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Military History – South Africa – Europe – England 19th Century
.Article – Online Historic Information | Military
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Pretorius had made careful preparations for the inevitable battle. Aware of the Zulu practice of
attacking from all sides at once, thereby enveloping their foes, he chose a site with the east protected
by the Ncome River and the south by a deep donga, or drying watercourse. The wagons were
arranged in a laager, a defensive circle, on the other sides and woven wooden hurdles, fence panels,
had been brought to block the space below the wagons, the wheels of which were covered with ox
skins to complete the wall. There were three muzzle-loading cannon and three smaller guns. The
musketeers were given loopers,leather containers of buckshot, and the artillery was loaded with
grapeshot. Eight men were to man each gap between wagons and a lantern was slung above them to
assist reloading in the dawn light. The problem of panicking animals was foreseen; the oxen were to
be tethered head to head and for every four horses there was a man allocated to hold them. The 470
Voortrekkers and 120 Natal blacks waited for the light.
The left horn of the Zulu formation crept around to the north-west and attacked at dawn. By 8 am
it was cut to ribbons. The right horn and chest (centre) of the Zulu force was obliged by the terrain to
attack from much the same direction and suffered a similar fate. About 1,000 warriors attempting to
conceal themselves in the river were killed there, causing the waters to run red and giving the battle
its name. Altogether some 3,000 Zulus died while the Voortrekkers had only three wounded as their
total casualties, including Pretorius himself. The hand of God, they were convinced, had been shown.
Reference:
Laband, John, Rope of Sand (Jeppestown, Jonathan Ball, 1995), and as The Rise and Fall of the Zulu
Nation (London, Arms and Armour, 1997).
Blood River Poort, Action at,
17 September 1901
In an attempt to distract the British from their campaign against the guerrillas, the Boers invaded the
Cape and Natal in September 1901. Louis Botha gained a military success over Hubert Gough at
Blood River Poort, but a lack of horses and transport, as well as poor information on British
dispositions, forced him to withdraw with little to show for his pains.
At a conference held at Standerton in the Transvaal in June 1901, the Boer leaders decided to
ease the pressure being exerted by the British on the guerrilla commandos by invading the British
colonies. Commandant Jan Smuts was to enter Cape Colony while Commandant-general Louis Botha
headed towards Natal.
Botha reached Rooikraal near Piet Retief, far to the east, on 11 September and was joined by the
Wakkerstroom and Piet Retief commandos. Two days later he had arrived at Frischgewagd on the
Pivaan River to meet the Utrecht commando, but now the horses of his original group, Bethal and
Middelburg commandos, were exhausted and had to rest. The spring rains reduced the ground to a
mire. On 17 September they reached Blood River Poort, the gorge through
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