The Battle of Holkrans, although not the defining moment in the peace negotiations of the war, it became a huge consideration. Up to this point the war had been between the Boers and the British, but Holkrans introduced a new foe to the war – the Zulus. Holkrans is sometimes referred to as ‘the massacre’ and sometimes, ‘the skirmish’, but with the number of casualties on both sides, a battle is not out of context.
A Boer commando from the Vryheid district had laagered at Holkrans, to the north of Vryheid in northern Natal (now KwaZulu-Natal). A tribe of the Zulu nation, the abaQulusi attacked the laager in the early hours of the morning of 6 May 1902. There are different ‘interpretations’ of the motivation behind the attack – revenge for ill treatment, or to recover cattle previously stolen by the Boers, or encouraged by the British. However, the small laager and an element of surprise made the attack compelling for the Zulus. The Boers were overwhelmed with 56 of the 73-strong commando being killed. The abaQulusi had 52 of their warriors killed.
This Battle will be the ‘Battle of the Month’ and will appear on the website as such.
