Battle of Driefontein

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Battle of Driefontein
Part of Second Boer War
Illiustratsiia k stat'e <<Abraamskraal'>>. Voennaia entsiklopediia Sytina. Tom 1 (SPb., 1911--1915).jpg
Date10 March 1900
Location
near Bloemfontein, Orange Free State
Result British victory
Belligerents
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom Flag of Transvaal.svg South African Republic
Flag of the Orange Free State.svg Orange Free State
Commanders and leaders
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Lord Roberts
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Robert Broadwood
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Thomas Kelly-Kenny [1] 		Flag of the Orange Free State.svg Christiaan de Wet
Strength
Unknown ~6,000 men
2 Vickers guns [1]
Casualties and losses
82 killed
342 wounded [2] 		102 killed
22 POW [2]

The Battle of Driefontein on 10 March 1900 followed on the Battle of Poplar Grove in the Second Boer War between the United Kingdom and the Boer republics, in what is now South Africa. In the first half of 1900, the British made an offensive towards the two Boer republic capitals of Bloemfontein and Pretoria.[ citation needed ]

Contents

Battle

Original lithograph caption: A Gallant Feat. Private Martin Hanlon, C.I.V. A Gallant Feat (Forbes and Atteridge, Battles of the Nineteenth Century, 1901).jpg
Original lithograph caption: A Gallant Feat. Private Martin Hanlon, C.I.V.

The Boer forces under the command of Christiaan de Wet were holding a 7-mile (11 km) line covering the approach to Bloemfontein. Lord Roberts subsequently ordered a division under Lieutenant General Thomas Kelly-Kenny to attack the position from the front, while Lieutenant General Charles Tucker's division moved against its left flank. [3] The Boers were subsequently forced to withdraw losing 124 men killed and captured, while the British lost 82 killed and 342 wounded. [2] [4] [5]


British Order of Battle

Infantry unitsMounted units
1st Battalion Coldstream Guards 2nd Dragoons
1st Battalion Essex Regiment 6th Dragoons
1st Battalion Gordon Highlanders 14th Hussars
2nd Battalion East Kent Regiment 12th Lancers
1st Battalion Oxfordshire Light Infantry Regiment 16th Lancers
1st Battalion Welch Regiment Royal Horse Guards
1st Battalion Yorkshire Regiment 1st Battalion Life Guards
2nd Battalion Life Guards

Order of Battle [6]

References

  1. 1 2 "THE BOER WAR". The Barrier Miner . 13 March 1900.
  2. 1 2 3 Micheal Clodfelter (9 May 2017). Warfare and Armed Conflicts: A Statistical Encyclopedia of Casualty and Other Figures, 1492-2015, 4th ed. McFarland. p. 212. ISBN   978-0-7864-7470-7.
  3. ↑ Laffin, John (1986). Brassey's Battles: 3,500 Years of Conflict, Campaigns and Wars from A-Z. London: Brassey's Defence Publishers. p. 150. ISBN   0080311857.
  4. ↑ Conan Doyle, A.C. (1902). "The Great Boer War, London, Smith, Elder & Co., 1902. CHAPTER XX Roberts' Advance on Bloemfontein". pinetreeweb.com. Smith, Elder & Co. Archived from the original on 10 February 2007. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  5. ↑ Rickard, John (2 March 2007). "Battle of Driefontein, 10 March 1900". historyofwar.org. Military History Encyclopedia on the Web. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  6. ↑ Army, The British (5 May 1903), English: A description of all units, casualties, and battles of the Second Boer War (PDF), retrieved 28 August 2024

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