41:
713:, ran along the north bank of the river, snaked between Railway Hill and Pieters Hill and continued to Ladysmith. While their main defences were north of the river, the Boers also held a number of ridges south of the river and east of Colenso. The Tugela runs generally east to Colenso, but near the railroad bridge the river turns north, then northeast. Along the northeasterly stretch, the river and railroad are commanded by a series of hills which represented the Boer main line of defence.
164:
849:(saddle) between Hart's and Railway Hills in a brilliant bayonet charge, capturing 48 Boer prisoners. The last to move forward, Major-General Norcott's 4th Brigade, began its assault on Hart's Hill. The close artillery support proved decisive, as trench after trench was overwhelmed by direct fire. A final infantry charge cleared the crest, compelling a Boer retreat. As Botha's men fell back from the heights, the British infantry gave out a cheer.
138:
152:
801:'s 5th (Irish) Brigade attacked the next high ground to the northeast, Hart's Hill on 23 February. Not waiting for all his battalions to arrive, Hart sent his troops up piecemeal and they were repulsed with almost 500 casualties. Two battalions of reinforcements arrived in time to prevent a rout. Two colonels were among the dead and the
717:
could dominate the Boer positions at
Colenso, and safely cross there. To capture Hlangwane, Buller realised that he would first have to rout the Boers from all their positions south of the river, but even with the south bank in his possession, Buller would still have to fight through the Boer-held hills to the north on the river.
716:
A 500 feet (150 m) high ridge named
Hlangwane rose northeast of Colenso on the south bank and overlooked the railroad. During the Battle of Colenso, a British attack on Hlangwane was repulsed. Since that time, the Boers had greatly strengthened the ridge. With Hlangwane in his possession, Buller
792:
Buller preferred to avoid the obvious route north along the railroad, but his intelligence officer informed him that an advance north across the river from Monte Cristo was impracticable. Therefore, the
British were forced to find a way to overcome the main Boer positions. British infantry occupied
837:
by field artillery pieces as heavy as 4.7-inch naval guns, the 6th
Brigade's advance was rapid at first. Then, about 14:00, as the British infantry moved out of artillery observation and Botha reinforced his threatened flank, the attack stalled. The reserve was put in at 14:30 and repulsed due to
820:
Buller began to look for another way to flank the Boers. It turned out that in front of the Boer positions, the Tugela entered a gorge. The pontoon bridge was moved north to the mouth of the gorge so
British soldiers could cross and move to the northeast along the riverbank, unseen by the Boers.
783:
829:
was directed to attack the Boer left flank. The brigades would strike from east to west, first at
Pieters Hill, then Railway Hill and finally Hart's Hill. Meanwhile, Lyttelton's division would threaten the Boer center and right flank. For once, Botha failed to anticipate Buller's moves.
693:
each resulted in embarrassing
British defeats at the hands of Botha's army of Boer irregulars. In three months, British casualties rose to 3,400 men while Boer losses were much lower. On 12 February, Buller ordered a fourth attempt to relieve
857:
On 28 February, the besieged defenders of
Ladysmith observed a great column of Boer horsemen and wagons moving rapidly north, just outside artillery range. Some time after 5:00pm, two squadrons of British mounted infantry commanded by Major
816:
On 25 February, a six-hour armistice was arranged to recover the
British wounded on the upper slopes of Wynne's and Hart's Hills. On one section of hillside, 80 were killed and only three survivors were recovered.
793:
Colenso on 19 February and the railhead was advanced to
Colenso Station. On 21 February, the pontoon bridge was positioned under the western brow of Hlangwane and the army began to cross. Major-General
774:) cleared Green Hill. The outflanked Boers abandoned Hlangwane and the south bank entirely on 19 February. Immediately, the British installed heavy artillery on the summit of Hlangwane.
76:
245:
809:
carried a young officer, who was severely wounded and unable to walk, for three or four hundred yards, under very heavy fire, to a place of safety for which he was awarded the
539:
40:
797:'s 11th Brigade captured Boer positions at Horse-shoe Hill and Wynne's Hill 3 miles (4.8 km) north of Colenso on the evening of 22 February. Major-General
746:
struck to the northeast on 15 February. Cingolo Hill, to the northeast of Hussar Hill, fell next. On 18 February, while, hundreds of miles to the west, General
1117:
143:
238:
735:
1107:
826:
771:
763:
743:
747:
821:
Meanwhile, a trail was located by which the British artillery was moved into supporting distance on the south bank. Lieutenant-General Sir
231:
794:
1122:
1088:
1062:
1043:
525:
734:
led a reconnaissance in force to Hussar Hill, a position southeast of Colenso. The position fell on 14 February to Colonel the
614:
862:
from Buller's army rode into Ladysmith and ended the siege. Botha retreated to a new defensive line 60 miles to the north.
