Battle of Paardeberg 1900
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 18 February 1900 – 27 February 1900 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1900 | Wikidata P580 (start 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 | -28.9825, 25.0931 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Paardeberg or Perdeberg ("Horse Mountain", 18–27 February 1900) was a major battle during the Second Anglo-Boer War. It was fought near Paardeberg Drift on the banks of the Modder River in the Orange Free State near Kimberley (now in Letsemeng Local Municipality, Free State).
Lord Methuen advanced up the railway line in November 1899 with the objective of relieving the Siege of Kimberley (and the town of Mafeking, also under siege). Battles were fought on this front at Graspan, Belmont, Modder River before the advance was halted for two months after the British defeat at the Battle of Magersfontein. In February 1900, Field Marshal Lord Roberts assumed personal command of a significantly reinforced British offensive.
The army of Boer General Piet Cronjé was retreating from its entrenched position at Magersfontein towards Bloemfontein after its lines of communication were cut by Major General John French, whose cavalry had recently outflanked the Boer position to relieve Kimberley. Cronjé's slow-moving column was intercepted by French at Paardeberg, where the Boer general eventually surrendered after a prolonged siege, having fought off an attempted direct assault by Lieutenant General Herbert Kitchener.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Paardeberg (revision 1370271388), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Bloody Sunday (1900) 1900 · 0 km
- Battle of Poplar Grove 1900 · 28 km
- Battle of Magersfontein 1899 · 38 km
- Siege of Kimberley 1899 · 42 km
- Battle of Modder River 1899 · 46 km
- Battle of Driefontein 1900 · 56 km
Other battles of the Second Boer War
- Relief of Ladysmith 1899
- Second Battle of Colenso 1899
- Siege of Kimberley 1899
- Siege of Ladysmith 1899
- Siege of Mafeking 1899
- Battle of Bergendal 1900
- Battle of Bothaville 1900
- Battle of Diamond Hill 1900
- Battle of Driefontein 1900
- Battle of Elands River (1900) 1900
All 35 battles of the Second Boer War →
Browse more: battles in South Africa · Africa · 19th century battles