Here, as at other times, it is noticeable that in spite of the two hundred thousand soldiers whom the British kept in the field, the lines of communication absorbed so many that at the actual point of contact they were seldom superior and often inferior in numbers to the enemy.

The opening of the Natal and Delagoa lines though valuable in many ways, had been an additional drain.

Where every culvert needs its picket and every bridge its company, the guardianship of many hundreds of miles of rail is no light matter.
In the early morning of November 29th Paget's men came in contact with the enemy, who were in some force upon an admirable position.

A ridge for their centre, a flanking kopje for their cross fire, and a grass glacis for the approach--it was an ideal Boer battlefield.

The colonials and the yeomanry under Plumer on the left, and Hickman on the right, pushed in upon them, until it was evident that they meant to hold their ground.