Battle of Schuinshoogte Totally Explained

Everything about Battle Of Schuinshoogte totally explained

Battle of Schuinshoogte Also known as Ingogo, was a battle fought at on February 8, 1881 during the First Boer War. General Sir George Pomeroy Colley's communications with Newcastle were under constant harassment by mounted Boer patrols under Commander J D Weilbach after the Battle of Laing's Nek (another British defeat) and as a result the General made it his plan to clear a clean unmolested path along the Newcastle-Mount Prospect road in order to better protect the British supply line, and receive fresh reinforcements he needed to bolster his ranks.
   At roughly 9 a.m. he left the Mount Prospect camp with a force comprised mostly of Infantrymen. A company of the 60th Rifles (King's Royal Rifles) and two pieces of artillery were left at a ridge overlooking the Ingogo River while a handful of mounted men and infantry covered the drift.
   As Colley advanced up the slope of the Ingogo he received word from his scouting party that a mainly mounted Boer force under Gen. N J Smith and Comdt. J D Weilbach was approaching nearby. The British formed circular/squared defensive positions on the crest of the ridge with 240 infantry, 38 cavalry and 2 pieces of artillery while the roughly 300 Boers attempted to surround them and cut them off from escape.
   From noon until about five that evening a series of close range engagements was fought and the British suffered heavily from the accurate and concentrated Boer fire. Although the 60th Rifles wore dark green (in fact, almost black) uniforms, they'd pipeclayed white pith helmets which were easy aiming marks. The gunners and mounted troops also wore dark uniforms, but the gunners in particular were exposed when working their guns. In contrast the Boers wore khaki coloured clothing, and were also expert at fieldcraft, thus being able to blend into the environment.
   Afterward heavy rain began to fall and the battle came to an abrupt end. Colley left the dead and wounded on the battlefield and retreated back to Mount Prospect while the Boers moved off to the south.
   It has been speculated had Colley received his reinforcements before the onslaught of the rain, he'd have probably been able to defeat the Boers for the first time and give the British better bargaining power during the peace negotiations.
   When the British returned with a burial party on the next day, they found the Boers had returned to take care of their own dead and wounded. No engagement occurred. The 8 Boer dead were buried on the farm "Geelhoutboom" some 5 km west of the battle site. The British lost 7 officers and 69 men killed and another 68 were wounded. The men were buried on the battlefield while the officers’ bodies were exhumed 4 days later and taken to Fort Amiel for reburial.
   Colley was plagued by defeat throughout the war, and although he'd receive his reinforcements, his men were seriously demoralized by the string of defeats. Eventually he'd be killed in action at the Battle of Majuba Hill.

Further Information

Get more info on 'Battle Of Schuinshoogte'.

External Link Exchanges

Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:

<a href="http://battle_of_schuinshoogte.totallyexplained.com">Battle of Schuinshoogte Totally Explained</a>

Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned.