Battle of Driefontein
The Battle of Driefontein on 10 March 1900 followed on the Battle of Poplar Grove in the Second Boer War between the British Empire and the Boer republics, in what is now South Africa. In the first half of 1900, the British made an offensive towards the two Boer republic capitals of Bloemfontein and Pretoria. The Boer forces under the command of Christiaan de Wet were holding a 7-mile (11 km) line covering the approach to Bloemfontein. Lord Roberts subsequently ordered a division under Lieutenant General Thomas Kelly-Kenny to attack the position from the front, while Lieutenant General Charles Tucker's division moved against its left flank.[3] The Boers were subsequently forced to withdraw losing 124 men killed and captured, while the British lost 82 killed and 342 wounded.[2]
Battle of Driefontein | |||||||
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Part of Second Boer War | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
United Kingdom |
South African Republic Orange Free State | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Lord Roberts Robert George Broadwood Thomas Kelly-Kenny[1] | Christiaan de Wet | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
~6000 men 2 Vickers guns[1] | |||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
82 killed 342 wounded[2] |
102 killed 22 POW[2] |
References
- "THE BOER WAR". The Barrier Miner. 13 March 1900.
- Micheal Clodfelter (9 May 2017). Warfare and Armed Conflicts: A Statistical Encyclopedia of Casualty and Other Figures, 1492-2015, 4th ed. McFarland. p. 212. ISBN 978-0-7864-7470-7.
- Laffin, John (1986). Brassey's Battles: 3,500 Years of Conflict, Campaigns and Wars from A-Z. London: Brassey's Defence Publishers. p. 150. ISBN 0080311857.