Battle of Elandsfontein 1881
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 16 January 1881 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1881 | 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 | First Boer War | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | -25.7500, 28.0330 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Elandsfontein on 11 January 1881 was a military engagement during the First Boer War which took place at Elandsfontein ridge just west of Pretoria. During the war horses proved to be the main means of transport across the South African plains. Because of this, much effort was put in grass mowers by the British for the production of hay. It was during one such expedition to collect the necessary horse fodder on 11 January 1881 in a valley near Elandsfontein, that the British were spotted and attacked by a party of Boers. This resulted in the Boers capturing the mowing machine, a wagon and some mules while the British escaped the encounter. With the belief that their attackers had originated from a laager at Elandsfontein, an escorted expedition force was sent to the laager's believed location on 16 January 1881 to either assert dominance in the area or to destroy the camp outright.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Elandsfontein (revision 1370110052), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Siege of Marabastad 1881 · 14 km
- Battle of Rooihuiskraal 1881 · 18 km
- Battle of Rooiwal 1902 · 28 km
- Battle of Diamond Hill 1900 · 44 km
- Battle of Nooitgedacht 1900 · 50 km
- Battle of Bronkhorstspruit 1880 · 72 km
Other battles of the First Boer War
- Battle of Bronkhorstspruit 1880
- Siege of Rustenburg 1880
- Battle of Laing's Nek 1881
- Battle of Majuba Hill 1881
- Battle of Rooihuiskraal 1881
- Battle of Schuinshoogte 1881
- Siege of Lydenburg 1881
- Siege of Marabastad 1881
All 9 battles of the First Boer War →
Browse more: battles in South Africa · Africa · 19th century battles