October 20, 1899 · Natal Theater
October 20, 1899
One of the opening battles of the Second Boer War was fought on a rocky hill near Dundee in Natal, where Boer forces under Lucas Meyer had occupied commanding heights and opened a bombardment on the British camp below. British infantry under General Penn Symons advanced in close formation across open ground under artillery and rifle fire — using exactly the tactics that the veldt and Boer marksmanship made suicidal. Penn Symons himself was mortally wounded leading from the front. The British eventually drove the Boers from Talana Hill at significant cost, but their cavalry pursuit was badly mismanaged and many Boers escaped.
Commanders