THE BATTLE OF MAGERSFONTEIN: Victory and Defeat on the South African Veld, 10-12 December 1899

1-237580

Examines the maneuvers and battles that led up to the battle of Magersfontein, fought during the South African War of 1899-1902 (also known as the Second Anglo-Boer War). Uses never before published diaries, letters, photographs, maps, battle orders, official histories and reports, personal reflections, regimental histories of the war, and survivor interviews. The originals, including Dutch and Afrikaans language accounts, are held in extensive archives in the Kimberley and Bloemfontein museums as well as other archives, libraries, museums, and private collections in the UK, South Africa, and Australia.

Consequently, original findings emerge, with regards to Boer positioning and tactics, a British outflanking maneuver at Magersfontein Hill that almost worked, and Boer counter attacks, and the use of mobility, rather than the previously expounded notion that they sat passively parked in trenches, as most narratives present. Includes 25 b/w illustrations, 118 b/w photos, 1 color illustration, 11 color photos, and 11 maps.