Battle of Belmont (1899)

Battle of Belmont Part of the Second Boer War Battle of Belmont, by Kurz and Allison Date 23 November 1899 Location Belmont kopje, Orange Free State 30°1′0″S 26°58′0″E / 30.01667°S 26.96667°ECoordinates: 30°1′0″S 26°58′0″E / 30.01667°S 26.96667°E Result British victory Belligerents  United Kingdom  South African Republic  Orange Free State Commanders and leaders Lord Methuen J. Prinsloo Strength 8,000 2,000 Casualties and losses 200 slight

The Battle of Belmont is the name of an engagement of the Second Boer War on 23 November 1899, where the British under Lord Methuen assaulted a Boer position on Belmont kopje.

Methuen's three brigades were on their way to raise the Boer siege of Kimberley. A Boer force of about 2,000 men had entrenched on the range of Belmont kopje to delay their advance. Methuen sent the Guards Brigade on a night march to outflank the Boers, but due to faulty maps the Grenadier Guards found themselves in front of the Boer position instead.

The Guards, the 9th Brigade and the Naval Brigade assaulted the Boers over open ground, suffering about 200 casualties. Before the British came to use their bayonets, the Boers retreated by pony and re-formed in another entrenched position at Graspan, where the pattern was repeated with the British suffering another 197 casualties: one sailor reporting that "at 200 yards we fixed bayonets, and we just saw their heels; they didn't wait when they heard the rattle".^[1]

See also

• Military history of South Africa

References

1. Agnes Weston: My Life among the Bluejackets, James Nisbett: London, 1909. Page 203

• British Battle.com