Boer War, Battle of Belmont, 1899

The Battle of Belmont is the name of an engagement of the Second Boer War on November 23, 1899. The British, under Lord Methuen, were on their way to raise the Boer siege of Kimberley. A Boer force of about 2, 000 men had entrenched on the range of Belmont kopje to delay their advance. Methuen sent the Guards Brigade on a night march to outflank the Boers, but due to faulty maps the Grenadier Guards found themselves in front of the Boer position instead. They assaulted the Boers over open ground, suffering about 200 casualties. Before the British came to use their bayonets, the Boers retreated by pony and re-formed in another entrenched position at Graspan, where the pattern was repeated with the British suffering another 197 casualties. The Second Boer War (October 11, 1899 - May 31, 1902) was fought between the British Empire and two Boer states, the South African Republic (Republic of Transvaal) and the Orange Free State, over the Empire's influence in South Africa. The war ended in surrender and British terms with the Treaty of Vereeniging in May 1902. Both former republics were incorporated into the Union of South Africa in 1910, as part of the British Empire. Lithograph by Kurz and Allison, 1899

Restrictions Only for Ireland and United Kingdom

Anglo-boer Belmont Boer Grenadier

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