Battle of Modder River

E226860

The Battle of Modder River was a major engagement of the Second Boer War in November 1899, where British forces attempting to relieve the besieged town of Kimberley were checked by well-entrenched Boer commandos along the Modder River in South Africa.

Try in SPARQL Jump to: Surface forms Statements Referenced by

All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
Battle of Modder River canonical 5

Statements (46)

Predicate Object
instanceOf battle
military engagement
alsoKnownAs Battle of the Modder River
artilleryUsedBy Royal Garrison Artillery
surface form: Royal Field Artillery
belligerent British Empire
Orange Free State
South African Republic
United Kingdom
campaign Kimberley relief operations
casualties Boer casualties relatively light
British casualties over 450 killed and wounded
commander Koos de la Rey
Lord Methuen
Piet Cronjé
conflict Second Boer War
coordinate approx. 28.9°S 24.6°E
country South Africa
date 1899-11-28
followedBy Battle of Magersfontein
historicalPeriod late 19th century
location Modder River
Orange Free State
near Kimberley
month November 1899
notableFeature Boer troops entrenched along river banks
intense rifle fire from concealed positions
one of the bloodiest early battles of the Second Boer War
objective relief of Kimberley
partOf Second Boer War
precededBy Battle of Belmont
Battle of Graspan
result Boer defensive success
British advance temporarily checked
tactical stalemate
riverCrossing Modder River
Riet River
significance contributed to British reassessment of tactics in the Second Boer War
demonstrated effectiveness of entrenched riflemen against frontal attacks
strength Boer force about 7,000 men
British force about 8,500 men
tacticUsed Boer trench warfare
British frontal assault
theatre South African theatre of war
weaponUsed Lee–Metford rifles
Mauser
surface form: Mauser rifles
year 1899

Referenced by (5)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Battle of Magersfontein precededBy Battle of Modder River
Battle of Graspan followedBy Battle of Modder River
Battle of Belmont followedBy Battle of Modder River
Lord Methuen battle Battle of Modder River