The Battle of Spion Kop

The Reasons for The British Army's Presence at Spion Kop

Sep 12, 2008 Grant Sebastian Nell

The Battle of Spion Kop was fought on the 24th of January 1900 in South Africa. It was one of the bloodiest battles of the Second Anglo Boer War.

By December 1899, British forces had been driven south of the Tugela River and the towns of Ladysmith, Mafeking and Kimberley were besieged by the Boers. Mid-December was especially bad for the British, with the loss of artillery and much of the Irish Brigade at Colenso on the 15th of December. The term ‘Black Week‘ was coined by the British press to describe this period.

In January 1900, smarting from his reversals and aware that something had to urgently be done to relieve the situation and salvage his tottering reputation, the British Commander in Chief, General Sir Redvers Buller VC, devised a pincer movement to outflank the Boer forces across the Tugela river and march to the relief of Ladysmith.

His intention was to stretch the Boer line as thin as possible, then attack across the Tugela with his left flank, followed by his right. The two forces would then regroup and drive towards Ladysmith.

Buller accordingly commenced his march. However, his lumbering wagon transport reduced his progress to a stately crawl, and on the northern banks of the Tugela the Boer forces were easily able to keep pace with the advancing British.

Buller relegated command of the left of his westerly flank to General Sir Charles Warren. Following the recent bad events, tension between the two Commanders was high, especially as Warren carried a commission which would allow him to take overall command should Buller’s strategy prove ineffective.

Thabanyama

On the 17th of January, Warren, with 13,000 men and 36 Guns, arrived at Trikhardt‘s Drift, his designated crossing point. On the 19th,he cautiously commenced a three day bombardment of a whale backed ridge opposite Trikhardt's Drift known as Thabanyama. The Boers, given ample warning, entrenched troops on Thabanyama and when Warren ordered an infantry assault it was easily repulsed.

Spion Kop

Following this failure, and having to deal with the impatient Buller, Warren decided to attack Spion Kop, just to the east of Thabanyama. The Boer right flank was centred around Spion Kop and the plan was to occupy the hill and therefore isolate the wings of the Boer right flank.

On the night of the 23rd, a British force of 1700 men, comprised of the Lancashire Brigade and Thorneycrofts Mounted Rifles - the latter was composed mainly of uitlander refugees from the Transvaal - climbed the hill in the mist-shrouded darkness. Not wishing to be burdened and overtaxed with equipment, they carried scanty rations and very few entrenching tools. This force was led by Major General Edward Woodgate.

The Boer picquet on Spion Kop was taken completely by surprise and fled, leaving the British to entrench their position. Due to the rocky soil, the deepest trench dug that night did not exceed 18 inches (50cm). At daybreak, the mist cleared, and the British realised they had made a tragic mistake: instead of occupying the forward crest of the hill, they had taken the centre, leaving their position exposed on three sides by other hills, all occupied by Boers.

The stage was set for one of the most lethal encounters between Boer and Briton in the entire war.

Sources:

A Tourist Guide to the Anglo Boer War 1899-1902

'Spionkop' by Pat Lundgren Compiled by Tony Westby-Nunn Westby-Nunn Publishers cc 2000

The Battle of Spion Kop - The Boer War in britishbattles.com

Battle of Spion Kop Probert Encyclopaedia

Readers Digest Illustrated History of South Africa: The Real Story Readers Digest 1989

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