THE WAR.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXXXII, Issue 81, 5 April 1900, Page 2

THE WAR.

[Bt Electric Telegraph.—Copyuiqh*] - [pur press association.] i THE KQQRNSPRUIT AMBUSH, i ORGANISED BY A GERMAN-AMERICAN. NEW ZEALANDERS SUFFER SEVERELY. (Received 4, B.GO a.m.) London, April 3. Later details show that with a view of harassing Major-General Broad wood, a German-American named Reichmann organised the ambush at Koornspruit. He occupied the river bed, allowing the convoy to plunge into a steep donga, which was surrounded by invisible riflemen and machine guns. The scouts and artillery waggons entered the spruit unsuspectingly, and the enemy lived from a stone enclosure on a knoH and elsewhere, also from a doublo tier in front. Battery " W," of the Royal Horse Artillery (Major Taylor), lost seven guns. Battery "Q" (Major Hornby), Rimington's Guides, Roberts' Hors*, the Burmese and New Zealand , Mounted Infantry all fell into the ambush and suffered severely, but, rally- > ing, covered the retreat which followed. When Battery " Q " was challenged , to surrender General Broadwood, col- ; lecting hisforees, struggled heroically and foughthis way across the river near ' the waterworks, and seized Boslan's | kopje.

Roberts' Horse and the New Zealanders gallantly kept the Boers at bay under heavy fire at a thousand yards range until Major-Central Colville, after a magnificent night march of 18 miles, arrived and extricated Broadwcod.

Major-General Colville, with the assistance of Major-General Hector Mac Donald's Brigade, turned the enemy's flank, compelling them to retreat to a distant laager on the further side of the rivor.

Lord Roberts, in a later message, mentions a report that ihe enemy retired towards Ladybrand, leaving 12 British wounded officers and 70 men at Bloemfontein waterworks.

The rescue of the eighth gun of the " V " Battery was due to Sergt.-Major Martin galloping back with a warning of the danger. The Boers, during the retreat, were seen transferring the captured convoy to their rear.

Various accounts are given of Commandant Ollivier's movements. One states that finding he was not pursued, and wishing to terrorise the Free Staters who had already surrendered, he detached portions of his rearguard in the vicinity of Winburg and Ladybrand.

Rimington's Guides and Roberts' Horse rode right into the midst of the Boers at Koornspruit engagement. The enemy, shouting " You need go nc further; you are all prisoners," opened' fire with machine guns, st.itnpedinp' horses and creating a panic among tbi Kaffir drivers, The cavalry wheeled and retired at a gallop. Captain Prince Adolphus of Teck, who had chargo of tho convoy, escaped The i ewsp.pus f-harply criticise the l.iitncrt of precautions and l.ick cf efficient scouting.

OFFICERS AND MEN MADE ' I'M SON BUS. BKITISIf LOSSES. (Received 5, 1.35 a.m.) Lf-Nixm, Apiil 4. In General Bioadwood's disaster, the "U" battery was suddenly surrounded* and lost fivo guns. All the oilicers and men were made prisoners except two, without a shot being fired. No further engagement occurred, though the forces were continually iu touch with (he enemy. I Threo officers were killed at Koornspruit and 14 wounded, while three are missing. LORD ROBERTS' STATEMENT. A TASMANIA** WOUNDED. London, April 4. Lord Robsrts attribute the delay in forwarding the details of v Koornsprnit to wire interruptions and beclouded signalling. He adds *hat Lieut. Wajch, a, Tasmanian, attached to the "A" Battery, was severely wounded in/the arm. The battery was for hours under a cross fire at 1200 yards, the office ~s undertaking the serving of the j. ns, as the casualties had reduced the detachment. There were several gallant attempts to rescue two guns, but the horses were continually shot.

