The fight,
however, fulfilled the object for which the advance was undertaken, that
of occupying the Boers' attention and enabling the column from Dundee to
make its way into Ladysmith unmolested. The Boers were now closing in on
the latter town from all directions, and preparations for defence at
once began. The town-hall and the schools were fitted up as hospitals
and everything arranged for the reception of wounded. As the Boers had
already been seen near Colenso, sixteen miles to the south, it was
certain that the communications would ere long be cut.
No more unsuitable place for a military camp could well have been
selected than Ladysmith, which had indeed been chosen, years before the
war was thought of, on account of its position on the railway, and the
vicinity of the Klip river. The fact that the country immediately round
was fertile and forage was obtainable no doubt influenced the military
authorities in their selection. Lying in the heart of a mountainous
country, it was commanded by steep and rocky hills at a distance of from
two to four miles. Just as many castles built in the days before
firearms were in use were rendered untenable against even the clumsy
cannon of early days placed on eminences near, so the improvement in
artillery and the possession of powerful modern guns by the Boers had
gravely imperilled the position of Ladysmith.
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