The Battlefields

The Battle of Spioenkop, which raged for two long and bloody days from the 23-24 January 1900, was undoubtedly the most futile of the four battles waged to liberate Ladysmith from the Boer siege during the South African War. At the end of the fighting, both sides slipped away, believing they had been defeated. Some 1 250 British soldiers were wounded or captured and fatalities peaked at 243. Many of these unfortunate souls were buried in the trenches where they fell. “There cannot have been many battlefields where there was such an accumulation of horrors within so small a compass,” wrote the Boer commander, Denys Reitz. The Boers suffered 335 injuries and buried 68 dead. Today, this battlefield of yore lies silent and serene.

Battlefields - Spionkop view from Wagon Hill