Marthinus Nikolaas Ras (18 January 1843 – 21 February 1900) was a South African farmer, soldier, and gun-maker who is considered the father of South African

Artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

Military service

He served in the

First Boer War The First Boer War (, ), was fought from 16 December 1880 until 23 March 1881 between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and Boers of the Transvaal (as the South African Republic was known while under British ad ...

in the

Potchefstroom Potchefstroom ( ; ), colloquially known as Potch, is an college town, academic city in the North West (South African province), North West Province of South Africa. It hosts the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University. Potchefstro ...

commando under

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Piet Cronjé Pieter Arnoldus "Piet" Cronjé (4 October 1836 – 4 February 1911) was a South African Boer general during the Anglo-Boer Wars of 1880–1881 and 1899–1902. Biography Born in the Cape Colony but raised in the South African Republic, Cronj ...

. After witnessing the siege on the British fort at

by the Boers, he realized the need for artillery by the Boer forces to be able to successfully mount an assault the British blockhouses and forts. In the early stages of the conflict, the Boers seriously lacked cannons to enable them to assault the six British army

fort A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...

s in the Transvaal. In December 1880, he requested and obtained permission to return home to his farm Bokfontein, near Brits, to build a cannon for the Boer forces.

Cannon building

Ras built two cannons (named the Ras cannons), the first being a 3 inch caliber, 4½ feet barrel cannon, named "Martienie" and the second a 2 inch caliber, 5½ barrel cannon, named "Ras". The "Martienie" cannon was used to great effect on a British

near

Rustenburg Rustenburg (; , Afrikaans and Dutch language, Dutch: ''City of Rest'') is a town at the foot of the Magaliesberg mountain range. Rustenburg is the most populous city in North West (South African province), North West province, South Africa (549 ...

, firing 93 shots and resulting in the subsequent surrender of the fort.

Death

On 21 February 1900, during the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

, whilst on the way back to his farm at Bokfontein (south of Brits), Ras was ambushed and killed at Kayaseput by an

impi is a Nguni word meaning war or combat and by association any body of men gathered for war, for example is a term denoting an army. were formed from regiments () from large militarised homesteads (). In English is often used to refer to a ...

(African war party) of the Kgatla tribal chief Linchwe, an African tribe fighting on the side of the British.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ras, Marthinus Nikolaas Year of birth uncertain Place of birth missing 1900 deaths Afrikaner people South African people of Dutch descent South African military personnel People of the First Boer War South African Republic people Second Boer War casualties