Collecting a part of his force at Cape Town, French left on November 18.  On the following night he reached De Aar, where Major-General Wauchope gave him another couple of companies of Mounted Infantry.  Acting on Wauchope’s advice, he determined to make Naauwpoort his base.  Buller had suggested Hanover Road.  But French on arrival found that Wauchope was right.  The country round Naauwpoort proved to be much more level, was less closely laced with wire fences, and afforded better means of communication both by road and rail.

No sooner had he arrived (on November 21) than he ordered a reconnaissance to be made on the following morning.  His cavalry came within eight miles of Colesberg, without seeing the enemy.  Accordingly French determined to attack the town, and asked for reinforcements of cavalry for that purpose.  On November 23, however, further reconnaissance supported by a trainload of infantry showed that the situation had developed.  It was found impossible to approach Arundel, as the kopjes north of Arundel station were occupied by the Boers.

Reporting the state of affairs to headquarters, French said that, in his opinion, the Boers should be pushed out of Colesberg immediately, as they were being reinforced daily, and were spreading disaffection throughout the Colony.  But he was not in a position to do more than worry the enemy for several days.  However, his persistent night-and-day fretting of Schoeman’s forces achieved the desired result.  His ubiquitous patrols seriously alarmed the Boer general as to the safety of his outposts at Arundel.  A squadron of Lancers discovered one day that the kopjes round Arundel had been evacuated.

After that a dash on the town followed.  Here again the policy of nag and bluster had frightened the Boers out of their position.  There were only a hundred men in it when the British force arrived; and they fled precipitately at the mere sight of it.  Next day, Colonel Porter struck even farther north with his cavalry and mounted infantry, occupying a kopje three miles north of the town.

There followed a brief lapse in active hostilities.  The Boers heavily entrenched themselves on the neighbouring hills; and a prisoner taken by our men said that Schoeman had at least 3,000 men, with some useful guns, and was waiting for further reinforcements.

French’s position now became critical in more than one sense of the word.  For in mid-December news of the triple British disaster came through to hearten Schoeman and his men.  Cronje had inflicted a crushing defeat on Methuen at Magersfontein; Botha had crippled Buller at Colenso; and Gatacre’s force had met with a reverse at Stormberg.  Elated by his colleagues’ successes, Schoeman was spoiling for the fray.  Could he once gain a victory over French, the whole of Cape Colony would probably join the rebellion.  Both east and west the Dutch population were simply waiting a sign to rise.