Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1900-01-31
By the Military Men Of
Many Nations
THE PLAN OF CAMPAIGN
That They Think Should be Mapped
Out-A South African Tells of the
Sons Fighting Where Their Fathers
Fought Years Ago. !

number of the North American eview
the Transvaal var is discussed by Lieu
tenant General John F. Owen, of the
Royal army (Polish), Captain Fritz
Hoenig. of the German army (retired1:
Major General o. o. Howard, u, s. IA.
(retired); Henry Crust. formerly editor
of the Pail Nal Gazette. and DIR. j, C.
Voigt. author of Fifty Years of the Re-
public in South Africa
General Owen says that "the Boer
strategy has been excellent and that 'In
military intellige nee they have shown
first rate organization. They have
taught us a lesson in the use Of heavy
guns of position. which they move with
comparative ra,pidity in the field. Rapid
firing guns of small calibre of most re-
cent pattern are largely used often with
terrible effect. Their artillery has been
well handled. mostly by their nercenar-
les, but the ammunition used has been
very defective"
Speaking of the Brltisoh strategy, Gen.
eral Owen says that it is difficult to
judge OF 1t without knowing the exact
reasons debating departure from the
original plan, but it seems to him THAT it
WouVd have been better to have carried
out the first plan at all costs, though one
army corps would not have sufticed. The
intelligence department., he says, has not
bsen successful.
Captain Hoenig takes the view that
"England's first mistake coIpsls ted in the
fact that her political and military ac-
ton, which was evidently intended to
bear an offensive character, did not keep
pace with each other"
Captain Hcenig estimates the Boer
forces at mot far short of 5000, men,
and he figures that 1.-The English forces
IN the field must at the very least reach
a total of 10000 men, If England lis to
drive back her antagonists 10y force of
arms and dictate Deace at Pref oria. In
addition to this large force about 40. 600
men VIII be required in Natal n in
Cape Colony for minor eventualities as
well as for the protection of the railway
lines, ETC."
General Howard briefly reviews the
campaign up to the time of General Bull
ler's first attempt to cross the Tugela
river. Viewing the situation as it then
stood. he says Lord Roberts must choose
one Of three lines OF advance SO soon as
he a enough men to work out a de-
clsive movement. Dwelling upon the
military proble ms before the new COM
n1allder-in-chief of the British forces in
South Africa ne says:
will he take The Durham Nne? 1t is
the shortest. but it is the most difficult
to carry and has the Boer troops to de-
fend it. viii he choose the line through
the Orange Free State? Possibly, but I
1890 ~ 80 "
clear those cross railways and SECURE the
country below to the Orange river that
he may ave the connecting VS.
from Molteno via M~iddleburg to De Aar
as a secondary base. That could be done
promptly. Than he could go forward
rapidly, repairing the western railroad
above De Aar as he pushed on to join
Methuen. Then crush Cronje's force,
relieve Kimberley and at once break
across eastward to the central railroad
/ q I'd q tE~rt xD,l fo~ 10 noa lsl -Ix,~-~
upon Pretoria. OF course Joubert would
retire from Colenso and L~adysnith the
instant he saw Lord Roberts plan. Then
Butler could pick up General Whites
force of 5000 and press along with vigor
to keep al many Boer soldiers as pos
sible there to oppose his threats against
johannesburg and Pretoria by that route.
"If, after the crushing defeat of Cron-
je, Jouber and his stalwart president did
not make peace, probably there would be
first a hard fought battle near Kronstad
and another-the last one-at Johannes
burg"
Mr.. Crust, who writes on THE Dutch
in South Africa" says in one paragraph:
"A thousand voices tell us that it is the
land greed. the gold greed, the empire
greed Of England that have made the
war. England, they scream, is the con-
quering tyrant of free nations. Yet 1T is
a French-born government. loyal to ENG
land, that sends troops to the front from
Canada and it is a Dutch government.
loyal to England that is in power at the
Cape to-day. Formulas grow meaning
less by repetition, but what truth they
carry is unchanged. When England
claims equal rights for all white men
south Of the Zambesi,' she says what gem
erations in practice have proved true.
that in Cape Colony and Natal and Rho
desia the Boer stands OF exactly the
same footing with the English born and.
more. that in no English colony Of the
world has the proudest, richest English
man one lonely political or commercial
advantage over the humblest and poor
est foreign immigrant" .e
DR.. Voight concludes his interesting
article OF THE Afrikanders in Natal"
with the following: 1.-The largest army
which England has eve had on the bat
tlefield in South Africa-over $1,000 men
horse. foot and artillery with powerful
guns from British warships and with
lyddite shells to help them-has been
hurled back from the upper Tugela line.
losing 1000 men in killed, wounded
prisoners and also all guns Z : Y
ION the Tugeha, where h fathers died
in 1888, aye, and south of the Tuegla, are
the sons now on the 18th day of Decem-
Der. 1899. They are there with Lucas
Meyers. with Louie BOuha, whose mother
was in the laager on the .Bushman's river
in 1888 and with Schalk. Bueger, whose
father was .outlawed and prescribed by
IL IIuIISA 6ON Cl tiiIlCluL I'LL ven 0NAOSS
Drakensburg in 1912.
"They stand on the Tugela while in
the background the great Drakensbure
mountains where the snow white ever
lastingly CLOVIS. rear thsir topmost. peaks
above the clouds. The British general
has asked for IN armistice to bury his
dead-on the 10Th of December-to bury
! his dead in the very ground where res!
some of the bones of the murdered Vooi
trekkers. 'Avenge 'Majuba.' the crowds
have shouted in London and at Durham