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Battle of Poplar Grove
The battle of Poplar Grove saw the failure of both a Boer attempt to defend Bloemfontein and a British attempt to capture the main Boer army in the Orange Free State.
The Boers at Poplar Grove were badly outnumbered. In the aftermath of the surrender at Paardeberg, only around 6,000 men were left to defend the Orange Free State capital. They had a new commander, Christiaan De Wet. His main problem was that the morale of the Boer commandoes was at a very low ebb after Cronjé’s surrender.
The British commander, Lord Roberts, decided to send two infantry division straight at the Boer position, while the cavalry made a wide flanking move to the south. That advance never needed to turn into an attack. The British infantry came into view from the Boer camp at about 8 a.m. Demoralized by recent events, they retreated. When De Wet made his next stand at Driefontein it was with only 1,500 men.
The battle of Poplar Grove saw the failure of both a Boer attempt to defend Bloemfontein and a British attempt to capture the main Boer army in the Orange Free State.
The Boers at Poplar Grove were badly outnumbered. In the aftermath of the surrender at Paardeberg, only around 6,000 men were left to defend the Orange Free State capital. They had a new commander, Christiaan De Wet. His main problem was that the morale of the Boer commandoes was at a very low ebb after Cronjé’s surrender.
The British commander, Lord Roberts, decided to send two infantry division straight at the Boer position, while the cavalry made a wide flanking move to the south. That advance never needed to turn into an attack. The British infantry came into view from the Boer camp at about 8 a.m. Demoralized by recent events, they retreated. When De Wet made his next stand at Driefontein it was with only 1,500 men.
