Breakthrough battle
By 11th February 1900, with some 20 000 men and 60 pieces of artillery, General Buller was as ready as he ever would be for another attempt to relieve Ladysmith. The Boers on the other hand, had around 1500 men in the general area around Colenso, Green Hill, Hlangwane and Monte Christo with a further 1500 at Spioenkop. In an effort to convince Louis Botha that he would have another attempt at Spionkop, Buller, purposely left a group of his cavalry there to provide a decoy.
Dundonald, with a contingent of Colonial Cavalry, Welch Fusiliers and a Royal Field Artillery Battery, seized Hussar Hill and used it for the
purposes of reconnaissance before withdrawing, sustaining some
casualties from Boer artillery and rifle fire in the process.
On 14th February 1900 Buller moved his force from Chieveley to
re-occupy Hussar Hill and, by the following day, is in position on and around the Hill. By the 16th he has several artillery pieces on top which include two Naval 12 pounders and, the bombardment of Hlangwane and Cingolo begins.
On the morning of the 17th February 1900 Lyttleton advances with the
infantry and attacks the Boers on the south western corner of Cingolo, Dundonald in the meantime, approaches with his Colonials from the other side. The Boers are taken by surprise and immediately move back across the summit and By 5 pm Cingolo is in British hands.
Monte Cristo extends northwest to southeast joining Green Hill via a spur and is strongly defended by the Boers. The 2nd Brigade was to attack Monte Cristo while the 6th Brigade was responsible for the attack on Green Hill. At 7 am on the 18th February the battle began with a heavy bombardment of Green Hill. The following day the British occupied
Hlangwane with the Boers having moved back to the range of hills called Wynne, Harts, Railway and Pieters, on the northern side of the Tugela River. Botha brings reinforcements from Spioenkop and Ladysmith in support of Colenso, increasing his compliment to around 5000 men.
The British reoccupied Colenso on the 20th February 1900 and, the
following day the army is assembled along the Southern banks of the Tugela, north of Colenso, where the engineers construct a pontoon bridge, incidentally the only one Buller had. General Coke’s infantry
Brigade comprising the Dorsetshire, Middlesex and Somerset regiments, were first across with Major-General Wynne’s Lancashire Brigade close behind. Coke’s Brigade were deployed to the north-west to protect Colenso where they are faced with heavy fire from the Carolina, Swaziland, Bethel and Zoutpansberg Commandos, sustaining heavy casualties, in particular to the
Somersets.
Major-General Wynne captures Wynne Hill on 23rd February at a cost of nearly 500 casualties, only to find that he is short of the crest and faced with shell fire from Hart Hill just up ahead. Wynne is wounded, so is Crofton and the command is handed over to Brigadier General F.W. Kitchener. General Buller orders Hart’s 5th Irish Brigade to
support Wynne by taking Hart Hill, but he is stopped by determined fire from the Vryheid, Pretoria, Krugersdorp, Johannesburg and
Boksburg Commandos, incurring heavy casualties, in particular to the Inniskilling Fusiliers. With his army once again bogged down, Buller brings most of his men back across the Tugela, leaving Hart to
continue the pressure whilst instructing the Engineers to move the Pontoon Bridge about a mile further north. An armistice was declared on the 25th February in order that both armies can recover their wounded.
By the end of the 26th February 1900, the majority of the British forces had re-crossed the Tugela and were positioned, below Harts and
Railway Hills where the artillery fire of some 70 guns was directed.
On the 27th February 1900, Majuba Day, the Relief Force could see Ladysmith. Three simultaneous attacks were made on the enemy, General Barton’s 6th Brigade attacked Pieters Hill, Kitchener’s 11th Brigade moved straight ahead to Railway Hill, while Norcott’s 4th
Brigade attacked Harts Hill. By 5.30 pm it was all over. The Boers were in retreat and the way was clear to Ladysmith.
Captain Hubert Gough, with cavalry from the Imperial Light Horse and Natal Carbineers, decided to check that the Boers had really left and ventured out onto the open plain below Umbulwane. At 6.15 pm he sent a message to Dundonald that he going in to Ladysmith and formed his men into sections, E Squadron Natal Carbineers under
Major McKenzie and the Imperial Light Horse under Captain
Bottomley. Four abreast two Natal Carbineers alongside two Imperial Light Horse and with Gough at the head the two regiments entered the town together. Other members of this memorable entry were the Natal Police. Contrary to popular belief, Winston Churchill was not amongst this party, he and Dundonald galloped the seven miles into town only to find Gough already in conversation with General White.
