TOPIC:

Michael Petrus Viljoen

Burger, Johannesburg Vrijwilliger Corps – Jameson Raid & Swaziland Expedition 1895/6-1898
Burger, Johannesburg Commando – Anglo Boer War

- Anglo Boere Oorlog Medal to BURGER. M.P. VILJOEN.

Michael or, to give him his correct Dutch appellation, Michiel, was born on 15 November 1876 in Murraysburg, a small town in the arid Karoo area of the Cape Colony of South Africa, the son of Michiel Petrus Malherbe, a farmer from the district, and his wife Rachel Catharina Malherbe. The couple were married on 10 January 1876 with Michael being born barely 10 months later.

As he grew up he was joined by siblings Petrus Johannes Stefanus (1879) and Johannes Stefanus (1887). At some point the family decided to leave the Cape Colony, heading for the Witwatersrand in the then Transvaal Republic or ZAR (Zuid Afrikaansche Republiek) where the gold and diamond mines proliferated.


The Ambulance Detachment of the Johannesburg Vrywilligers Corps Swaziland Expedition - uncaptioned, Viljoen could be among those here.

At the end of 1895 Dr Leander Starr Jameson, in cahoots with the Johannesburg Reform Committee organised an armed revolt against the government of President Paul Kruger. This abortive attempt to unseat the government of the day came unstuck as Jameson and his force, some 500 strong, approached Johannesburg from the direction of Krugersdorp in the west. The idea was that volunteers recruited from within Johannesburg by the Reform Committee would rise in the city itself and, having carried the day, would ride out to meet with Jameson’s approaching force. The combined effort would then ride triumphantly into the city to the adulation of the crowds.

Unfortunately for Jameson things went awry from the very outset – firstly his movements were monitored by the Boers who, forewarned, had raised a significant force to counter his approach and secondly, the Reform Committee didn’t hold up their end of the bargain – they failed to take any action in Johannesburg itself. Jameson’s force was checked at Doornkop, on the outskirts of the city and were routed, sustaining a number of casualties. Faced with no alternative Jameson surrendered and the affair was over almost as it began.

Part of the Boer force mustered to counter Jameson’s Raid were the Johannesburg Vrijwilliger Corps of which body Viljoen was a member. A “Vrijwilliger” (Volunteer), he was assigned to the Ambulance Detachment. The JVC was founded and largely financed by Mr. S.H. van Diggelen, who was commissioned by President Paul Kruger as its commander with the rank of lieutenant colonel. The Johannesburg Vrijwilliger Corps took part in two significant actions. The first was at Doornkop from 29 December 1895 to 2 January 1896, to suppress the planned Johannesburg Uitlander Revolution and against the Jameson Raid, an unsuccessful British-backed attempt to overthrow the Zuid Afrikaansche Republiek government.


Another photo of the JVC including members of the Ambulance Detachment .

The second was the Swaziland Expedition in 1898. The Expedition took place following the murder of the Chief Induna Mbaba at Zomboti, the seat of the Swazis, in April 1898. At the time of the murder, Swaziland was administered by the Republican Government and the expedition seems to have consisted mainly of patrols for the maintenance of order in that country.

The special correspondent of the Johannesburg Times in Barberton reported on 23 June 1898 under the rather alarming heading “Swaziland – Scare at Sheba – The Swazis Sighted – Attack Expected – Inhabitants to be Armed,” that,

“A wild rumour spread last night at the Sheba (a gold mine in the district) that the Swazis had been seen, and that they were to attack that night, on which wires were sent here imploring help from volunteers. None, however, were sent then, but it is believed that a detachment will be sent at once.”

This was, of course, the JVC who were despatched to Barberton and surrounds and who, after it was discovered that the imminent threat of a Swazi invasion was no more than a rumour, busied themselves with patrol work and endearing themselves to the local population.

