San involvement in the Battle of Chrissiesmeer

The Battle of Chrissiesmeer (Lake Chrissie) during Anglo-Boer War 2 started with an attack by General Louis Botha on the British forces under General Smith-Dorrien. Botha's main aim was to cripple the advance of Smith-Dorrien into the eastern Transvaal. According to oral tradition Smith-Dorrien's march had been kept under observation by San (Bushmen) who also acted as messengers. The Boers capitalised on the San's knowledge of the terrain and attacked at 02:50 in pitch darkness. The burgers achieved initial success, but could not gain a foothold on the slopes and were not able to open direct fire on the main camp situated on a plateau. At 04:30, covered by thick morning mist, Botha ordered them to retreat. The Boer commando suffered about eighty casualties and the British seventy-five. About 300 horses of the British force were killed or stampeded. Despite heavy losses on the Boer side the British advance into the eastern Transvaal was delayed by the loss of their horses, which gave the Boer commandos time to re-group.