Seeing therefore that his attempt at a coup-de-main was
a failure, Viljoen withdrew his men before daybreak. The Boer
casualties have not been ascertained, but twenty-four of their dead
were actually picked up within the British lines. The British lost
sixty killed and wounded, while about as many were taken prisoners.
Altogether the action was a brisk and a gallant one, of which
neither side has cause to be ashamed. The simultaneous attacks upon
six other stations were none of them pressed home, and were
demonstrations rather than assaults.
The attempts upon Kaalfontein and on Zuurfontein were both made in
the early morning of January 12th. These two places are small
stations upon the line between Johannesburg and Pretoria. It is
clear that the Boers were very certain of their own superior
mobility before they ventured to intrude into the very heart of the
British position, and the result showed that they were right in
supposing that even if their attempt were repulsed, they would
still be able to make good their escape.
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