Whilst on the Swaziland Expedition, Viljoen and some of his comrades participated in a shooting competition with members of the local Barberton rifle association. Viljoen came third with a creditable score of 75 helping his team beat the locals who, according to an article (excuse) in “Ons Volk” on 9 July 1898 claimed that, “Our best men were away on patrol, some on service and others on the border as spies.” With that the Johannesburg Vrijwilligers betook themselves back to Johannesburg and were disbanded, as a force, in early 1899. (Some say at the request of President Kruger who didn’t approve of their vainglorious antics.)

Returning for a moment to the period between the Jameson Raid and the Swaziland Expedition - on 16 June 1896 Viljoen applied for a position as Clerk at the Office of Import Duties but, possibly as a result of no response, he asked for his testimonials to be returned to him on 26 October 1896. This was followed on 8 December 1897 by an application for clerical employment with the Telegraph Department. In an effort to strengthen his case, he forwarded testimonials to be added to his application on 10 January 1998.

The calm that now prevailed in the Transvaal was short-lived, the fighting was over for the meanwhile and Viljoen had taken himself home and was focused on his new-found employment as a Telegraphist but, on October 11th 1899 all that came to an abrupt end when war was declared between the Transvaal and her ally, the Orange Free State and the might of Great Britain. Being a Johannesburg resident Viljoen aligned himself with the Johannesburg Commando under the soon-to-be-famous Commandant Ben Viljoen (there is nothing to suggest that they were related.)



Fortunately for the researcher applicants for the Anglo Boere Oorlog medal awarded to those who took up arms for the two Dutch Republics were required to complete Vorm B which detailed not only with whom a recipient fought but, more importantly, in which battles and skirmishes he participated. There were checks and balances built in – a Burgher couldn’t merely claim to have been in an action without providing the signature of an officer and other comrades as witnesses to corroborate the claim.

In Viljoen’s case, when he claimed his medal in the early 1920’s, he confirmed that he had served in the Johannesburg Commando under both General Ben Viljoen and his lesser-known brother, Assistant General Wynand Viljoen and that he had fought at:

- Ladysmith
- Dalmanutha (Bergendal/Belfast) – 21-27 August 1900
- Balmoral (Rhenosterkop) – 29 November 1900
- Oostelike Transvaal (Eastern Transvaal including Lydenburg)

A “bitter einder” – one who fought from beginning to end – he confirmed that he served from October 1899 until May 1902 when he laid down his weapon at Lydenburg (Eastern Transvaal) with General Wynand Viljoen.



The Johannesburg Commandos first engagement was at Elandslaagte on 21 October 1899, ten days after the war had commenced and the border with Natal was crossed. There is nothing to suggest that Viljoen was in action in the battle which ended as a pyrrhic victory for the British who fell back on Ladysmith and were, by 3rd November 1899, under siege by the Boers who had surrounded the town and occupied all the strategic points and hills around it.

The intervening period between 21 October and 2 November saw Viljoen and his Johannesburg Commando, along with all the other commandos deployed to the theatre, concentrating around the town and engaging in numerous skirmishes and actions.

Ben Viljoen, in his “My Reminiscences of the Anglo Boer War” wrote that,

“On the 1st November, 1899, we reached the main army near Ladysmith, and I went at once to tell General Joubert in person that my men wanted to fight, and not to play policemen in the rear of the army.

….A few days after we had arrived before Ladysmlth we joined an expedition to reconnoitre the British entrenchments, and my commando was ordered near some forts on the north-westerly side of the town. Both small and large artillery were being fired from each side. We approached within 800 paces of a fort; it was broad daylight and the enemy could therefore see us distinctly, knew the exact range, and received us with a perfect hailstorm of fire.

Our only chance was to seek cover behind kopjes and in ditches, for on any Boer showing his head the bullets whistled round his ears. Here two of my burghers were severely wounded, and we had some considerable trouble to get them through the firing line to our ambulance.

