The largest guns acquired by the State Artillery of the Transvaal Republic were four French 155mm Creusot guns which were generally known as Long Toms. They were intended to be used in the four forts built around Pretoria after the Jameson raid. During the first phase of the Anglo-Boer War they were used at the sieges of Ladysmith, Mafeking and Kimberley.  When the war changed to guerilla tactics the Long Toms became a burden because they could not be moved around easily. All four were destroyed by the Boer forces to prevent them from falling into the hands of the enemy.

Hermann Gustav Thiel already showed his sympathy with the cause of the Transvaal Republic during the Jameson Raid in December 1895 and was involved as a technician in the building of Fort Klapperkop for the defence of Pretoria. For these actions the young German was granted citizenship with full voting rights of the Transvaal Republic on 21 January 1898.

When the Anglo Boer War started on 11 October 1899 Hermann Thiel was only 21 years old.

The most dramatic event of Hermann Thiel’s participation in the Anglo – Boer – War was his involvement in the destruction of the last of the four Creosot guns (Longtoms) of the Boer forces to prevent it from falling into the hands of the enemy. The event took place on 30 April 1901 near the town of Haenertsburg in the Eastern Transvaal and is described in detail by him in the first of his four handwritten diaries. The full text of the first diary is given in a separate Blog posting also describing the period leading up to the destruction of the gun as well as the period thereafter until their capture.

Hermann Thiel also described his part in the destruction of the last of the four Long Tom guns in a letter written more than 30 years after the end of the Anglo Boer War from Tanganyika to the Regent Institute in London giving a brief description of his duties during his active participation in the war before he was captured and sent as POW to Bermuda.

Excerpt from Hermann Thiel’s letter to the Regent Institute

During the Boer War I was in charge of the search light section in Natal at Ladysmith and Colenso and later, in eastern and northern Transvaal, repairing guns (Long Toms, Krupp, French75, Pom-Poms, etc.) During this time I had the unique experience of meeting my wife (who was a nursing sister and in charge of a British Hospital taken over from the Boers) under a parliamentary white flag.

The last Long Tom (Boer siege Gun) was blown up by me in Northern Transvaal during action. I was highly amused at the assertion in some English and South African papers, last year, about Long Tom had been captured.

When captured in the Northern Transvaal in 1901 being ill with blackwater I was amused to find my two guards to be my two school palls from Cape Town.

The page from Hermann Thiel’s diary describing the actions during the destruction of the last Long Tom gun is copied below followed by a transcription of the page.

On my arrival Luit Du Toit ordered me to fire the gun with dynamite as it was impossible to extricate it. After having fitted a powerful charge behind a Shrapnel in the breach I commenced from the barrel and rammed in all the dynamite I could lay my hands on then fuse and cap rammed tight with rods, the charge was complete as far as the barrel went. For the carriage a heavy charge just above the axle under the “batterij Tappe” would not leave much of that whole. Whilst laying these charges the enemy was coming pretty close and Luit Du Toit kept on warning me that I am waiting too long. The bombs about 35 I first thought of firing together with the gunpowder also about 40 bags of Long Toms but on consideration I left them as owing to the short fuses we would have to use I was afraid none of our men would get out of those explosions alive. Wachtmeester Maher was very handy in helping me and did his best to blow up the gunpowder. As his fuse would not light soon enough he pluckily kept on striking match after match whilst my short fuses were burning all and only when he had reached his last match did his fuse alight. We had not reached a great distance about two hundred yards, when the explosions took place. First the gun carriage went, knocking a large piece out in the direction of the enemy, blowing the barrel clean out of the tappets bending the axel so that the wheels were standing at right angles. And the whole carriage was split from end to end.

The full transcription of the events of that eventful day of 30^th April 1901 and the following flight from the scene until their eventual capture as recorded by Hermann Thiel in his first of four diaries are presented below.

April 30^th About daybreak I left with three of my section J Siemssen, J Schult and Tom Coetzee, to make position for maxim, as ordered. Were working like slaves as the report came that English were close to Houtboschdorp and at about 10 o’clock we heard a sharp engagement with small arms and a few gun reports.

Continued with fort, but before we finished or had time to bring our Maxim down into position the enemy broke upon us from direction of Houtboschdorp. There was quite a large force, and as it seemed all cavalry and from their movements it looked as if the enemy still expected to find Long Tom in his old position and they tried to surround it. Dashing along their horses at a great rate but what was their surprise when a few minutes later old Long Tom let fly from his new position. The second bomb sent the enemy flying helter skelter over the mountain again. Soon however I noticed that there was something very wrong with the Long Tom’s firing and I mentioned the fact to my men. I could not understand the firing at all as the firing was very ineffective. About a quarter of an hour later and when about 13 shells had been fired I noticed the oxen being brought up to the gun and gave the order to my men to retire, which we did without firing a single shot from our splendid position.

As we left our position Commdt Neethling rushed up on horseback with one burger more being the whole burger force to protect us. They rode on in front as we being on foot could not follow so quickly. When I reached Long Tom I noticed the cause of the bad firing, for the gun carriage had quite sunk into the ground from the shock as the earth was too soft to stand the shock.

