~First Shots of the First Boer War Fired at Bronkhorstspruit on this calendar day~
~First Shots of the First Boer War Fired at Bronkhorstspruit on this calendar day~
The Boers fired the first shots of the First Boer War aka the Transvaal Rebellion when they attacked about 250 British soldiers marching towards Pretoria.
Imagine that you’re a British enlisted soldier marching in a land far from home. You’re marching with about 250 other British soldiers and officers towards the capital of the Transvaal, Pretoria (Preh-toria) … when all of a sudden your commanding officer comes sprinting towards your column shouting orders frantically. Before he can reach you… all of your other officers are shot to the ground. You and your comrades have nowhere close to take cover, so you drop into a prone position in the grass just inches away from other buddies in your company and begin returning fire. To your horror, none of your shots find their target. None of your buddies’ shots find their mark either because … your rifles are sited for targets around 400 yards away. Your enemy is less than 150 yards away and many of them found cover before they started shooting.
You take a shot to the shoulder, but because you have typical British pluck, you keep firing. You hear laughter to your right. With blood trickling from his thigh, your friend continues to fire laughing in the face of danger. You’re hit again. This time through your upper torso. Your friend to your left goes silent. You turn to see his body twitch and go limp. You keep firing. You can’t hit anything. You see no choice. You have to resight your rifle in the midst of this heavy gun fire to have any shot at hitting the enemy. It’s a lose-lose. You’re hit again. Then again. Then again through the neck. You know it’s over. As you feel yourself losing consciousness you’re asking yourself,
“How could Anstruther let this happen?” “I thought Boers were only good at shooting Africans and lions.” As your life ends, the First Boer War, the Transvaal Rebellion has really begun.
The Boers galloped and dismounted 140 yards from the British wagons and opened fire, targeting the British NCOs and officers first with great precision. Mayhem ensued. African servants in the column fled or hid under wagons. While most Boers attacked Anstruther’s front and left flank,
Commandant Erasmus’s contingent slaughtered most of the rear guard. Erasmus’s men finished off any wounded Africans execution style with shots to the head.
The British fired most of their shots over Boer heads because their rifles were sighted for targets 400 yards away. The Boers in laying their trap had set up stone range markers to help them aim accordingly at their British enemy. The Boers advanced using whatever cover the brush or stones provided while the British stood exposed outside their circle of wagons wearing stark red or blue uniforms. Anstruther ran back and forth between his men urging them to fight on though he was wounded several times. But after 15 minutes, he knew it was over. His force surrendered. Anstruther died less than three weeks later from wounds he sustained.
The Boers were generous in victory, at least to those they considered fully human. They provided food, medical treatment, and transport to the British wounded, though not before looting for needed supplies and sustenance. Joubert held up the dispatch and gently reminded Anstruther that all this bloodshed could have been avoided. Commandant-General Joubert proclaimed that God had granted the Boer victory at Bronkhorstspruit. Afrikaners in the Orange Free State, Natal and Cape Colonies were inspired and some started to fill the Transvaal ranks.
I will note that the account of this battle is also based off of respected historian John Laband’s work. However, Professor MC Van Zyl and Dr. Jackie Grobler reportedly disputed some of Laband’s claims… whether that be about the Boers using stone range markers or about Boers shooting Africans down execution style after winning the battle.
To hear an account of the First Boer War from the start and to hear the origins stories of many Boer warriors who would re-emerge in the South African War of 1899-1902 (Anglo-Boer War), start with episode 1.8 of the Forgotten Wars Podcast. You can hear much of southern Africa’s preceding backstory by beginning with episode 1.3 on most podcast providers. Episode 1.3 on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1-3-brits-slaves-voortrekkers-and-shaka-zulu-an-intro/id1535351938?i=1000494291055 Episode 1.3 on Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5zaW1wbGVjYXN0LmNvbS9KM09KV0xIeQ/episode/NGQyYmVlZmEtZDE2Yy00ZDBlLWIxMTMtNzg5YTlmM2ExMGRh?sa=X&ved=0CAUQkfYCahcKEwjYgd_j1dH0AhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQCg&hl=en
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