BOEKS USE MANY GUNS. A LAIIGE FOKCE OF THE ENEMY IN STKONG POSITION. London, April 4. The Boers used long-range Creuzot guns in Saturday's fighting, and brought into action a larger number of guns than in any recent action. Explosive bullets were also found. The Boers still hold the Bloemf'onteiu waterworks and a strong position on the right bank of the Modder river. Yuriou obumates place the number of Boers at ten to fifteen thousand. A large body of the enemy is moving south-west of Bloemfonteiu, in the direction of tho railway. The British infantry have been withdrawn to within eight miles of Bloemfoutein. The English nowspapors are despondent, and urge that thore has boen renewed vitality among tho northern Free Skaters, calculated to mediy the minor details of Lord Roberts' plan. The unanimous opinion is that Lord i.ioborts' firsli duty is to freo his flanks and assure the safety of his lines. WIAFEKING'S GALLANT RESISTANCE. AN ENCOURAGING MESSAGE IfJiOM JjOKO HOBEKT& Koceivt'd 4, 8.50 a.m. London, April 3 Hoborrg Jms Bout an o>ioMir*g-' i-.'g mu-sagCi to MiLkni;.', ?f!uii£ ihaj garrison to resist i little [on&er, |

BRITISH OFFICERS ESCAPE FROM PRETORIA. | (Receivod 4,10.26 a.m.) Capetown, April 3. Captain Haldane, of the Gordon and Lieut. Lemesurier, Royal Dublin Fusilfcrs, who waa captured «Jule fighting in Natal, reached] Delagoa Bay after a sensational esospsr" from Pretoria. lvMe\ awaiting an opportunity to transfer prisoners they hid eighteen days in a damp cramped hole underneath a prison, and lived on bread and water supplied by a confederate. * IMPRISONED MEN OF CRONJEB FORCE TYPHOID IN THE BANKS, Received 4, 9.10 a.m. Capetown, April 3J The mortality amongst the Simons* town prisoners from typhoid, contracted at Paardeberg camp, is increasing,

MISCELLANEOUS ITEMB. (Received 4, 9.20 a.m ) Capetown, April 3. lhe Atlantkn, withJbrNew South Wales Bushmen, TaTjusived here. They proceed to Rhodesia, via Beira. X London, April 3. ±ne steamer Jumna sailed with 429 immigrants for Queensland, including 178 spinsters. They agreed to manufacture comforts for colonial soldien at the front during the voyage. Lady Tozer, wife of the Queensland exMinisjjQr, accompanies tbem. THE MONOWM. LEFT ALBANY FOR CAPE. (Receivod G, 12.S a.m) Albany, April 4. The Monowai has sailed for Oaoe Town. THE AGENT-GENERAL'S WAR FICUREB. Wellington, April 4. The Hon. W. P. Reeves, Agent. General for New Zealand, in a letter to the Premier, justifying his estimate of the British losses and extent of the Boer forces, says the first was supported oy an estimate of casualties published in the English papers. As to the other point on which exception has been taken he quotes Mr. Wyndham's speech in the House of Commons, showing that the Boers had 69,000 males to draw from. He is convinced that his estimate was very nearly cor* rect, namely, that the Boers have never had more than 45,000 men in the field, and allowing JSOOO put out of action, the whole available force cannot exceed 40,000. He says: " I may add this is the view taken by Mr. J. B. Robinson, the well-known J African millionaire."

