The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-01-24
THE SITUATION IN SOUTH AFRICA.

1t does not require any expert military
knowledge to see that the war in South
Africa has reached critical stage and one
that is pregnant as to great possibilities.
The combatants have now joined battle
under conditions that leave no alternative
but a fight to the finish. For this cam
paign at least the Tugela was the British
Rubicon. and, having crossed it, there is
nothing left for them but to fight their
way to Ladysmith or be defeated, with a
river in their rear and other conditions
that might render their defeat a terrible
Ladysmith is the objective point of the
campaign, and If that fails all the plans
dependent upon 1t will have to be recast.
Such an outcome of the present movement,
coming on top of the reverses that the
British have already suffered. would be al
most a fatal blow to British prestige. The
dispatches, which, it must be remembered,
come from British sources and pass under
British censorship, show that the Beers are
fighting very stubbornly, contesting the
ground inch by inch, and that the British
even from their own point of view, are
making very little progress. though General
Butler calls II Substantial" The Beers
are very strongly intrenched, with every
advantage of position, defense. interior
lines, ETC., in their favor, and they have
shown surprising mobility and success in
showing up strong at threatened points.
1t Is evident, therefore, that the British
hands, with hard fighting before them and
the possibility of serious disaster. For the
Beers 1t can be said their present defeat
and the relief of Ladysmith would probably
not be as disastrous for them as repulse
would for the British. They have other lines
of defense and might fight harder on their
own territory than they do on British ter
ritory, where the present operations are
taking place. There is, however, one un-
certain factor in the case that may be de-
the present movement. That is, how the
Beers will stand defeat and how they will
fight outside of intrenchments and posi-
tons of their own choosing. Some who
know them well say they are towards and
will not fight without intrenchments or
cover. Their army certainly lacks organi-
cation and discipline, and such armies are
apt to go to pieces under defeat The Beers
might not, but this is still an undeveloped
factor in the situation. The British mill
tary authorities are evidently not counting
on the collapse of the Beers, as. indeed, it
would be very unsafe to do. On the con-
trary, they are counting on a considerable
prolongation of the war. A London dis
patch says:
According to the War Office officials
ideas, dash to the relief of Kimberley
will quickly follow the relief of Ladysmith,
and then without doubt a long spell of
months will elapse before the column or
columns will have their transportation in
a mt shape to advance with the certainty of
meeting with no serious reverses The lat
ter conditions are held by the authorities
to be absolutely essential before any for
ward movement towards the invasion of
the Transvaal is begun, hence there is
small probability of the war ending inside
of six months.
Even this is somewhat optimistic as it
assumes British success and the relief of
Ladysmith and Kimberley, whereas none
of these things is yet in sight. On the
whole, the situation is as full of uncer-
tainty and great possibilities as any mill
tary situation of modern times.