by Allan Gordon | Jun 2, 2020 | Battles, South African War 1899 - 1902
Jamestown is a town in the Eastern Cape which was occupied by Commandant Kritzinger on 2 June 1901. Kritzinger had recently re-entered the Cape and was conducting successful hit and run activities in the area. The action at Jamestown enabled his commando to resupply...
by Allan Gordon | May 31, 2020 | Anniversaries, Birthday, South African War 1899 - 1902
Major-General Edward Brabant was born on this day in 1839. In November 1899 he raised a local Regiment known as Brabant’s Horse to fight in the South African War. His command included the Cape Mounted Rifles, the Kaffrarian Rifles, and the Queenstown...
by Allan Gordon | May 31, 2020 | Events, South African War 1899 - 1902
After crossing the Vaal River into the old Transvaal Republic the British objective was to capture Johannesburg. On 30 May the Boers were defeated at the Battle of Doornkop in the western suburbs of Johannesburg. The Boers were also forced to retreat from the town of...
by Allan Gordon | May 31, 2020 | Battles, South African War 1899 - 1902
After the fall of Kroonstad, Lindley became the seat of the Free State Government, however, the town changed hands a few times, between Boers and British, during the month of May 1900. At the end of May 1900, the Boers under General Piet de Wet occupied Lindley...
by Allan Gordon | May 28, 2020 | Battles, South African War 1899 - 1902
Kheis was a farm in the Northern Cape (close to the present day town of Groblershoop) on the banks of the Orange River. During the early months of 1900 the Free State Boers were active in the area recruiting rebels to take up arms against the British. The British...
by Allan Gordon | May 26, 2020 | Anniversaries, Birthday, South African War 1899 - 1902
Major-General Frederick Walter Kitchener was born on 26 May 1858, eight years after his more famous brother, Herbert. Better known as Walter, he took part in the Relief of Ladysmith. During the guerrilla phase of the war he commanded troops in the Western Transvaal...
by Allan Gordon | May 25, 2020 | Battles, South African War 1899 - 1902
Mooifontein was a farm almost mid-way between Bethal and Standerton. Commandants Ben Viljoen and Mears decided to attack a British convoy, commanded by General Plummer, which was on its way from Bethal to Standerton. The convoy comprising wagons and cattle, was...
by Allan Gordon | May 24, 2020 | Birthday, South African War 1899 - 1902
Field Marshall Jan Smuts was born on 24 May 1870. As was custom in his youth, due to circumstances, he only started school at the age of 12. This late start was not to deter him and he graduated from both Stellenbosch and Cambridge Universities with Honours. One of...
by Allan Gordon | May 22, 2020 | Deaths, South African War 1899 - 1902
Lieutenant-General French died on 22 May 1925 at the age of 72. On entering the ‘military’ he saw brief service in the Royal Navy, before becoming a cavalry officer. He took part in the Gordon Relief Expedition in 1845 which arrived two days too late to save the...
by Allan Gordon | May 20, 2020 | Battles, South African War 1899 - 1902
In early May 1900 Lieutenant-Colonel Bethune was sent with his column to clear the area around Nqutu (about 60 km east of Dundee) of Boers. On 18 May he heard that the town of Vryheid (north of Nqutu) was unoccupied and he decided to occupy the town. On 20 May, on...
