Mafeking Mooch Roberts relieved the town after fighting their way in. There were immense celebrations in Britain at the news (briefly creating the verb "maffick", meaning to celebrate both extravagantly and publicly). Notably, Colonel Robert Baden-Powell, who had headed the defence of the town, was treated as a hero upon his return to Britain in 1903. During the years immediately following the end of the Second Boer War, men of all classes in Britain wanted to associate themselves with the heroism of those who had served at Mafeking. It was a common sight at the time to see men affecting minor disabilities
Battle of Ladysmith (He sent the wounded south to Pietermaritzburg but left the civilians and other non-combatants in the town.) As the British troops concentrated in Ladysmith now constituted a balanced "field force" of all arms, White also rejected the option of leaving an infantry garrison in Ladysmith while sending the bulk of the mounted troops and artillery south of the river. He gambled on being able to strike a knock-out blow against the Boer armies in a "set-piece" action. This was despite the disadvantages of the terrain, with Ladysmith being on low ground surrounded by hills rising to above the town, which