The second of the 'Black Week' battles. The Boers under Koos de la Rey dug 20km of thin, deep trenches in front of Magersfontein in the path of Lord Methuen, fronting them with barbed wire entanglements and camouflaging their positions with bushes and branches. Methuen thought he had found their trenches so began the fight with a heavy bombardment of high-explosive artillery on the 10th. This however had almost no effect on the Boers in their dugout positions. When the Highland Brigade under Maj.Gen Andrew Wauchope advanced against these positions the following day at dawn they marched into a hail of Mauser rounds. The Black Watch and Seaforth Highlanders fell back to cover but were pinned down and lay under the blazing sun most of the rest of the day. Gen Wauchope led a column through a gap in the Boer lines but was shot dead before he broke through. About 100 highlanders did reach the hill though but Cronje and only 7 men on the hill itself made enough noise to suggest a much larger party and the Highlanders fell back. A party of Gordon Highlanders also charged the lines but too were cut down. Later in the afternoon a temporary cease-fire was negotiated to collect the wounded and dead.

British Colonial forces

Number engaged :

n/a

Casualties :

970

Boer (Free State) forces

Number engaged :

n/a

Casualties :

n/a