Battle of Boshof
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Battle of Boshof was a battle fought 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 South ...
on 5 April 1900 between British forces and mostly French volunteers of the
Boer Boers ( ; af, Boere ()) are the descendants of the Dutch-speaking Free Burghers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. From 1652 to 1795, the Dutch East India Company controlled this are ...
army.Jaques p. 155


Events


Background

Following the
Battle of Paardeberg The Battle of Paardeberg or Perdeberg ("Horse Mountain") was a major battle during the Second Anglo-Boer War. It was fought near ''Paardeberg Drift'' on the banks of the Modder River in the Orange Free State near Kimberley. Lord Methuen a ...
(18–27 February), the relief of Kimberley and
Ladysmith Ladysmith may refer to: * Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa * Ladysmith, British Columbia, Canada * Ladysmith, Wisconsin, United States * Ladysmith, New South Wales, Australia * Ladysmith, Virginia, United States * Ladysmith Island, Queenslan ...
and the fall of
Bloemfontein Bloemfontein, ( ; , "fountain of flowers") also known as Bloem, is one of South Africa's three capital cities and the capital of the Free State province. It serves as the country's judicial capital, along with legislative capital Cape To ...
, General Frederick Roberts reorganised his force to pursue the defeated Boers. At the same time Lieutenant general Paul Methuen was tasked with clearing the country along the
Vaal River The Vaal River ( ; Khoemana: ) is the largest tributary of the Orange River in South Africa. The river has its source near Breyten in Mpumalanga province, east of Johannesburg and about north of Ermelo and only about from the Indian Ocean. ...
on the Boers' flank and to drive towards Mafeking, which was still besieged.Mace & Grehan p.176 On 5 April Methuen ordered Brigadier-General Lord Chesham, with the Kimberley Mounted Corps and 4th Battery RFA. From an informer they found intelligence on a Boer Commando unit led by a French volunteer, the Comte de Villebois-Mareuil. Methuen was given information that the Boer unit intended to attack the British at
Boshof Boshof is a farming town in the west of the Free State province, South Africa. The town is 55 km north-east of Kimberley on the R64 road. Established in March 1856 on the farm Vanwyksvlei, which had been named after a Griqua who sowed his ...
near Tweefontein. The newly formed
Imperial Yeomanry The Imperial Yeomanry was a volunteer mounted force of the British Army that mainly saw action during the Second Boer War. Created on 2 January 1900, the force was initially recruited from the middle classes and traditional yeomanry sources, but s ...
3rd and 10th battalions, was given the task to surround the Boers. De Villebois-Mareuil, was in charge of the French legion volunteers which had 75 foreign volunteers most of whom were of the French but included a number of German, Dutch, Americans and one Russian Prince.Miller pp 184-6.


Battle

De Villebois-Mareuil's force lay on two small hills (or Kopjes) - the foreign volunteers on one and the Boers on the other.Bennett pp. 10-04 By 3pm the British force were setting up positions around the hills. A bombardment by four 15 pounder guns then commenced, along with suppressing fire by a
Maxim machine gun The Maxim gun is a recoil-operated machine gun invented in 1884 by Hiram Stevens Maxim. It was the first fully automatic machine gun in the world. The Maxim gun has been called "the weapon most associated with imperial conquest" by historian ...
.Macnab pp. 198-202 As the yeomanry prepared to close with the bayonet, the Boers on the hill saw that they were being outflanked and asked De Villebois-Mareuil to withdraw but he flatly refused. He was hoping for a thunderstorm which was coming their way to aid him. The pounding increased the casualties and the Boers saw the hopelessness of the situation - they mounted their horses and fought their way out. De Villebois-Mareuil and the French were left to attempt to make a gallant but futile last stand. The Kimberley Mounted Corps crept up on the right and the rest of the Yeomen dismounted and did the same on the left. Both sides were close and the British artillery had to be careful when firing in order not to hit their own men. Some of the French tried to escape by mounting horses but were all taken down easily in a hail of rifle fire. Still the rest refused to surrender. Nevertheless, the Yeomanry took advantage and moved through the bushes and boulders around the hills. They slowly crept up ever closer, and casualties were light. Within a few hours of fighting De Villebois-Mareuil was killed by a shell and morale sank amongst the volunteers. Seeing the panic the Yeomanry now only within fifteen yards of the fortified positions fixed bayonets and charged. By 6pm with darkness having approached the volunteers waved a white flag and the surviving volunteers surrendered. The thunderstorm that could have covered their retreat then came across the battlefield. The battle lasted only three hours - in all eleven of the volunteers were killed, the rest were wounded and captured. De Villebois-Mareuil's Aide-de-camp Comté Pierre de Bréda was captured and was treated with chivalry by Methuan. In addition Prince Bagratian of Tiflis, a Russian volunteer was killed. British losses were three killed and ten wounded.


Aftermath

One week after his death the Boer Foreign Legion was disbanded and placed under General De la Rey to continue with the Guerilla Phase of the War. The battle was the first time that the Imperial Horse Yeomanry had fought and was also their first victory. British troops buried De Villebois-Mareuil with full military honours. A
mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different eleme ...
was arranged by the
Ligue de la patrie française The Ligue de la patrie française (French Homeland League) was a French nationalist and anti- Dreyfus organization. It was officially founded in 1899, and brought together leading right-wing artists, scientists and intellectuals. The league fielded ...
which was held in his honour at the
Notre Dame de Paris Notre-Dame de Paris (; meaning "Our Lady of Paris"), referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the Seine River), in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. The cathedral, dedicated to the ...
which 10,000 people attended. De Villebois-Mareuil's horse was taken to Britain by Lord Chesham, where it lived until February 1911. A monument was later erected on the Farm Middelkuil, ten kilometres East of Boshof, where the battle took place, to commemorate battle.


References

;Bibliography * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Boshof, Battle Of Conflicts in 1900 Battles of the Second Boer War 1900 in the South African Republic April 1900 events History of the Free State (province)