When the Anglo-Boer War broke out on 10 October 1899, the boer forces had 21,000 men ready to invade the Colony of Natal. Ranged against them, the British had 13,000 men. The Boers, under the command of
General Petrus Joubert, crossed the border into the Natal Colony and rapidly advanced to the Tugela river, laying siege to
Ladysmith, some north of the river and entrapping some 8,000 British regulars. On 3 November, the town was bombarded by Boer artillery during the
First Battle of Colenso. On 15 November a raiding party
ambushed an armoured train at Frere, south of Colenso taking 70 prisoners including
Winston Churchill. After another raiding party was surprised on 23 November at Willow Grange, to the south of Colenso, the Boers withdrew to a position behind the Tugela River. Rough country lay between the Tugela and Ladysmith with the tops of the hills reaching more than 200 m above the river bed. Apart from some hills downstream (east and north-east) of Colenso (including the peaks of Hlangwane and Monte Cristo), the land the south of the river was relatively flat. When General
Sir Redvers Buller arrived in November to break the
Siege of Ladysmith, it was obvious that he would have to cross the river and then march across the rough country before he could achieve his objective. Buller's first attempt at crossing the river was the
Second Battle of Colenso. From the British point of view, the battle was a fiasco. On the western flank the British forces suffered considerable losses when the Irish Brigade were trapped in a loop in the river upstream for Colenso. In the centre they lost six guns while on the eastern flank, Buller ordered his men to retreat after the Boers had abandoned Hlangwane hill.
Victoria Crosses were awarded to
William Babtie,
Walter Congreve (whose son also won a VC),
George Ravenhill (VC later forfeited),
Hamilton Reed,
Frederick Roberts (son of
Lord Roberts; posthumously) and
Harry Norton Schofield for gallantry during the battle. Many of the British dead from the Battle of Colenso are now interred in the Ambleside Cemetery close to the point where the Irish Brigade were trapped. Buller made two further attempts to cross the river, this time some upstream of Colenso - at
Spioenkop between 20 and 24 January 1900 and at
Vaalkrans between 5 and 7 February 1900. Both ended in disaster for the British. The Boers meanwhile strengthened their position in the hills between the Tugela and Ladysmith and they also occupied the hills to the south of the river, downstream of Colenso. By now troops from Britain, India and the other colonies were pouring into South Africa. Buller had 28,000 men at his disposal while the Boers had 6,000 men to defend the Tugela. In the first phase of the Battle of Tugela Heights which lasted from 12 February 1900 until 28 February 1900, the British captured all of the South Bank, including the peaks of Hlangwane and Monte Cristo. On 21 February, the British crossed the Tugela about ten kilometres downstream from Colenso. Fierce fighting ensured for the next week, but on 27 February the Boer morale broke and they left the battlefield. The following day, on the afternoon of the 28 February 1900 Captain Gough led the relief column into Ladysmith, followed by, amongst others, Winston Churchill. Two Victoria Crosses were awarded during the Battle of the Tugela Heights - to
Edgar Thomas Inkson for bravery on Harts Hill on 24 February and to
Conwyn Mansel-Jones for bravery on Terrace Hill on 27 February. == Eskom Power Station ==