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Siege of Ladysmith
The siege of Ladysmith was a protracted engagement in the Second Boer War, taking place between 2 November 1899 and 28 February 1900 at Ladysmith, Natal.
The Second Boer War began on 11 October 1899 when the Boer republics of Transvaal and the Orange Free State (OFS), under their Presidents Paul Kruger and Martinus Theunis Steyn respectively, declared war on the British Empire. Two days previously, the republics had issued a joint ultimatum demanding the withdrawal of British troops from the northern part of Natal—which bordered OFS on the west and Transvaal on the east—and the recall of all reinforcements dispatched to Natal in recent weeks.
The British government ignored the ultimatum, which they are held to have provoked. They claimed to be protecting the interests of its own citizens who lived in Transvaal. Kruger's Afrikaner government refused to extend the franchise to Uitlanders ("foreigners"), who potentially outnumbered the resident Afrikaner/Boer population. The Boer republics, insisting that Britain sought to incorporate them into a united South Africa under imperial rule, were determined to remain independent. It was widely believed that Britain's real motive was to gain control of the recently discovered Witwatersrand gold mines near Johannesburg.
The catalyst for the Boer ultimatum was the mobilisation of some 4,000 British troops in northern Natal under the command of General Sir William Penn Symons. That followed the decision to reinforce the whole of Natal with 10,000 extra troops drawn from various regiments and battalions in India, Egypt, Malta, and Crete. There were delays in organising this force, and it was not until mid-October that all men and equipment had disembarked at Durban. Their ultimatum having expired, the Boers under General Piet Joubert began their invasion of northern Natal on 11/12 October, advancing with three columns under Generals Daniel Erasmus, Jan Kock, and Lucas Meyer.
The strategically important northern part of Natal had the shape of a triangle, and was often referred to as such. It was a wedge of land with a broad southern base formed by the Tugela River. The Drakensberg mountains formed its western border with the OFS. There were two eastern borders formed by the Buffalo River: Transvaal to the north-east, and Zululand south-east. The town of Newcastle was near the apex of the triangle, and close to both the OFS and Transvaal borders. Further south, where the triangle became broader, Glencoe and the nearby coal-mining town of Dundee are just north of the central Biggarsberg mountain range. Dundee is about fifteen miles west of the Buffalo. Ladysmith is some fifty miles south-west of Glencoe, with the small town of Elandslaagte roughly midway between. Apart from Dundee, these towns were all on the Zuid–Oosterlijn railway which connected Durban with Johannesburg and Pretoria, crossing the Tugela at Colenso, twelve miles south of Ladysmith.
Symons, who was then Britain's GOC in Natal, held that a relatively small force north of the Biggarsbergs was adequate to defend the southern part of the triangle. He was supported by the colony's governor, Sir Walter Hely-Hutchinson. In choosing this strategy, Symons rejected the views of General Redvers Buller, an experienced campaigner in South Africa who had returned to England. Buller was opposed to garrisons in the Natal triangle, and strongly urged the formation of a defensive line along the southern bank of the Tugela, centered on Colenso.
The first wave of British reinforcements, disembarking at Durban in October, were under the command of General Sir George White, who was to supersede Symons as Natal GOC. White's initial view, invoking Buller's advice, was that Symons should withdraw from the triangle, but he was challenged by Hely-Hutchinson, who feared political repercussions should northern Natal fall to the Boers. Symons had garrisoned Dundee with some 4,000 soldiers comprising three battalions of infantry, supported by units of the Royal Artillery, the 18th Hussars, and others. Despite his misgivings, White decided to accept the governor's political arguments and, with a force of 8,000 under his command, chose Ladysmith as his headquarters.
A total of 21,000 Boers advanced into Natal from all sides. Newcastle was taken without a fight. Symons' force, stationed at Glencoe and Dundee, fought the Battle of Talana Hill on 20 October. The British won a tactical victory there, but Symons was mortally wounded and died later in Dundee. General James Yule took command.
