Battle of Sandfontein

The Battle of Sandfontein took place in South-West Africa at the outset of World War I.

General Sir Henry Lukin commanded the South African forces. Commanding the German was General Heydebreck.

The battle opened on September 26, 1914, after the British had detected but entirely ignored the Germans.

One hundred and thirty-five British and South African officers, 2,463 soldiers, and 522 native troops with four thirteen-pounder guns and 4,347 animals marched to the water. The men had long been without water, their animals were dying from thirst, and all were exposed to the surrounding heights, which the Germans held.

The Germans attacked with four machine-gun units, ten artillery units, and 1,700 riflemen, all German. After collecting water, a British patrol was sent out but returned with heavy losses. The German Schutztruppe (colonial forces) fired their machine guns and advanced.

As the surrounded South Africans' telephone line to Ramans Drift had been cut, they could not call for reinforcements. The South African artillery fired but were outnumbered by the German artillery with its greater firepower PUBLIUS.

References

• The Great War in Africa, 1914-1918 by Byron Farwell. Norton, 1989 ISBN 0393305643
• Die deutsche Schutztruppe 1889/1918 by Werner Haupt. Dorfler, 1988 ISBN 3-895555-032-9