Battle of Belmont (1899) 1899
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 23 November 1899 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1899 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | 19th century (1800–1913) | derived from year |
| Location | South Africa | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Africa | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Second Boer War | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | -29.4167, 24.3667 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Belmont was an engagement of the Second Boer War on 23 November 1899, where the British under Lord Methuen assaulted a Boer position on Belmont kopje.
Methuen's three brigades were on their way to raise the Boer siege of Kimberley. A Boer force of about 2,000 men had entrenched on the range of Belmont kopje to delay their advance. Methuen sent the Guards Brigade on a night march to outflank the Boers, but due to faulty maps the Grenadier Guards found themselves in front of the Boer position instead.
The Guards, the 9th Brigade and the Naval Brigade assaulted the Boers over open ground, suffering about 200 casualties. Before the British came to use their bayonets, the Boers retreated by pony and re-formed in another entrenched position at Graspan, where the pattern was repeated with the British suffering another 197 casualties: one sailor reporting that "at 200 yards we fixed bayonets, and we just saw their heels; they didn't wait when they heard the rattle".
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Belmont (1899) (revision 1370433957), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of Graspan 1899 · 17 km
- Battle of Modder River 1899 · 49 km
- Battle of Magersfontein 1899 · 59 km
- Siege of Kimberley 1899 · 85 km
- Bloody Sunday (1900) 1900 · 85 km
- Battle of Paardeberg 1900 · 85 km
Other battles of the Second Boer War
- Battle of Elandslaagte 1899
- Battle of Graspan 1899
- Battle of Kraaipan 1899
- Battle of Ladysmith 1899
- Battle of Magersfontein 1899
- Battle of Modder River 1899
- Battle of Stormberg 1899
- Battle of Talana Hill 1899
- Relief of Ladysmith 1899
- Second Battle of Colenso 1899
All 35 battles of the Second Boer War →
Browse more: battles in South Africa · Africa · 19th century battles