Siege of Kimberley 1899
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 14 October 1899 – 15 February 1900 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1899 | 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 |
| Coordinates | -28.7383, 24.7639 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The siege of Kimberley took place during the Second Boer War at Kimberley, Cape Colony (present-day South Africa), when Boer forces from the Orange Free State and the Transvaal besieged the diamond mining town. The Boers moved quickly to try to capture the area when war broke out between the British and the two Boer republics in October 1899. The town was ill-prepared, but the defenders organised an energetic and effective improvised defence that was able to prevent it from being taken.
Outside Kimberley, the Boers treated the occupied territory as part of one of the republics, appointing a 'landdrost' (magistrate) and changing the name of the neighbouring town of Barkly West to Nieu Boshof.
Cecil Rhodes, who had made his fortune in the town, and who controlled all the mining activities, moved into the town at the onset of the siege. His presence was controversial, as his involvement in the Jameson Raid made him one of the primary protagonists behind war breaking out. Rhodes was in constant disagreement with the military, but he was nonetheless instrumental in organising the defence of the town. The Boers shelled the town with their superior artillery in an attempt to force the garrison to capitulate.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Siege of Kimberley (revision 1370742488), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of Magersfontein 1899 · 26 km
- Battle of Modder River 1899 · 36 km
- Bloody Sunday (1900) 1900 · 42 km
- Battle of Paardeberg 1900 · 42 km
- Battle of Poplar Grove 1900 · 62 km
- Battle of Graspan 1899 · 68 km
Other battles of the Second Boer War
- Battle of Belmont (1899) 1899
- 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
All 35 battles of the Second Boer War →
Browse more: battles in South Africa · Africa · 19th century battles