Battle of Faber's Put
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| Battle of Faber's Put | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Second Boer War | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 United Kingdom Canada |
 South African Republic | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Charles Warren Earl of Erroll Sam Hughes |
Piet De Villers | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 900+ | 600+ | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
27 killed 41 wounded |
23 killed 33 wounded | ||||||
The Battle of Faber's Put, also known as the Battle of Faber's Pass was fought during the Second Boer War on the night of 29–30 May 1900.[1]
As British forces began gaining ground in the Transvaal in the spring of 1900, columns of colonial and British forces were dispatched to the Cape Colony to pursue the Boer Commandos operating in that area.[1] In May, the British pushed towards the Boer capitals of Johannesburg and Pretoria and overwhelmed the garrisons there, capturing and occupying the capitals.[2]
General Warren led a column composed of Canadian and British soldiers across the Northern Cape and halted for supplies at a place known as Faber's Put near Campbell.[2] The British established a camp at Faber's Put, but it was situated on unfavourable ground, surrounded by high ridges which could allow marksmen to fire down into the camp from behind cover.
Battle
Late on the night of 29 May, a force of Boers under the command of General Villers bypassed British sentries and surrounded the encampment at Faber's Put.[3] The Boers opened fire on a section of mounted infantry under the command of the Earl of Erroll which included Paget's Horse and the 23rd and 24th Companies of Imperial Yeomanry, scattering their horses and resulting in high casualties. The firefight woke the rest of the British camp and soon the Canadian Artillery tended to their 12-pounder guns.[3] It was too dark for the guns to be aimed properly, and the Canadians had to hold their fire until daybreak.
As the sun began to rise, two companies of the Duke of Edinburgh's Own Rifles charged the Boers on the eastern side of the encampment, driving them back with assistance from a maxim machine gun section.[4]
At this time, Sam Hughes rallied a mixed body of Yeomanry and Warren's Scouts, leading them in a spirited charge against the Boer positions.[5]
Two teams of Canadians dragged their guns across the field under fire and brought them into action against the Boers on the high ground, losing 9 of 18 men in this action.[3]
After an hour, the combined fire from the artillery and the infantry charge finally broke the Boer attack, forcing them to retreat.