A few days ago, I briefly described the Battle of Blood River Poort. General Louis Bothas force then rode south, reaching Babanango on the 24th September 1901. At midnight tonight (25th September) and 04h30 on the 26th September 2014, it was the 113th anniversary of the Battles of Ithala (also known as Itala) and Fort Prospect. Both battlefields are situated in a remote part of KwaZulu-Natal, near the boundary of what used to be Natal and Zululand. The only force now opposing Botha in his route of advance was a detachment from the 5th Mounted Infantry Division which had been posted to the Nkandla area to guard the border of the Colony. Their commanding officer, Maj A J Chapman of the Dublin Fusiliers, had established his main post of 220 men below Ithala Mountain and another of 148 men under Capt Rowley of the Dorsetshire Regiment at Fort Prospect. He received reports on the 23rd September that he was in Bothas line of advance. As he approached Ithala, Botha divided his Commando into 3 groups: 600 under his brother, Gen Chris Botha, were detailed to attack Ithala from the summit, while 800 under Commandant Opperman, Potgieter and Scholtz moved to attack the camp at the base of the mountain. 400 under Emmett and Commandant Grobbelaar were tasked with attacking Fort Prospect. At approximately midnight on the 25th / 26th September 1901, in clear moonlight, the defenders of Ithalas summit observed the Boers approaching. At approximately 100 yards, they fired their first volley and Bothas surprised Burghers worked their way around the defenders and after approximately 5 hours of fighting, overran them. The 14 unwounded British soldiers withdrew to the spur at the base of the mountain where they took up a defensive position. Meanwhile, Oppermans burghers launched an attack on Chapmans position at the base of the mountain, charging right up to the British entrenchments. By 06H00, firing ceased and Dr Fielding, the British Medical Officer, decided to proceed to the summit to assist the wounded. He was captured but then released by the 600 Boers on the summit, and he tended the wounded of both sides. Opperman resumed his attack a short while later. The gunners of the two 15-pdr guns were put out of action and the machine gun on the spur jammed. The defenders of the spur began to run short of ammunition and Chapman called for volunteers to replenish them. Some surviving gunners attempted but were shot down. Driver F G Bradley volunteered and twice succeeded in running the gauntlet of Boer rifle fire, for which he was later awarded the Victoria Cross. By late afternoon, after 17 hours of heavy, almost non-stop fighting, Chapmans force was severely depleted. He was badly wounded and was about to surrender when to his surprise the Boers firing slackened and Bothas men withdrew. Emmetts and Grobbelaars attack on Fort Prospect was also unsuccessful. The garrison there had heard the firing on Ithala and were well prepared. A section of Nongqayi (Zululand Police) commanded by Sgt iTshe liGumbi Ngonyama, which occupied a position approximately 6km away, was offered an opportunity to withdraw to Melmoth, but “Gumbi” (as he was known) refused. At 04H30 on the 26th September 1901, the Boers commenced their attack on Fort Prospect, a strong stone redoubt which was well defended with intricate trenches and surrounded by barbed wire. The Boers were discovered attempting to cut the barbed wire and were beaten off. Shortly before dawn, the Boer attack was resumed, but Emmett realised that the defences could not be overrun, and they contented themselves with long range rifle fire until about 16H00, when they withdrew. During the action, “Gumbi” and his Nongqayi rode through both the Boer and British ranks and assisted with the defence of the fort. The British casualties at Ithala were 22 killed and 59 wounded. Six Black servants were also killed, and 4 wounded. The Boers lost 128 in the battle and 21 more apparently died of wounds. Many were buried on the farm Gelykwater, near Babanango, but their remains have since been exhumed and transferred to the crypt in the Boer memorial on Caesars Camp outside Ladysmith. At Fort Prospect, the British lost 1 killed and 9 wounded. The grave may still be seen next to the earthworks. The Boers lost 40 killed and approximately 280 wounded, and unfortunately their graves have disappeared but several are likely to have been repatriated by their comrades. Botha realised that his advance had been checked, and decided to return to the Transvaal. His ammunition supplies had been seriously depleted, but he succeeded in capturing a convoy of British supply wagons between Nkandla and Melmoth, resulting in his opponent unwittingly providing him with much needed ammunition. He led the British on a wild goose chase towards the Louwsburg area and eventually returned to the Eastern Transvaal, where he achieved many successes in the guerrilla stage of the Anglo-Boer War. The photos show Ithala mountain, an artists impression of the attack on Fort Prospect and the British graves on the summit, taken in 1970. During the centenary of the Battle, we were privileged to have several descendants of both sides present, including Mr Robert Guinness (Maj Chapman’s grandson) who travelled from Ireland. There is also a photo of the descendants of Commandants Emmett, Potgieter and Scholtz at Gelykwater, where the Boer casualties from the attack on Ithala were buried.The photo taken at Fort Prospect on the centenary of the Battle shows Sarah & Robert Guinness, Supa Ngonyama (grandson of iTshe liGumbi Ngonyama) and Louis Botha – grandson of General Chris Botha. The aerial photo of Ithala is from my book Battles of KwaZulu-Natal, ISBN Number 1-919688-24-2.
Posted on: Fri, 26 Sep 2014 04:20:20 +0000
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