Should the English, however, discover us before we reached the mountain, we must then storm it altogether, and leave the horses wherever we had dismounted.
We succeeded in coming to the mountain unobserved, and at once began the climb.

It was exactly two o'clock in the morning of December 25th, 1901.
When we had gone up about half-way we heard the challenge of a sentry:-- "Halt; who goes there ?" Then followed a few shots.
My command rang out through the night-- "Burghers, Storm!" The word was taken up by the burghers themselves, and on all sides one heard "Storm! Storm!" It was a never-to-be-forgotten moment.

Amidst the bullets, which we could hear whistling above and around us, the burghers advanced to the top, calling out, "Storm! Storm!" The mountain, however, was so steep that it can scarcely be said that we stormed it; it was much more of a climb.

Often our feet slipped from under us, and we fell to the ground; but in an instant we were up again and climbed on, and on, to gain the summit.
I think that after the sentry heard us, three or four minutes must have elapsed before the troops, who were lying asleep in their tents or on the veldt, were awakened and could come out, because their camp was about a hundred paces distant from our point of attack.
Directly we reached the top the deafening roar of a heavy fight began, and lasted from fifteen to twenty minutes.

Shortly before this the Armstrong gun and the Maxim-Nordenfeldt had each fired two shots, but they fired no more; as we reached the top the gunners were shot down at their guns.
After a short but desperate struggle the English gave way, or surrendered, and we took possession of the Armstrong and Maxim-Nordenfeldt.
We continued to fire on the troops, who had retreated to a short distance.