On my arrival Luit Du Toit ordered me to fire the gun with dynamite as it was impossible to extricate it. After having fitted a powerful charge behind a Shrapnel in the breach I commenced from the barrel and rammed in all the dynamite I could lay my hands on then fuse and cap rammed tight with rods, the charge was complete as far as the barrel went. For the carriage a heavy charge just above the axle under the “batterij (Tappe” would not leave much of that whole. Whilst laying these charges the enemy was coming pretty close and Luit Du Toit kept on warning me that I am waiting too long. The bombs about 35 I first thought of firing together with the gunpowder also about 40 bags of Long Toms but on consideration I left them as owing to the short fuses we would have to use I was afraid none of our men would get out of those explosions alive. Wachtmeester Maher was very handy in helping me and did his best to blow up the gunpowder. As his fuse would not light soon enough he pluckily kept on striking match after match whilst my short fuses were burning all and only when he had reached his last match did his fuse alight. We had not reached a great distance about two hundred yards, when the explosions took place. First the gun carriage went, knocking a large piece out in the direction of the enemy, blowing the barrel clean out of the tappets bending the axel so that the wheels were standing at right angles. And the whole carriage was split from end to end.

The first explosion was pretty light, but the second (the barrel) and third (gunpowder) were something tremendous and it is a miracle that we all did get out alive. Sergeant Major Gradwell  and myself being closest to the gun had a narrow shave. A large piece of the barrel striking between us but fortunately none were hit. And now began one of the most exciting retreats, only paralleled by our retreat over the Duiwels Kneukels, Spitskop and Sabi from Lydenburg. We were about 30 strong that had remained by the gun the others had gone on ahead with our two waggons and loose bullocks from Long Tom.

The maxim was pluckily brought out by Lancer (a telegraphist, who is a kripple but still willing to serve his country) on a cart, with 6 bullocks and a small nigger boy.

Well we that remained behind dashed down a kloof after the explosion and hardly did we reach some thick bush for cover when the enemy already reached the position of the now defunct Long Tom. I think they must have felt awfully cut up, seeing the gun blown up before their very noses. It was very sad for us to blow up our own gun but better blown up than fall in the hands of the enemy undamaged. When the enemy reached the position and saw us few cutting through the bush they commenced firing on us and sent a force of cavalry to cut off our retreat. We did not wait to reply but continued our retreat in the direction of our waggons.  At the bottom of the kloof, we were suddenly confronted by a deep but narrow river without a drift to cross.

As the enemy was close behind we had nothing else to do but pitch our rifles and bandoliers across and plunge into the water. We looked awful frights on coming out sopping wet not a dry stitch on but not a minute to waste as the enemy kept pretty close. Soon after this we reached our wagons but we had to get off and drive the enemy back three times before we could get the waggons through. The last stand we made about three o’clock in a nek just where the road descends the mountain. We let our waggons go on and about 20 of us remained in position. We were hardly ready when the enemy turned up at 600 yards but believe me we gave it hot. There was no idea of them getting through and we only wished that they would try it. There would not have been much of them left. We stuck there until 5pm. When we scooted one by one, the enemy noticing this, all got up and commenced firing volleys on us but strange to say not one of our men was hit in the whole fight and even now shooting volleys on us at 6 and 800 yards. After our first close quarters when we had reached our waggons our ambulance (Dr Neethling) drew aside and were captured by the English. One of my men, Fourie, was missed during the skirmishes but I thought he had gone on with the waggons but I believe when the waggons were fired upon he must have cleared off and very likely to the ambulance. Anyhow he was missed and is missing today still. Not much loss a poor specimen of a soldier ought never to have come on commando, but stopped at home by his mother.  “Don’t you know”.

Continued our flight all night down a steep incline crossing several rivers in a large valley and rising again very steep and awfully high. Continuation of our plan to keep by road as far as Agata under the mountain and then to cut off to the left and try and work our way round to Louis Trichardt to join our other commandoes.

Crossed several large rivers specially the Groot Letaba through which we nearly all had to swim. Had great difficulty to bring the waggons through as there are three separate streams and all swift-running. Here I met a very old acquaintance Max Jung. A man I last saw in Kimberley in ‘85. He was very glad to see me and was very hearty introducing me to his better half who stood us all a royal treat on guavas. Wasn’t that a treat. We were eating guavas for several hours. Here we also had another treat namely something for the inner man a bit stronger than water in the evening. Max Jung invited Luit. Du Toit, Reitz and myself to tea and we enjoyed ourselves very much. The next day we departed with our trek. Mrs Jung making me a present of a hundred guavas and a piece of Lever soap. Before we left we heard that we were totally surrounded by the enemy so we took a small road not used for years and as Max told us, quite impossible to use as it is a complete marsh or bog.

Captured three weeks after this down with black water.

37 others in same plight.

6 artellerists already died before our capture

In 1999, during the centenary proceedings of the Anglo Boer War, and through the initiative of the historian, Professor Louis Changuion, a plaque was placed on the spot where Hermann Gustav Thiel made his contribution to the destruction of the last of the Long Tom guns. Unfortunately, Hermann Gustav Thiel (1878 -1948) was erroneously referred to as Gustav Thiel which can cause him to be confused with either his oldest brother, Gustav Thiel (1851 -1937) or his father, Gustav Thiel (1825 -1907), the patriarch of the Thiel family who came to South Africa in 1878 from Germany.

In his excellent book “Silence of the Guns – The History of the Long Toms of the Anglo-Boer War” published in 2001, Professor Louis Changuion used ample material from Hermann Gustav Thiel’s collection made available to him by Hermann Gustav Thiel’s grandson. In several places in the book, he is again erroneously identified as Gustav Thiel instead of as Hermann Gustav Thiel.