The Battle of Leliefontein (also known as the Battle of Witkloof) was an engagement between British-Canadian and Boer forces during the Second Boer War on 7 November 1900, at the Komati River south of Belfast at the present day Nooitgedacht Dam. During the engagement, the Canadian rearguard successfully repelled Boer assaults against the column, facilitating the successful withdrawal of the British-Canadian force from the area. Three members of the Royal Canadian Dragoons were awarded the Victoria Cross for their actions during the battle. Background In November 1900, a British force advanced from Belfast towards the Komati River to push the Boer soldiers out of the area. The British force also included the second Canadian contingent to arrive in South Africa, including members of the Royal Canadian Dragoons, the 2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles and "D" Battery of the Canadian Field Artillery. Led by Major-General Horace Smith-Dorrien, the force arrived at the river on 6 November and drove the Boers from their positions. However, as resistance was stronger than expected, and because Smith-Dorrien had expected the Boers to be reinforced, he ordered his forces to set up camp at Leliefontein for the night, before beginning a withdrawal back to Belfast the following morning. The Boers that withdrew from their positions in Komati later reconsolidated with reinforcements, having expected the British force to pursue them. The Boer force included the Ermelo Commando and Carolina Commando. The Boers originally planned to intercept an advancing British force at a road south of the river. However, after the Boers realized that the British-Canadian force was not pursuing them and was withdrawing from the area, they advanced to attack the rear of the British-Canadian column. Battle A force led by Lieutenant-Colonel François-Louis Lessard, which included 90–100 men from the Royal Canadian Dragoons, two 12-pounder field guns from "D" Battery of the Canadian Field Artillery, and a horse-drawn M1895 Colt-Browning machine gun, was tasked with covering the larger force's withdrawal as its rearguard. The dragoons were deployed in a line behind the withdrawing British column, with the horse-drawn machine gun at its centre. Throughout the morning, the Canadian rearguard positions were assaulted by Boer forces. At one point during the engagement, 200 mounted Boers charged the Canadian's positions in an attempt to break their line. The mounted charge was eventually repulsed by a handful of Royal Canadian Dragoons, and the left section of D Battery under the command