60 of 60 events · showing 1–20
Country in southern Africa
8 January 1806 – 18 January 1806
The Battle of Blaauwberg (also known as the Battle of Cape Town) was a successful British amphibious operation during the War of the Third Coalition which lasted from 8–18 January 1806 and resulted in the capture of the Dutch Cape Colony. After defeating their Batavian opponents, the British signed a treaty under the Treaty Tree in Woodstock, Cape Town which established Britain's control over the Cape Colony.
1817–1819
The Ndwandwe–Zulu War of 1817–1819 was a war fought between the expanding Zulu Kingdom and the Ndwandwe tribe in South Africa. The Zulus were originally a tiny tribe that had migrated to the eastern plateau of present-day South Africa; they became a strong tribal nation largely due to the efforts of an ambitious chieftain named Shaka (c.
1820
The Battle of Mhlatuze River was fought between the Zulu and Ndwandwe tribes in 1820 following the Zulu Civil War. The Ndwandwe hierarchy was set asunder by the battle, and largely scattered their population in response.
16 October 1836
The Battle of Vegkop, alternatively spelled as Vechtkop, took place on 16 October 1836 near the present day town of Heilbron, Free State, South Africa. After an impi of about 600 Matebele murdered 15 to 17 Afrikaner voortrekkers on the Vaal River, abducting three children, King Mzilikazi (c.
17 February 1838
The Weenen massacre (Afrikaans: Bloukransmoorde) was the massacre of Voortrekkers, Khoikhoi and Basuto by the Zulu Kingdom on 17 February 1838. The massacres occurred at Doringkop, Bloukrans River, Moordspruit, Rensburgspruit and other sites around the present day town of Weenen in South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal province.
16 December 1838
The Battle of Blood River, or Voortrekker–Zulu War, (16 December 1838) was fought on the bank of the Ncome River, in what is today KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa between 464 Voortrekkers ("Pioneers"), led by Andries Pretorius, and an estimated 25,000 to 30,000 Zulu. Estimations of casualties amounted to over 3,000 of King Dingane's soldiers dead, including two Zulu princes competing with Prince Mpande for the Zulu throne.
24 May 1842
The Battle of Congella, beginning 23 May 1842, was between the British of the Cape colony and Voortrekkers or the Boer forces of the Natalia Republic. The Republic of Natalia sought an independent port of entry, free from British control and thus sought to conquer the Port Natal trading settlement which had been settled by mostly British merchants in modern-day KwaZulu-Natal.
1858–1868
The Free State–Basotho Wars refers to a series of wars fought between King Moshoeshoe I, the ruler of the Basotho Kingdom, and white settlers, in what is now known as the Free State. These can be divided into the Senekal's War of 1858, the Seqiti War in 1865−1866 and the Third Basotho War in 1867−68.
28 March 1879
The Battle of Hlobane (28 March 1879) took place at Hlobane, near the modern town of Vryheid in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa during the Anglo-Zulu War.
29 March 1879
The Battle of Kambula took place on 29 March 1879, during the Anglo-Zulu War, when a Zulu military force attacked the British camp at Kambula, having routed the mounted element of the British force at the Battle of Hlobane the day before. The battle was a severe Zulu defeat and the warriors lost their belief in victory.
2 April 1879
The Battle of Gingindlovu (uMgungundlovu) was fought on 2 April 1879 between a British relief column sent to break the Siege of Eshowe and a Zulu impi of King Cetshwayo.
4 July 1879
The Battle of Ulundi (also known as the Battle of kwaNodwengu or the Battle of oCwecweni) took place at the Zulu capital of Ulundi (Zulu: oNdini) on 4 July 1879 and was the last battle of the Anglo-Zulu War. The British Army broke the military power of the Zulu Kingdom by defeating the main Zulu army and capturing and burning the royal kraal of oNdini.
1880–1881
The Basuto Gun War, also known as the Basutoland Rebellion, was a conflict between the Basuto and the British Cape Colony. It lasted from 13 September 1880 to 29 April 1881 and ended in a Basuto victory.
16 January 1881
The Battle of Elandsfontein on 11 January 1881 was a military engagement during the First Boer War which took place at Elandsfontein ridge just west of Pretoria. During the war horses proved to be the main means of transport across the South African plains.
28 January 1881
The Battle of Laing's Nek was a major battle fought at Laing's Nek during the First Boer War on 28 January 1881.
8 February 1881
Battle of Schuinshoogte, also known as Battle of Ingogo, was fought north of Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal, on 8 February 1881 during the First Boer War. General Sir George Pomeroy Colley's communications with Newcastle were under constant harassment by mounted Boer patrols under Commander J. D. Weilbach after the Boer victory at the Battle of Laing's Nek and as a result he planned to clear a path along the Newcastle–Mount Prospect road to better protect the British supply line, and receive fresh reinforcements he needed to bolster his ranks.
11 October 1899 – 31 May 1902
The Second Boer War was a conflict fought between 1899 and 1902 between the British Empire and the Boer republics (the South African Republic and Orange Free State), triggered by the discovery of gold in the Transvaal, specifically the Witwatersrand gold fields, and the ensuing political dispute over the voting rights of British expatriates (Uitlanders). In 1877, the British annexed the bankrupt Transvaal, and the British military neutralized the regional threat of the Zulu Kingdom in 1879 in the Anglo-Zulu War.
11 October 1899
The military history of South Africa chronicles a vast time period and complex events from the dawn of history until the present time. It covers civil wars and wars of aggression and of self-defense both within South Africa and against it.
13 October 1899
The Battle of Kraaipan was the first engagement of the Second Anglo-Boer War, fought at Kraaipan, South Africa on 12 October 1899. On the 11 October 1899 President Paul Kruger of the South African Republic in alliance with the Orange Free State declared war on the British.
13 October 1899 – 17 May 1900
The siege of Mafeking was a 217-day siege battle for the town of Mafeking (now called Mahikeng) in South Africa during the Second Boer War from October 1899 to May 1900. The siege received considerable attention as Lord Edward Cecil, the son of the British prime minister, was in the besieged town, as also was Lady Sarah Wilson, a daughter of the Duke of Marlborough and aunt of Winston Churchill.