by Allan Gordon | Sep 19, 2020 | Battles, South African War 1899 - 1902
Slangfontein was a farm in the Free State, north west of Dewetsdorp. On 19 September 1901 Commandant J. Ackerman came across a force of British soldiers burning the farm house. Taken completely by surprise, the British force were forced to surrender, with six men...
by Allan Gordon | Sep 17, 2020 | Battles, South African War 1899 - 1902
In early September 1901 General Louis Botha commenced with his second expedition to Natal. A British force under Major Gough noticed a commando of Boers under Commandant Opperman who had de-saddled and appeared to be getting ready to encamp for the night. Instead of...
by Allan Gordon | Sep 15, 2020 | Anniversaries, Deaths, South African War 1899 - 1902
Jacobus Hercules de la Rey who was better known as Koos, died on 15 September 1914 and his death cemented the rift between the Boers wanting independence from Great Britain, and President Louis Botha’s government. De la Rey served as a Boer general during the South...
by Allan Gordon | Sep 11, 2020 | Anniversaries, Events, South African War 1899 - 1902
On 11 September 1900, following the Boer defeat at the Battle of Bergendal, President Kruger left South Africa for Europe. The Boers didn’t want Kruger to fall into the hands of the British and they felt that his presence in Europe would help gain support for the Boer...
by Allan Gordon | Sep 11, 2020 | Anniversaries, Deaths, South African War 1899 - 1902
Jan Christian Smuts, a Commandant-General in the South African War (1899-1902), who was eventually promoted to the rank of Field Marshall, died on 11 September 1950. He was featured in our May Newsletter, but in summary he was a South African statesman, military...
