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Battle of Talana Hill
Part of Second Boer War
Date 20 October 1899 Location Dundee, Natal, South Africa Result British pyrrhic victory
Combatants
Great Britain	Boers
Commanders
Major General Penn Symons †	General Erasmus Lukas Meyer
Strength
4000	8000 (c. 3000 engaged)
Casualties
546	150

Second Boer War
Talana Hill – Elandslaagte – Belmont – Modder River – Stormberg – Magersfontein – Colenso – Spion Kop – Bloody Sunday – Paardeberg – Ladysmith – Sanna's Post – Mafeking

The Battle of Talana Hill was the first major clash of the Second Boer War. A hasty frontal attack by British infantry drove Boers from a hilltop position, but at the cost of heavy casualties, and without resolving a poor strategic position.

Contents 1 Prelude 2 The battle 3 Aftermath 4 See also 5 Sources 6 External links

Reinforcements sent to Natal by Britain immediately before the outbreak of war had moved into the northern path of the province, but not far enough forward to occupy the passes of the Drakensberg mountains. As a result, the Boers could invade Natal from three sides, and the British were spread in isolated and vulnerable positions.

Major General Penn Symons commanded a brigade (four infantry battalions, part of a cavalry regiment and some mounted infantry, three field artillery batteries) which occupied the coal mining town of Dundee. He disdained to fall back on the major British force at Ladysmith. On the evening of October 19, two Boer forces, each of 4000 men under General Erasmus and Lukas Meyer were closing in on Dundee.

Before dawn on October 20, Erasmus's force occupied Impati Mountain north of Dundee. Meyer's men occupied the low Talana Hill east of the town, and dragged several Krupp field guns to the top. As dawn broke and the British spotted the Boers on Talana Hill, these guns opened fire, ineffectually.

The British field batteries galloped to within range and opened fire, causing about 1000 Boers to run away. The British infantry rushed forward to make a frontal attack, and reached the foot of the hill, but were pinned down in a eucalyptus plantation by heavy rifle fire. Symons went forward to urge them on, and was mortally wounded. Under Symon's successor, Colonel Yule, the British infantry rushed the hill with the bayonet, suffering casualties from their own artillery as they reached the top.

Lukas Meyer's forces mounted their ponies and made off. The British mounted troops tried to cut off their retreat, but the larger part of the British horsemen strayed onto the slopes of Impati. Erasmus had so far played no part in the battle (partly because Impati was still shrouded in fog), but his men surrounded the British mounted detachment and forced them to surrender.

The British had won a tactical victory at high cost. They could have suffered a disastrous defeat had Meyer and Erasmus in particular not been cautious and indecisive commanders.

Yule's men were unable to contemplate attacking Impati Mountain, which held Dundee's water supply. They marched and countermarched beneath the hill for two days under intermittent shellfire. Other Boer forces had cut the British line of supply and retreat. Finally, despairing of help, the British force retreated across country at night. After a four-day march of 64 miles, they reached the temporary safety of Ladysmith.

• Military history of South Africa

• Goodby Dolly Gray, Rayne Kruger, New English Library, 1964

• free-ebooks-uk The Great Boer War