Battle of Elands River (1900)

Battle of Elands River
Part of the Second Boer War
A soldier from the 3rd New South Wales Bushmen at Elands River a year after the battle
Date 4–16 August 1900 Location Brakfontein Drift, Transvaal Result British victory Boer attack repulsed British garrison relieved
Belligerents
British Empire  United Kingdom  Queensland  Victoria  Western Australia  Tasmania Rhodesia  New South Wales  Canada	South African Republic
Commanders and leaders
Charles Hore Walter Tunbridge	Koos de la Rey
Strength
297 Australians 201 Rhodesians 3 Canadians 3 Britons	2,000 – 3,000
Casualties and losses
12 soldiers killed and 36 wounded 4 civilians killed and 15 wounded	Unknown

The Battle of Elands River was an engagement of the Second Boer War that took place between 4 and 16 August 1900 in western Transvaal. The battle was fought at Brakfontein Drift near the Elands River between a force of 2,000 to 3,000 Boers and a garrison of 500 Australian, Rhodesian, Canadian and British soldiers, which was stationed there to protect a British supply dump that had been established along the route between Mafeking and Pretoria. The Boer force, which consisted of several commandos under the overall leadership of Koos de la Rey, was in desperate need of provisions after earlier fighting had cut it off from its support base. As a result, it was decided to attack the garrison along the Elands River in an effort to capture the supplies located there.

Over the course of 13 days, the Elands River supply dump was heavily shelled from several artillery pieces that were set up around the position, while Boers equipped with small arms and machine guns surrounded the garrison and kept the defenders under fire. Outnumbered and isolated, the defenders were asked to surrender by the Boer commander, but refused. The siege was subsequently lifted when the garrison was relieved by a 10,000-strong flying column led by Lord Kitchener. The relief effort, although successful, drew forces away from efforts to capture a Boer commander, Christiaan de Wet, who ultimately managed to evade British capture. This, along with the difficulty the British had in effecting the relief, buoyed Boer morale although the defenders' efforts also drew praise from Boer commanders.