Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1900-04-19
HEAVY LOSS Ar wEPENER.
Both Boers and British Have Lost
Heavily at siege OF That Town.

HEAVY LOSS AT wEPENER.
Both Beers and British Have Lost
Heavily at siege OF That Town.
Maseru, April 17.-(By Associated
Press. )-Colonel Dalgetty's casualties
since besieged at Wepener, are twenty
killed and one hundred wounded. The
Boer losses reported are considerably
heavier. There is conflict of opinion
among the leaders. Some want to at
tack again, while others refuse to do
SO. The desultory firing and sniRing
continues. The Caledon rivir is rising,
which alarms the Beers, who are now
on both sides of the river, and might
be cut off if the stream was to become
flooded. Five Boer guns, it is believed,
are disabled.
Roberts is Severe.
London, April 1s.-The war Office
last night published in the Gazette a
dispatch from Roberts, dated Febru-
airy 10, submitting Buffers dispatches
describing Spion Kop and other opera
tons from January IL to January "a,
Roberts deals severely with Warren
and some others. Even Butler does
nos escape. Roberts complains that
the plan of operations was not clearly
described in the dispatches. After
sketching Buffers intentions as com
municated to Warren who commanded
the whole force, Roberts points out
that Warren seems to have concluded,
after consultation with his officers, that
the thanking movement ordered by Bull
Ter was impracticable, and therefore
so changed the plan of advance as to
necessitate the capture and retention
of Spion Kop.
Roberts continues: II
Gas Warren considered it impossible
to make the wide thanking movement
which was recommended, if not actu-
ally prescribed in secret instructions,
he should, forthwith, have acquainted
Butler with the course he proposed to
adopt. There is nothing to show whe-
ther he did SO or not But it is only
fair to Warren to point out that Bull
Ter appears turnout to have been aware
of what was happening"
! Regarding the withdrawal from Spi-
on Kop, the retention of which became
essential to the relief of Ladysmith,
Roberts says: f4
Thorncroft's Poor Generalshfp.
II regret to be unable to concur
with Butler in thinking Thorncroft eS-
ercised a wise discretion in, ordering
the troops to retire. am of the opin-
| ion that Thorncroft's assumption of
responsibility and authority was Who'll
l ly ineNcusable. During the night the
enemy's fire could not have been for
midable and it should not have taken
more than two or three hours for
Throncroft to communicate by mes
senger with Major General Coke or
| Warren. Coke appears to have left
Spion kop at $3.50 p. m. for the pur-
pose Of consulting with Warren. Up
| to that hour the idea of withdrawal
had not been entertained. Yet, almost
| at once after Coke's departure Thorn
| croft issued the orders, without refer
ence TO the superior authority, which
upset the whole plan of operations and
rendered unayailing the sacrifices al
ready made to carry it into effect.
son the other hand, it is only right
| to state that Thorncroft appears to
have behaved in a very gallant man
ner thruout the day. 1t is to be re-
| GREETED that Warren did not himself
visit Spion Kop in the afternoon or
evening, knowing as he did that the
state of affairs was very critical and
| that the loss of the position would in
| volve the failure of the operations. He
consequently was obliged to summon
Coke to his headquarters, and the COM
| mand at Spion Kop thus devolved upon
Thorncroft, unknown to Coke, who
was under the impression that the
command devolved upon Colonel Hill
as senior officer.
Buller Receives Share of Blame.
| ssrhe attempt to relieve Ladysmith
4 was well devised, and l agree with Bull
| Ter in thinking it ought to have sue
ceeded. That it failed may in some
measure have been due to the difficult
| ties of the ground and the commando
4 ing positions held by the enemy, also
/ to the errors of judgment and want
| of administrative capacity on the part
of Warren. But whatever faults War
rem may have committed, the failure
must also be attributed to the disin-
clination of the officer in supreme COM
mand to assert his authority and to
see that what he thought best was
done, also to the unwarrantable and
needless assumption OF responsibility
| by subordinate officers
The dispatch concludes: "A crafty
ing feature of these dispatches is the
admirable behavior of the troops thru
out the operations"
GEN. Warren Ordered Home. ~
\ London, April 1s.-(By Associated
Press.)-It is rumored psrsistently in
military circles that an order was ca
bled to South Africa this morning, or
dering home Lieutenant General Sir
Charles Warren. The war once declin-
ed to give any information regarding
such reports.