532:
1127:
476:
421:
802:
1072:
645:, consisted of a series of military actions lasting from 14 February through to 27 February 1900 in which General Sir
619:
481:
1112:
738:'s mounted brigade, and 34 artillery pieces soon crowned Hussar Hill. With the support of the guns, Major-General
501:
461:
702:
695:
678:
314:
46:
406:
584:
456:
334:
309:
1016:
710:
564:
446:
441:
436:
411:
376:
324:
289:
157:
69:
885:
690:
599:
559:
486:
381:
349:
284:
845:'s 5th Brigade attacked Railway Hill. After working their way slowly uphill, the soldiers carried the
833:
Barton's brigade attacked Pieters Hill shortly after noon on 27 February. Behind an early use of the
759:
755:
466:
431:
359:
354:
698:. He hoped to exploit his ten-to-one superiority in artillery and four-to-one advantage in numbers.
876:
834:
806:
686:
609:
594:
579:
569:
496:
426:
396:
371:
344:
329:
304:
294:
798:
1020:
871:
662:
574:
491:
451:
416:
401:
299:
279:
269:
782:
1084:
1058:
1039:
739:
682:
589:
506:
339:
319:
274:
169:
1028:
1011:
994:
977:
842:
391:
974:
The South African War, 1899–1900 : a military retrospect up to the relief of Ladysmith
968:
The South African War, 1899–1900 : a military retrospect up to the relief of Ladysmith
767:
666:
255:
32:
1024:
386:
990:
973:
822:
810:
751:
650:
646:
471:
181:
1101:
1007:
859:
706:
705:
lay along the railroad, which ran mostly north and south. The railroad crossed the
805:
lost 72% of their officers and 27% of their rank and file. During this engagement
766:) captured the 1,000 feet (300 m) height of Monte Cristo, and Major-General
991:
Lessons of the War: Being Comments from Week to Week, to the Relief of Ladysmith
985:
Lessons of the War: Being Comments from Week to Week, to the Relief of Ladysmith
731:
654:
186:
881:
92:
78:
1077:
838:
tough Boer resistance and enfilading fire from Railway Hill to the west.
677:
Buller's army had made three earlier attempts to raise the Boer siege of
45:
British Forces storming Pieters Hill on February 27 and advancing to
781:
658:
223:
521:
227:
787:
A 4.7-inch naval gun firing on Boer positions on Pieter's Hill
517:
1076:
25:
1025:Poems of South African history, A.D. 1497–1910
639:Battle of Pieters Hill, Battle of the Pieters,
533:
239:
8:
921:
919:
540:
526:
518:
246:
232:
224:
22:
897:
635:Battle of Tugela (or Thukela) Heights
7:
1036:The Encyclopedia of Military History
1034:Dupuy, R. E.; Dupuy, T. N. (1977).
754:surrounded army, an event known as
730:On 12 February, Lieutenant-Colonel
1118:Battle honours of the British Army
750:'s army was fruitlessly attacking
16:1900 battle of the Second Boer War
14:
1055:The Battle of the Thukela Heights
215:2,300 killed, wounded or missing
162:
150:
136:
39:
966:Norris, Stephen Leslie (1900).
1108:Battles of the Second Boer War
1038:. New York: Harper & Row.
1:
803:Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers
104:Battle of the Tugela Heights
26:Battle of the Tugela Heights
1000:Atkins, John Black (1900).
983:Wilkinson, Spenser (1900).
1144:
643:Battle of the Tugela River
1057:. Randburg: Raven Press.
555:
265:
209:
192:
175:
128:
52:
38:
30:
1123:History of KwaZulu-Natal
1083:. New York: Avon Books.
1017:The Relief of Ladysmith
1008:The relief of Ladysmith
1002:The relief of Ladysmith
1053:Gillings, Ken (1999).
913:Pakenham, pp. 364–366
789:
176:Commanders and leaders
158:South African Republic
70:Colenso, KwaZulu-Natal
952:Pakenham, pp. 381–382
886:Field gun competition
827:5th Infantry Division
785:
744:4th Infantry Division
210:Casualties and losses
1128:February 1900 events
760:Henry J. T. Hildyard
701:The direct route to
637:, also known as the
877:Relief of Ladysmith
807:Edgar Thomas Inkson
88: /
60:14–27 February 1900
872:Siege of Ladysmith
790:
663:Siege of Ladysmith
610:Ladysmith (Relief)
570:Ladysmith (Battle)
397:Pretoria Offensive
1113:Conflicts in 1900
904:Pakenham, p. 374.
