The Natal Field Force (NFF) was a multi-battalion

field force A field force in British, Indian Army and Tanzanian military parlance is a combined arms land force operating under actual or assumed combat circumstances, usually for the length of a specific military campaign. It is used by other nations, but c ...

originally formed by Major-General Sir

George Pomeroy Colley Major-general (United Kingdom), Major General Sir George Pomeroy Colley, (1 November 1835 – 27 February 1881) was a British Army officer who became Governor of Natal, Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Natal and High Commissioner for South Ea ...

in Natal for 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 ...

. It was later re-established for 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 ...

(1899–1902) and commanded by Major-General Sir

Redvers Buller General Sir Redvers Henry Buller, (7 December 1839 – 2 June 1908) was a British Army officer and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. He served as Commander-in-Chief ...

VC GCB

GCMG The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

(although after the failed attack at Colenso he was replaced as overall commander in South Africa by Lord Roberts).

First Boer War

The First Boer War broke out in December 1880 with the Boer Commando's in the Transvaal besieging British garrisons there. The Governor of Natal Sir George Pomeroy Colley raised the Natal Field Force which took part in the actions at

Laing's Nek Laing's Nek, or Lang's Nek is a mountain pass, pass through the Drakensberg mountain range in South Africa, south of Charlestown, South Africa, Charlestown, at at an elevation of 5400 to . It is the lowest part of a ridge that slopes from Majub ...

, Schuinshoogte and Majuba Hill. It was composed of: *5 Companies of the 58th Regiment of Foot *5 Companies of the 3rd Battalion,

60th Rifles The King's Royal Rifle Corps was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army that was originally raised in British North America as the Royal American Regiment during the phase of the Seven Years' War in North America known in the United Sta ...

*About 150 Cavalry *A party of Royal Navy sailors *4 guns of the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

After Schuinshoogte the NFF was reinforced by 6 companies of the 92nd (Gordon) Highlanders and two squadrons of the 15th (The King's) Hussars.

Second Boer War

At the outbreak of the Second Boer War General Sir George White was appointed Governor in Chief of Natal, superseding General Sir Penn Symons.Pakenham 1979, p.96 Symons had already split his forces chiefly into two garrisons at Ladysmith and

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

.Pakenham 1979, p.98

Ladysmith garrison

* 1st Battalion

Devonshire Regiment The Devonshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that served under various titles and served in many wars and conflicts from 1685 to 1958, such as the Second Boer War, the World War I, First World War and the World War II, ...

* 1st Battalion Liverpool Regiment and Mounted infantry company * 19th Royal Hussars (Detachment) *

5th Royal Irish Lancers The 5th Royal Irish Lancers was a Cavalry regiments of the British Army, cavalry regiment of the British Army. It saw service for three centuries, including the World War I, First World War. It amalgamated with the 16th The Queen's Lancers to be ...

* Brigade division,

* 10th Mountain Battery,

Royal Garrison Artillery The Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) was formed in 1899 as a distinct arm of the British Army's Royal Artillery, Royal Regiment of Artillery serving alongside the other two arms of the Regiment, the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) and the Royal Horse ...

* 23rd Company,

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

* 26th British field hospital * Colonial troopsLondon Gazette issue 27157, Friday 26 January 1900, p.197
/ref>

Dundee garrison

* 1st Battalion Leicestershire Regiment and Mounted infantry company * 1st Battalion

King's Royal Rifle Corps The King's Royal Rifle Corps was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army that was originally raised in British North America as the Royal American Regiment during the phase of the Seven Years' War in North America known in the United Sta ...

and Mounted infantry company * 2nd Battalion

Royal Irish Fusiliers The Royal Irish Fusiliers (Princess Victoria's) was an Irish line infantry (later changed to light infantry) regiment of the British Army, formed by the amalgamation of the 87th (Prince of Wales's Irish) Regiment of Foot and the 89th (Princess ...

and Mounted infantry company * 18th Royal Hussars * Brigade division,

Other garrisons

At Pietermaritzburg: * 1st Battalion

Manchester Regiment The Manchester Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1958. The regiment was created during the 1881 Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 63rd (West Suffolk) Regiment of Foot and the 96th R ...

