All that was certain was that they were there, and that we meant having them out if it were humanly possible.

'The enemy are there,' said Ian Hamilton to his infantry; 'I hope you will shift them out before sunset--in fact I know you will.' The men cheered and laughed.

In long open lines they advanced across the veld, while the thunder of the two batteries behind them told the Boer gunners that it was their turn now to know what it was to be outmatched.
The idea was to take the position by a front and a flank attack, but there seems to have been some difficulty in determining which was the front and which the flank.

In fact, it was only by trying that one could know.

General White with his staff had arrived from Ladysmith, but refused to take the command out of French's hands.