CHAPTER V

THE FIRST BOER ASSAULT

Joubert's boast--The preliminaries of attack--Shells in the town--A
simultaneous advance--Observation Hill threatened--A wary enemy--A
prompt repulse--Attack on Tunnel Hill--The colour-sergeant's last
words--Manchesters under fire--Prone behind boulders--A Royal
salute--The Prince of Wales's birthday--Stretching the Geneva
Convention--The redoubtable Miss Maggie--The Boer Foreign
Legion--Renegade Irishmen--A signal failure.


From the first moment of complete investment here my belief (continues
Mr. Pearse, writing on 9th November) has been that the Boers would never
venture to push an infantry attack against this place to the point of a
determined assault. This opinion is strengthened by to-day's events. Yet
it is said that Joubert believes he could take Ladysmith by a _coup de
main_ at any time were it not for his fear of mines, which he believes
have been secretly laid at many points round our positions. His riflemen
certainly did not come close enough to test the truth of this belief
to-day, but contented themselves with shooting from very safe cover at
long ranges. If they could have shaken our troops at any point they
would doubtless have taken advantage of it to push forward and take up
other equally sheltered positions, whence they might have practised
their peculiar tactics with possibly greater effect. These methods,
however, lack the boldness necessary for an assault on positions held by
disciplined troops, and having no single objective they are gradually
frittered away in isolated and futile skirmishes, whereby the defenders