The success for this fourth attempt was mainly due to a change in military tactics to a more modern concept that is seen thereafter, the Artillery located behind the Infantry, shelling the areas in front to clear the way ahead. In
addition, the Infantry were permitted to fight as individuals, taking cover where they could and selecting their targets rather than being forced ahead as “cannon fodder” as they had been in earlier encounters.
The official date for the “relief” by Buller was recorded as 1st March 1900 and, those who could still stand lined the streets to welcome him. At this time the Garrison was on rations of 1 1/2 biscuits per day with four days supply
remaining.
BRITISH FORCES:
INFANTRY: 2nd Battalion West Surrey, 2nd Battalion Devonshires, 2nd Battalion West Yorkshire and 2nd Battalion East Surrey. 2nd Battalion Cameronians (Scottish Rifles), 3rd Battalion Kings Royal Rifles, 1st Battalion Durham Light
Infantry, 1st Battalion Rifle Brigade and a Squadron 13th Hussars. 1st Battalion Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, 1st
Battalion Border regiment, 1st Battalion Connaught Rangers and 2nd Battalion Royal Dublin Fusiliers, 2nd Battalion Royal Fusiliers, 2nd Battalion Royal Scots Fusiliers, 2nd Battalion Royal Irish Fusiliers, 1st Battalion Royal Welch
Fusiliers an a Squadron 13th Hussars. 2nd Battalion Dorsetshire Regiment, 2nd Battalion Middlesex Regiment and 2nd Battalion Somerset Light Infantry, 2nd Battalion Royal Lancaster regiment, 2nd Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers, 1st
Battalion South Lancashire regiment, 1st Battalion York & Lancasters and a Squadron 13th Hussars, 1st Battalion Royal Dublin Fusiliers, Imperial Light Infantry, Thorneycroft’s Mounted Infantry, Bethune’s Mounted Infantry.
CAVALRY: 14th Hussars and 1st Royal Dragoon Guards, 4 Squadrons South African Light Horse, B Squadron Natal Carbineers, a Squadron Natal Police and a Squadron Imperial Light Horse.
ARTILLERY: Was split the RFA Batteries among the various Brigades but in all had the 7th, 19th, 20th, 28th, 61st, 63rd, 64th, 73rd and 78th Batteries. Twelve Naval 12 pounder, 4th Mountain Battery and two 4.7 and one 6 inch Naval guns.
ROYAL ENGINEERS Balloon and Telegraph sections and the usual Royal Army Medical Corps units.
BOER FORCES
At the commencement of the battle, on 14th February 1900, the Boer forces were distributed from Red Hill east of Colenso, through the Colenso Koppies across the Tugela River to Hlangwane then, north to Pieters Hill. Commandos units were: Heidleberg, Soutpansberg, Swaziland Police, Carolina, Pretoria, Bethel, Ermelo, Irish Scouts, Middleburg, Standerton, Boksburg, Wakkerstroom, Rustenburg, Krugersdorp, Johannesburg and Vryheid Commandos. The line was roughly 9 miles long with Botha’s headquarters in the eastern sector just across the Tugela River from the town itself.
“ … across the plain we pelted as hard as we could gallop drawing nearer and nearer each moment to the dark mass of horsemen
rapidly advancing towards us. At the end it was like a hostile cavalry charge rather than the meeting of two friendly bodies of men. As we drew within shouting range we yelled and howled like packs of wild dogs. Caps and helmets were waved, guns frantically
brandished, horses plunged and bucked with fright, and in a moment the two columns were merged into a struggling mass of
horsemen, besieged and deliverers mixed inextricably in one disorderly mass of cheering, laughing, gesticulating, hand-shaking, back-slapping men. All showed wear and tear. Tattered and lean and brown, the one side with privation and exposure and long
anxiety, and the other with hard fighting and desperate derring-do”. Major Gough, first man to enter Ladysmith.
British casualties during the Breakthrough were listed as 26 officers and 347 men died,
99 officers and 1710 men wounded. Ref. Kenneth Griffith
Boer casualties at 81 killed and 343 wounded. Ref. red Cross Identification Dept.
