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The Anglo-Boer War of 1881 - Laing's Nek

Index

Laing's Nek's background

What makes Laing's Nek such a great example?

Laing's Nek's background

The Battle of Laing's Nek, on 28 January 1881, was the opening battle of the First Boer War. Major-General Sir George Pomeroy Colley led around 1,200 British troops in a frontal assault on Boer positions, commanded by Piet Joubert, holding the pass between Natal and the Transvaal. The attack, including a cavalry charge that was cut down by well-entrenched Boer marksmen, was decisively repulsed; of around 480 men who made the main assault, some 150 were killed, wounded or captured. It was also the last occasion on which British regimental Colours were carried into battle.

What makes Laing's Nek such a great example?

George Colley and the Defeat at Laing's Nek

Laing's Nek was the first in a short, sharp run of British defeats [followed by Schuinshoogte/Ingogo and then Majuba Hill] that Colley suffered in barely a month, making it a good starting point for testing whether a chart can show the beginning of a losing streak that would end in the commander's own death.

The chart shown is the birth of George Colley, set at midday, with transits for the Battle of Laing's Nek on 28 January 1881 set at midday.