The battle on the Modder River is one of the battles during the Second Boer War , which occurred on the banks of the on November 16 ( 28 ), 1899 within the former Orange Republic .
| Battle on the Modder River | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| The main conflict: Second Boer War | |||
 Battle Map | |||
| date | November 16 ( 28 ), 1899 | ||
| A place | |||
| Total | British victory | ||
| Opponents | |||
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| Commanders | |||
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Content
History
After the Battle of Belmont Station, Paul Sanford Matthewn gave his troops rest on November 14 ( 26 ), 1899 , after which he approached the Modder River on November 16 ( 28 ), 1899 [1] [2] .
The crossing of the river was occupied by General De la Rey with a detachment of one thousand Orangemen and eight hundred Transvaals. Despite their small numbers, the Boers showed stubborn resistance [1] .
The success of the defenders was largely facilitated by the mistakes of the British: the lack of intelligence, an attack from the front in an open area without demonstration at any other point, the deployment of a linear character, all forces at once (the guards brigade - east of the railway and the 9th brigade - west from it), the lack of reserves and the conduct of battle on that section of the river that gave the Boers the opportunity to cover the flanks [1] .
British losses - 24 officers, 461 lower ranks killed and wounded, Boers - 18 people. The immediate result of the battle on the Modder River, despite the Boers abandoning their positions ( November 17 ( 29 ), 1899 ), was the suspension of the further movement of the Metuen division, in order to wait for reinforcements to approach. Nevertheless, both the English and African Wikipedia say that the British remained victorious in this battle, although the latter, according to the “ VES ”, lost only one and a half times more killed officers than the Boer losses totaled [1 ] (the number of losses on the English Wikipedia also differs: 72 killed by the British [3] and 75 killed by the Boers [2] ).
With the arrival of the latter, when the strength of the English detachment increased to 12,000 soldiers, Matthewen again went on the offensive, the next stage of which was the battle of Magersfontein [4] .
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 The Boer War of 1899-1902 // Military Encyclopedia : [in 18 vol.] / Ed. V.F. Novitsky [et al.]. - SPb. ; [ M. ]: Type. t-va I. D. Sytin , 1911-1915.
- ↑ 1 2 Battle of Modder River
- ↑ Digit from NY Times, 1899-12-03.
- ↑ Magersfontein // Military Encyclopedia : [in 18 vol.] / Ed. V.F. Novitsky [et al.]. - SPb. ; [ M. ]: Type. t-va I. D. Sytin , 1911-1915.
Literature
- The Anglo-Transvaal War. Notes by General Villebois de Mareil. SPb.
- Vinogradsky A. The Anglo-Boer War in South Africa (Issue II, 1902).
- "The war of the British with the Boers." Compiled by the French General Staff. Translation by N. Bolotov .
- Fr Maurice . History of The war in South Africa, 1899-1902, 1906 (English) .