Siege of Mafeking

British military staff at Mafeking

Date	13 October 1899 – 17 May 1900
Location	Mafikeng, South Africa
Result	Siege relieved

Belligerents

United Kingdom

South African Republic

Commanders and leaders

Colonel R. Baden-Powell
Colonel B T Mahon

General Piet Cronjé
General J. P. Snyman

Strength

1,500

8,000

Casualties and losses

812

2,000

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 besieged in the town. The siege turned the British commander, Colonel Robert Baden-Powell, into a national hero. The relief of Mafeking (the lifting of the siege), while of little military significance, was a morale boost for the struggling British.

Shortly before the outbreak of the Second Boer War in 1899, Lord Wolseley, Commander-in-Chief of the British Army, who had failed to persuade the British government to send troops to the region, instead sent Colonel (later Lord) Baden-Powell, accompanied by a handful of officers, to the Cape Colony to raise two Regiments of Mounted Rifles from Rhodesia. Their aims were to resist the expected Boer invasion of the Colony of Natal (now part of KwaZulu-Natal Province), draw the Boers away from the coasts to facilitate the landing of British troops, and, through a demonstrable British presence, deter the local people from siding with the Boers.

Like the British government, the local politicians feared that increased military activity might provoke a Boer attack, so the British officers decided to obtain many of their own stores, organise their own transport and recruit in secret. Although the two regiments were raised in Rhodesia, Baden-Powell chose Mafeking to store supplies for his forces due to its location – both near the border and on the railway between Bulawayo and Kimberley – and because of its status as a local administrative centre. As well, the town had good stocks of food and other necessities. However, Mafeking was isolated, exposed and close to Boer controlled areas. Baden-Powell, whose orders were to command a highly mobile field force of cavalry, made the mistake of allowing his over-accumulation of stores at Mafeking to dictate his actions. Consequently, he chose to immobilize half his force to hold Mafeking against a Boer attack. Baden-Powell later claimed his forces were barely trained and he was aware of the Boers' greatly superior numbers, commando tactics and the failure of the earlier Jameson Raid and decided that the best way to tie down Boer troops would be through defence rather than attack. However, contrary to Baden-Powell's claims, his forces that remained outside the besieged town showed they were well trained as they performed remarkably well in their intended mobile role.

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