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The name Ladysmith became a household word at the end of the 19th century, when, at the start of the Boer War, the town was besieged by the Boers. The siege began on 2 November 1899 and lasted 118 days. The Boers' main objective was to stop the British in their tracks in Natal, and prevent them from reaching Transvaal territory. The British garrison numbered 12 500 officers and men. Beyond the perimeter the Boers had three long Tom field guns and several howitzers, with which they shelled the town almost every day. Several fierce battles were fought south of the town.At first, both the soldiers and the civilians were reasonably well supplied with food, but the siege lasted much longer than expected, and rations of fresh meat, butter, milk, bully beef, tea, sugar and jam were steadily cut until, in the end, the bread ration, for instance, dwindled to just 230 grams per person per day. Throughout, and especially in the early days, the garrison and civilians sustained their spirits with activities, among them open-air concerts given by the Natal Carbineers, Shakespeare readings, picnics by the river, mule races, and a Christmas party for the 250 children. These morale-boosting events gradually declined as dysentery and enteric fever began to take their toll. Communication with the outside world was by heliograph, and by African runners who slipped through the Boer lines. The first issue of the siege newspaper, The Ladysmith Lyre, was published on 26 November.
The siege was officially lifted when columns of British soldiers led by Sir Redvers Buller marched into the Ladysmith on 28 February 1900. Buller found 2 800 sick and wounded soldiers and civilians. Of the garrison of 12 500, about 9 000 survived. On the way to his triumphant entry into Ladysmith Buller had suffered three defeats at the hands of the Boers, all along the banks of the Thukela River. There were also other military confrontations. The most significant of the battles were:
The siege was officially lifted when columns of British soldiers led by Sir Redvers Buller marched into the Ladysmith on 28 February 1900. Buller found 2 800 sick and wounded soldiers and civilians. Of the garrison of 12 500, about 9 000 survived. On the way to his triumphant entry into Ladysmith Buller had suffered three defeats at the hands of the Boers, all along the banks of the Thukela River. There were also other military confrontations. The most significant of the battles were:
- Colenso: The first major battle for the relief of Ladysmith, was fought on 15 December on the southern banks of the Thukela River, 25 km south of the town. The Boer commandos, led by General Louis Botha, took up positions along a range of hills on the northern bank of the river. General Buller approached from the south with some 18000 men. The British infantry, supported by artillery, tried to ford the river several times but accurate and sustained fire from the hills drove them back every time. Eventually the British withdrew, leaving behind ten big guns and several wagons loaded with ammunition. Among the British soldiers who were killed was Lieutenant Freddie Roberts, the only son of Field Marshal Lord Roberts, British commander-in chief. The young Roberts died while trying to retrieve some of the abandoned guns.
- Wagon Hill: During the siege the Boers made only one serious attempt to take Ladysmith, on 6 January 1900, at a position that the British called Wagon Hill and the Boers Platrand ('flat ridge') southwest of Ladysmith. The British repulsed the Boers but both sides suffered heavy losses. At the request of the British, a small memorial was erected on the hillside in honour of Reverend J.D. Kestell who, during the battle, 'brought succour to friend and foe alike'. The Reverend Kestell, who was a member of the Harrismith Commando, ministered to wounded men of both sides while under heavy fire. Kestell in the eastern Free State was later named for him.
- Spioenkop: After the costly failure at Colenso, Buller attempted to outflank the dug-in Boer commandos from the west. Having failed to dislodge the Boers from their positions up on Tabanyama Hill, he then occupied a hill known as Spioenkop ('spy hill') on the northern bank of the Thukela, about 30 km southwest of Ladysmith. Buller's progress was slow and ponderous and General Louis Botha had sufficient time to marshal his commandos at various points along the route. After a see-saw battle at the foot of Spioenkop. Buller's subordinate, General Sir Edward Woodgate, decided he would have a better chance of penetrating the enemy lines if he took the hill with the 1 900 men under his command. This he did without much difficulty on the night of 23 January, to set the scene for a disaster reminiscent of the calamity at Majuba Hill in 1881. In the early hours of 24 January the Boers directed a sustained barrage of sniper and artillery fire at the hill from two enfilading heights. This was so effective that the British positions soon became untenable. Plans for a further advance were jettisoned and, under cover of darkness, the British abandoned their positions on the hill and retreated to the southern bank of the Thukela. The Boers then reoccupied Spioenkop.
- Vaalkrans: After Spioenkop, Buller moved his troops to Vaalkrans ('grey cliff'), between Colenso and Spioenkop, where they again tried to cross the Thukela. And again they were stopped in their tracks, on 7 February.
- Pieter's Hill: A week after the setback at Vaalkrans, Buller returned to Colenso to make his fourth attempt to cross the Thukela and reach Ladysmith. First he occupied Hlangwane Hill east of a loop in the river, where the commandos were dug in This move forced the Boers under General Lucas Meyer to withdraw to Pietershoogte ('Pieter's Hill') a few kilometres north of Colenso. Fierce battles were fought on the banks of the Thukela for several days. The turning point came when the British dislodged the Boers from their positions on and around the hill. Despite suffering heavy losses, the British made their long-awaited breakthrough and finally advanced to Ladysmith.
