Episode 74 - Louis Botha surprises the British near Ermelo & De Wet crosses a swamp in the Karoo.

The guerrilla campaign is moving ahead swiftly, while in the northern Cape, the Great De Wet Hunt is in full swing. In the Eastern Transvaal, General Louis Botha had attacked the British in a surprise move on 10 February adding to the confusion the English troops were experiencing. Between Christiaan de Wet’s confident departure from the north-western reaches of the Orange Free State into the Cape Colony - it would take the entire month of February for his men to complete a dash back across the Orange River in defeat. In the Western Transvaal, General Koos de La Rey was stranded as many of his men were without their biggest asset - horses. Sickness and exhaustion had led to many dying and the general was biding his time. He was also waiting for word from Christiaan de Wet in the Cape who as we’ll hear later in this podcast, was actually desperately trying to avoid capture as a huge British force was hunting him down. Koos de la Rey had other problems. His men were becoming less enthusiastic by the day about joining de Wet in the Cape in their attempts to foment an uprising. The stirring memories of their December successes against the British were fading. de La Rey was hidden in the bushy hills west of Rustenburg where he was ensconced with a small group of hand picked men and the only fresh horses they had. Most of the western Transvaal burghers had gone home. British commander Methuen bumped into a large group of Boers on 18th February in the South West of the Transvaal, and defeated them in a hard-fought action. It was noticeable that the tables were turning. In that clash, Methuen had been outnumbered by the Boers and yet had defeated the once invincible commandos.