Battle of Zand River
Battle of Zand River | |||||
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Part of the Advance on Pretoria | |||||
![]() British troops crossing the Zand River | |||||
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Belligerents | |||||
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Commanders and leaders | |||||
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Strength | |||||
11,000 | ~800 Boers |
The Battle of Zand River was an engagement between the British forces under Lord Roberts faced a Boer defensive position, led by Louis Botha.[1]
Battle
[edit]By 6 May, the British had advanced north from Bloemfontein, and began their advance on Transvaal. About 130km north of Bloemfontein, they came across a Boer defensive position at Sand (or Zand) River.[2] The Boers had blown up the railway bridge, forcing the British to ford the Sand River. [3] The Boers had overextended their defense line, going at about 20 miles. The British flanked the Boer position with infantry from the right, and deployed their cavalry on the left, rather than advancing frontally, forcing the Boers to retreat from their position.[4] The Boers panicked, and not much fighting occurred before they left.
British units present
[edit]11th Division - Reginald Pole-Carew | |
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Infantry Units | Mounted Units |
Coldstream Guards | Life Guards |
Grenadier Guards | |
Warwickshire Reg. | |
Essex Reg. | |
Welch Reg. | |
Yorkshire Reg. | |
7th Division - Charles Tucker | |
Infantry Battalions | Mounted Units |
Norfolk Reg. | Ceylon Mounted Infantry |
Lincolnshire Reg. | |
Hampshire Reg. | |
Scottish Borderers | |
North Staffordshire Reg. | |
Cheshire Reg. | |
East Lancashire Reg. | |
South Wales Borderers | |
Bruce Hamilton's Brigade | |
Infantry Battalions | Mounted Units |
Derbyshire Reg. | |
Sussex Reg. | |
Cameron Highlanders | |
C.I.V | |
Ian Hamilton's Brigade | |
Infantry Battalions | Mounted Units |
Gordon Highlanders | |
Royal Canadian Regiment | |
Shropshire L.I Reg. | |
Cornwall Reg. |
References
[edit]- ^ Gordon, Allan (2020-05-11). "Battle of Sand River (Zand River) - 11 May 1900". Battle Tours ZA. Retrieved 2024-08-28.
- ^ "WarMuseum.ca - South African War - Battle of Zand River". www.warmuseum.ca. Retrieved 2024-08-28.
- ^ Gordon, Allan (2020-05-11). "Battle of Sand River (Zand River) - 11 May 1900". Battle Tours ZA. Retrieved 2024-08-28.
- ^ a b "The Great Boer War/Chapter 25 - Wikisource, the free online library". en.wikisource.org. Retrieved 2024-08-28.
- ^ Army, The British (1903-05-05), English: A description of all units, casualties, and battles of the Second Boer War (PDF), retrieved 2024-08-29