On 6th December a French soldier arrived at Modderspruit, Colonel the Compte Georges de Villebois-Mareuil. De Villebois was met by Captain “Sam” Léon, the French engineer who was building firing platforms for the Creusot Long Toms around Ladysmith. They lunched alongside the railway track. The Frenchmen climbed Gun Hill to inspect the gun position. De Villebois was not happy with what he found there. Without authority, the Boer artillerists could only listen to him politely. There were no supports for the gun crew and there were no outposts to give advance warning of an attack. Nothing was done about de Villebois’s warning.
