As night fell, both banks of the Tugela River defensive line plunged into silence. The idea of crossing the river under the cover of darkness was not within the British Army's considerations, as night battles were never the preferred choice in war.
Even though East Africa had only one brigade across the river, unforeseen situations often arose on the battlefield, and intelligence on both sides was very limited. Therefore, the British commander Rost had to approach the situation cautiously.
No one could be certain if reinforcements would come for East Africa, when they would arrive at the Tugela River, or how many reinforcements there would be.
