So accurate was the Boer fire on Spion Kop that 18 shells a minute struck the British trenches. There were 22 British officers killed and 20 wounded and six missing at the battle of Spion Kop. The war office continues to hold back definite news in regard to the casualties at Spion Kop resulting from Wednesday's battle, but reports from various sources state that the British losses were even greater than indicated in the Boer dispatches of Sunday night. One report states that the British casualties exceeded 1,800 dead and 1,000 wounded. In view of the large number of officers killed—twice as many as at Magersfontein and four times as many as at Colenso—there is reason to fear that the Boer report of the Britishers’ losses will prove to be nearly accurate. Several special dispatches from London state that, owing to some blunder, the British soldiers were short of ammunition in Wednesday’s battle on Spion Kop and that they were forced to meet a rain of shot and shell from the Boers with bayonets. The authorities at the war office strongly deny these stories, averring that if bayonets were used it was because the commanders considered that weapon would, under the circumstances, be more effective. Accounts from Pretoria and from Spearman's camp, while in conflict on many points, agree in rendering a hearty tribute to the gallantry and stubborn courage displayed on both sides.