* 2nd Battalion

At Escourt: * Natal Naval Volunteers * Natal Royal Rifles At Colenso: * Durban Light Infantry After the battles at Talana Hill and Elandslaagte General White recalled the Dundee garrison and concentrated his forces in defence of Ladysmith.

The Relief of Ladysmith

During the

relief operation of the besieged town of Ladysmith, the NFF comprised:

Cleary's Division

General Cornelius Francis Clery's (2nd & 3rd) Division although temporarily commanded by LytteltonChurchill, ''London to Ladysmith via Pretoria'', ch. XXI for a time due to illness. The 3rd division was General Gatacre's command but most was diverted to Natal leaving him with only two and a half Battalions. 2nd Infantry Brigade commanded by General Sir Henry Hildyard * 2nd Battalion,

* 2nd Battalion, West Surrey Regiment * 2nd Battalion,

West Yorkshire Regiment The West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own) (14th Foot) was an infantry regiment of the British Army. In 1958 it amalgamated with the East Yorkshire Regiment (15th Foot) to form the Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire which was ...

* 2nd Battalion,

East Surrey Regiment The East Surrey Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1959. The regiment was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 31st (Huntingdonshire) Regiment of Foot, the 70th ( ...

4th Infantry Brigade initially commanded by General The Hon. Neville Lyttelton and later by Colonel Charles Norcott.Churchill, ''London to Ladysmith via Pretoria'', ch. XXIV * 2nd Battalion,

Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) was a rifle regiment of the British Army, the only regiment of rifles amongst the Scottish regiments of infantry. It was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 26th Cameronian Reg ...

* 3rd Battalion,

* 1st Battalion,

Durham Light Infantry The Durham Light Infantry (DLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1968. It was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 68th (Durham) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry) and ...

* 1st Battalion,

Rifle Brigade The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army formed in January 1800 as the "Experimental Corps of Riflemen" to provide sharpshooters, scouts, and skirmishers. They were soon renamed the "Rifle ...

5th Infantry Brigade commanded by General Arthur Fitzroy Hart *1st Battalion,

Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers was an Ireland, Irish line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1968. The regiment was formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 27th (Inniskilling) Regiment of Foot and the 108th (Ma ...

*1st Battalion,

Connaught Rangers The Connaught Rangers ("The Devil's Own") was an Ireland, Irish line infantry regiment of the British Army formed by the amalgamation of the 88th Regiment of Foot (Connaught Rangers) (which formed the ''1st Battalion'') and the 94th Regiment of Fo ...

*2nd Battalion,

Royal Dublin Fusiliers The Royal Dublin Fusiliers was an infantry regiment of the British Army created in 1881 and disbanded in 1922. It was one of eight 'Irish' regiments of the army which were raised and garrisoned in Ireland, with the regiment's home depot being l ...

*1st Battalion,

Border Regiment The Border Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, which was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 34th (Cumberland) Regiment of Foot and the 55th (Westmorland) Regiment of Foot. After service in ...

6th Infantry Brigade commanded by General Geoffrey Barton *2nd Battalion,

Royal Fusiliers The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. It was known as the 7th Regiment of Foot until the Childers Reforms of 1881. The regiment served in many war ...

*2nd Battalion,

Royal Scots Fusiliers The Royal Scots Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1678 until 1959 when it was amalgamated with the Highland Light Infantry (City of Glasgow Regiment) to form the Royal Highland Fusiliers (Princess Ma ...

*1st Battalion,

Royal Welch Fusiliers The Royal Welch Fusiliers () was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, and part of the Prince of Wales's Division, that was founded in 1689, shortly after the Glorious Revolution. In 1702, it was designated a fusilier regiment and becam ...

*2nd Battalion,

Cavalry Division

The (ad hoc) Cavalry Division commanded by Colonel Douglas Cochrane, 12th Earl of Dundonald *

1st The Royal Dragoons The Royal Dragoons (1st Dragoons) was a heavy cavalry regiment of the British Army. The regiment was formed in 1661 as the Tangier Horse. It served for three centuries and was in action during the First and the Second World Wars. It was amalg ...