After another fortnight or so, we were ordered away to guard another position to the south-west of Ladysmith. Eight days after my commando had been stationed in my new position under General Erasmus, I received instructions to march to Potgietersdrift, on the Upper Tugela, near Spion Kop. Up to the 14th of December, 1899, no noteworthy incident took place, and nothing was done but a little desultory scouting along the Tugela, and the digging of trenches.

A few days after we were told off to take up a position at the junction of the Little and the Big Tugela, between Spion Kop and Colenso. Here we celebrated our first Christmas in the field; our friends at Johannesburg had sent us a quantity of presents comprising cakes, cigars, cigarettes, tobacco and other luxuries.

Buller's forces seemed at first to have the intention of forcing their way through near Potgietersdrift, and they took possession of all the "randts" on their side of the river, causing us to strengthen the position on our side. We thus had to shift our commando again to Potgietersdrift, where we soon had the enemy's Naval guns playing on our positions. This continued day and night for a whole week.

The Johannesburg Commando had been ordered to defend the position at Potgietersdrift, but the fighting round Spion Kop became so serious that I was obliged to send up a field cornet with his men as a reinforcement, which was soon followed by a second contingent, making altogether 200 Johannesburgers in the fight, of whom nine were killed and 18 wounded. The enemy had reached the top of the "kop" on the evening of the second day of the fight, not, however, without having sustained considerable losses.

Vaalkrantz

Soon after his defeat at Spion Kop, General Buller, moved by the earnest entreaties for help from Ladysmith, and pressed by Lord Roberts, attempted a third time to break through our lines. This time my position had to bear the onslaught of his whole forces. Early in the morning of the 5th February, 1900, my position was heavily bombarded, and before the sun had risen four of my burghers had been put hors de combat. The enemy had placed their naval guns on the outskirts of the wood known as "Zwartkop" so as to be able to command our position from an elevation of about 400 feet. I happened to be on the right flank with ninety-five burghers and a pom-pom; my assistant, Commandant Japie du Preez, commanding the left flank.

The assailants threw two pontoon bridges across the river and troops kept pouring over from 10 o'clock in the morning. The whole of the guns' fire was now concentrated on my position; and although we answered with a well-directed fire, they charged time after time. The number of my fighting men was rapidly diminishing. I may say this was the heaviest bombardment I witnessed during the whole of the campaign. It seemed to me as if all the guns of the British army were being fired at us.

On looking about me to see how my burghers were getting on I found that many around me had been killed and others were wounded. The clothes of the latter were burnt and they cried out for help in great agony. Our pom-pom had long since been silenced by the enemy, and thirty of my burghers had been put out of the fight. The enemy's infantry was advancing nearer and nearer and there was not much time left to think. I knelt down behind a kopje, along with some of the men, and we kept firing away at 400 paces, but although we sent a good many to eternal rest, the fire of the few burghers who were left was too weak to stem the onslaught of those overwhelming numbers.

The Battle of "Vaalkrantz" kopje was to me and to the Johannesburg Commando undoubtedly the most important and the fiercest fight in this war, and although one point in our positions was taken, I think that on the whole I may be proud of our defence. About two-thirds of its defenders were killed or wounded before the enemy took that spot, and all who afterwards visited the kopje where our struggle had taken place had to admit that unmistakable evidence showed it to be one of the hottest fights of the Natal campaign. All the trees were torn up or smashed by shells, great blocks of rock had been splintered and were stained yellow by the lyddite; mutilated bodies were lying everywhere—Briton and Boer side by side; for during the short time "Vaalkrantz" had been in their possession the English had not had an opportunity of burying the bodies of friends or foe.”

Not long after, on 28 February 1900 Buller finally broke through and liberated Ladysmith. The Boers had, meanwhile, retired to Elandslaagte in disarray. Soon after, the Johannesburg Commando was encamped in the Biggarsberg around Dundee where they were for some time whilst awaiting orders. Buller finally got his army moving again in May 1900 and, under relentless pressure from his approaching force, the Boers fell back on Dundee and were driven out of Natal over the border into the Transvaal.



