Leaving others to restore his broken communications, Lord Roberts turned his attention once more to Botha, who still retained ten or fifteen thousand men under his command.  The President had fled from Pretoria with a large sum of money, estimated at over two millions sterling, and was known to be living in a saloon railway carriage, which had been transformed into a seat of government even more mobile than that of President Steyn.  From Waterval-Boven, a point beyond Middelburg, he was in a position either to continue his journey to Delagoa Bay, and so escape out of the country, or to travel north into that wild Lydenburg country which had always been proclaimed as the last ditch of the defence.  Here he remained with his gold-bags waiting the turn of events.

Botha and his stalwarts had not gone far from the capital.  Fifteen miles out to the east the railway line runs through a gap in the hills called Pienaars Poort, and here was such a position as the Boer loves to hold.  It was very strong in front, and it had widely spread formidable flanking hills to hamper those turning movements which had so often been fatal to the Boer generals.  Behind was the uncut railway line along which the guns could in case of need be removed.  The whole position was over fifteen miles from wing to wing, and it was well known to the Boer general that Lord Roberts had no longer that preponderance of force which would enable him to execute wide turning movements, as he had done in his advance from the south.  His army had decreased seriously in numbers.  The mounted men, the most essential branch of all, were so ill horsed that brigades were not larger than regiments.  One brigade of infantry (the 14th) had been left to garrison Johannesburg, and another (the 18th) had been chosen for special duty in Pretoria.  Smith-Dorrien’s Brigade had been detached for duty upon the line of communications.  With all these deductions and the wastage caused by wounds and disease, the force was in no state to assume a vigorous offensive.  So hard pressed were they for men that the three thousand released prisoners from Waterval were hurriedly armed with Boer weapons and sent down the line to help to guard the more vital points.

Had Botha withdrawn to a safe distance, Lord Roberts would certainly have halted, as he had done at Bloemfontein, and waited for remounts and reinforcements.  But the war could not be allowed to languish when an active enemy lay only fifteen miles off, within striking distance of two cities and of the line of rail.  Taking all the troops that he could muster, the British General moved out once more on Monday, June 11th, to drive Botha from his position.  He had with him Pole-Carew’s 11th Division, which numbered about six thousand men with twenty guns, Ian Hamilton’s force, which included one infantry brigade (Bruce Hamilton’s), one cavalry brigade, and a corps of mounted infantry, say, six thousand in all, with thirty guns.  There remained French’s Cavalry