Historedia
Episode 2 of 2

Defeat at Colenso

When
15 December 1899
Where
Colenso
Part of
Second Boer War 'Black Week': Stormberg, Magersfontein and Colenso defeats and Roberts' appointment

General Buller's forces suffered heavy casualties at Colenso on 15 December 1899, marking the third British defeat of Black Week.

The battle occurred in and around Colenso, Natal. British forces fought against Boers from the South African Republic and Orange Free State. This defeat was the third serious British reverse in South Africa during the week, contributing to the designation of Black Week.

Sources

  1. Second Battle of Colenso Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-24
  2. Battle of Magersfontein Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-20

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.