Siege of Ladysmith Siege of Ladysmith The Siege of Ladysmith was a protracted engagement in the Second Boer War, taking place between 2 November 1899 and 28 February 1900 at Ladysmith, Natal. As war with the Boer republics appeared likely in June 1899, the War Office in Britain dispatched a total of 15,000 troops to Natal, expecting that if war broke out they would be capable of defending the colony until reinforcements could be mobilized and sent to South Africa by steamship. Some of these troops were diverted while returning to Britain from India, others were sent from garrisons in the Mediterranean and
Military history of Australia during the Second Boer War conflict. The British column broke the siege of Ladysmith on 28 February, and entered Bloemfontein on 13 March. Despite suffering heavy casualties from both battle and disease, the British continued to drive on towards Pretoria. The second wave of units from the Australian colonies began to arrive in April. This wave consisted primarily of the Bushmen contingents. The men for these newly raised units were recruited from a wide range of locales and had been primarily funded through either public subscription, or the donations of wealthy citizens who wished to be seen as contributing to the war effort. These units