major-General Rundle's troops occupy the enemy's positions, which were found to be exceedingly strong. BOERS LEAVING NATAL. Reports from Natal show that the Boers, who have hitherto been in considerable strength in the Biggarsberg Ranges, between Ladysmith and Glencoe, are now rapidly leaving the colony. v It is estimated that not more than five thousand now confront General Buller's army on the south-west side of the Biggarsbergs.