Relief of Ladysmith Relief of Ladysmith When the Second Boer War broke out on 11 October 1899, the Boers had a numeric superiority within Southern Africa. They quickly invaded the British territory and laid siege to Ladysmith, Kimberley and Mafeking. Britain meanwhile transported thousands of troops both from the United Kingdom itself and from elsewhere in the Empire and by the time the siege of Ladysmith had been lifted, had a huge numeric superiority. The Colony of Natal was bisected from east to west by the Tugela River which rose in the Drakensberg (to the west) and flowed into the Indian Ocean to
155 mm Creusot Long Tom the Boer Republics) and next to the town hall in Ladysmith. After the abortive Jameson Raid the government decided to build four forts around the capital, Pretoria. These were called Fort Schanskop, Fort Klapperkop, Fort Daspoortrand and Fort Wonderboompoort. A Long Tom was placed in each fort. After war broke out, three Long Toms were sent to the Natal front and the remaining one sent to Mafeking. The Long Tom arrived at Mafeking on 23 October 1899. It was hurriedly emplaced on a height called Jackal Tree, about 3,500 yards south of Mafeking on the Geysdorp road. The next day