Siege of Kimberley

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Siege of Kimberley
Part of Second Boer War
Soup ration ticket from the Siege of Kimberley
Date 14 October 1899 - 15 February 1900 Location Kimberley, South Africa Result British Victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom	South African Republic,Orange Free State
Commanders
Lt. Col. Robert Kekewich Cecil John Rhodes Major-General John French	Piet Cronje
Strength
1,600	6,500
Casualties and losses
Unknown	Unknown

v • d • e Second Boer War Talana Hill – Elandslaagte – Battle of Ladysmith – Belmont – Modder River – Stormberg – Magersfontein – Colenso – Spion Kop – Vaal Krantz – Kimberley – Bloody Sunday – Paardeberg – Relief of Ladysmith – Siege of Ladysmith – Sanna's Post – Mafeking – Bergendal – Bothaville – Nooitgedacht – Groenkloof – Elands River – Blood River Poort – Groenkop – Tweebosch – Rooiwal

The Siege of Kimberley took place during the Second Boer War at Kimberley from November 1899. Boer forces besieged the diamond mining city for 124 days before it was relieved following British victories at the battles of Modder River and Magersfontein. The battle continued at Paardeberg immediately after the city itself was relieved.

Contents 1 Preparation 2 Siege 3 Honoured Dead Memorial 4 See also 5 Further reading 6 References 7 External links

[edit] 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 city. 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 city 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 city, 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.

”

^[1]

[edit] Siege

The conflict at Kimberley started on 12 October 1899. Colonel Baden-Powell, antipating the inevitable onset of hostilities, ordered all the women and children to leave the city.^[3] The civilians left in a special train, escorted as far as Vryburg by an armoured train. On the return journey, the armoured train was captured between Kimberley and Mafeking at Kraaipan (26°17′49″S 25°18′23″E / 26.29694°S 25.30639°E / -26.29694; 25.30639 (Kraaipan)) by Boers under the command of fighting general De la Rey, the hero of the western Transvaal. By 14 October, the railway line was severed 8 miles (13 km) south of Kimblery at Spyfontein, and also 10 miles (16 km) north of the city at Riverton. On the same day, the city's water supply at Riverton (28°30′51″S 24°42′2″E / 28.51417°S 24.70056°E / -28.51417; 24.70056 (Riverton)) was seized by the Boers and the supply cut.^[3] For the first time, water in the mines became more precious than the diamonds in them.

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. The remaining women and children were sent down into the mines in order to protect them from the bombardment. Communication with the outside world was not seriously impeded however.

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 city. 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 by cavalry forces under Major-General John French on 15 February 1900, following British victory at the Battle of Modder River and Battle of Magersfontein.

[edit] Honoured Dead Memorial

The Honoured Dead Memorial, a sandstone edifice commissioned by Cecil Rhodes and designed by Sir Herbert Baker, was erected to commemorate those who fell during the Siege. The tomb of 27 soldiers, it was and made from stone quarried in the Matopo Hills in Zimbabwe, and bears an inscription by Rudyard Kipling. Long Cecil, the gun manufactured in the De Beers workshops during the Siege is mounted on the stylobate (facing the Free State), surrounded by shells from the Boer Long Tom.

[edit] See also

• Battle of Paardeberg

[edit] Further reading

• T. Phelan (1913). The Siege of Kimberley. Dublin: M.H. Gill & Son, Ltd. http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/13777. 
• Gardner F. Williams (1905). The Diamond Mines Of South Africa Vol II. New York: B.F. Buck & Co. http://www.farlang.com/diamonds/williams_diamond_mines_2/page_285. 

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Kimberley, South Africa
• The Siege of Kimberley

Coordinates: 28°44′18″S 24°45′52″E / 28.738261°S 24.764315°E / -28.738261; 24.764315