155 mm Creusot Long Tom part of the war the time fuses did not work properly. Case shot was used as a last resort when the enemy's foot soldiers were close to the gun. Case shot was effective up to 400 metres. During the Second Boer War the guns were deployed as field guns and siege guns at Vaal Krantz, Ladysmith, Mafeking, Kimberley and Bergendal. During the early stages of the war these guns gave the Boers an advantage as they had longer range than any British guns that were deployed in South Africa at the time. After all their ammunition had been expended, the
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