Finding themselves in the Klip River district outside Vereeniging, the Johannesburg Commando, in the words of Ben Viljoen, “had the good fortune to encounter General Botha and his staff. The General ordered me to take up a position at the Gatsrand, near the Nek at Pharaohsfontein, as the British, having split their forces up into two parts, would send one portion to cross the Vaal River at Lindeque's Drift, whilst the other detachments would follow the railway past Vereeniging. By nine in the morning we had taken up our positions, and at noon the enemy came in sight. Our commando had been considerably reduced, as many burghers, finding themselves near their homes, had applied for twenty-four hours' leave, which had been granted in order to allow them to arrange matters before the advance of the English on their farms made it impossible. A few also had deserted for the time being, unable to resist the temptation of visiting their families in the neighbourhood.

Early next morning (the 29th May, 1900) we reached Klipspruit, and found there several other commandos placed in extended order all the way up to Doornkop. The next day our forces were again in full retreat to Pretoria, where I understood we were to make a desperate stand. About seven o'clock we passed through Fordsburg, a suburb of Johannesburg. In our retreat northwards the English did not pursue us. They contented themselves by fortifying the position we had evacuated between Donkerhoek and Wonderboompoort. Meantime our commandos proceeded along the Delagoa Bay Railway until we reached Balmoral Station, while other little divisions of ours were at Rhenosterkop, north of Bronkhorst Spruit.

The next notable action in which he participated was the Battle of Bergendal, known to the Boers as Dalmanutha. The battle lasted from 21 to 27 August 1900. Its climax came on the last day, when 70 men of the Johannesburg Zuid-Afrikaansche Rijdende Politie (ZARP), a special mounted police corps of the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek (ZAR) or the Transvaal Republic, faced a full attack by General Sir Redvers Buller's Natal Field Army.

As early as 7 May 1900, the ZAR Government decided that Pretoria would not he defended. On the eve of 29 May 1900, President Kruger and his entourage left for Machadodorp. This town became the temporary seat of the ZAR Government.

On 25 August, Lord Roberts arrived in Belfast from Pretoria to take overall command of the British forces. Roberts, Buller, French and Pole-Carew held a war council and drafted their strategy. French and Pole-Carew would concentrate the attack north of the railway, and Buller's army would advance directly on Machadodorp. The line of attack led right across the farm Bergendal where the ZARPs were positioned. Pole-Carew's 11th Division and French's Cavalry on Buller's left flank would have to attack the Boer right flank. The combined British forces of about 20 000 were brought into position along a 20km front to stage the offensive against Botha's 5 000 Boer commandos spread over a much longer line of defence.

By the beginning of August 1900, General Botha had established a defence line that stretched for more than 80km from Bothasberg, north-west of Belfast, to the farm Frischgewaagd in the Komati River valley. The main purpose of this line was to secure the railway. It was their last line of communication with the outside world. At a military council meeting held early in August it was decided that the burghers should maintain their defence positions to the bitter end in order to prevent the British from occupying the railway. Various commandos were stationed along the defence line, but because numbers were so few, nowhere along this front was there a large concentration of Boer forces.

At Bothasberg, the Boksburg Commando under Commandant Dercksen took up position to protect the road from Middelburg to Lydenburg and to oppose a possible British advance to Lydenburg. This town was very important to the Boers, being one of their major zones of retreat. The Lydenburg Commando occupied the foothills of the Steenkampsberg, guarding the road from Belfast and Dullstroom to Lydenburg. The Middelburg and Johannesburg Commandos were positioned to the north-east of Belfast. Their main tasks were to control the Belfast-Lydenburg road.



Skirmishes between the Boer forces and various British units occurred throughout, and were quite severe but the main battle would only take place on the following day when a furious three-hour long bombardment, followed by a full-frontal infantry attack dislodged the Boers whose resistance finally broke. For the Boers the battle was lost.

