Battles
Leliefontein
7 November 1900
Boers on the sky line. A scene that
would have confronted the gunners of D Battery and the Royal
Canadian Dragoons at Leliefontein. A Dragoon with bandolier stands guard
to the right.
In the early morning of 6 November, a strong British column left the
eastern Transvaal town of Belfast and rode south to disperse a large
Boer commando reported to be camped about thirty kilometres to the south
near the Komati River. The force included the
Canadian Mounted Rifles, the
Royal Canadian Dragoons, and
one section of "D" Battery,
Royal Canadian Field Artillery,
with two 12-pounder guns. After forcing
the commando back across the river, the column camped for the night near
a farm named Leliefontein. Boer resistance had been stronger than
expected, however, and the British commander expected them to be
reinforced during the night. He therefore issued orders for a return to
Belfast in the morning. The Boer commander, who had brought up
reinforcements, believed that the British would continue their advance,
and prepared to meet them on the road heading south in the morning.
To cover his withdrawal, the British commander detailed the Royal
Canadian Dragoons and the two 12-pounder field guns of "D" Battery as
his rearguard, all under the command of
Lieutenant-Colonel François-Louis Lessard
of the Dragoons. The Dragoons were seriously under strength, mustering
no more than one hundred men and a
horse-drawn
Colt machine gun. However, the
Canadian horsemen and artillerymen were experienced, and had worked
together long enough to operate as a team. The Dragoons deployed in a
line four or five kilometres across covering the rear of the departing
British column with the guns and the machine gun in the centre.
As soon as the Boers realized that the British were retiring, large
parties began to press the Canadian rearguard. (See maps) During the morning the
Boers mounted a series of strong attacks at various points along the
Canadian line. These attacks culminated in a charge by two hundred
mounted Boers firing from the saddle that threatened to break the
Canadian line and capture the two field guns. The charge was only
beaten off by the gallantry of a small party of Dragoons and the fire
of the machine gun, which killed the two Boer commanders. The Boers
continued to attack, but the loss of their leaders had disoriented
them, and as the Canadians neared the rear of the retreating British
column, the Boers lost momentum.
Leliefontein was the most desperate situation faced by Canadians
during the war. The number of decorations, including
Victoria Crosses to
Lieutenants
H.Z. C. Cockburn,
R.E.W. Turner and
Sergeant E.J. Holland, all
of the Royal Canadian Dragoons, attests to the intensity of the
fighting.