Battle of Kakamas

Battle of Kakamas
	Part of South West Africa Campaign
	Kakamas Battle of Kakamas (South Africa)
Date	4 February 1915
Location	Kakamas, South Africa
Result	South African victory German invasion repelled;
Belligerents
Germany German Southwest Africa ;	South Africa
Commanders and leaders
Maj. Hermann Ritter	Col. J. van Deventer
Strength
Unknown	6,000
Casualties and losses
7 killed; 16 wounded; 16 captured	2 killed

Last updated September 27, 2024

The battle of Kakamas took place in Kakamas, Northern Cape Province of South Africa on 4 February 1915. It was a skirmish for control of two river fords over the Orange River between contingents of a German invasion force and South African armed forces. The South Africans succeed in preventing the Germans gaining control of the fords and crossing the river.

Prelude

South Africa had assembled a force of 6,000 men in Upington and Kakamas, under the command of Colonel J. van Deventer. Van Deventer's men were to form one of the columns in a planned invasion of German South West Africa. In a pre-emptive move German Schutztruppe under the command of Major Ritter invaded South Africa.^[1] The German force comprised 205 mounted riflemen, four artillery guns and four machine guns. Major Ritter's force attacked Kakamas on 4 February 1915 under cover of the German artillery. The Germans managed to capture a small South African outpost at the ferry landing on the riverbank. The South African soldiers had managed to position themselves between the two flanks and Major Ritter, realizing that a South African counter-attack was imminent, ordered his men to withdraw. The South African soldiers were ferried across the river and on the northern bank, the South African soldiers opened fire on the Germans. The German artillery fired at the South African soldiers, but the guns were withdrawn after the German rearguard was captured. The Germans only managed to break away from the South Africans at 23:00 and reached Biesiespoort on 5 February 1915 after which the retreated back across the border into German South West Africa. There were two more German attacks on the northern police border post of Rietfontein but these attacks were repulsed with heavy losses.^[2]

Battle

Ritter attacked Kakamas on 4 February 1915, hoping to capture two Orange River fords and head south further into South Africa. A fierce skirmish developed with the Germans being beaten back, with the loss of seven dead, sixteen wounded and sixteen taken prisoner.^[1]^[3]^[4]^[5]

Aftermath

Following the battle van Deventer called up the rest of his column from Upington, 80 kilometres away, crossed the Orange River and proceeded to advance slowly into South West Africa.

Memorial

Just outside the town, in the town's cemetery, there is a memorial dedicated to the German soldiers killed in the battle.^[6]

Related Research Articles

The South West Africa campaign was the conquest and occupation of German South West Africa by forces from the Union of South Africa acting on behalf of the British imperial government at the beginning of the First World War. The South African Prime Minister Louis Botha took the unusual move of directly leading his troops into battle as commander-in-chief, to the frustration of his cabinet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Upington</span> Town in Northern Cape, South Africa

Upington is a town founded in 1873 and located in the Northern Cape province of South Africa, on the banks of the Orange River. The town was originally called Olijvenhoutsdrift, due to the abundance of olive wood trees in the area, but later renamed after Sir Thomas Upington, Attorney-General and then Prime Minister of the Cape. It originated as a mission station established in 1871 and run by Reverend Christiaan Schröder. The mission station now houses the Kalahari Orange Museum. The museum is also the home of a donkey statue, which recognises the enormous contribution that this animal made to the development of the region during the pioneering days of the 19th century.

Sir Thomas UpingtonKCMG (1844–1898), born in Cork, Ireland, was an administrator and politician of the Cape Colony.

The R359 is a regional route in the Northern Cape province of South Africa that runs along the south bank of the Orange River from Augrabies Falls through Augrabies and Kakamas to Louisvale. It is an alternative route to the N14, which runs on the north bank of the Orange River, between Kakamas and Upington.

The Battle of Boomplaats was fought near Jagersfontein at 29°50′53.47″S25°38′56.54″E on 29 August 1848 between the British and the Voortrekkers. The British were led by Sir Harry Smith, while the Boers were led by Andries Pretorius. The British were victorious after one Boer opened fire too early and betrayed their position.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Magersfontein</span> 1899 battle of the Second Boer War

The Battle of Magersfontein was fought on 11 December 1899, at Magersfontein, near Kimberley, South Africa, on the borders of the Cape Colony and the independent republic of the Orange Free State. British forces under Lieutenant General Lord Methuen were advancing north along the railway line from the Cape to relieve the siege of Kimberley, but their path was blocked at Magersfontein by a Boer force that was entrenched in the surrounding hills. The British had already fought a series of battles with the Boers, most recently at Modder River, where the advance was temporarily halted.

