Lieutenant-General Sir William Forbes Gatacre is leading two battalions of infantry on a night march against the Boer positions on Kissieberg Kopje.
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| "Blimey sarge why does ole' back-acher always ave' us marching around in the pitch black?" "Less of your lip there private. General Gatacre got us through many a tight spot in the Sudan by is' night marches, ee' knows what ees' doin'". |
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| "General, I'm not sure if we're on the right track, the railway shouldn't be there on our left should it?" "Ahem Colonel, we may be a point or two off compass but we'll catch the blighters off guard as soon as the sun comes up!". |
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| "Gettin' light now sarge, do you think the Boers know we're comin'?". "Not a chance lad, not a chance!". |
Dawn breaks on 10 December 1899 the beginning of what was soon to be known as ‘Black Week’.
Great night photos!
ReplyDeleteThanks Ross, it was fun doing them.
DeleteVery atmospheric - I hope you didn't use a flash and give the game away? Surprised at the rankers gumbling like that - don't they know they're always treated like mushrooms - kept in the dark and fed on B-S - those hats also help with the that fungoid look.... ;o)
ReplyDeleteAh yes, but I guess you can never stop the rankers grumbling!
DeleteI fear when the Sun comes up their grumbling may be silenced for good.
DeleteExcellent pictures Ian, very well done! Night marches can be very tricky, Adwa comes to mind!
ReplyDeleteYou have to feel a bit sorry for Gatacre because he was given a hopelessly inadequate force for the task, however we've yet to see how the dice may fall!
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