Battle of Magersfontein

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Date	December 11, 1899
Location	Magersfontein, Cape Colony, South Africa
Result	Boer victory

Combatants

Commanders

Strength

13,000

8,500

Casualties

Nearly 1,000

70 dead
250 wounded
Unknown captured and deserted, but believed to be significant

Second Boer War
Talana Hill – Elandslaagte – Belmont – Modder River – Stormberg – Magersfontein – Colenso – Spion Kop – Bloody Sunday – Paardeberg – Ladysmith – Sanna's Post – Mafeking

The Battle of Magersfontein was fought on December 11, 1899 at Magersfontein, on the borders of Cape Colony and the Orange Free State. General Piet Cronje and his Boer troops defeated British troops under Lord Methuen.

The British intended to relieve besieged Kimberley, the diamond centre of South Africa and in which Cecil Rhodes was trapped. Advancing along the Cape Railway line, they had already driven the Boers out of positions at Belmont and the Modder River. The Boers originally intended to stand at Spytfontein, but when Methuen's exhausted troops were forced to delay at the Modder River for several days, the Boers moved forward to Magersfontein, only a few miles north of the river. Instead of occupying the prominent Magersfontein Hills, they dug trenches at the foot of the hills, a tactic suggested by Boer General Koos de la Rey, to make use of their Mauser rifles' flat trajectory.

After a day's bombardment of Magersfontein Hill, which harmed practically no Boers, Methuen sent the recently arrived Highland Brigade under Major General Wauchope forward at night, to make a dawn attack. A night march in close column followed by deployment into open order for the assault had been standard British tactics since the Battle of Tel al-Kebir in 1882, but at Magersfontein, there were delays caused by belts of rock and thorn scrub, and by compasses being nearly useless on terrain littered with ironstone. The highlanders arrived at the right place, but were late, and had only just begun to deploy when the Boers spotted them and opened fire.

The dense column was thrown into confusion. General Wauchope was killed by the first volley. Some of the Black Watch, leading the column, charged the Boer trenches. A few actually broke through and were climbing Magersfontein Kopje when they were engaged by Boer parties (including one led by General Cronje himself). Others became entangled in a wire farm fence in front of the trenches and were shot there, in a grim foretaste of the Western Front in World War I. The remaining three battalions of the Highland Brigade were unable to advance or retreat, and had to lie on the veld, tormented by ants and thirst.

Methuen was unable to send help to them. The artillery continued to pound the kopje and missed the Boer trenches. The cavalry and Guards Brigade tried to prevent Boers working round the right flank of the highlanders, but in mid-afternoon, the Highland Brigade broke and retreated under heavy fire.

The week from December 10 to December 17 where the British also lost battles at Colenso and Stormberg was known in England as "Black Week".