Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal well as others that are now bypassed. The only sold local newspaper in Ladysmith is the "Ladysmith Gazette". The "Ladysmith Gazette" is just over a century old, and is believed to have been established in 1902. The "Ladysmith Gazette" is part of the Caxton Group of newspapers. One of two free local newspapers is the "Ladysmith Herald". The other free newspaper is the "Times of Ladysmith". A large number of the Second Boer War Battlefields around Ladysmith have been preserved as memorial sites. Monuments and memorials to those who died during the battles have been erected at most of them.
Military history of Australia during the Second Boer War disrupting supply lines. The Boers first struck at the Battle of Kraaipan on 12 October 1899. Late at night, 800 commandos rode south into the Cape Colony, attacking the British garrison at Kraaipan and cutting railway and telegraph lines. Although the British repelled their advance at the Battle of Talana Hill, and the Battle of Elandslaagte, the Boers continued to pour south, besieging the British settlement of Ladysmith and advancing on Mafeking and Kimberley. As the Boers established siege-guns around Ladysmith, the British commander of the garrison there, Sir George Stuart White, attempted a sortie with cavalry against the Boer