„Schlacht von Sanna’s Post“ – Versionsunterschied

On 30 March 1900 a 2,000-man Boer force led by Christiaan De Wet advanced in the direction of Bloemfontein. Reconnaissance indicated the presence of a small garrison of British troops at Sanna’s Post, 23 miles east of Bloemfontein, which held Bloemfontein's water works. A British mounted force under Brigadier General [[Robert George Broadwood]] which had earlier attacked other Boer positions at [[Thaba 'Nchu]], was withdrawing there. Broadwood's force consisted of Q and U Batteries of the [[Royal Horse Artillery]], a composite regiment of the [[Household Cavalry#Life Guards and Blues and Royals|Household Cavalry]], the [[10th Royal Hussars|10th Hussars]], the New Zealand and Burma Mounted Infantry, and Roberts's Horse and [[Rimington's Guides]] (which were light horse units raised from English-speaking South Africans). De Wet sent 1600 of his men under his brother Piet to attack Broadwood from the north, while he himself occupied Sanna's Post to intercept their retreat.

 

During the darkness De Wet infiltrated a force of riflemen into the ravine created by the [[Modder River]], setting the [[kill zone]] of the [[ambush]]. At first light on 31 March, Piet de Wet's [[artillery]] opened fire from a set of small hills to the north as the British troops were striking camp for the morning. Tactical surprise was complete and all were sent into a state of confusion. The British force began to retreat as expected, in the direction of the ravine where the blocking force awaited with orders from De Wet to hold their fire. The civilian wagon drivers preceding the soldiers were seized by the Boers and told if they warned the British they would be shot. Therefore the British soldiers suspected nothing and approached the river in small groups. As they did so De Wet’s troops ordered them to surrender, and approximately two hundred were captured, along with the six guns of U Battery.