ose and much might be won. A new Afrikander Republic would
bring back the old days for which they had never ceased to long for.
It was from this class of malcontents that De Wet drew the bulk of his
men. The rest were religious fanatics, disgruntled politicians,
wastrels and adventurers.

We have said previously that De Wet's recruits were poorly organized.
It was a weakness of this brilliant guerrilla fighter that he could
not maintain discipline when handling a large body of men, and the
sort of troops he was working with in the rebellion called for the
sternest kind of authority to make them effective soldiers. He only
enjoyed a month of freedom and covered considerable territory, but he
accomplished very little from a military point of view. He could not
follow the same tactics that he had employed in the Boer war with
equal success now. At home on the back of a horse, it was impossible
for him to slip through the enemy's lines as of old when there were
motor cars to pursue. He began his campaign with an action at Winburg
where he defeated a small loyalist commando under Cronje, and where
one of his sons was killed.

A battle of considerable importance was fought on November 12, 1914,
at Marquard to the east of Winburg. General Botha and his Transvaal
commando by a forced night march had reached Winburg the day before
and getting in touch with De Wet's forces encircled them on the east
and northeast. Colonel Brandt at the same time led his commando from
Winburg within easy reach of De Wet, while General Lukin and Colonel
Brits moving forward from the west completed the hemming in of the
enemy. General Botha's commando attacked De Wet's forces and defeated
them with great loss. If General Lukin and Colonel Brits had not been
delayed in taking up their positions all the rebels would have been
captured. The victory was especially of far-reaching importance
because it discouraged De Wet's hopes and strengthened the loyalist
cause. All of De Wet's stores of food and ammunition were taken, and a
hundred carts, wagons and motor cars, while the prisoners numbered
about 250.

De Wet, with a Boer commando in pursuit, now fled up the Vet River,
then turning south at Boshof, divided his decreasing force into two
divisions. Leading one of these he turned again north, reaching the
Vaal River with only 25 men remaining of the 2,000 he had fought with
at Marquard.

Beaten back by a loyal outpost he succeeded in crossing the Va