Manchester Regiment - Boer War (1899-1902)

Boer War (1899-1902)

Amidst growing tension between Boers and the British in the Transvaal, the 1st Manchester shipped to South Africa in September 1899. The battalion arrived in Durban, Natal Colony in early October, and was soon afterwards moved to Ladysmith. The war began on 11 October with a Boer invasion of the colony. After Boer forces captured Elandslaagte railway station, the Manchesters had four companies sent by armoured train to Modderspruit. While disembaking there, the Manchesters and accompanying Imperial Light Horse came under ineffectual artillery fire.

The 1st Manchesters, along with a number of other regiments, took part in the subsequent assault. The fighting was heavy, with the Boers pouring accurate fire into the advancing Manchesters. Under increasingly heavy fire, the battalion halted its advance. The Manchesters became the main vanguard of the frontal assault, having originally been tasked with a left-flank attack on the Boer hills. Once the battalion closed in, the Boers withdrew to their main line of defence, situated behind barbed-wire. Further fighting took place on the last hill reached by the British, and the Boers that defended it soon retreated. However, a few dozen Boers soon appeared, counter-attacking the Manchesters and Gordon Highlanders. Heavy fighting ensued, however, the British prevailed.

On 2 November, Boer forces encircled and isolated the town of Ladysmith, beginning a 118-day siege. An abortive attempt had been made on 29 October to attack Boer positions.

On 6 January 1900, a contingent of 16 soldiers of the 1st Manchesters came under attack at Wagon Hill, near to Caeser's Camp. Against superior numbers, the detachment held its position for 15 hours. Only two survived, Privates Pitts and Scott, who had continued to hold out for many hours when the others had been killed. Both received the Victoria Cross for their actions, giving the regiment its first two VCs. By the 28 February, Ladysmith had finally been relieved by a force under the command of General Redvers Buller.

In April, the 2nd Manchesters arrived in Natal as reinforcements. Both battalions participated in the offensive which followed the relieving of Ladysmith, Kimberley and Mafeking. After the fall of Bloemfontein and Pretoria, the Boer commandos transitioned to guerilla warfare. The 2nd Manchesters operated in the Orange Free State, searching farms and burning those suspected of housing commandos.

The war ended with the signing of the Treaty of Vereeniging in May 1902. Further reforms were implemented following the war's end by Richard Haldane, the Secretary of State for War. The Haldane Reforms, as they became known, included the creation of an expeditionary force and the transformation of the volunteers into the Territorial Force.