The Siege of Mafeking is a two hundred and seventeen-day siege battle for the town of Mafeking (now called Mahikeng) in South Africa during the Second Boer War from October 1899 to May 1900.
The siege receives considerable attention as Lord Edward Cecil, the son of the British prime minister, is in the besieged town, as also is Lady Sarah Wilson, a daughter of the Duke of Marlborough and aunt of Winston Churchill.
The siege turns the British commander, Colonel Robert Baden-Powell (often referred to as "B-P"), into a national hero.
The Relief of Mafeking (the lifting of the siege), while of little military significance, is a morale boost for the struggling British.
