BATTLE // April 11, 1902

Battle of Rooiwal

Name: Battle of Rooiwal
Start: 1902-04-11
End: 1902-04-11
Location: Battle of Rooiwal

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Significance

The Battle of Rooiwal, fought on 11 April 1902 near Klerksdorp in the Western Transvaal, was one of the last significant engagements of the Second Boer War. The action took place during the third phase of the conflict, by which point British forces had been conducting systematic encircling manoeuvres to suppress remaining Boer commandos. The Boer attempt to break out of Kekewich's encirclement failed, with the attacking force suffering notable casualties in killed and wounded. The defeat at Rooiwal further reduced the operational capacity of the Boer commandos in the Western Transvaal and contributed to the conditions that led to the end of the war, which concluded with the Treaty of Vereeniging the following month.

Tactics

The Boers, commanded by Generals Potgieter and Kemp and numbering between 1,700 and 2,600 men, mounted a cavalry charge against an entrenched British position held by Colonel Kekewich's force of approximately 3,000 troops on a hillside in the valley of Rooiwal. The attack was an attempt to break through a British encircling manoeuvre. Charging on horseback against dug-in defenders, the Boers were repulsed with losses in killed and wounded.