Condition: Very good
Format: Hardcover with DJ
Published: 1999 (Covos-Day)
Pages: 183
ISBN: 9780620241120
LOSS OF THE GUNS!
Colenso!
The very name is evocative of military disaster, particularly for the British Army, and primarily the British Artillery. With the opening engagements of the Anglo-Boer War at the Battles of Talana, Elandslaagte and Ladysmith still resounding in his ears, General Sir Redvers Bullers attempts to force a crossing of the Tugela River at Colenso.
At the outset, Bullers plans are beset with problems and everything begins to go wrong. In this account, Darrell Hall, the renowned historian, closely examines the details of the Battle of Colenso, the bloody battle that left scores of British dead on the field, destroyed several military careers and left the British Army savouring the bitter taste of ignominious defeat. Yet, with defeat came heroic bravery, and at Colenso, seven Victoria Crosses were awarded. It is also the story of General Louis Botha, only 37 at the time, and his tenacious Boer commandos; how they not only repulsed the British, but how they scored a resounding victory, that sent shock waves throughout the British Empire.
This story focuses on the three batteries of 4th Brigade Division, Royal Field Artillery, (7th, 14th and 666), and the six Long 12s of the Royal Navy, which operated under the direct command of Colonel C.J. Long RHA, commanding the Artillery of the Natal Field Force, at the Battle of Colenso, on 15h December 1899.
The three RFA batteries still serve today in the 26 Field Regiment, Royal Artillery, now numbered 16th, 17th and 159 respectively.
