Battle of Modder River The Battle of Modder River ( known in Afrikaans as " Slag van die Twee Riviere " , which translates as " Battle of the two rivers " ) was an engagement in the Boer War , fought at Modder River , on 28 November 1899 . A British column under Lord Methuen , that was attempting to relieve the besieged town of Kimberley , forced Boers under General Piet Cronje to retreat to Magersfontein , but suffered heavy casualties themselves . Situation in November 1899 . When the war broke out , one of the Boers ' early targets was the diamond - mining centre of Kimberley , which stood not far from the point where the borders of the Boer republics of the Transvaal and the Orange Free State , and the British - controlled Cape Colony met . Although their forces surrounded the town , they did not press home any immediate assault . Nor did they attempt to cross the Orange River on this front to invade Cape Colony . Meanwhile , British reinforcements were on their way to South Africa . Their commander , General Sir Redvers Buller detached the 1st Division under Lieutenant General Lord Methuen to relieve the Siege of Kimberley . This decision was made partly for reasons of prestige , as the capture of Kimberley ( which contained the famous Imperialist and former Prime Minister of Cape Colony , Cecil Rhodes ) would be a major propaganda victory for the British . During November , Methuen ' s force advanced north along the Western Cape Railway . They fought and won two engagements against Boers from the Orange Free State under General Prinsloo at the Battle of Belmont and at Graspan . Boer plans . The Boers had been reinforced by a substantial contingent from the Transvaal under General Koos de la Rey , who proposed a radical new plan of defence . He pointed out that the Boers had previously been easily driven from the " kopjes " ( hills ) which they had occupied . The kopjes had been obvious aiming marks for the numerically superior British artillery . Also , the trajectory of rifle fire from Boers on the top of the kopjes was steeply plunging . It therefore had a chance of hitting its target only in the last six feet or so of its flight . Once British infantry had reached the foot of the kopje , they were concealed by boulders and scrub , and could then easily drive the Boers off the summit with the bayonet . De la Rey proposed to make use of the flat trajectory of the Mauser rifle with which the Boers were armed , together with the flat veld . He called on his men to dig trenches in the banks of the Modder River , from which their rifles could sweep the veld for a great distance , and won them over . General Piet Cronje , who arrived later with the main Boer force , acquiesced in this novel plan . The area contained two prominent hotels and the village of Rosmead , which was used as a resort by prominent businessmen from Kimberley . The Boer trenches were at on the south side of the Modder and the smaller Riet River which joined it at Modder River Station . The Boers had six field guns and one Maxim " pom - pom " ( small rapid - firing gun ) from the Orange Free State ' s " Staatsartillerie " ( state artillery ) . They deployed these not as a concentrated battery , but as widely separated individual gun detachments north of the Modder and to the east . They had dug several emplacements for each gun , allowing their guns to switch position to avoid counter - battery fire . British plans . Methuen ' s force consisted of two infantry brigades ( the Guards Brigade under Major - General Sir Henry Edward Colville and the 9th Brigade under Major - General Reginald Pole - Carew ) , two mounted regiments , three batteries of field artillery ( 18th , 62nd and 75th ) and four guns of the Naval Brigade . Further reinforcements were arriving up the railway . The British cavalry ( the 9th Lancers and a unit recruited in Cape Town , Rimington ' s Guides ) , made some attempts to scout the ground ahead of the army , but failed entirely to detect De la Rey ' s trenches and other preparations . ( For example , the Boers had whitewashed stones on the veld or had placed biscuit tins as range markers ) . At 4 : 30 am on 28 November , Methuen ' s force roused itself , deployed into line and began advancing towards the Modder , with no plans other than to cross the river before having breakfast on the far side . The battle . As the British troops came within of the river , Methuen remarked to Colville , " They ' re not here . " Colville replied , " They ' re sitting uncommonly tight if they are " . At this point the Boers opened fire . Most of the British troops were forced to throw themselves flat . Some tried to advance in short rushes , but could find no cover on the veld . Few British troops got closer than to the Boers . The Guards tried to outflank the Boer left , but were unable to ford the Riet River . The British guns pounded the buildings near Modder River Station and the line of poplar trees which marked the north bank of the Modder , and entirely missed the enemy trenches on the south bank . Meanwhile , the Boer guns maintained a galling fire , and kept in action by repeatedly moving their positions . The battle became a day - long stalemate . Most of the British infantry lay prone on the veld , tortured by heat and thirst , but safe from enemy fire unless they moved . Many stoically smoked pipes or even slept . Methuen galloped about the field trying to renew the advance , and was himself wounded . At midday , some of Pole - Carew ' s 9th Brigade found the open Boer right flank at Rosmead " drift " ( ford ) downstream . British infantry infiltrated across the ford and about 1 : 00 pm drove the Boers out of Rosmead . The attack was disjointed , and suffered casualties when a British field artillery battery ( 62nd ) which had just arrived on the field shelled them by mistake . By nightfall , De la Rey had driven them back into a small insecure bridgehead . Nevertheless , the Boers feared that they were now vulnerable to being outflanked , and withdrew during the night . Aftermath . Methuen reported that the battle had been " one of the hardest and most trying fights in the annals of the British army " . Although casualties had not been cripplingly heavy ( between 450 and 480 ) , mainly because the Boers opened fire prematurely , it was clear that any simple frontal attack by infantry only against an enemy using bolt - action rifles , was effectively impossible . The British were forced to pause for ten days , to evacuate their casualties , receive further reinforcements and repair their lines of communications . The delay allowed the Boers to construct the entrenchments which they were to defend in the Battle of Magersfontein . On the Boer side , there were about 80 casualties , including , Adriaan , the eldest son of Koos de la Rey , mortally wounded by a shell . Account of the battle . Modder River – 28 November 1899 < br > British Victory ~ Was a tiring day again with the heat and especially after forming at 4 : 30 am and being the 3rd battle in a week . Boers fled after British catch vital positions . Fiercest battle yet fought in the war . An almost impossible offensive task . The total Boer casualties may perhaps have amounted to 150 , mainly due to shell - fire . 70 British were killed and another 413 were wounded .