Something almost miraculous now happened! Hardly had we been three hours
across the river when it became completely unfordable!
We
knew that we should have now a few days at least in which to rest ourselves,
and we marched slowly to the farm of Lubbeshoop. From there I sent General
Fourie to operate in the south-eastern districts, where he had been before,
and despatched Judge Hertzog to the south-western districts.
We
were of the opinion that we should be able to do better work if we divided
the commandos up into small parties. We could not risk any great battles,
and, if we divided our forces, the English would have to divide their forces
too.
The commandos were now divided as follows:
1.
The district of Kroonstad: the men under Commandants Philip De Vos, Jan
Cilliers and Maree.
Sub-district of Heilbron: the men under Commandants F.E. Mentz, Lucas
Steenekamp and J. Van de Merwe.
All of these were under Vice-Commander-in-Chief Johannes Hattingh.
2.
The district of Vrede: the men under Commandants Ross and Manie Botha.
Sub-district of Harrismith: the men under Commandants Jan Meijer, Jan
Jacobsz,[91] and (at a later period) Brukes.
All of these were under Vice-Commander-in-Chief Wessel Wessels.
3.
The district of Winburg: the men under Commandant Hasebroek.
The sub-district of Ladybrand: the men under Commandant Koen.
The sub-district of Ficksburg: the men under Commandant Steyn.[92]
The sub-district of Bethlehem: the men under Commandant Michal Prinsloo.
All of these men were under Vice-Commander-in-Chief C.C. Froneman.
4.
The district of Boshof: the men under Commandant J.N. Jacobsz, P. Erasmus
and H. Theunissen.[93]
Sub-district of Hoopstad: the men under Commandants Jacobus Theron (of
Winburg) and A.J. Bester (of Brandfort).
All of these were under Vice-Commander-in-Chief C.C.J. Badenhorst.
5.
The district of Philippolis: the men under Commandants Munnik and Hertzog.
Sub-district of Fauresmith: the men under Commandant Charles Nieuwouwdt.
Sub-district of Jacobsdal: the men under Commandant Hendrik Pretorius.
Sub-district of Petrusburg: the men under Commandant Van du Berg.
All of these were under Vice-Commander-in-Chief Judge J.B.M. Hertzog, who
also was in command of the western part of Bloemfontein.
6.
The district of the southern part of Bloemfontein: the men under Commandants
Ackerman and Willem Kolbe.
Sub-district of Thaba'Nchu: the men under Commandant J.P. Strijl (a member
of the Volksraad).
Sub-districts of Bethulie and Smithfield: the men under Commandant Gideon
Joubert.
Sub-district of Rouxville: the men under Commandant Frederik Rheeders.
Sub-district of Wepener: the men under Commandant R. Coetzee.
All of these were under Vice-Commander-in-Chief Piet Fourie, and later on
under George Brand.
Not long after this arrangement had been made the district under General
Froneman was divided into two divisions, and Commandant Michal Prinsloo was
promoted to be Vice-Commander-in-Chief of Bethlehem and Ficksburg as
separate sub-districts. Bethlehem was then given three Commandants, namely,
Commandants Olivier, Rautenbach and Bruwer.
All this new arrangement of our forces made it impossible for great battles
to be fought; it offered us the opportunity of frequently engaging the enemy
in skirmishes, and inflicting heavier losses upon them than would otherwise
have been the case. For the same reason our losses grew larger from month to
month, but they did not increase in the same proportion as those of the
enemy. Again, we captured more prisoners than formerly. It is much to be
regretted that we were unable to keep them, for had we been in a position to
do so, the world would have been astonished at their number. But
unfortunately we were now unable to retain any of our prisoners. We had no
St. Helena, Ceylon or Bermuda, whither we could send them. Thus, whilst
every prisoner which the English captured meant one less man for us, the
thousands of prisoners we took from the English were no loss to them at all,
for in most cases it was only a few hours before they could fight again. All
that was required was that a rifle should be ready in the camp on a
prisoner's return, and he was prepared for service once more.
The fact that we fought throughout the Free State in small detachments, put
the English to some trouble, for they felt themselves obliged to discover a
vocabulary of names to apply to us!
Thus when Lord Roberts on the 24th of May, 1900, proclaimed the Orange Free
State (and afterwards the Transvaal) as annexed by the British Crown, he
described those who continued to fight as rebels. Then again we were called
"Sniping Bands" and "Brigands." But the list of epithets was not exhausted
yet, for it appeared that we were "Guerillas," and our leaders "Guerilla
Chiefs!"
I
was always at a loss to understand by what right the English designated us "Guerillas."
They had, however, to withdraw the soubriquet at the Peace Negotiations,
when they acknowledged that our leaders formed a legal government.
Let me say a few words more about this term "Guerillas." We will suppose
that England has captured New York, St. Petersburg, Berlin, Paris,
Amsterdam, or any other capital of a free and independent State, Kingdom or
Empire, and that the Government of such State, Kingdom or Empire still
continues to defend itself. Would England then be entitled to call their
antagonists "Guerillas"? Or, we will suppose that England's capital has been
taken by another nation, but the English Government still remains in
existence. Could England then be considered to be annexed by the other
nation, and could the enemy term the English "Guerillas"? Surely it would be
impossible!
The only case in which one can use this word, is when one civilized nation
has so completely vanquished another, that not only is the capital taken,
but also the country from border to border is so completely conquered that
any resistance is out of the question.
But that nothing like this had happened in South Africa is clear to every
one who recalls the names of Lindley,[94] Roodewal, Dewetsdorp, Vlakfontein,
Tafelkop[95] and Tweefontein, not to speak of many other glorious
battle-fields on which we fought after the so-called annexation.
Nor must we forget to mention the defeat that Lord Methuen received at the
hands of General De la Rey immediately before the conclusion of peace; a
defeat which put the crown on all our victories.
But, as I have already said, it very soon appeared that when England stamped
us as "Guerillas," they really did not mean to use the word at all.
[91] Veldtcornet Franz Jacobsz was afterwards appointed in the place of this
Commandant, who resigned.
[92] When this Commandant resigned, Veldtcornet J.J. Van Niekerk was
appointed in his place.
[93] When, at a later period, Commandant Theunissen was put in command of
the burghers of Fauresmith, Commandant Mijburg was appointed in his place.
This latter Commandant was afterwards killed.
[94] Where the yeomanry were captured.
[95] (District Vrede)—encounter with Brabant's Horse.
