Donkerhoek and Dalmanutha After Lord Roberts took over Johannesburg and then Pretoria, the morale was low among citizens. Commandant H S Grobler tells: “The people’s moods were down and many went home. I then got command from General Botha to also go home and try to organise them…The mission was fortunate, because the citizens were equally willing to return to the war, with about two hundred men I returned to Donkerhoek.” #The battles at Donkerhoek (near Pretoria) were in favour of the Boers. The *Bethallers performed yet again, because when General Botha reported to President Kruger by telegram, he mentioned in particular, the distinguished performance of Bethal Commando. “When the English horse riders met with Bethal commando, the English turned back with great loss.” Meanwhile President Kruger evacuated Pretoria and departed with railway to Machadodorp out, with Lord Roberts following afterwards. At Dalmanutha the Boer forces fought hard, determined to stop Lord Roberts; and heavy fighting ensued there. Amid the fighting, the young Henry Hancke was one of three volunteers sent to fetch a fatally wounded Captain Dalwig. This is what uncle Hendrik tells about this: “When we wanted to pick him up on the blanket near the cannon, he said: ‘Let me just stand because I am dying already’. I then said to him, ‘Captain, you can die if you wish, but we are taking you away from here’” Following General De Wet’s success with a new tactic – Guerrilla warfare – Botha also decided on that. Accordingly, the Boer forces were to be divided into smaller, mobile units that would operate, in as far as possible, into their own familiar environment. Units would act independently of each other and would take care of their own food and ammunition. The aim was to exhaust the enemy and to make it tired for the war. For this reason, major conflicts would be avoided and to concentrate more on the destruction of the enemy’s line of connections. General Botha scattered out the commando all over the Highveld. Bethal was still not in the hands of British and Commandant H S Grobler was asked to retain it at all costs. Powerless against the Boers new fighting tactics, Lord Kitchener, who succeeded Lord Roberts meanwhile as commander of the British forces in South Africa, also changed his war tactics. By the end of 1900, the British army split into smaller, more mobile units and drive hunts organised by the flying columns. Spread over a line of fifty or more kilometres, they tried to block Boers against manned blockhouses that were connected by barbed wire. Through this, not much success was achieved. Uncle Cornelius de Jager (Uncle Fishaan) tells how easy the Boers could slip through the blockhouses: “During such times things had to be done gently. If the wire had to be cut, it was done in the evening and then the commando had to cross through there during midnight. The citizens with their horses passed there quietly, but oh, the pack horses with their dear pot porridge and tin buckets; could make such a noise!” When the drive-hunt did not deliver enough success, Kitchener decided to destroy the Boers’ subsistence resources by means of a Farms and towns, with everything in them, were destroyed. Women and children were taken to concentration camps. Commandant Grobler threw a bank of hope against General French’s Flying Squad that was harassing the Highveld. Two of the Squads under control of Colonel Beatson and Colonel Benson, did the most destroying work in the Bethal-District. During June 1901 the Boers succeeded to inflict Memorial on K***stad The Bethal Commando move to its own environment After the lost battle of Dalmanutha General Botha realised that the British superior force could no longer be overcome with conventional battles. #translated roughly. *See Translator’s Note (page I). 27 defeat to the English columns at the battle of Wilmansrust. Here seven citizens were killed, they were buried on K***stad, were the memorial was erected. Commandant Grobler’s wife noted in her diary how their homestead on the farm Rensburghoop was burned down during June 1901. Her husband and a group of citizens could not prevent it. Mrs Grobler was taken away and along the road homesteads on the farms Witbank, Bakenlaagte also were burnt down. After ten days in appalling conditions, the group of women and children reached Springs, were they were transported on open coal train coaches to Johannesburg concentration camps. *scorched –earth policy.
41 Publizr Home