Orange Free State

Parrdeberg Drift: Colonials to the Rescue

By Bernd Horn

On October 11, 1899, Great Britain officially went to war with the Republic of Transvaal and the Orange Free State. Read more

Orange Free State

Killing Ground at Colenso

By Alex Zakrzewski

On the morning of December 15, 1899, the serene, windswept wilderness of northern Natal was punctuated by the sound of 18,000 British soldiers trudging north to relieve the besieged town of Ladysmith. Read more

Orange Free State

Black Day at Magersfontein

By Kelly Bell

During the third week in November 1899, British forces under the overall command of General Sir Redvers Buller were marching northward across South Africa’s Orange Free State in a campaign to relieve the strategically vital railroad center of Kimberley. Read more

Orange Free State

Cunning Ambush at Sannah’s Post

By William Welsh

During the infamous Black Week of December 1899, the proud British Army suffered three consecutive bloody defeats in southern Africa. Read more

Orange Free State

The Relief of Ladysmith

By John Brown

In the early hours of October 12, 1899, Commandant-General Piet Joubert and 15,000 Boers crossed the border between Transvaal and Natal near Laing’s Nek in southern Africa. Read more