13th Hussars The 13th Hussars (previously the 13th Light Dragoons) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army established in 1715. It saw service for three centuries including the Napoleonic Wars, the Crimean War and the First World War but then amalgamated ...

* 14th Hussars (2 squadrons) arrived after the battle of Spion KopChurchill, ''London to Ladysmith via Pretoria'', ch. XIX *Bethune's Mounted Infantry *Thorneycroft's Mounted Infantry (4 companies) * South African Light Horse (4 squadrons) *The Composite Mounted Irregulars: ** 5th Squadron Natal Carbineers **

Imperial Light Horse Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor/empress, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Impe ...

** Detachment Natal police ** One Mounted Infantry Company

Artillery

Artillery commanded by Lieutenant-colonel Charles James Long, RA 1st Brigade

commanded by Lieutenant-colonel Henry Vaughan Hunt, RA *7th Field Battery *14th Field Battery *66th Field Battery *One Naval Twelve Pounder Battery (10 × 12-pounders) () 2nd Brigade

commanded by Lieutenant-colonel Lawrence Worthington Parsons, RA *63rd Field Battery *64th Field Battery Naval Artillery Brigade commanded by

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Edward Pitcairn Jones, RN () *One Heavy Battery 2 × 4.7-inch guns *One Section, Twelve Pounder Battery (2 × 12-pounders) () Misc unit's that joined after the battle of Spion Kop *A Mountain Battery *A Battery

Royal Horse Artillery The Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) was formed in 1793 as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery (commonly termed Royal Artillery) to provide horse artillery support to the cavalry units of the British Army. Although the cavalry link rem ...

*2x Great Fortress Guns.

Warren's Division

General Sir

Charles Warren Sir Charles Warren (7 February 1840 – 21 January 1927) was a British Army officer of the Royal Engineers. He was one of the earliest European archaeologists of the Biblical Holy Land, and particularly of the Temple Mount. Much of his military ...

's (5th) Division (later succeeded by Hildyard) joined up with the main body of the force shortly after the Battle of Colenso. 11th Infantry Brigade initially commanded by General Edward Woodgate but he was wounded at Spion Kop and died shortly afterwards. He was succeeded by General Arthur Wynne who was later wounded at the Battle of the Tugela Heights and succeeded by Colonel Walter Kitchener.Churchill, ''London to Ladysmith via Pretoria'', ch. XXII *2nd Battalion Kings Own Royal Lancaster's *2nd Battalion

Lancashire Fusiliers The Lancashire Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that saw distinguished service through many years and wars, including the Second Boer War, and the World War I, First and World War II, Second World Wars. It had many diffe ...

*1st Battalion South Lancashire Regiment *1st Battalion York and Lancaster Regiment 10th Infantry Brigade commanded by General John Talbot Coke. * Imperial Light Infantry *2nd Battalion

Dorset Regiment The Dorset Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1958, being the List of British Army regiments (1881), county regiment of Dorset. Until 1951, it was formally called the Dorsetshire Regiment, although ...

*2nd Battalion

Middlesex Regiment The Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1966. The regiment was formed, as the Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment), in 1881 as part of the Childers Re ...

*2nd Battalion

Somerset Light Infantry The Somerset Light Infantry (Prince Albert's) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army, which served under various titles from 1685 to 1959. In 1959, the regiment was amalgamated with the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry to form the Som ...

*( Yorkshire's and Warwickshire's being left at

Cape Colony The Cape Colony (), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope. It existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with three ...

10th Battalion
/ref>

Support troops

commanded by Lieutenant-colonel George Hamilton Sim (''may not have been present'') *17th Field Company *"A" Pontoon Troop

References

Sources

Natal Army
www.legionwargames.com *{{cite book, last=Pakenham, first=Thomas, authorlink=Thomas Pakenham (historian), title=The Boer War, publisher=Weidenfeld & Nicolson, year=1979, isbn=0-7474-0976-5 Military history of South Africa Military units and formations of the Second Boer War 19th-century history of the British Army