841:At 15:00 Colonel
770:'s 6th Brigade (
740:Neville Lyttelton
736:Earl of Dundonald
681:. The battles of
661:army to lift the
628:
627:
575:Ladysmith (Siege)
515:
514:
482:Blood River Poort
222:
221:
170:Orange Free State
124:
123:
93:28.683°S 29.833°E
1135:
1094:
1082:
1073:Pakenham, Thomas
1068:
1049:
1029:Internet Archive
1012:Internet Archive
1005:
995:Internet Archive
988:
978:Internet Archive
971:
953:
950:
944:
943:Pakenham, p. 380
941:
935:
934:Pakenham, p. 379
932:
926:
925:Pakenham, p. 377
923:
914:
911:
905:
902:
843:Walter Kitchener
835:creeping barrage
762:'s 2nd Brigade (
758:, Major-General
620:Blood River Port
550:
542:
535:
528:
519:
477:2nd Elands River
422:1st Elands River
260:
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899:
894:
868:
855:
795:Arthur S. Wynne
788:
780:
768:Geoffrey Barton
728:
723:
675:
667:Second Boer War
631:
630:
629:
624:
551:
548:
546:
516:
511:
462:Hartbeesfontein
261:
257:Second Boer War
256:
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204:
199:
163:
161:
160:
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149:
137:
135:
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120:British victory
103:
101:
98:-28.683; 29.833
97:
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87:
82:
79:
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74:
73:
44:
33:Second Boer War
17:
12:
11:
5:
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1100:
1099:
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997:
980:
970:. John Murray.
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958:
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954:
945:
936:
927:
915:
906:
896:
895:
893:
890:
889:
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884:inter-command
879:
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854:
851:
823:Charles Warren
811:Victoria Cross
786:
779:
776:
727:
724:
722:
719:
674:
671:
647:Redvers Buller
626:
625:
623:
622:
617:
612:
607:
605:Tugela Heights
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367:Tugela Heights
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182:Redvers Buller
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144:United Kingdom
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72:, South Africa
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1090:0-380-72001-9
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1080:
1074:
1070:
1066:
1064:0-86975-518-8
1060:
1056:
1051:
1047:
1045:0-06-011139-9
1041:
1037:
1032:
1030:
1027: at the
1026:
1022:
1021:H.D. Rawnsley
1018:
1015:
1013:
1010: at the
1009:
1006:Available as
1003:
998:
996:
993: at the
992:
989:Available as
986:
981:
979:
976: at the
975:
972:Available as
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964:
963:
959:
949:
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796:
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773:
769:
765:
761:
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756:Bloody Sunday
753:
752:Piet Cronjé's
749:
745:
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585:Willow Grange
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457:Middelfontein
455:
453:
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385:
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372:3rd Ladysmith
370:
368:
365:
361:
360:Bloody Sunday
358:
357:
356:
353:
351:
348:
346:
343:
341:
338:
336:
335:Magersfontein
333:
331:
328:
326:
323:
321:
318:
316:
313:
311:
310:Willow Grange
308:
306:
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300:2nd Ladysmith
298:
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295:1st Ladysmith
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67:
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59:
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55:
51:
48:
42:
37:
34:
29:
24:
19:
1079:The Boer War
1078:
1054:
1035:
1019:, A poem by
1001:
987:. Constable.
984:
967:
960:Bibliography
948:
939:
930:
909:
900:
860:Hubert Gough
856:
846:
840:
832:
819:
815:
799:Fitzroy Hart
791:
772:3rd Division
764:2nd Division
729:
715:
707:Tugela River
700:
676:
653:army forced
642:
638:
634:
632:
604:
565:Elandslaagte
502:Hart's River
472:Duivelskloof
447:Nooitgedacht
442:Leliefontein
437:Rhenosterkop
412:Diamond Hill
387:Sanna's Post
377:Poplar Grove
366:
325:Modder River
290:Elandslaagte
205:8 field guns
129:Belligerents
18:
732:Julian Byng
691:Vaal Krantz
665:during the
655:Louis Botha
615:Laing's Nek
549:Natal Front
487:Bakenlaagte
407:Faber's Put
382:Driefontein
350:Vaal Krantz
285:Talana Hill
187:Louis Botha
96: /
1102:Categories
1004:. Methuen.
892:References
882:Royal Navy
778:North bank
726:South bank
673:Background
600:Vaal Kranz
467:Groenkloof
432:Bothaville
355:Paardeberg
218:200 killed
102: (
853:Aftermath
748:Kitchener
703:Ladysmith
696:Ladysmith
687:Spion Kop
679:Ladysmith
595:Spion Kop
580:Chieveley
497:Tweebosch
427:Bergendal
345:Spion Kop
330:Stormberg
305:Chieveley
280:Kimberley
47:Ladysmith
1075:(1979).
866:See also
492:Groenkop
452:Helvetia
417:Witpoort
402:Doornkop
275:Mafeking
270:Kraaipan
193:Strength
65:Location
31:Part of
711:Colenso
683:Colenso
651:British
641:or the
590:Colenso
507:Rooiwal
340:Colenso
320:Graspan
315:Belmont
200:50 guns
83:29°50′E
80:28°41′S
1087:
1061:
1042:
721:Battle
560:Talana
392:Boshof
198:20,000
167:
155:
141:
117:Result
1023:from
203:5,000
1085:ISBN
1059:ISBN
1040:ISBN
689:and
659:Boer
633:The
57:Date
847:nek
825:'s
742:'s
709:at
657:'s
649:'s
1104::
918:^
813:.
685:,
669:.
1093:.
1067:.
1048:.
541:e
534:t
527:v
247:e
240:t
233:v
106:)
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
