 On 30 October , General White ordered an attack on northern Boer positions . White 's plans were described as vague , ambitious , and complicated , and the battle proved a disaster that became known to the British as " <unk> Monday " . The 1st King 's were allocated to Colonel Grimwood 's column , which intended to advance on and secure Long Hill , believed to constitute the Boer 's left flank . Unbeknownst to Grimwood , almost half of the brigade separated from the column during the night march while following a rightward deviation by the artillery batteries , including the oblivious 1st King 's and Royal Dublin Fusiliers . In the morning light , the brigade discovered that its right flank was exposed by the distance of John French 's cavalry and that Long Hill was unoccupied . Grimwood and French 's men became pinned down by heavy rifle and artillery fire . Amidst rumours of an attack against the town being imminent and failure evident , White ordered the column to retreat at noon . The artillery provided cover during the chaos that followed and prevented greater loss of life . At Nicholson 's Nek , to the north @-@ west of Long Hill , the Boers took more than 1 @,@ 000 prisoner . 
