Siege of Mafeking Siege of Mafeking The Siege of Mafeking was a 217-day siege battle for the town of Mafeking (now called Mahikeng) in South Africa during the Second Boer War from October 1899 to May 1900. The siege received considerable attention as Lord Edward Cecil, the son of the British prime minister, was in the besieged town. The siege turned the British commander, Colonel Robert Baden-Powell, into a national hero. The Relief of Mafeking (the lifting of the siege), while of little military significance, was a morale boost for the struggling British. Shortly before the outbreak of the Second Boer War in
Military history of Australia during the Vietnam War south-western Long Khan provinces during Operation Goodwood. The fighting lasted 78 days and was one of the longest out of province operations mounted by the Australians during the war. From May 1969 the main effort of the task force returned to Phước Tuy Province. Later in June 1969, 5 RAR fought one of the last large-scale actions of the Australian war, during the Battle of Binh Ba, north of Nui Dat in Phước Tuy Province. The battle was unusual in the Australian experience, involving infantry and armour in close-quarter house-to-house fighting through the village of Binh Ba against a combined