As the army topped the low curves of the veld they saw in front of them two well-marked hills, each crowned by a low squat building.

They were the famous southern forts of Pretoria.
Between the hills was a narrow neck, and beyond the Boer capital.
For a time it appeared that the entry was to be an absolutely bloodless one, but the booming of cannon and the crash of Mauser fire soon showed that the enemy was in force upon the ridge.

Botha had left a strong rearguard to hold off the British while his own stores and valuables were being withdrawn from the town.

The silence of the forts showed that the guns had been removed and that no prolonged resistance was intended; but in the meanwhile fringes of determined riflemen, supported by cannon, held the approaches, and must be driven off before an entry could be effected.

Each fresh corps as it came up reinforced the firing line.