Open main menu
Home
Random
Recent changes
Special pages
Community portal
Preferences
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Incubator escapee wiki
Search
User menu
Talk
Dark mode
Contributions
Create account
Log in
Editing
Manchester Regiment
(section)
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
===Second Boer War=== [[File:The Manchester Regiment by Harry Payne.jpg|thumb|right|The Manchester Regiment in the full dress uniform of 1914. Illustration by [[Harry Payne (artist)|Harry Payne]] (1858β1927)]] Amidst growing tension between Boers and the British in the Transvaal, the 1st Manchester shipped to South Africa in September 1899. The battalion arrived in [[Durban]], [[Natal Colony]] in early October, and was soon afterwards moved to [[Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal|Ladysmith]].<ref name="Arri">Mileham (2000), pp. 65β7.</ref> The war began on 11 October with a Boer invasion of the colony.<ref>Fremont-Barnes (2003), ''The Boer War 1899β1902'', p. 11.</ref> After Boer forces captured [[Elandslaagte]] railway station, the Manchesters had four companies sent by [[armoured train]] to [[Modderspruit]]. While disembarking there, the Manchesters and accompanying [[Imperial Light Horse]] came under ineffectual artillery fire.<ref name="Arri"/> The 1st Manchesters, along with the [[Gordon Highlanders]] and the [[Light Horse Regiment|Imperial Light Horse]], took part in the subsequent assault. The fighting was heavy, with the Boers pouring accurate fire into the advancing British troops. Under increasingly heavy fire, the battalion halted its advance. The Manchester became the main vanguard of the frontal assault, having originally been tasked with a left-flank attack on the Boer hills. Once the battalion closed in, the Boers withdrew to their main line of defence.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.fullbooks.com/The-Great-Boer-War2.html|title=The Great Boer War |author= Arthur Conan Doyle|publisher=C. Struik|year= 1976|isbn=978-0-86977-074-0}}</ref> On 2 November, Boer forces encircled and isolated the town of Ladysmith, beginning a [[Siege of Ladysmith|118-day siege]].<ref>Raugh, Harold E. (2004), ''The Victorians at War, 1815β1914: An Encyclopedia of British Military History'', p. 205.</ref> On 6 January 1900, a contingent of 16 soldiers of the 1st Manchesters came under attack at Wagon Hill, near to Caeser's Camp. Against superior numbers, the detachment held its position for 15 hours. Only two survived, Privates [[James Pitts (VC recipient)|Pitts]] and [[Robert Scott (VC recipient)|Scott]], who had continued to hold out for many hours when the others had been killed. Both received the [[Victoria Cross]] for their actions, giving the regiment its first two VCs. By 28 February, Ladysmith had finally been relieved by a force under the command of General [[Redvers Buller]].<ref>Holmes, p. 97.</ref> [[File:South African War Memorial, St Anns Square (2513411186).jpg|thumb|A regimental South African War Memorial (the work of William Hamo Thornycroft) in [[St Ann's Square, Manchester]]]] The 2nd Manchesters was mobilized into a new [[8th Division (United Kingdom)|8th Division]] going to South Africa for the war. 930 officers and men of the regiment left Southampton in the ''SS Bavarian'' in March 1900,<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=The War - Embarcation of Troops |date=17 March 1900 |page=9 |issue=36092}}</ref> and in April arrived in Natal as reinforcements.<ref>Mileham (2000), p. 73.</ref> Both battalions participated in the offensive that followed the relieving of Ladysmith, [[Kimberley, Northern Cape|Kimberley]] and [[Siege of Mafeking|Mafeking]]. After the fall of [[Bloemfontein]] and [[Pretoria]], the Boer commandos transitioned to [[guerrilla warfare]]. The 2nd Manchesters operated in the [[Orange Free State]], searching farms and burning those suspected of housing commandos.<ref>Mileham (2000), p. 75.</ref> The war ended with the signing of the [[Treaty of Vereeniging]] in May 1902.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.historytoday.com/richard-cavendish/peace-vereeniging|title=The Peace of Vereeniging|magazine=History Today|first=Richard |last=Cavendish|date=5 May 2002|access-date=9 January 2016}}</ref> The 2nd battalion stayed in South Africa throughout the war. Four months later 340 officers and men of the battalion left [[Cape Town]] on the SS ''Michigan'' in late September 1902, arriving at Southampton in late October, when they were posted to [[Aldershot Garrison|Aldershot]].<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=The Army in South Africa - Troops returning Home |date=2 October 1902 |page=4 |issue=36888}}</ref> When the Boers proved more resilient than predicted, a number of regiments recruited in large centres of population formed additional regular battalions. The Manchester Regiment formed the 3rd and 4th Battalions in February 1900,<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=The War - Infantry and Militia battalions|date=19 February 1900 |page=12 |issue=36069}}</ref> at which time the militia battalions were relabelled as the 5th and 6th battalions. The 3rd Battalion was stationed in [[Saint Helena]] and [[South Africa]] from August 1902,<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=The Army in South Africa|date=29 July 1902 |page=7 |issue=36832}}</ref> while the 4th Battalion was stationed in [[Cork, County Cork|Cork]]. In 1906, the 3rd and 4th battalions both returned to the United Kingdom, where they were disbanded.<ref name=nam/> The [[3rd (6th Royal Lancashire Militia) Battalion, Manchester Regiment|5th (Militia) Battalion]] (until February 1900 known as the 3rd battalion) was embodied in May 1900, disembodied in October that year, and re-embodied in May 1901 for service in South Africa, for which it embarked the following month.<ref>Hart's Army list, 1903.</ref> More than 800 officers and men returned to Southampton in July 1902, following the end of the war.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=The Army in South Africa - Troops returning home |date=16 July 1902 |page=11 |issue=36821}}</ref> The [[4th (6th Royal Lancashire Militia) Battalion, Manchester Regiment|6th (Militia) Battalion]] (until February 1900 known as the 4th battalion) was embodied in May 1900, disembodied in October that year, and later re-embodied for service in South Africa. More than 640 officers and men returned to Southampton by the SS ''Guelph'' in October 1902, following the end of the war, and was disbanded at the Ashton barracks.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=The Army in South Africa - Troops returning home|date=12 September 1902 |page=5 |issue=36871}}</ref> [[File:Delhi Durbar, 1911.jpg|thumb|The 1911 Delhi Durbar]] The 1st Manchesters left South Africa for [[Singapore]] in 1903. The following year, the 1st moved to India, where, in 1911, the battalion paraded at the [[Delhi Durbar]], attended by [[George V|King George V]] and [[Mary of Teck|Queen Mary]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.themanchesters.org/dehli%20durbar.htm|title=The Manchester Regiment 1899β1958: Medal Rolls|publisher=The Manchesters|access-date=9 January 2016}}</ref> The 2nd Manchesters had returned to Britain in 1902, where it remained until the outbreak of the [[World War I|First World War]] in 1914.<ref name = Trail/>
Edit summary
(Briefly describe your changes)
By publishing changes, you agree to the
Terms of Use
, and you irrevocably agree to release your contribution under the
CC BY-SA 4.0 License
and the
GFDL
. You agree that a hyperlink or URL is sufficient attribution under the Creative Commons license.
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)