English: The battle of Rietfontein took place on 24 October 1899 between six commandos of the Free State Army commanded by Mr A. P. Cronje and a Flying Column dispatched from Ladysmith under the command of Sir George White.

Identifier: battlesofninetee06forb (find matches)
Title: Battles of the nineteenth century
Year: 1901 (1900s)
Authors: Forbes, Archibald, 1838-1900 Atteridge, A. Hilliard (Andrew Hilliard)
Subjects: Battles Military history, Modern
Publisher: London New York : Cassell and Company
Contributing Library: University of California Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Internet Archive

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-.But Sir George White had accomplished whathe had intended, and had kept the Boers nearRietfontein from advancing to the eastward, andthus secured the retreat of Yules column. Thefight cost us over a hundred casualties, in-cluding twelve killed and 104 wounded, andseven mi.ssing. On Tuesday, the day of the action of Riet-fontein, the Dundee column, under General Yule,had got through the Biggarsberg passes and was onthe Waschbank River. Fugitives from Dundee,weary and travel-stained, had already reachedLadysmith. The 5th Irish Lancers had been sentout to gain touch with the retreating columnand escort it in, and Yule, hearing the guns atRietfontein, had sent off a strong patrol of the18th Hussars to learn what was in progressaway to his right front. The patrol, a smallbody of men commanded by a sergeant, missedits way in the hills, and reached Ladysmith onlyafter some skirmishing with the Boers, who triedto cut it off and make the horsemen prisoners.On Wednesday the column moved on to
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36 THE BOER WAR. Sundays River and picked up iht I.aiiccrs. Onthe next day—Thursdav, Octi)ber 20tli—Yulereached Ladjsmith, and Sir George White hadthe whole of his division concentrated. A letter from General Joubert, sent in undera flag of truce, had brt)ught sorrowful news fromDundee. CJeneral Sir W. Penn Symons haddied in the hospital of the mortal wound re-ceived on the slope of Talana Hill. The BoerGeneral ordered military honours to be paid athis funeral, and wrote to Sir George Whiteexpressing his sincere regret at the death of hisgallant adversan*-. So far, the result of the first fortnight of tliewar was that, in spite of our successes at TalanaHill, Elandslaagte, and Rietfontein, the north ofthe colony had been overrun by the invaders.But everjtjiie hoped that now Sir George Whitehad gathered his forces in the lines of Ladj--smith, the further advance of the Boers wouldbe checked until the arrival of the first rein- forcements from England would turn the scalesin our fav

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