their
communications might at any moment be cut. Furthermore, until troops
arrived from England or India, no reinforcements would be available
for their assistance. But the alternative of abandoning the whole of
the northern districts of Cape Colony to the enemy, and thus allowing
them to enforce recruitments from colonists who might otherwise live
in peaceful security under the British flag, involved dangers far
graver, and was, in fact, never contemplated by the military
authorities either in London or at the Cape, except in the remote
contingency of war with some maritime Power coinciding with the
outbreak of hostilities with the Boer Republics. Moreover, by the
middle of September, 1899, the organisation and training of Colonel
Baden-Powell's two newly-raised corps, the one at Tuli and the other
near Mafeking, were already sufficiently advanced to afford good hope
of their being able to sustain effectively the role which had been
assigned to them, while arrangements were being taken in hand to
secure Kimberley from being captured by any _coup de main_.[54]

[Footnote 54: See Vol. II.]

[Sidenote: Forestier-Walker adopts Butler's plan.]

Although, therefore, at that moment the only regular troops in Cape
Colony were three and a half battalions of infantry, two companies
Royal engineers, and two companies of Royal Garrison artillery,
General Sir F. Forestier-Walker, who, on September 6th, 1899, arrived
at Cape Town, replacing Sir William Butler, decided to adhere to his
forward defence policy, and to carry out unchanged the arrangements
contemplated by him. Thus, by the end of September, a series of
military posts had been formed encircling the western and southern
frontiers of the Free State at Kimberley, Orange River station, De
Aar, Naauwpoort, and Stormberg, each post including a half-battalion
of regular infantry, and a section of engineers. To Kimberley were
also sent six 7-pr. R.M.L. screw guns, and to Orange River station,
Naauwpoort and Stormberg, two 9-pr. R.M.L. guns each. Each of these
three-named had also a company of mounted infantry. The guns were
manned by garrison artillerymen from the naval base at Cape Town. By
arrangement with the Colonial authorities the Cape Police furnished
various posts of observation in advanced positions. Behind the weak
line thus boldly pushed out in the face of the enemy there were no
regular troops whatever in the Colony, except half a battalion and a
handful