ten o'clock
Sometimes they succeeded for a time , but their numbers thinned so fast that the survivors were forced to fall back again . To add to the horror of the situation , the shot from our own guns also fell among the defenders , the officers commanding the batteries not having been informed of the intention to occupy the hill , and knowing nothing of the situation . Scores of men were killed or wounded , but the position was held unflinchingly . At ten o'clock General Woodgate was mortally wounded by the fragment of a shell that struck him in the eye , and Colonel Crofton took the command . He at once flashed a message to General Warren , stating that Woodgate was killed , and that reinforcements must be sent at once ; General Coke was therefore ordered to take the Middlesex and Dorset regiments , and assume the command . Immediately afterwards Warren received an order from General Buller to appoint Lieutenant-colonel Thorneycroft , who was colonel of a colonial force , to take the command . It was now hoped that all was well there .