Battle of Groenkloof
Encyclopedia
In the Battle of Groenkloof on 5 September 1901, a British column under Colonel Harry Scobell defeated and captured a small Boer commando led by Commandant Lotter in the Cape Colony during the Second Boer War
.
and the Transvaal
, some Dutch settlers living in the Cape Colony also took up arms against the British. To combat the guerilla war raging in the two Boer republics, Kitchener employed sweep-and-scour columns, farm burning and a policy of forcing Boer women and children into concentration camps.
However, using such harsh methods in the loyal Cape Colony was politically impossible. Instead, the British commander in the Cape Colony, General Sir John French resorted to a three-pronged strategy: first, to prevent Boer commandos from combining, second, to chase them constantly in order to prevent them from collecting new followers and supplies, and third, to tire them out so that they could be hunted down. One historian notes, "How simple an antidote to guerilla warfare, compared with that immense operation of burning farms and carting off the whole civilian population of the countryside into the camps!"
At dawn, a squadron of lancers was sent to investigate the kraal. The commanding officer, Lord Douglas Compton dropped his pistol near the entrance. As he dismounted to fetch his weapon, the Boers opened fire. Compton escaped, but the six men behind him were mowed down. Immediately, a thousand rifles opened up on the fearfully outnumbered Boers in the sheephouse.
After a half hour of the unequal contest, the Boers surrendered. They suffered 13 killed and 46 wounded, while 61 unwounded survivors were hustled into captivity. Scobell's force lost 10 men killed. A British combatant said, "The sight was horrible in the extreme ... In fact the place was like a butcher's shop, some men making awful noises groaning clutching the ground and rolling in the dirt in their agony."
turned the tables on the British in the Battle of Elands River
which followed ten days later. But as one historian points out, "In losing Lotter, the Boers had lost more than a tenth of the guerillas in the Colony south of the Orange
, and their élite commando at that ... the British Empire was a bottomless well, when it came to replacing lost troops."
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
.
Background
While General Lord Kitchener struggled to suppress guerilla warfare carried on by the Boers in the Orange Free StateOrange Free State
The Orange Free State was an independent Boer republic in southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, and later a British colony and a province of the Union of South Africa. It is the historical precursor to the present-day Free State province...
and the Transvaal
South African Republic
The South African Republic , often informally known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer-ruled country in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century. Not to be confused with the present-day Republic of South Africa, it occupied the area later known as the South African...
, some Dutch settlers living in the Cape Colony also took up arms against the British. To combat the guerilla war raging in the two Boer republics, Kitchener employed sweep-and-scour columns, farm burning and a policy of forcing Boer women and children into concentration camps.
However, using such harsh methods in the loyal Cape Colony was politically impossible. Instead, the British commander in the Cape Colony, General Sir John French resorted to a three-pronged strategy: first, to prevent Boer commandos from combining, second, to chase them constantly in order to prevent them from collecting new followers and supplies, and third, to tire them out so that they could be hunted down. One historian notes, "How simple an antidote to guerilla warfare, compared with that immense operation of burning farms and carting off the whole civilian population of the countryside into the camps!"
Battle
Armed with information from French's excellent Field Intelligence Department and led by African Intelligence scouts, Scobell pursued Lotter's commando in the Tandjesburg mountains. Scobell, whose command included the 9th Lancers, the Cape Mounted Rifles and Imperial Yeomanry, was reputedly one of the most efficient British column commanders. On the fifth day of a six-day mission, the British officer found his quarry in a mountain gorge called Groenkloof, near the village of Petersburg. Believing that Lotter's men occupied a farm building, Scobell ordered a night march and deployed his 1100 soldiers on some ridges overlooking the farm. Actually, Lotter and his 130-man commando had taken shelter in a nearby 30-by-15 foot stone sheephouse or kraal, which was topped with a corrugated iron roof.At dawn, a squadron of lancers was sent to investigate the kraal. The commanding officer, Lord Douglas Compton dropped his pistol near the entrance. As he dismounted to fetch his weapon, the Boers opened fire. Compton escaped, but the six men behind him were mowed down. Immediately, a thousand rifles opened up on the fearfully outnumbered Boers in the sheephouse.
After a half hour of the unequal contest, the Boers surrendered. They suffered 13 killed and 46 wounded, while 61 unwounded survivors were hustled into captivity. Scobell's force lost 10 men killed. A British combatant said, "The sight was horrible in the extreme ... In fact the place was like a butcher's shop, some men making awful noises groaning clutching the ground and rolling in the dirt in their agony."
Aftermath
Lotter and seven others were later executed by the British authorities as rebellious subjects. Jan SmutsJan Smuts
Jan Christiaan Smuts, OM, CH, ED, KC, FRS, PC was a prominent South African and British Commonwealth statesman, military leader and philosopher. In addition to holding various cabinet posts, he served as Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa from 1919 until 1924 and from 1939 until 1948...
turned the tables on the British in the Battle of Elands River
Battle of Elands River
In the Battle of Elands River or Modderfontein on 17 September 1901 during the Second Boer War, a Boer raiding force under Jan Smuts destroyed a British cavalry company led by Captain Sandeman, a cousin of Winston Churchill, on the farm Modderfontein.-Background:After a year of guerilla war, the...
which followed ten days later. But as one historian points out, "In losing Lotter, the Boers had lost more than a tenth of the guerillas in the Colony south of the Orange
Orange River
The Orange River , Gariep River, Groote River or Senqu River is the longest river in South Africa. It rises in the Drakensberg mountains in Lesotho, flowing westwards through South Africa to the Atlantic Ocean...
, and their élite commando at that ... the British Empire was a bottomless well, when it came to replacing lost troops."