Battle of the Tugela Heights Battle of the Tugela Heights The Battle of Tugela (or Thukela) Heights, consisted of a series of military actions lasting from 14 February through 27 February 1900 in which General Sir Redvers Buller's British army forced Louis Botha's Boer army to lift the Siege of Ladysmith during the Second Boer War. Buller's army had made three earlier attempts to raise the Boer siege of Ladysmith. The battles of Colenso, Spion Kop and Vaal Krantz each resulted in embarrassing British defeats at the hands of Botha's army of Boer irregulars. In three months, British casualties rose to 3,400 men while Boer
Siege of Mafeking town showed they were well trained as they performed remarkably well in their intended mobile role. The Mafeking defending forces totalled around 2,000, including the Protectorate Regiment of around 500 men, around 300 from the Bechuanaland Rifles and the Cape Police and a further 300 men from the town. The British garrison armed 300 African natives with rifles, these were nicknamed the "Black Watch" and used to guard the perimeter. Prior to the siege, Lord Edward Cecil formed the Mafeking Cadet Corps of boys aged 12 to 15 (claimed to be one of the inspirations for the Boy Scouts) who