When is a Lancer not a Lancer?

I recently came across a remarkable claim in Ben Viljoen’s ‘Reminiscences of the Anglo-Boer War’ – a book not short on remarkable claims.

Viljoen states that, shortly after the Battle of Vaal Krantz, his men captured a 50-strong troop of the 17^th Lancers near Zwart Kop, even claiming that the victorious Boers returned with their captives, and all carrying a lance as a trophy.

A damning claim… except Buller’s Field Force did not contain the 17^th Lancers. Indeed, Buller did not have any Lancer Regiments at all. The only Lancer Regiment in Natal being the 5^th (Royal Irish) Lancers, who had charged at Elandslaagte, but were by that point bottled up in Ladysmith. The only regular cavalry regiments Buller had at that stage were The Royal Dragoons, the 13^th Hussars and two squadrons of the 14^th Hussars.[1] These units (together with ‘A’ Battery, Royal Horse Artillery), comprised 1^st Cavalry Brigade under Burn-Murdoch, and the brigade was indeed based at Springfield, covering the British withdrawal after Vaal Krantz.

After assistance from the great minds of the unofficial Boer War Brains Trust, it would seem that Viljoen’s tale is (very loosely) based on a small skirmish between the Boers and a patrol of The Royal Dragoons:

On the morning of the 12 February, 1900 C Squadron, 1st Dragoons went out on outpost duty across the river. After crossing the river they split into three sections, the centre under Capt JWJ Hardman began to climb the hill. Unbeknownst to them “Botha” was on reconnaissance and had reached the top of the hill and lay in wait. The Boers, outnumbering the cavalry, opened a heavy fire forcing the group to retreat. One man was killed, five wounded and eight captured including Lt TD Pilkington who stayed behind to help the wounded Capt A Hamilton-Russell. Capt Hardman rescued his trumpeter, reinforcements arrived and the Boers retreated with their prisoners. The next day A Squadron found Pte TGW Patient, wounded in the stomach, who had crawled seven miles from the hill towards Springfield.
The Royals in South Africa (1899-1902): Lieut. Col. E. Makins, The Eagle 1914 pp36-37.
From: A Gazetteer of the Second Anglo-Boer War, Jones & Jones

As there is no record of any other even vaguely similar clash, one is left to assume that this is the action Viljoen referred to… and what he did was multiply the number of prisoners by a factor of seven – anything to appeal to his target audience, it would seem.

But what of the claim of the men being Lancers when they clearly cannot have been? Well, this got even the Brain’s Trust scratching their heads a little.

As we know, Buller had no Lancer Regiments, but – after a bit of digging – there is still a chance that the troopers Viljoen mentions were nevertheless equipped with lances. At the time of the Boer War, elements of British Dragoon and Dragoon Guard Regiments also carried lances, and it is just about possible that Viljoen’s claims refer to some lance-armed Royal Dragoons.

When the lance was (briefly) abolished in 1903, it was done so via Army Order 39, March 1903:
‘Regiments of Cavalry will, in future, be armed with the carbine (or rifle) and sword. Regiments of Lancers, Dragoon Guards, and Dragoons, will retain the lance as at present, but it will only be carried on escort duty, at reviews, and other ceremonial parades; not on guard, in the field, at manoeuvres, or on active service’.[2]

It is also interesting to note that in his 1899 Tactical Notes, Major Haig[3] (as he was) writes, ‘It is a question whether the Dragoon-lancer is not a mistake! His lance hampers him’. The footnote states that by ‘Dragoon-lancer’ he appears to have meant ‘all types of cavalry except lancers’.

On p.64 of Davidson’s recent book, ‘The Spioenkop Campaign’, there is a photo which shows Dundonald’s Brigade watering their horses. Some of the riders are very obviously carrying lances, and the caption states: ‘The 1st Royal Dragoons, with lances, are coming down to the Tugela’. Dundonald had commanded all Buller’s mounted troops until the arrival of reinforcements meant he could split them into two brigades. The regular units formed the 1st Cavalry Brigade (under Burn-Murdoch), while the local Natal regiments and some other odds-and-sods were brigaded as the 2nd Mounted Brigade, under Dundonald.

So while Viljoen’s rantings have to be taken with a large pinch of salt and there was no way that 50 prisoners were taken, there is still a chance that the handful of captured Royal Dragoons were indeed mistaken as lancers. If nothing else, it proves that there is always something new to learn when it comes to the Boer War.

NOTES:

[1] The 3^rd squadron of this regiment was on the Western Front with Lord Roberts

[2] Marquis of Anglesey, ‘A History of the British Cavalry, Vol.4’, p.392

[3] Later, Field Marshal The Right Honourable The Earl Haig, KT GCB OM GCVO KCIE (1861 – 1928)