Balmoral

Attacks on stations on the Pretoria-Delagoa Bay railway line at Balmoral and Wilge Rivier on 19 November alerted the British to the presence once more of a strong Boer force in the vicinity. British accounts say that the attacks 'both failed' but the Balmoral station building was damaged, the telegraph instrument was smashed and a stretch of railway line was torn up. An outlying post was captured by the Boers, who took 43 men captive but who were soon released .

This was probably the action referred to by Viljoen on his Vorm B.

Rhenosterkop

The Johannesburgers, commanded by Viljoen's younger brother, Wynand, occupied a line of small ridges strewn with big boulders. Ahead of them was a flat plain or glacis which was totally without cover of any sort, giving them an excellent field of fire. Behind them there was a small ravine and a stream in which they sheltered their horses. The British infantry advancing towards them would have to face a storm of fire yet scarcely see a single Boer.

It was the British infantry who attacked on their right against the Johannesburg Commando, 'thinly strewn in twos and threes, behind boulders'. There would have been several hundred men in this line. They got to within seventy paces before the Johannesburgers opened fire. Those who survived fell flat and were unable either to advance or fall back. A second attempt was made with the same result, in spite of the efforts of Lieutenant-Colonel G E Lloyd of the West Ridings.

Nevertheless, part of the Boer line felt itself to be under severe threat. Some of the Johannesburgers and Field-Cornet Max Theunissen's Pretoria burghers were occupying 'a stony koppie slightly ahead of our regular front'. The Jeppestown Commando, on the far right of the Johannesburgers, was assailed by 'a large body of enemy horse, taking advantage of the concave nature of part of the ground ...'- presumably some of the 4th Queenslanders. Other Johannesburgers galloped to their assistance.

In the centre of the Boer position were the mounted police of the ZARP. These men were members of a trained paramilitary force, some of the best trained men that Viljoen had under his command. They occupied an outcrop covered in enormous boulders which was well-nigh impregnable to a frontal attack. The advance guard, the 4th Queensland Imperial Bushmen (QIB), was allowed to get close before the boers opened fire. The result was that, just like the infantry on their right, they could only lie flat behind what little cover was available. All they could do was get a message back that they were in a tight place.

When night fell, the British dug trenches, expecting to be attacked the following day, 30 November, but the Boers had left during the night.
Ben Viljoen also recounted the action: -

“I placed the Johannesburgers on the left, the Police in the centre, and the Boksburgers on the right. As I have already pointed out, these positions were situated in a row of small kopjes strewn with big "klips," while the assailant would have to charge over a bare "bult," and we should not be able to see each other before they were at 60 to 150 paces distant.

Next morning, when the day dawned, the watchmen gave the alarm, the warning we knew so well, "The Khakis are coming!" The horses were all put out of range of the bullets behind the "randts." I rode about with my officers in front of our positions, thus being able to overlook the whole ground, just at daybreak.

It gave me a turn when I suddenly saw the gigantic army of "Khakis" right in front of us, slowly approaching, in grand formation, regiment upon regiment, deploying systematically, in proper fighting order, and my anxiety was mingled with admiration at the splendid discipline of the adversary.

This, then, was the first act in the bloody drama which would be played for the next fifteen hours. The enemy came straight up to us, and had obviously been carefully reconnoitering our positions.

General Paget seemed to have been spoiling for a fight, for it did not look as if he simply meant to threaten our only outlet. His heavy ordnance was in position near his camp, behind the soldiers, and was firing at us over their heads, while some 15-pounders were divided amongst the different regiments. The thought of being involved in such an unequal struggle weighed heavily on my mind. Facing me were from four to five thousand soldiers, well equipped, well disciplined, backed up by a strong artillery; just behind me my men, 500 at the outside, with some patched-up guns, almost too shaky for firing purposes.

But I could rely on at least 90 per cent. of my burghers being splendid shots, each man knowing how to economise his store of ammunition, while their hearts beat warmly for the Cause they were fighting.

