Johannes Cornelius Jacobus "Hans" Lötter (1875-1901) was a

Boer Boers ( ; af, Boere ()) are the descendants of the Dutch-speaking Free Burghers of the eastern Cape Colony, Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. From 1652 to 1795, the Dutch East India Company controll ...

commander who fought, and was executed by, the British during the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

. Along with

Gideon Scheepers Gideon Scheepers (1878–1902) was a Boer military leader, scout and heliographer during the Anglo-Boer War (also known as the South African war). He is remembered for having been executed for war crimes. Early years Gideon Jacobus Scheepers wa ...

, Lötter was one of the most brutal guerrilla commandos in the

Cape Colony The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope, which existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when i ...

. Lötter entered the Cape Colony during the war along with

Pieter Hendrik Kritzinger Pieter Hendrik Kritzinger (20 April 1870, 'Wildemanskraal', Alexandria, Port Elizabeth District – 2 October 1930, Cradock, Eastern Cape), was a Boer general and Assistant Commandant of the Forces of the Orange Free State and Commander-in-Chief ...

. Lötter's

Boer Commando The Boer Commandos or "Kommandos" were volunteer military units of guerilla militia organized by the Boer people of South Africa. From this came the term "commando" into the English language during the Second Boer War of 1899-1902 as per Costica ...

earned a reputation for being brutal and undisciplined. Like many Boer commandants, Lötter promulgated public decrees to the residents of the Cape Colony, warning of harsh retribution if they did not support the forces of the Boer Republics. A column led by

Henry Jenner Scobell Major-General Sir Henry Jenner Scobell, KCVO, CB (2 January 1859 – 1 February 1912) was a British military leader who served as the last officer in command of Cape Colony before the formation of the Union of South Africa.Colby, Frank Moore ( ...

was tasked with tracking down Lötter's commando. They tracked the commando to

Groenkloof Groenkloof (Afrikaans for 'Green ravine') is a residential suburb of Pretoria, South Africa. This wealthy suburb in Pretoria is famous for its white Jacaranda trees. It is close to the city centre, and to the well-known Brooklyn Square and Me ...

, west of Cradock, and surprised them with a dawn attack. Sixty of Lötter's men became casualties and sixty, including Lötter, were captured. He was taken to

Graaff-Reinet Graaff-Reinet is a town in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is the oldest town in the province. It is also the sixth-oldest town in South Africa, after Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Simon's Town, Paarl and Swellendam. The town was the c ...

for his trial, and charged with treason, murdering unarmed British scouts, flogging two

Afrikaners Afrikaners () are a South African ethnic group descended from Free Burghers, predominantly Dutch settlers first arriving at the Cape of Good Hope in the 17th and 18th centuries.Entry: Cape Colony. ''Encyclopædia Britannica Volume 4 Part 2: ...

who had brought him terms of surrender, destroying railway lines, and marauding. The trial was straightforward, because Lötter was a citizen of the British-controlled

, and therefore a rebel. He was executed along with seven of his men.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lötter, Johannes Boer military personnel of the Second Boer War 1875 births 1901 deaths 20th-century executions by South Africa