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
Siege of Ladysmith the garrison town of Ladysmith, with a detachment even further forward at Dundee. The entire British force could concentrate only after fighting two battles at Talana Hill and Elandslaagte. As the Boers surrounded Ladysmith, White ordered a sortie by his entire force to capture the Boer artillery. The result was the disastrous Battle of Ladysmith, in which the British were driven back into the town having lost 1,200 men killed, wounded or captured. The Boers then proceeded to surround Ladysmith and cut the railway link to Durban. Major General French and his Chief of Staff, Major Douglas Haig escaped on