Battle of Modder River

Battle of the Modder River

Part of: Second Boer War

The Battle of the Modder River

date	November 28, 1899
place	Modder River , Orange Free State , South Africa
output	British victory

Parties to the conflict
United Kingdom	Transvaal Orange Free State
Commander
Paul Methuen	Piet Cronjé Koos de la Rey
Troop strength
8,000	9,000
losses
70 dead, 415 wounded	150 dead and wounded

The Battle of Modder River (in Afrikaans also Slag van die Twee Riviere ; German: "Battle of the Two Rivers") was a battle in the Second Boer War .

British troops under Lord Methuen defeated a Boer advance there on November 28, 1899 with heavy losses. A full description of the battle is in The Times, January 2, 1900.

prehistory

Burian troops have been besieging the city of Kimberley in the British Cape Colony north of the Modder River near the border with the Transvaal and the Orange Free State since October 14, 1899 . The British politician and entrepreneur Cecil Rhodes was also in the city at the time . Although Kimberley was enclosed by the Boers, it could not be conquered. Finally, British troops reached South Africa to reinforce the local army. Their Commander-in-Chief Redvers Buller sent the first infantry division under Lord Methuen to relieve the city of Kimberley. Methuen expelled the Boers from Belmont and Graspan during his advance there along the Western Cape Railway.

Starting position of the Boers

Shortly before the battle of the Modder River, the Boer siege troops had been reinforced by troops from the Transvaal, led by General Koos de la Rey . De la Rey realized that the Boer tactic of occupying hills to attack the enemy from high altitudes left his units helpless in the superior British artillery. He therefore ordered that his men should bury themselves on the banks of the Modder River and the Riet River in order to be able to fire on the approaching British with their Mauser rifles shooting in a straight trajectory . In addition, it should be made difficult for the British to use their artillery. General Piet Cronjé , who later arrived with the Boer main troops, agreed to de la Rey's plan.

The Boer trenches were built as planned on the southern side of the Modder River and the Riet River . The Boers had six field cannons and one pom-pom rapid-fire cannon , which were used individually in the north and east of the Modder River. Several positions were dug for each cannon so that the cannons could be moved quickly in the event of enemy fire.

Starting position of the British

The troupe of Lord Methuen consisted of the first and ninth Infantry - Brigade , two cavalry - regiments (9 Lancer Regiment and one in Cape Town recruited regiment) and the 18th, 62nd and 75th Feldgeschütz- battery and four guns of the Marine Brigade . Reinforcements were on the way along the Western Cape Railway.

The British cavalry explored the later battlefield on the Modder River while the other troops were advancing, but did not discover the Boer trenches, even though they had clearly visible signs such as tin cans or limed stones laid out on the ground as distance measuring marks.

On November 28, around 4:30 in the morning, Lord Methuen's units were preparing to march towards the Modder River, after which they wanted to have breakfast.

The battle

Battle painting from the book Battles of the 19th century

When the British soldiers, still unaware of the enemy positions, had approached the Modder River within 1,100 meters, the Boers opened fire. The British were forced to lie down on the ground. Some British units tried to get closer to the enemy, but could not find fire protection in the tree-free and shrubby grass steppe, and only a few British came within 910 meters of the Boers. The first infantry brigade attempted to attack the Boers' left flank, but could not cross the Riet River. Meanwhile the British artillery shelled the enemy positions in the north of the Modder river.

The Boer cannons returned fire and at the same time constantly changed positions in their positions.

The fight was a draw throughout the day. The British infantrymen, who were lying quietly on the ground, were safe from enemy fire, but suffered from the high temperatures and thirst. Commander Methuen was slightly wounded while riding around on horseback to organize another attack on the Boer positions. At noon soldiers of the 9th Infantry Brigade discovered the open right flank of the enemy at the ford of Rosmead and crossed the ford. At around 1:00 p.m., British infantry units managed to drive the Boers out of Rosmead. The attackers were then accidentally shot at from their own 62nd battery, which had just reached the battlefield. By night the Boers around General de la Rey succeeded in driving the British back into a small bridgehead. However, since the Boers feared opening their flanks if they continued to attack the enemy in the bridgehead, they withdrew again.

After the British captured important positions, the Boers fled.

After the battle

Due to the premature fire of the Boers, the losses of the British were limited, but more than 400 were wounded. Because of the flat positions of the enemy, it was not possible for the British to carry out a frontal attack. After November 28th, the British were therefore forced to wait ten days for reinforcements while caring for their wounded.

The delay allowed the Boers to build defensive entrenchments for the later battle of Magersfontein . Adriaan de la Rey , son of General Koos de la Rey, was among the 80 or so dead on the Boer side .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Lord Methuen's Advance In: The Times, Jan. 2, 1900, p. 11 (English)

Web links

Commons : Battle of Modder River  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• The Great Boer War Arthur Conan Doyle: The Great Boer War , London 1902, Smith, Elder & Co., Chapter VIII, Lord Methuen's Advance (English)
• The Battle of Modder River at britishbattles.com (English)