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Battle of Mushroom Valley
Part of the Maritz Rebellion
Date 12 November 1914 Location Mushroom Valley, Orange Free State Province, Union of South Africa Result Union of South Africa victory
Belligerents
Union of South Africa	South African Republic
Commanders and leaders
Louis Botha	Christiaan de Wet
Strength
32,000 2 IFVs	2,000 - 5,000
Casualties and losses
6 killed. 20 wounded	22 killed, many captured

The Battle of Mushroom Valley took place on 12 November 1914 at Mushroom Valley near Winburg, Orange Free State Province, South Africa. During the battle, a Union of South Africa army under the command of Louis Botha defeated a large force of Boer rebels under Christian De Wet. The battle prevented the Boer rebels in Orange Free State from linking up with their counterparts throughout the remainder of South Africa.

Background

In 1914, the Maritz rebellion erupted in South Africa, with various Boer leaders taking up arms against the South African Union government in an effort to restore the formerly independent Boer state known as the South African Republic. One prominent leader to join the rebels was Christian De Wet. De Wet had been the commander in chief of the Orange Free State during the Second Boer War and was able to rally thousands of recruits to the rebel cause. De Wet began concentrating a large rebel force at Mushroom Valley near in the Orange Free State. Various smaller commandos traveled to meet De Wet from across the Orange Free State. De Wet's force of rebels rapidly swelled to approximately 5,000. Learning that De Wet was encamped at Mushroom Valley, Louis Botha quickly enacted a plan to encircle and neutralize the large rebel force. Botha had been supplied with a large number of automobiles from the Transval Automobile Club. These were utilized to help transport his troops to Mushroom Valley and two were armed with machine guns and utilized as improvised fighting vehicles. Key to Botha's plan was the rapid manuever of loyal Union forces led by Brits and Lunkins which were to meet Botha at the opposite side of Mushroom Valley and complete the encirclement of De Wet's force.

Battle

On the approach of Botha's force, the majority of the rebels were asleep in their encampment. Botha opened the engagement by using his artillery to shell the camp, which woke the sleeping rebels and caused them to scatter and panic. De Wet rallied his men and began organizing them to meet the Union troops that began encircling the Boer camp. Two Union improvised armoured cars poured machine gun fire into the rebel lines routing De Wet's force. While Botha's main force was engaging De Wet's men, the Union units led by Brits and Lukins were still maneuvering into position. Quarrelling between Brits and Lunkins significantly delayed the movement of their forces and as a result their arrival to the battlefield was significantly delayed. This Brits and Lunkins' unites not in their planned positions on the battlefield, the Union encirclement of the rebels was incomplete and a gap was left in the Union lines. With his force routed, De Wet and a handful of followers managed to escape through the gap in the Union lines and flee into the Kalahari desert. The remainder of De Wet's force surrendered, ending the action.

Aftermath

Virtually the entirety of De Wet's commando was captured by Botha's troops at Mushroom Valley. Additionally the entirety of De Wet's wagons, ammunition, and supplies were captured. As a result, only a few small scattered bands of rebels remained in the Orange Free State. The majority of Botha's force was thus freed up to move to other parts of the country, while Brits and his force was detached to continue the pursuit of De Wets tiny remaining band. With the no large force of rebels remaining in the Orange Free State, combat operations shifted largely to the Cape Colony's border with German South West Africa where Martiz's force remained concentrated alongside German troops.