Omaha daily bee., 1899-10-08
SIZING UP THE FIGHTERS
Instructive Review Of the Armies Preparing G
for Battle in South Africa
MARKED CHANGES SINCE MAJUBA Hill
Trnnsvnnrs Fine Little Army, Equip
ment and Modern Forts-British
CoIonists Proat by Previ-
Gus Experiences.

Colonists Proat by Previ-
GUS Experiences.
IA little British army goes big, long
way" sang the enthus iastic Londoners after
the victory at Omdurman and the crushing
of the Soudan rebels. The same song, with
the "Boer" substituted for British, might
now be sung by the fighting farmers of the
Transvasl In the face OF the foemen who are
gathering at the narrow passes leading to
the land rich In gold that the Englishmen
covet. Putting figures in parallel columns
gives no idea Of the comparative strength of
the British and the Beers, says a writer in
the Washington Post The Boer in his own
country has so far proved himself to be in
vincible, and, with a repeating rifle and his
huge cartridge belt filed he does not fear
to face an army Of British soldiers, though
they outnumber the Boer forces ten to one.
"One shall chase a thousand and two shall
put 10000 to flight" is a biblical promise
that the Beers believe was written especially
for them. With Majuba Hill still fresh in the
minds OF the present generation, the sturdy
Dutchmen may be excused for the seem
ing conceit.
But great changes have taken place in the
Transvaal since Majuba Hill. Then the Boer
army was simply a collection Of patriotic
farmers who were organized only so far as
men with common cause coming together
for common purpose to fight for their
hearths and homes would naturally be organ
lied. Such thing as fighting according to
the European method was not thought Of
and neither was It necessary, as the crush
ing defeat OF the British regulars proved.
The willy Boer, however, realized that 1t
would hardly he OF to tha nil
tory of Majuba Hill. The Lesson could not
fail 30 have its effect, and the Boer must be
ready to try new tactics the next time. The
next time, now close at hand finds the Boer
with his new tactics learned, and everything
as much In readiness for coup In 1899 as it
was in 1881.
Forts of tho Transvaal.
Now the Transvaal is fortified with mod
ern strongholds that are crammed with am
munition and bristling with ordnance. The
soldiers are organized and trained in the art
of war; every branch Of the service and es-
pecially the artillery, is thoroughly equipped
and considering the smallness OF the ter
ritory they are called upon to defend, there
is no reason why the Boer army should not
be every inch as good, if not superior, to any
| force that Great Britain could send against
them. I'VE shall probably lose q lot Of mon.
but we must win eventually" was the way
| in which a prominent British diplomat
| summed UP the position to the writer few
| days ago. This seems to be the accepted
| Idea of most who take a cursory glance at
| the size Of the two nations. But look at the
| situation:
The Boer army today numbers 40, 900 men,
every man of whom is a sharpshooter, an
| athlete, man accustomed to a life in the
open, tmbued with love OF country that is
toiy N.f fo,e
| to fight to the last gasp and confident OF the
ability of the army of which he is a unit
| to defeat anything that can come against it.,
| numbers being of no account at all in his
calculations To form correct idea Of the
formidable nature of this army, imagine a
force made up of $4,000 men Of the calibre
| OF our Rough Riders, fighting to the death
on their native soil. Could any army of Eu-
| ropean makeup force passes guarded by
| such body of men as these? Gunners
toiling up the passes to place their pieces
would be picked off at long range, like
deer on a hillside. To increase the attack
ing force would only add to the slaughter
To Force the Passes.
Should the sharpshooters fall to keep back
the storming army that must force Laings
Mex to get to the Transvaal the British
will find they have to cope with as fine
body Of artillery as the worlds armies pos
sess. The guns are of the very newest pat
tern, the gunners trained marksmen This
magnificent artillery comprises the second
line that the British must face after fore
ing back skirmishers who have never yet
been beaten at their own particular style of
fighting
After the forcing of the passes into the
Transvaal, what? Then the British must
win their way step by STEP for the Beers
ground over their dead bodies, Should the
first line Of defense be killed to a man,
the British must still capture the forts
that the Beers have built These forts
were planned by skilled engineers and
built and armed by men who understood
modern war throughout. Who helped
Dom Paul and his associates In the build
ing OF these Notifications 1t is not neces-
sary to inquire. Those who did It certainly
knew their business. On the road to
Johannesburg the British will encounter
fort that has been declared to be little
short OF impregnabe II the British could
not hold a hill against the terrible accu-
rate Boer fire, how can they storm a fort
that is armed, In addition to the Boer
rifles, with modern ordnance and manned
by gunners who know as much, IL not
| more, about the science Of gunnery than
On the other hand there are many who
| predict that the Beers will take the ini-
| tiative and, with a quick dash across the
| border before the bulk Of the British
forces can arrive, have Cape Colony at
| their mercy. Here the mistake is made OF
supposing that the British have not taken
warning by the signs OF the coming storm.
! Never were the troops OF the queen in
better shape at Cape Colony than at pres
| ent.
The Positions of the Forces.
| On the east and southeast OF the Trans
| vaal and to the east of the Orange Free
| State lies the colony Of Natal, OF which
| kululand is now a province. This region
eteems with battle memories in connection
- jith the last Boer and Zulu campaigns.
Jim 1t there are now three military sta
! ions-Pietermartizburg Ladysmith ana
! Eshowe. A railway runs up from Durham
or Port Natal through Pietermarltzburg
and Ladysmith to the border township of
charlestown. whence 1t is continued
through Transvaal territory to Johannes
burg. The angle formed by the Newcastle
| district, which juts out between the South
| African republic and the Orange Free
State, is position OF great Importance, d
fact clearly recognized by the British mil
itary authorities in the formation OF a