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Siege of Ladysmith
The siege of Ladysmith was a protracted engagement in the Second Boer War, taking place between 2 November 1899 and 28 February 1900 at Ladysmith, Natal.
The Second Boer War began on 11 October 1899 when the Boer republics of Transvaal and the Orange Free State (OFS), under their Presidents Paul Kruger and Martinus Theunis Steyn respectively, declared war on the British Empire. Two days previously, the republics had issued a joint ultimatum demanding the withdrawal of British troops from the northern part of Natal—which bordered OFS on the west and Transvaal on the east—and the recall of all reinforcements dispatched to Natal in recent weeks.
The British government ignored the ultimatum, which they are held to have provoked. They claimed to be protecting the interests of its own citizens who lived in Transvaal. Kruger's Afrikaner government refused to extend the franchise to Uitlanders ("foreigners"), who potentially outnumbered the resident Afrikaner/Boer population. The Boer republics, insisting that Britain sought to incorporate them into a united South Africa under imperial rule, were determined to remain independent. It was widely believed that Britain's real motive was to gain control of the recently discovered Witwatersrand gold mines near Johannesburg.
The catalyst for the Boer ultimatum was the mobilisation of some 4,000 British troops in northern Natal under the command of General Sir William Penn Symons. That followed the decision to reinforce the whole of Natal with 10,000 extra troops drawn from various regiments and battalions in India, Egypt, Malta, and Crete. There were delays in organising this force, and it was not until mid-October that all men and equipment had disembarked at Durban. Their ultimatum having expired, the Boers under General Piet Joubert began their invasion of northern Natal on 11/12 October, advancing with three columns under Generals Daniel Erasmus, Jan Kock, and Lucas Meyer.
The strategically important northern part of Natal had the shape of a triangle, and was often referred to as such. It was a wedge of land with a broad southern base formed by the Tugela River. The Drakensberg mountains formed its western border with the OFS. There were two eastern borders formed by the Buffalo River: Transvaal to the north-east, and Zululand south-east. The town of Newcastle was near the apex of the triangle, and close to both the OFS and Transvaal borders. Further south, where the triangle became broader, Glencoe and the nearby coal-mining town of Dundee are just north of the central Biggarsberg mountain range. Dundee is about fifteen miles west of the Buffalo. Ladysmith is some fifty miles south-west of Glencoe, with the small town of Elandslaagte roughly midway between. Apart from Dundee, these towns were all on the Zuid–Oosterlijn railway which connected Durban with Johannesburg and Pretoria, crossing the Tugela at Colenso, twelve miles south of Ladysmith.
Symons, who was then Britain's GOC in Natal, held that a relatively small force north of the Biggarsbergs was adequate to defend the southern part of the triangle. He was supported by the colony's governor, Sir Walter Hely-Hutchinson. In choosing this strategy, Symons rejected the views of General Redvers Buller, an experienced campaigner in South Africa who had returned to England. Buller was opposed to garrisons in the Natal triangle, and strongly urged the formation of a defensive line along the southern bank of the Tugela, centered on Colenso.
The first wave of British reinforcements, disembarking at Durban in October, were under the command of General Sir George White, who was to supersede Symons as Natal GOC. White's initial view, invoking Buller's advice, was that Symons should withdraw from the triangle, but he was challenged by Hely-Hutchinson, who feared political repercussions should northern Natal fall to the Boers. Symons had garrisoned Dundee with some 4,000 soldiers comprising three battalions of infantry, supported by units of the Royal Artillery, the 18th Hussars, and others. Despite his misgivings, White decided to accept the governor's political arguments and, with a force of 8,000 under his command, chose Ladysmith as his headquarters.
A total of 21,000 Boers advanced into Natal from all sides. Newcastle was taken without a fight. Symons' force, stationed at Glencoe and Dundee, fought the Battle of Talana Hill on 20 October. The British won a tactical victory there, but Symons was mortally wounded and died later in Dundee. General James Yule took command.