The battle was opened by our Krupp gun, from which they had orders to fire the fourteen shells we had at our disposal, and then "run." The enemy's heavy guns soon answered from the second ridge. When it was broad daylight the enemy tried his first charge on the Johannesburg position, over which my brother had the command, and approached in skirmishing order. They charged right up to seventy paces, when our men fired for the first time, so that we could not very well have missed our aim at so short a distance, in addition to which the assailants' outline was just showing against the sky-line as he was going over the last ridge. Only two volleys and all the Khakis were flat on the ground, some dead, others wounded, while those who had not been hit were obliged to lie down as flat as a pancake.


Viljoen's claim for compensation included the loss of a horse during the battle of Rhenosterkop in which he participated.

…… Again night spread a dark veil over one of the most bloody dramas of this war. After the cessation of hostilities, I called my officers together and considered our position. We had not lost an inch of ground that day, while the enemy had gained nothing. On the contrary, they had suffered a serious repulse at our hands. But our ammunition was getting scarce, our waggons, with provisions, were 18 miles away. All we had in our positions was mealies and raw meat, and the burghers had no chance of cooking them. We therefore decided, as we had no particular interest in keeping these positions, to fall back that night on Poortjesnek, which was a "half-way house" between the place we were leaving and our carts, from which we should be able to draw our provisions and reserve ammunition.”

Viljoen’s fight continued until he laid down his arms at Lydenburg in May 1902, after the Treaty of Vereeniging had brought peace. A few months later, on 29 August 1902, he submitted a claim to the Compensation Board for war losses (reparations.) Writing from his address at 37 Lillian Road, Fordsburg, Johannesburg, he claimed an amount of £103 (3 horses and supplies)

A Clerk in the Telegraph Office, he was 26 years old and provided receipts from “responsible officers of the late ZAR Government,” which included a Memorandum from Veld Kornet Slabbert, Commandant Pienaar and General W.J. Viljoen.

One of the receipts submitted was in respect of a horse “lost during the fight at Rhenosterkop on 29 November 1901.

None of the items listed were entertained, the comment by the Board Chairman reading, “Expenditure for personal equipment on Commando is not awarded by the Commission as being contrary to the spirit of Attorney General’s Circular No. 43”

Undeterred Viljoen carried on with the business of life. He would have greeted his father on his return from Portugal where he had been sent after being taken Prisoner of War and he had a living to make. On 6 February 1906 he took 20 year old Elsie Carolina Venter to be his bride in the Dutch Reformed Church in Johannesburg. He was 29 and living at 38 Marais Road, Johannesburg.

At some point his wife passed away and he remarried – on this occasion to widow Petronella Hendrika Bouwer born Terblanche. He was 66 years old and his wife 67. The nuptials took place on 1 August 1942. He was living at 1 Observatory Lane, Observatory, Johannesburg at the time. Sadly he wasn’t destined to enjoy his new wife’s company for long – he passed away on 17 February 1943 at the Old Age Home in Observatory. His home address was 216 King Court, Plein Street, Johannesburg. 66 years and 3 months old he died from Cardiac Failure and Congestion of the Liver. He was a retired Messenger of the Court and a Military Pensioner.

Acknowledgements:
- Military History Journal Vol 17 No 2 - December 2016, RHENOSTERKOP, 29 NOVEMBER 1900 The last pitched battle of the Anglo-Boer War By Robin Smith
- Claim for Compensation document completed by Viljoen SA National Archives
- Eric De Jager (SAHPA) for info on Johannesburg Vrijwilligers Corps.
- Rob Mitchell for notes by Forsyth in African Notes & News September 1959
- The Battle of Bergendal - The Last Pitched Battle of the Anglo-Boer War by Cecilia P Jooste, History Lecturer at Vista University, Distance Learning Campus, Pretoria
- Thinus Le Roux for colourised photo of the JVC Swaziland contingent
- Under the Union Jack for photo of the JVC including Ambulance Detachment.