thuen's rearguard consisted of Imperial Light
Horse, or Scottish Horse, it is safe to say that the battle of Tweebosch
would have had a very different ending.

What happened was that a large body of Boers formed up in five lines
and charged straight home at the rear screen and rearguard, firing
from their saddles as they had done at Brakenlaagte. The sight of those
wide-flung lines of determined men galloping over the plain seems to
have been too much for the nerves of the unseasoned troopers. A panic
spread through their ranks, and in an instant they had turned their
horses' heads and were thundering to their rear, leaving the two guns
uncovered and streaming in wild confusion past the left flank of the
jeering infantry who were lying round the wagons. The limit of their
flight seems to have been the wind of their horses, and most of them
never drew rein until they had placed many miles between themselves
and the comrades whom they had deserted. 'It was pitiable,' says an
eye-witness, 'to see the grand old General begging them to stop, but
they would not; a large body of them arrived in Kraaipan without firing
a shot,' It was a South African 'Battle of the Spurs.'

By this defection of the greater portion of the force the handful of
brave men who remained were left in a hopeless position. The two guns of
the 38th battery were overwhelmed and ridden over by the Boer horsemen,
every man being killed or wounded, including Lieutenant Nesham, who
acted up to the highest traditions of his corps.

The battle, however, was not yet over. The infantry were few in number,
but they were experienced troops, and they maintained the struggle
for some hours in the face of overwhelming numbers. Two hundred of the
Northumberland Fusiliers lay round the wagons and held the Boers off
from their prey. With them were the two remaining guns, which were
a mark for a thousand Boer riflemen. It was while encouraging by his
presence and example the much-tried gunners of this section that the
gallant Methuen was wounded by a bullet which broke the bone of his
thigh. Lieutenant Venning and all the detachment fell with their General
round the guns.

An attempt had been made to rally some of the flying troopers at a
neighbouring kraal, and a small body of Cape Police and Yeomanry under
the command of Major Paris held out there for some hours. A hundred of
the Lancashire Infantry aided them in their stout defence. But the guns
taken by the Boers