Spion Kop: The Second Boer War (Great Battles)/H G Castle. Almark Publishing. Softcover. First edition 1976. Out of print. Condition: Good, some wear to spine and edge of front cover. ISBN 0855242515
In January 1900, an army of 30,000 British troops were moving through Natal, on their way to relieve Ladysmith, when their way was blocked by about 10,000 Boers occupying the heights above the Tugela River which included the 1,470 ft Spion Kop. After a seemingly successful night attack the British discovered, the next morning, that they had occupied a plateau below the summit of Spion Kop, and were at the mercy of Boer marksmen and artillery from three sides. Despite the bravery of the ordinary soldiers and regimental officers, when night fell and they evacuated the position, they had suffered nearly 1,500 casualties, whilst the Boers lost only one tenth of that number.
Although the South African War was eventually won, the incompetence and even cowardice displayed by the British generals, together with a serious breakdown in communications, had led to Spion Kop becoming one of the most humiliating defeats ever suffered by a Victorian army.
Illustrated with black and white photographs, diagram and colour plates