The Nelson Mandela Artillery Regiment is a reserve artillery regiment of the South African Army and part of the South African Army Artillery Formation.

The African theatre of the First World War comprises campaigns in North Africa instigated by the German and Ottoman empires, local rebellions against European colonial rule and Allied campaigns against the German colonies of Kamerun, Togoland, German South West Africa, and German East Africa. The campaigns were fought by German Schutztruppe, local resistance movements and forces of the British Empire, France, Italy, Belgium, and Portugal.

The South African Overseas Expeditionary Force (SAOEF) was a volunteer military organisation in World War I.

The Battle of Sandfontein was fought between the Union of South Africa on behalf of the British Imperial Government and the German Empire on 26 September 1914 at Sandfontein, during the first stage of the South West Africa Campaign of World War I, and ended in a German victory.

Kakamas is a town founded in 1898 and located in the Northern Cape province of South Africa, on the banks of the Orange River.

The South African Wars, including but also known as the Confederation Wars, were a series of wars that occurred in the southern portion of the African continent between 1879 and 1915. Ethnic, political, and social tensions between European colonial powers and indigenous Africans led to increasing hostilities, culminating in a series of wars and revolts, which had lasting repercussions on the entire region. A key factor behind the growth of these tensions was the pursuit of commerce and resources, both by countries and individuals, especially following the discoveries of gold in the region in 1862 and diamonds in 1867.

Kenhardt is a small town in the Northern Cape province of South Africa. This little town is about 120 km from Upington, the largest town in the area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Natal Light Horse</span> Military unit

The Natal Light Horse was an irregular South African Armed Forces regiment formed by Colonel John Robinson Royston in August 1914 during the First World War after petitioning General Jan Smuts for special permission to do so. Opening recruiting officers in Pietermaritzburg and Durban, a full roster of six hundred men was recruited within ten days. All of those enlisted had seen previous military service, including several Australians who had served under Royston during the Second Boer War and opted to remain in South Africa at the end of that conflict.

Keimoes is a town in the Northern Cape province of South Africa. It lies on the Orange River and is about halfway between Upington and Kakamas.

Ramansdrift is an abandoned town on the banks of the Orange River in the ǁKaras Region of Namibia. The nearest towns are Vredendal (28.8 km), Gaobis (28.8 km), Silwerstroom (32.6 km), and Hakiesdoorn (48.3 km).

Andries Gerhardus de Wet was a South African soldier and founder of the Vrykorps in German South West Africa which tried to overthrow the British-aligned government of the Union of South Africa to establish German rule.

Van Reenen's Pass is a pass through the Drakensberg mountains in South Africa. The N3 freeway, the main road between Durban and Johannesburg, was constructed through the pass with the northern end of the pass lying at the border of the provinces of KwaZulu-Natal and the Free State. The village of Van Reenen sits atop the pass and the two nearest towns are Ladysmith and Harrismith, situated in the respective KwaZulu-Natal and Free State provinces.

South Africa's participation in the First World War occurred automatically when the British Government declared war on Germany in August 1914. Due to her status as a Dominion within the British Empire, South Africa, whilst having significant levels of self-autonomy, did not have the legal power to exercise an independent foreign policy and was tied to the British declaration.

Barend Daniël Bouwer was a South African general in the Boer War (1899-1902) and the First World War (1914-1918).

References

1 2 Willcox, A. R. (1986). Great river: the story of the Orange River, Drakensberg Publications, ISBN 0-620-09845-7, ISBN 978-0-620-09845-8 p. 84
↑ Gillings, Ken. "World War 1 comes to the Northern Cape". The Genealogical Society of South Africa: 1 – via Database.
↑ Olivier, Sandra (2005) Touring in South Africa, 2nd Edition, Struik, ISBN 1-77007-142-3. p. 164 ^{[ permanent dead link ]}
↑ Exploring our Provinces: Northern Cape, Volume 8, Jacana Media, ISBN 1-77009-267-6. p. 62
↑ Reader's Digest illustrated guide to Southern Africa, Reader's Digest Association South Africa (Pty.), ltd. in association with T. V. Bulpin, 1978, p. 183
↑ Reader's Digest illustrated guide to southern Africa, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest Association South Africa, 1980, ISBN 0-620-04650-3, ISBN 978-0-620-04650-3