Siege of Kimberley
| Siege of Kimberley | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Second Boer War | |||||||
 Soup ration ticket from the Siege of Kimberley | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 United Kingdom |
 South African Republic, Orange Free State | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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Lt. Col. Robert Kekewich Cecil John Rhodes | Piet Cronje | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 1,600 | 6,500 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
The Siege of Kimberley took place during the Second Boer War at Kimberley.
Preparation
Prior to the onset of the Second Boer War, Kimberley was the centre of diamond mining operations of the De Beers Mining Company. The De Beers company was concerned about the defence of Kimberley some years before the outbreak of the war, particularly its vulnerability to attack from the Orange Free State, whose border is on the outskirts of the town. In 1896, an arms depot was formed, a plan of defence sent to the authorities and a local defence force set up. However the premier of the Cape Colony, William Philip Schreiner, did not believe the city to be under serious threat and declined to arm the city further.[1]
On 7 October 1899, the town was placed under the command of Colonel Kekewich, and secured against a coup de main, however not against sustained siege.[1] Nearly 90% of the garrison was composed of irregular troops, while artillery and rifles were obsolete and ammunition in short supply. Cecil John Rhodes, founder of De Beers, moved into the city on 13 October, just prior to the onset of the siege. Since many of the resources and manpower in the garrison were owned by De Beers, Rhodes became an important factor in the defense organised by Colonel Robert Kekewich. However, as head of the mining company that owned most of the assets in the town, Rhodes proved to be more of a hindrance as he did not cooperate fully with the military.[2]; civil and military authorities were not working together, with the military taking the following view:
Rhodes had come into his own Kimberley and for the first time he was not master in it. He found himself a sterilized dictator acting in an atmosphere too tenuous to support his vitality but sufficient to preserve it from extinction. He was subject to the authority of the military commandant, a galling position for a distinguished statesman who had not a high opinion of the professional capacity of the British officer.
Siege
On 12 October 1899, an armoured train between Kimberley and Mafeking was captured at Kraaipan by the Boers under the command of fighting general De la Rey, the hero of the western Transvaal. When the siege of Kimberley itself began on 6 November, the situation favoured an attack. The Boers were in control of the railway from the Orange River to Mafeking, while arms and ammunition were in short supply in Kimberley
Women and children were sent down into the mines in order to protect themselves from the bombardment. Communication with the outside world was not seriously impeded however. For the first time, water in the mines became more precious than the diamonds in them.
Rhodes had his own agenda, which differed from the greater war goal of redressing wrongs in the Transvaal. He used his position and influence to demand relief of the siege even before the Boers had completely encircled the town. However, Kekewich was a more cool-headed man, and was careful to let the authorities in Cape Town know that the situation was by no means desperate and that he would be able to hold out for several weeks.[1]
De Beers resources were put into manufacturing a heavy gun, named "Long Cecil', which prompted the Boers to counter with a heavier gun named "Long Tom". The Boer gun had been disabled in an action at Ladysmith, repaired at Pretoria, before being brought to Kimberley where it caused a panic amongst civilians.[1]
The Boers besieged the city for 124 days, before the siege was finally lifted on 15 February 1900, following British victory at the Battle of Modder River, Battle of Magersfontein and Battle of Paardeberg.
Further reading
- T. Phelan (1913). The Siege of Kimberley. Dublin: M.H. Gill & Son, Ltd. Retrieved 2008-06-21.
References
- ^ a b c d e A HANDBOOK OF THE BOER WAR With General Map of South Africa and 18 Sketch Maps and Plans. London and Aldershot: GALE AND POLDEN LIMITED. 1910. Retrieved 2008-10-02.
- ^ Frederick Saunders, Phillip Thurmond Smith (1995). Mafeking Memories. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press. Retrieved 2008-07-02.