The evening times., 1899-11-05
MONDAY. NOVEMBER 6, 1899.
Thursday,. sortie From Lady.mith.

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Thursday's Sortie From Ladysmith.
Yesterday the British military authori-
ties were evidently bent upon making the
most of last Thursdays fight, and
1t appears to have been treated
in London as a victory for Sir George
White. 1t is perfectly safe to say that it
was not so regarded at staff headquarters
or in the army clubs. Whatever may have
been the result to the fortunes or the pros
poets of the garrison, it must not be for
gotten that Thursday was four days ago,
and a situation like that at Ladysmith is
subject to many changes in that length
of time.
But the sortie no doubt was very i'm
portant one, and very likely accomplished
its immediate object, which. as We are
inclined to think, was to ascertain the
strength of the Free State forces south
west Of the town. Sir George White has
been aware of a movement from the west
OF his position, around to the south OF it,
from Besters Station, by way of Dewdrop
and Flagstone Spring. Here let us note
that some Of the dispatches today assume
which is improbable, as that place is north
west of Ladysmith, and not southwest, the
direction in which all reports agree the
affair took place. This movement. pre-
sumably- confined to the Orange Free State
forces, which have been massed to the west,
was supposed to have Whites rear and the
railway for its objective, and seemed to
indicate an intention to form junction
with Gen. Lucas Meyers left wing, for
the purpose of an attack on Colenso.
From what We can learn of the assault
upon and occupation of that place, ii does
not appear that the Free Staters took part
in it, the reports all stating that the attack
was made from the east and presumably
by detachment from Meyers division. If
this view be correct it would indicate that
the Free State troops, at least on Thursday,
were still southwest or south of Ladysmith.
somewhere between Dewdrop and Onder-
brock. Now, the deduction from the scan
ty news of the sortie is that a greater part
of the commands in question had been
detached from the laager at Dewdrop and
moved farther southeast, as a column mo-
bile. We can hardly think that otherwise
the small brigade under Colonel Brockle-
hurst could have defeated the enemy and
captured their camp as We are told they
did. Unless all recent statements have
been great exaggerations. the Orange troops
number ten or eleven thousand; but even
If they were only half that number it ap-
pears open to doubt that they should have
been routed by a column which could not
have exceeded twenty or twenty-five hun
dred men at most
This brings us to the question of Whites
object in ordering the sortie. Allowing
the correctness of the statement that he
has been instructed to hold Ladysmith until
the last man drops; ii does not follow tha.
he would be obliged to devote his entire
command to slaughter by siege guns, if he
were unable to reply to them, or to attack
the enemy without any chance of delivering
an effective blow. He may and probably
don: namely, that Joubert is bringing
down from Pretoria number of powerful
long-range siege guns, the existence of
which the British war intelligence Office
has been in ignorance until within few
days. The Transvaal general is believed
to have been waiting for the emp,acemen,
of these destroyers before beginning Sc
rious. operations against the garrison.
:. 1t is quite possible that when Joube-t
should open on Sir George White with this
artillery, which the latter has nothing TO
match against, Ladysmith might be found
spntenabIe, and retreat the only alternative |
to humiliation. Then it might occur to
the British general 10 make break to the |
southwest. The strategical purpose o.
Thursdays sortie might perhaps be ex-
plainable on this theory.
On looking at the frontier traced on the |
map of Natal. it is seen that possible |
line of retreat. other than that toward the |
coast, is offered in the proximity Of Basu-
toland, which might be reached in a march |
of fifty or sixty miles over a very rough |,
country. but one that would afford a great |
deal of cover to force retiring and fight |
ing on the defensive. The topography of |
the area necessary to be traversed might |
preclude resort to this line, except in the |
most desperate circumstances; but, sup
posing the British garrison able to cut |
its way out, the idea that Sir George |
White might take his chance of reaching
the territory Of the friendly Basutus, and |
of thus getting closer to relief by way of |
the Orange Free State--the feasibility of
receiving help from Durham being now
remote and growing remoter-is perhaps a
plausible one.
Reed fn a Flat.