Did You Know?
The Skietberg Boer Canon Artillery site near Colesberg in the Northern Cape was a Boer artillery position used during the Second Anglo-Boer War (1899–1902). In early 1900, Boer forces under General Piet Cronjé and others deployed field guns, including a 75 mm Krupp cannon, on Skietberg (also known as Skietberg Hill) to bombard British positions around Colesberg. The site was part of the broader Colesberg campaign, where Boer commandos attempted to delay the British advance toward Bloemfontein. The artillery battery on Skietberg was strategically placed to control the surrounding plains and the main road to the north. British forces, under General John French, eventually forced the Boers to abandon the position in February 1900 after a series of skirmishes. Today, remnants of the gun emplacements and trenches are still visible on the hill, though the site is not formally protected as a heritage site.
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