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Battle of Magersfontein
Size of the armies: 8,000 British against 9,000 Boers.
After the action at the Modder River Methuen was forced to delay at the river crossing for several days. This gave the Boers time to reorganise. De la Rey persuaded the Boers not to occupy the prominent Magersfontein Hills, but to dig trenches at the foot of the hills.
The Boers had spotted the approaching British when they were about nine hundred yards away, but held their fire. Finally, when they were only four hundred yards away from the trenches, Wauchope ordered the brigade to deploy. Seconds later, the Boers opened fire.
The dense column was caught while changing formation and was thrown into confusion. The three battalions of the Highland Brigade were unable to advance or retreat, and had to lie on the veld, tormented by ants and thirst. Methuen was unable to send help to them. His artillery pounded the hills and missed the Boer trenches.
The cavalry and Guards Brigade tried to prevent Boers working round the right flank of the highlanders. but in mid-afternoon, the Highland Brigade broke and retreated under heavy fire. As they tried to rally out of effective rifle range, the Boer artillery opened fire for the first time.
British casualties were 902. The Highland Brigade lost 53 officers and 650 soldiers, among them the brigade commander, Major General Wauchope, and 2 commanding officers killed. The commanding officer of the Gordons was also killed. Boer casualties were 236.
The week from December 10 to December 17 where the British also lost battles at Colenso and Stormberg was known in England as "Black Week". The defeat caused much consternation in Britain, particularly in Scotland where the losses to the Highland regiments were keenly felt.
De La Rey's brilliant tactics were ground breaking. His use of trenches, barbed wire and guerrilla tactics is still used years later. Some of the English became entangled in a wire farm fence in front of the trenches and were shot there, in a grim foretaste of the Western Front in World War I. De la Ray did not participate in the Battle of Magersfontein - he was attending the funeral of his son.
This monument was erected in honour of the Boers that died in the battle at Magersfontein and other battles in the area.
The Boers' leaders lead from the front and amongst the casualties were some of the General's staff. They have a special wall of remembrance at the site.
All the names of casualties of the battles in the area are listed here. Most Afrikaans surnames are represented. This is one example:
The Boers' were known to bury the English casualties if the English could not. There were also occasions where the Boers sent English prisoners of war back to the English camps because they would receive better medical care.
This is a remarkable site - well worth the visit.
