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Page 15
On the 21st Headquarters moved into Riet. Here we found two water-holes
in the bed of the river; one was a splendid Persian well, with chain
buckets. Riet was no paradise; it was a luxury though, even if the
river sand was blinding, to lie under a wagon and hear the water
running.
[Illustration: An unique picture of General Botha, the
Commander-in-Chief and his Staff reconnoitring]
[Illustration: After Riet water in blessed profusion]
Our casualties in the actions on the Pforte-Jakalswater-Riet front were
fifteen killed, thirty-nine wounded and forty-two missing. On the 21st
our commandos occupied Salem, eight miles further up the Swakop River.
The Commander-in-Chief and his party remained at Riet till the 24th. It
was then decided that a supply depot must be established at Riet before
further advance was made. On the evening of the 24th Headquarters
returned to Swakopmund, reaching the coast at 9.30 on the morning of
the 26th--an extremely fast trek.
Looking out of my window in the heart of civilisation at the evening
sun that glorifies the Pretoria green kopjes, the scene dissolves. In
its place comes the picture of the first gaunt daylight on the 26th of
March last at fifteen kilometres, just going into Swakopmund. The mist
from the coast had rolled inland; through it after dawn came miles of
horsemen and wagons, guns, limbers, lorries, ambulances. Every human
unit in that column was covered in white dust, and every horse was
weary. And except for the staccato "click-click" of bits and an
occasional deep hum from a passing motor the army moved in perfect
silence through the sand.
The official history of the South-West campaign remains to be written,
of course; in the meantime I am convinced that the actions on the
twenty-one mile Pforte-Jakalswater-Riet front were practically the
deciding factors of the campaign.
[Illustration: A Typical Parade of the Germans in South-West Africa]
SECTION III
THE RECORD TREK TO WINDHUK
On the 27th of March General Botha left Northern Force Headquarters at
Swakopmund for Luderitzbucht, the landing-place of the Central Force
under the commands of Brigadier-General Mackenzie.
The whole plan of campaign was very much this. The Protectorate was to
be invaded from several angles, the route of these various forces being
quite clear, I hope, in the diagram given. Roughly speaking there were
three forces: the Northern (General Botha, Commander-in-Chief), working
inland from Swakopmund; the Central (Brigadier-General Mackenzie)
working inland from Luderitzbucht; and the Southern and South-Eastern
converging on Keetmanshoop from Raman's Drift-Warmbad-Kalkfontein
(Hartigan's Horse), from Upington (Brigadier-General van Deventer and
Colonel Celliers) and from Kimberley-Hasuur (Colonel Berrange's
column). As a result of this great concentration on Keetmanshoop and
northwards from all sides, the Germans would be forced to decisive
action, to retreat northwards, or be cut off. Upon these forces
reaching a certain distance inland a general move would be made in the
direction of Windhuk--and again the enemy would have to fight or
retreat to the limits of his railway system.
[Illustration: Typical captured German Infantry]
[Illustration: The Great Trek. Otjimbingwe: its Palms and Wells]
[Illustration: The Great Trek. Otjimbingwe: the Commander-in-Chief at
the old German capital]
[Illustration: The Great Trek. Getting Milk from a Goat. Milk was
priced beyond Silver]
On the 30th of March the Commander-in-Chief returned to Swakopmund, and
the same day news came of the occupation of Aus by the Central Force.
It was now that we heard definitely that General Smuts was in the field
with the forces south of us.
With the Central and Southern advances, General Mackenzie, from
Luderitzbucht, occupied Garub on the 22nd of February, and Aus on March
31. Colonel Berrange's column, having left Hasuur on the 3rd of March,
reached Kabus, by Keetmanshoop, on the 19th. Leaving Raman's Drift on
the 2nd of April, Colonel Hartigan's column occupied Kalkfontein on the
14th of April, and reached Keetmanshoop on the 20th of April. Seeheim
was occupied on the 18th of April. The advance to these towns was
achieved by a series of fast treks in which frightful conditions of
thirst and fatigue were encountered. General Mackenzie's troops in
their advance north occupied Bethany on the 13th of April, and
continued northward to Berseba, Gibeon, etc., on the way to Windhuk.
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