Following his failure to relieve Ladysmith at the Battle of Colenso, General Buller’s next attempt was to approach the besieged town using Springfield village as a concentration area.
While delegating this task to his second-in-command, General Warren, Buller discussed four possible approaches to Ladysmith with Warren:
- A right-flanking approach east of Colenso via Hlangwane hill;
- A northerly approach from Potgieter’s Drift via the Doornkop road;
- An approach via the Fairview / Rosalie farm road from Trichardt’s Drift, passing west of Spioen Kop;
- Finally, Buller’s preferred approach – a left-flanking route via the Acton Homes road.
Warren chose a combination of the Fairview / Rosalie farm route, including the occupation of the vital ground of Spioen Kop.
The troops assigned to take Spioen Kop comprised 1 700 men of the Lancaster Regiment and Lancaster Fusiliers, Lieutenant Colonel Thorneycroft’s Mounted Infantry and half-a-company of Royal Engineers – under the overall command of Major General Woodgate.
This force ascended Spioen Kop Hill on the night of 23 January 1900, taking the summit at about 3.40am the next morning. By first light after the early morning mist lifted, the British discovered they had occupied a false crest, and were exposed to lethal Boer artillery, Pom-Pom, rifle and machine gun fire – directed from the hills surrounding Spioen Kop. Concurrently, the Boers mounted assaults on the poorly entrenched British position. Close quarter fighting on the summit and this accurate fire continued throughout the day.
The British sustained heavy casualties. Woodgate was killed. Confusion reigned regarding overall command of the exhausted British troops on Spioen Kop, with Thorneycroft ultimately assuming command. Reinforcements arrived too late to assist.
In short, the Boer counter attacks were repelled, the British troops were slaughtered and both Boer and British forces withdrew from Spioen Kop after dark on 24 January.
Early the next morning two burghers were seen on the top of Spioen Kop, waving their hats in triumph. The only British there were the dead and dying.
British troops were withdrawn across the Tugela River and Buller’s second attempt to relieve Ladysmith had failed, for which Buller was to blame Warren.
British casualties were 322 killed, 563 wounded and 300 missing/POWs. Boer casualties were 58 killed and 140 wounded.
Interestingly, three men who were to become famous were on Spioen Kop – Boer commander, General Louis Botha; Mahatma Gandhi, at the time the creator and commander of the Natal Indian Ambulance Corps; and Winston Churchill, then a war correspondent and a Lieutenant in the South African Light Horse regiment.
