ar, and the correct military principle of the original plan,
by him resumed, were clearly and quickly evident. Men from the Boer
forces before Ladysmith were assembling already around Paardeberg
before Cronje surrendered, seeking to relieve him, and Roberts on his
march to Bloemfontein fought not only them but others from Colesberg
and Stormberg, and generally from the regions over which French and
Gatacre had vainly striven to advance. How far this helped Buller in
his actual fighting before Ladysmith cannot certainly be said. The
comparative ease with which Hlangwane Hill was carried was probably
due chiefly to the correct direction given to the attack, while the
heavy loss of the following days, February 22-24, may also be assigned
to a frontal assault undertaken under a mistaken impression as to the
enemy's force. The Boers did not then fight like men who were merely a
rear guard covering a retreat. Nevertheless, there are indications
that their numbers had been materially weakened, and the consciousness
that Roberts's success {p.310} would necessitate the abandonment of
the siege may have affected the fighting, especially after Cronje's
surrender became known.

The effect at Colesberg and in the Stormberg region is less doubtful.
The imminence of Roberts's advance, when his purpose became apparent,
drew away so many of the enemy to oppose him that the task of Clements
and Gatacre became relatively easy and rapid. On March 15, two days
after the occupation of Bloemfontein, Clements, whose temporary
retirement has been noted, reached and held Norval's Pont, where the
line from Naauwport to Bloemfontein crossed the Orange; while Gatacre,
so long at a standstill, the same day occupied Bethulie, where the
road from East London bridges the river. These two points are only
about thirty miles apart, the converging roads meeting thirty miles
beyond, at Springfontein. This junction was occupied next day, March
16, by a brigade sent back by Roberts. By the holding of these points,
railroad communication was restored, in a military sense, from
Bloemfontein to Cape Town and to East London. {p.311} To assure it in
practice as well, there was needed only certain repairs, and adequate
guards disposed round these central positions.

Coincidently with the forward movement of Clements and Gatacre, a
similar advance upon the latter's right flank, and, in a sense,
covering it, was made by a colonial division of 2,000 men under a
colo