Siege of Ladysmith and the Battle of Spion Kop

Early in the South African War, Boer commandos besieged the British garrison at Ladysmith for 118 days. Relief attempts failed at Colenso and on the summit of Spion Kop in January 1900, where hundreds died in shallow trenches; Gandhi served nearby as a stretcher-bearer. The war's later camps for Boer and Black African civilians left a lasting legacy of bitterness.