On the morning of the 10th the invaders found themselves confronted by a formidable position which the Boers had taken up on the northern bank of the Sand River.

Their army extended over twenty miles of country, the two Bothas were in command, and everything pointed to a pitched battle.
Had the position been rushed from the front, there was every material for a second Colenso, but the British had learned that it was by brains rather than by blood that such battles may be won.

French's cavalry turned the Boers on one side, and Bruce Hamilton's infantry on the other.

Theoretically we never passed the Boer flanks, but practically their line was so over-extended that we were able to pierce it at any point.

There was never any severe fighting, but rather a steady advance upon the British side and a steady retirement upon that of the Boers.