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Their first Canadian battle occurred at Paardeberg, where they won by outlasting their opponents. The Canadian contingent participated in several following battles, mostly on the periphery. Only one quarter of the force volunteered for an extension to their service when their term of service expired, and the remainder returned home in December 1900.

Stanley McKeown Brown was a war correspondent who followed Canadian troops into South Africa. This is his record of the incidents and adventures with which Canadian soldiers met, and to give those at home some idea of the trials and discomforts which they encountered serving in the First Canadian Contingent during the South African War.

Shows a map of the positioning of troops involved in the Battle of Paardeberg, South Africa, February 18, 1900.

At Paardeberg on 27 February 1900, the 2nd (Special Service) Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment of Infantry helped win the first significant British victory of the 2nd South African War (1899-1902). Although the Canadian success owed as much to good luck and stubbornness as training or skill, the victory provided a boost to the morale and confidence of the troops. This painting, 'Dawn of Majuba', by famous British military painter R. Caton Woodville, portrays the moment when news of the enemy surrender reaches the Canadians. The Boer defeat took place on the 19th anniversary of a British disaster at Majuba Hill during the 1st South African War (1880-1881).

After two days of Cabinet deliberations, Canada offered eight 125-man units, a total of 1000 men, all volunteers, to prepare for the South African War. When Great Britain agreed to this arrangement later in October 1899, it was a straightforward matter to combine the eight smaller units into a larger formation of 1019 officers and men, the 2nd (Special Service) Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment of Infantry (2 RCRI).

On February 18, 1900, British forces began to besiege a Boer army at Paardeberg Drift. Among the attacking force were the ranks of the 2nd (Special Service) Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment of Infantry. This was the first major Canadian action of the South African War.

Shows a map of the positioning of troops involved in the Battle of Paardeberg, South Africa, February 27, 1900.