by Allan Gordon | May 17, 2020 | Battles, South African War 1899 - 1902
The siege of Mafeking lasted seven months from when the town was surrounded at the outbreak of the South African War in October 1899. The British garrison which was in the town was commanded by Colonel Baden-Powell and totalled about 2 000 men. The Boer forces under...
by Allan Gordon | May 12, 2020 | Battles, South African War 1899 - 1902
Mafeking had been under siege since 14 October 1899 when the Boers under Commandant Eloff made an unsuccessful attack on the town. On 14 October over 7 000 Boers under the command of Commandant-General Cronje, surrounded the garrison at Mafeking and a number of...
by Allan Gordon | May 11, 2020 | Battles, South African War 1899 - 1902
The beginning of May 1900 saw the start of the British advance northwards towards Johannesburg and Pretoria. The Boers decided to make an effort to prevent this advance and to defend Kroonstad, the town where a number of Boer krijgsraad (councils-of-war) had been held...
by Allan Gordon | May 6, 2020 | Battles, South African War 1899 - 1902
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...
by Allan Gordon | Apr 30, 2020 | Battles, South African War 1899 - 1902
After the Siege of Wepener, the Boers were moving northwards, with the British in pursuit. The Boers had reached Thaba Nchu, a mountainous area, some 60 km east of Bloemfontein. Tobo Mountain (referred to as Thaba in Captain Towse’s V.C. citation) was well defended by...
by Allan Gordon | Apr 25, 2020 | Battles, South African War 1899 - 1902
On 25 April 1900 Colonel Ian Hamilton left Sannah’s Post to join up with Major-General French’s force who were on their way to Thaba Nchu to cut off the Boers progress after their evacuation from Wepener. Israel’s Poort was a farm on the road between Bloemfontein...
