Half an hour of hell and heroism

The Battle of Vegkop in 1836 saw approximately 40 Boers with muzzle-loaders withstand an attack from 5 000 to 6 000 assegai-wielding Matabele. The confrontation, which demonstrated the huge advantage of modern firepower, was a major step in the formation of the Boer Republic of the Transvaal at the expense of Matabele military power in the region.

THE PRELUDE

With the Great Trek in the mid-1830s, Boer ox wagons from the Cape Colony began crossing the Vaal