Difference between revisions 113123871 and 113123872 on dewiki

{{Refimprove|date=August 2010}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict    = Siege of Ladysmith
| partof      = [[Second Boer War]]
| image       = [[File:Ladysmith Town Hall 1900 - Project Gutenberg eText 15972.png|300px]]
| caption     = The town hall at Ladysmith, showing shell damage to the tower.
| date        = 2 November 1899 – 28 February 1900
| place       = [[Ladysmith, South Africa|Ladysmith]], [[Colony of Natal|Natal]], [[South Africa]]
| casus       = 
| territory   = 
| result      = British victory
| combatant1  = {{flagcountry|United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland}}
| combatant2  = {{flag|South African Republic}}<br/>{{flag|Orange Free State}}
| commander1  = {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[George White (British Army officer)|George Stuart White]]
| commander2  = {{flagicon|South African Republic}} [[Petrus Jacobus Joubert]]<br/>{{flagicon|South African Republic}} [[Louis Botha]]<br/>{{flagicon|Orange Free State}} [[Christiaan De Wet]]
| strength1   = 12,500
| strength2   = max 21,000 men
| casualties1 = c. 850 killed and wounded<br/>800 prisoners
| casualties2 = 52+ killed<br/>Total casualties unknown
| campaignbox = {{Campaignbox Second Boer War}}
}}
The '''Siege of Ladysmith''' was a protracted engagement in the [[Second Boer War]], taking place between 30 October 1899 and 28 February 1900 at [[Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal|Ladysmith]], [[Colony of Natal|Natal]].

==Background==
As war with the Boer republics appeared likely in June 1899, the [[War Office]] in Britain dispatched a total of 15,000 troops to [[Colony of Natal|Natal]], expecting that if war broke out they would be capable of defending the colony until reinforcements could be mobilised and sent to South Africa by steamship. Some of these troops were diverted while returning to Britain from [[British India|India]], others were sent from garrisons in the Mediterranean and elsewhere. Lieutenant General Sir [[George Stuart WhiteWhite (British Army officer)|George White]] was appointed to command this enlarged force. White was 64 years old, and suffered from a leg injury incurred in a riding accident. Having served mainly in India, he had little previous experience of South Africa.

==Outbreak of war==
{{Main|Battle of Talana Hill|Battle of Elandslaagte|Battle of Ladysmith}}

(contracted; show full)mes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9A05E6DE1339E733A25756C0A9659C946197D6CF | format=PDF}}</ref> followed by much larger celebrations after the [[Siege of Mafeking]]. There were four [[Victoria Cross]]es awarded during the siege, [[John Norwood]] on 30 October 1899. At Wagon Hill on 6 January 1900, [[Herman Albrecht]] and [[Robert James Thomas Digby-Jones]] (who both died), and [[James Edward Ignatius Masterson]].

==Medical treatment during the siege==
Early in the siege an agreement between [[George 
White (British Army officer)|George Stuart White]] and [[Piet Joubert]] lead to the creation of the neutral ''Intombi Military Hospital'' some {{convert|5|km}} outside Ladysmith. During the siege, the number of beds in the hospital camp grew from the initial 100 to a total of 1900. A total of 10673 admissions were received and treated at Intombi.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Watt|first=S|title=Intombi Military Hospital and Cemetery|journal=Military History Journal|publisher=Die Suid-Afrikaanse Krygshistoriese Vereniging|v(contracted; show full)[[Category:Histories of cities in South Africa]]

[[es:Sitio de Ladysmith]]
[[eu:Ladysmitheko setioa]]
[[fr:Siège de Ladysmith]]
[[it:Assedio di Ladysmith]]
[[no:Beleiringen av Ladysmith]]
[[pl:Oblężenie Ladysmith]]