’The Boer Attack on Caesar’s Camp: A Hot Corner with the Border Mounted Rifles, 1900’ Gordon Frederick Browne (1858-1932), after Harry McCormick (1874-1917)
On 6 January 1900 the Boers launched a determined attack on Ladysmith, capturing for a time two of its outlying southern defences, Wagon Hill and Caesar’s Camp. At Caesar’s Camp, their advance party almost succeeded in forcing the whole position along the hill-top, but were held in check by the Border Mounted Rifles. As the morning wore on, the Boers were subjected to heavy bombardment by 53rd Battery, Royal Field Artillery, but it was forced to cease firing when a storm of hail and rain blotted out its target.
Boer reinforcements advanced under cover of the storm, and a renewed attempt was made to carry the British position, but once again the Border Mounted Rifles, now reinforced with some regular troops, stood firm. As darkness fell the Boers conceded that their attempt had failed and, to avoid being cut off by flash floods caused by the storm, they withdrew, though many were shot or drowned in doing so.
Un saludo
"En este mundo traidor / nada es verdad ni mentira / todo es según el color / del cristal con que se mira"
This canvas depicts a burgher being shot by two British infantrymen concealed behind rocks - an example of Boer tactics being used against them.
The Boers preferred ambush to other methods of combat as it minimised casualties. They disliked hand-to-hand fighting, and their traditional method of attack was to lie in wait among the rocks on a kopje (hill), behind which their horses would be held ready. Noted marksmen, they also liked to fight on ground which had previously been studied and marked out for distance.
Un saludo
"En este mundo traidor / nada es verdad ni mentira / todo es según el color / del cristal con que se mira"
Buller’s Final Crossing of the Tugela, February 1900 Georges Bertin Scott
In November 1899, the Natal Field Force under Lieutenant-General (later Field Marshal) Sir George White (1835-1912) was besieged by the Boers in the town of Ladysmith. With White isolated, command of the British forces fell to General Sir Redvers Buller VC (1839-1908), who concentrated a force near Colenso, about 14 miles (22.5 kms) from Ladysmith.
Buller’s first attempts to relieve the town resulted in the failures at Colenso (15 December 1899), Spion Kop (24-25 January 1900) and Vaal Kranz (5-7 February). However, the final and successful attempt began with the capture of Hlangwane Hill on 19 February.
This gave the British forces command of the Tugela River. On the 22nd a steady advance was made on Pieter’s Hill which was taken and held at the cost of heavy casualties. Buller then pivoted his whole army, swinging the centre and left back across the Tugela, before re-crossing it to turn the Boer left flank, thereby opening the way to relieve Ladysmith.
In order to complete this final crossing a pontoon bridge was thrown across the river. On 27 February, British forces poured across the bridge, under cover of artillery fire. Once the guns had done their work, the Royal Artillery followed, as shown in the painting.
Un saludo
"En este mundo traidor / nada es verdad ni mentira / todo es según el color / del cristal con que se mira"
2nd Battalion The Rifle Brigade at Bergendal Unknown
The Battle of Berg-en-dal (also known as the Battle of Belfast or Battle of Dalmanutha) took place in South Africa during the Second Anglo-Boer War. The battle will be remembered as the last set-piece battle of the war, although it was still to last another two years. It was also the last time that the Boers' four 155 mm Creusot Long Tom guns were used in the same battle.
The incident for which Captain Howse was awarded the VC in Vredefort, July 1900 William Dargie
Captain Neville Reginald Howse from the NSW Medical Corps carrying a wounded soldier from the 2nd Mounted Infantry Brigade. This incident took place in 1900 during action near Vredefort where the soldiers were attempting to capture the Boer commander De Wet. For this act of bravery Captain Neville Howse received the first Victoria Cross to be awarded to an Australian, it is also the only Victoria Cross to have been awarded to medical personnel.
Un saludo
"En este mundo traidor / nada es verdad ni mentira / todo es según el color / del cristal con que se mira"
Luis M. García escribió:En todo caso somos nos, quienes estamos en deuda con el señor caballero, y si un día se acerca por estos andurriales astures, será festejado convenientemente, ea!
No lo pongo en duda. Otra cosa sería que pretendiera VM que se estirara el caballero.
Moral nos haría falta, después de lo siguiente...
De Güiner escribió:
caballero alcoyano
Creo que ha cometido cierto error de bulto, con perdón.
La infamia de ayer no caerá en el olvido...
Un saludo
"En este mundo traidor / nada es verdad ni mentira / todo es según el color / del cristal con que se mira"
La batalla de Tippecanoe tuvo lugar en el año 1811 y enfrentó al ejército de los Estados Unidos de América liderado por William Henry Harrison, gobernador del territorio de Indiana, contra los guerreros de la confederación de pueblos tribales aliados bajo el mando de Tecumseh de la tribu de los shawnee
Luis M. García escribió:En todo caso somos nos, quienes estamos en deuda con el señor caballero, y si un día se acerca por estos andurriales astures, será festejado convenientemente, ea!
No lo pongo en duda. Otra cosa sería que pretendiera VM que se estirara el caballero.
Moral nos haría falta, después de lo siguiente...
De Güiner escribió:
caballero alcoyano
Creo que ha cometido cierto error de bulto, con perdón.
La infamia de ayer no caerá en el olvido...
Rayos! Doyme a todos los diablos, señor Caballero; mas os he de asegurar que fue ignorancia supina y no fatal villanía quien tal dislate me fizo afirmar.
Más aun he de argüir, pues fue cierto elemento, quien con ligereza zascandileó en mis oídos la equívoca especie, y a buen seguro fue el mismo que a los vuestros acercó el nefando soplo...
Pero ya el cilicio mortifica mis magras carnes en muestra de expiación, tened pues por presentadas mis excusas más sinceras.
Y ya pasado el trago, he de decir que esta última serie de 6 láminas pareciéronme maravilla; especialmente la primera y las dos últimas de la serie.
On October 24 and 25, 1942, Sgt John Basilone (1916–45), a machine-gun section leader of Company D, 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division – attached to his battalion’s Company C – fought off repeated attacks by six Japanese infantry battalions supported by artillery and tanks. Basilone’s two M1917A1 Brownings were hastily dug in on the east bank of the meandering Matanikau River. By the second night, the 15-man section had been cut down to Basilone and two men. One gun was damaged and Basilone personally brought up a reserve gun. He repeatedly repaired and cleared malfunctions, reset headspacing, returned to the rear to carry armloads of 14lb ammunition belts to the positions, and cleaned mud and dirt off the belts. He operated the guns to relieve his remaining men and shot bayonetwelding Japanese who had made it across the shallow river at pointblank range with his .45-caliber M1911A1 pistol. During the battle the Marines were under near-continuous artillery, mortar, and grenade-discharger fire along with rifle and machine-gun fire. In addition to all this, it rained heavily off and on. They were out of rations and had little drinkable water.
The far M1917A1 is one of the earlier guns with bronze barrel jacket caps. M1 water chests can be seen, along with a 7-quart filler canteen and a leather filling funnel. Brownings were normally bare gunmetal, but en route to Guadalcanal the Marines painted the tripods and barrel jackets forest green. The bronze jacket end caps may or may not have been painted over. While there were stoppages owing to excessive and long stretches of rapid fire, the guns performed well under extreme conditions of overheating, running out of water; rain, sand and mud; and no opportunity to clean the carbon build-up and fouling. Sergeant Basilone was presented with the Medal of Honor for his refusal to give up the key position, which proved instrumental in halting a major Japanese offensive.
