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Military History – South Africa – Europe – England 19th Century
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.Page 30
which Blood River runs, and were in touch with Cherry Emmett and the 300 men of the Vryheid
commando seven miles (10km) further south-east at Scheepers Nek. This brought the total force to
some 2,000 men.
The British were aware of their approach and Lieutenant-colonel Hubert Gough had arrived at
Dundee on 13 September with 24th Mounted Infantry. Together with mounted infantry drawn from the
Rifle Brigade, Durham Light Infantry, 3rd King’s Royal Rifles, Irish Fusiliers, South Lancashires and
Scottish Rifles, they moved with the Johannesburg Mounted Rifles to De Jagers Drift on the
Natal/Transvaal border. On 17 September a British patrol saw Boers on Scheepers Nek and Gough
decided to attack that night. The force was in fact 150 Vryheiders who were waiting for Botha and the
bulk of the men; the latter had moved off northwards and unsaddled beyond a ridge which hid them
from the view of the British patrol. Gough moved forwards with two guns of the Royal Field Artillery
and a Colt machine gun to support his mounted infantry, sending the horse forward at a gallop over the
final, open ground. Suddenly 500 of Botha’s men galloped from the Poort to take the British on the
flank, a rare example of a Boer charge. Trying to get the guns into action, Gough found himself in
danger of capture and reached for his revolver. The holster was empty. Gough was taken together
with six other officers and 235 men. Six officers and thirty-eight men were killed or wounded.
Gough escaped that night. Botha was obliged to release the captives as he had nowhere to hold
them, so, having been deprived of their trousers, they made their shameful way back. The guns, 180
rifles and 30,000 rounds of ammunition were taken as well as 200 horses. This was, unfortunately,
fairly pointless, for the horses were as exhausted as his own and the rest of the booty came without
transport. Botha mounted attacks on Forts Itala and Prospect but was beaten off both. Apart from
giving the British another set-back, little had been achieved and the second invasion of Natal was
abandoned.
See also:
Boer Tactics; Cape Colony, Invasions of.
Reference:
Droogleever, R. W. F., “Battle at Blood River Poort”, Soldiers of the Queen,February 1989; Jones,
Huw G. and Meurig G. M. Jones, A Gazetteer of the Anglo-Boer War 1899–1902 (Milton
Keynes, The Military Press, 1999); Pakenham, Thomas, The Boer War (London, Weidenfeld &
Nicolson, 1979; Abacus, 1992).
Boer
A farmer. The word became the generic name for the people of Dutch descent who left Cape Colony
on the Great Trek to establish republics in the interior. During the 20th century, Boer gave way to the
term Afrikaner, a speaker of the Afrikaans language.
Boer Forces
The forces the Boers were able to put in the field in 1899 were largely volunteers, burghers or
citizens who were obliged to serve in a commando, their basic military unit. The professionals
amongst them were members of the Staatsartillerie (State Artillery) or the Politie (police). In
addition, supporters came from overseas to become members of existing commandos or to form their
own brigades. On the outbreak of war the Boer forces comprised approximately 55,000 burghers,
1,200 artillerymen, 2,000 police and 2,000 foreign volunteers, plus some 400 support service
personnel, of whom perhaps 35,000 were in the field.
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