OUR FIRST CONTINGENT AT THE FRONT. THE KIMBERLEY BELIEF. Wellington, April 4. The Press Association's special with tho First Contingent, in a letter received by the Whakatane, says:—Nob, I and 2 companies, which had been separated since January 18, met at the Orange River. There they found large numbers of trooj s camped, including three new regiments of mounted io« fantry, whose movements afforded intense amusement to the New Zealanders. Nearly all tho men had been taken straight out of English infantry regiments and mounted on all sorts of horses and ponies, Colonial, Argentine, and Indian country bred. Many of them had no experience of horses whatever and the animals were suffering in consequence. __ On Friday, February 9, orders suddenly came to march at 7 p.m., Wing all impedimenta behind. The force was composed of the Uth Dragoxn Guards,^two squadrons of Roberts' Horse, three regiments of Imperial Mounted Infantry, and the New Zealanders. We little thought it was the beginning of a six days' march, the aim of which was the relief of Kimberley. At a place called Ramah, marked by a wire fence with cairns of stones on kopjes, we passed tho boundary of the Orange Free State, and it had an enlivening effect to feel that at last we , were going to carry war into tbe enemy's country. On Sunday we came in contact with tho enemy, who occupied a ridge of kopjes in force, and the men were under a hot fire for four hours in the blazing sun, unable to advance for want of cover, and almost entirely without water. At noon the order was given to retire, and the enemy then opened with two guns. Three fhells wore deliberately aimed at the ambulance, which was a thousand yards away from tho troops. We were lucky in having no casualties, as the men were targets for rifle fire all the time they were withdrawing. By some mistake a company of the Bedfords were Kft without orders, and a fow were taken prisoners by a ruse of the Boers, but the test made a dash and got away, with some wounded. Tho total loss that day was-about 60 killed and wounded, and 20 prisoner*. The forco then marched round the flank <>f tho ridge to Rendepan, where, for the first time in 32 hours, a number of the Mounted Infantry horses were watered. At Raindam we j lined a large force of all arms. Lords Roberts and Kitchener were there. We paraded at 2.30 am, and marched to Dskeil Mft, on the Riat River, which General French had cleared of tha ouewy the

day before. Aftsr a rest, a march of 23 hours, with one short halt at noon, brought ns to the Modder River, where | the Boers were surprised by Generr' French on the point of entrenching to prevent our crossing. They fled, leaving everything behind them. Next day there was a short engagement, theresult of which was to clear the enemy. from some kopjes barring our road to Kimberley, and then the whole force, now 8000 strong, moved on. Gaining some rising ground we suddenly came into full view of the town, and immediately a great cheer went up. On reaching within two miles of the Premier diamond mine a Boer gun opened fire andpLumped into the middle of the New Zealanders and two into the Queenslanders without doing any damage. The opposition was soon silenced. The army massed in close formation, and at a gate near the Premier mine the Kimberley town guard met and cheered us as we marched through in the dusk. The general and staff rode on into the centre of the town, while the force encamped round a dam, where the poor horses could obtain water, and we all lay down thankful to have the luck to form part of a force which had dealt the Boers their first great reverse. The New Zealanders may well be proud of having taken pnrt in the march to Kimberley. During six days' continuous march we had only 20 hours' sleep at night in all. On Sunday, 11th, we marched and fought for 21 hours, and on Tuesday and Wednesday night* we marched continuously for 23 hours without water, and fought again Thursday morning, after which we marched 25 miles to Kimberley. AU this under a blazing sun, the hottest we have felt in Africa. Every New Zealand herse that started on that march was there at the finish. Other horses were dropping dead every day, 40 artillery horses in one day. We are the only regiment, colonial or Imperial, so far as I can learn, which has not drawn a single remount since we have been in Africa, and we have had longer and more continuous work than almost any of them. They are a credit to New Zealand, and to the veterinary surgeons who selected them. The inhabitants we have seen so far look a great deal fatter and certainly cleaner and better dressed than we are. As we say in the colonies it is now "up to them" to relieve us,

OUR SECOND CONTINGENT. [PRESS ASSOCIATION COBBESrONDENT.] Wellington, April 4. Camp Maitland, February 28.—After disembarkation we marched to camp. Yesterday when Lord .Roberts wired for more men, some of the Australians were asked if they could get ready. They replied " No," but Major Cradock said "Yes," and in two hours No. 2 Company had left for Naauwpoort, the Major going with them. The battery of guns have arrived, but the ammunition will not be here for a day or two., There has been a little trouble reg >rding Major Yorston, who was sent out in charge of the guns. If he goes, he would, by seniority, be in command of the Contingent, to which Major Cradock naturally objects. The matter has been referred to New Zealand. No. 1 Company will probably go north this afternoon, and the battery will be under weigh in less than a week. Our' horses are admitted to be the best in camp.