At 2pm the attack was resumed across the open level ground but was held at about 1,000 yards from the German positions. The Second Attack At 4pm the 5th South African Regiment arrived in reserve at Taveta. Newly appointed commander Brig. General Tighe ordered a second assault to begin at 5pm. This time the Rhodesians led the way with the King's African Rifles, the 130th Buluchis protecting the right flank. More reinforcements – the 9th and 5th Field Batteries – were sent immediately into action in support of the attack. The assaulting forces once again failed to reach their objective, suffering casualties which included the commander of the King's African Rifles, Lieutenant-Colonel B.R. Graham. A few isolated pockets of attackers reached the top during the gathering darkness, but were also eventually forced to retreat by German counter-attacks. To shore up the attacking units, Tighe ordered half of the 5th South African Regiment into the line. Despite the reinforcements the Entente troops were again forced to withdraw. Smuts responded by putting the 7th South African Regiment under Tighe's command. The 7th reached Tighe at roughly 8pm, and a new plan was drawn up. The two South African Regiments, who were the freshest troops available, would attack the Nek at night – with bayonets fixed. The Third Attack The third and final wave set off at 9:15pm and straight away faced the same problems as the earlier attempts to take the Nek, compounded by the lack of light. The 5th Regiment led the assault, with the 7th slightly behind them. This time the South Africans managed to force their way up both hills until the enemy was left on the Nek itself – here the advance stalled. In the confusion of the darkness, large numbers of men became lost – they retreated back to their starting positions to join the 1st East African Brigade in reserve. At the same time men of the King's African Rifles and the Rhodesians, who had been separated from their units in previous attacks and were still on the hills, rejoined the attack. Lieutenant-Colonel Freeth (with 18 men) and Major Thompson (with 170 men) held onto the summits of Latema and Reata. Tighe was unable to follow the events of the battle and fearing heavy casualties and possible counterattack, ordered a withdrawal at 4:20am. However, as patrols reached the Nek to order the retreat, they found Freeth