Action at Bronkhorstspruit
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Action at Bronkhorstspruit | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of First Boer War | |||||||
|
|||||||
| Combatants | |||||||
| Great Britain | Transvaal Boers | ||||||
| Commanders | |||||||
| Lieutenant-Colonel Anstruther | Unknown | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 268 | 250 | ||||||
| Casualties | |||||||
| 156 dead and wounded Remainder captured |
2 dead 5 wounded |
||||||
| First Boer War |
|---|
| Bronkhorstspruit – Laing's Nek – Schuinshoogte – Majuba Hill |
The Action at Bronkhorstspruit was one of the first serious clashes of the First Boer War. It was a skirmish between a British army column and a group of Boers, fought a few miles east of the town of Bronkhorstspruit, Gauteng on December 20, 1880.
A column of British soldiers consisting of six officers and 246 men of the 94th Regiment, as well as 12 men of the Army Service Corps and four of the Army Hospital Corps, were marching on a road to Pretoria, when at least 250 Boers ambushed the column. Making use of the limited cover, the Boers crept to within 200 yards of the British column and opened fire at 12:30 pm.
Within 15 minutes, most of the officers were killed or wounded, and the horses and oxen pulling the covered wagons at the front and rear of the column were killed, preventing any movement. Shocked by the sudden and aggressive nature of the attack, Lt. Col. Anstruther gave the order to surrender. In a battle lasting just 15 minutes, 156 British soldiers were killed or wounded, with the rest taken prisoner. Reported Boer casualties were only two killed and five wounded.
