Benson left Middelburg, the base to which he returned from time to time, on October 20, with a column 1,600 strong, to renew his operations on the high veld.  When he reached the Bethal district he noticed ominous signs of the revived spirit.  He was hampered with a considerable transport, his supplies were dwindling, and he did not think himself justified in risking an encounter.  He therefore decided to return to the Delagoa Bay Railway.  H. Grobler of Bethal, who had suggested to Botha the attack on Benson, was in the vicinity with 700 burghers, and Botha himself was again in the field.

Benson began to retire before sunrise on October 30.  Bad weather and Grobler pressing in rear worried the forenoon march, and ere the midday halt had been called Botha came up with 500 men after a forced march.  While the convoy was being parked at Bakenlaagte, the pressure on the rearguard increased, and it was forced back to a ridge about two miles S.E. of the park.  Benson came up and ordered a second retirement of the rearguard to a position, to which the name of Gun Hill has been given, nearer the park, and posted two field guns on the hill.

Botha soon occupied the ridge, and then charged Gun Hill with his main body under Grobler, at the same time sending parties to attack the flanking posts.  Two detachments of British infantry stranded between the ridge and the hill were overwhelmed by the charge.  Most of the mounted sections got away to the hill, hotly pursued by the Boers, who leaving their horses at the foot, at once began to climb the slope.  They clutched each shoulder of the hill, swarmed up the front, and soon silenced the guns.  An attempt to bring up the teams from the reverse slope failed.

In less than half an hour Grobler had won Gun Hill with a loss of 100 men.  Benson was mortally wounded.  The flanking posts were too much engaged in defending themselves to be able to assist the defenders of Gun Hill.  An attempt to intervene made by a few companies on the march to the camp where the convoy was parked was unsuccessful.  The Boers, as usual, were satisfied with a casual tactical success, and made no effort to follow it up strategically.  They were soon driven off Gun Hill by shell fire from the camp, but after nightfall returned to bring away the guns.  In the British casualties were 120 prisoners of war.  Wools-Sampson, who succeeded Benson in command, maintained himself for two days, and was then relieved by columns from the south.  He returned to the Delagoa Bay Railway.

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The exigences of the military situation called for the withdrawal of most of the troops operating against Kemp and Delarey in the Western Transvaal; and by the middle of September, 1901, these leaders had practically but one column to evade, namely the force formerly commanded by Dixon and now by Kekewich.  He left Naauwpoort on September 13, and after some preliminary work on the Magaliesberg passed through Magato Nek, and with a force of less than 1,000 men advanced into the Zwartruggens, a wild, difficult, and confusing district admirably adapted to Boer guerilla.