Johannes Lötter

Johannes Cornelius Jacobus "Hans" Lötter (January 15, 1875 – October 12, 1901) was a Boer commander who fought, and was executed as a war criminal by the British during the Second Boer War. Along with Gideon Scheepers, Lötter was one of the most brutal guerrilla commandos in the Cape Colony.^[1]

Johannes Cornelius Jacobus Lötter
Commandant Lötter in Graaff-Reinet prison
Nickname(s)	Hans
Born	(1875-01-15)January 15, 1875 Pearston, Cape Colony
Died	October 12, 1901(1901-10-12) (aged 26) Middelburg, Cape Colony
Cause of death	Execution by firing squad
Allegiance	Boer Republics
Years of service	1899 – 1901
Rank	Commandant
Unit	Lötter Rebels
Commands	Lötter Rebels
Battles / wars	Battle of Groenkloof
Relations	Michiel Petrus Lötter (father), Maria Catharina Buys (mother) Christoffel Lötter (2nd Great-Grandfather)

Lötter entered the Cape Colony during the war along with Pieter Hendrik Kritzinger.^[2] Lötter's Boer Commando earned a reputation for being brutal and undisciplined.^[3] Like many Boer commandants, Lötter promulgated public decrees to the residents of the Cape Colony, warning of harsh retribution if they did not support the forces of the Boer Republics.^[1] A column led by Henry Jenner Scobell was tasked with tracking down Lötter's commando. They tracked the commando to Groenkloof, west of Cradock, and surprised them with a dawn attack. Sixty of Lötter's men became casualties and sixty, including Lötter, were captured.^[4]

He was taken to Graaff-Reinet for his trial, and charged with treason, murdering unarmed British scouts, flogging two Afrikaners who had brought him terms of surrender, destroying railway lines, and marauding.^[3] The trial was straightforward since Lötter was a citizen of the British-controlled Cape Colony and therefore a rebel.^[3] He was found guilty, sentenced to death by firing squad, executed along with seven of his men on October 12, 1901.^[4]

References

1. Nasson, Bill (13 February 2003). Abraham Esau's War: A Black South African War in the Cape, 1899-1902. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 107. ISBN 9780521530590.
2. Paget, Henry (1986). A History of the British Cavalry 1816-1919: 1899-1913. Leo Cooper. p. 248. ISBN 9780436273216.
3. Judd, Denis; Surridge, Keith (15 March 2013). The Boer War: A History. London: I.B.Tauris. p. 234. ISBN 9780857733160.
4. Jaques, Tony (2007). Dictionary of Battles and Sieges: F-O. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 411. ISBN 9780313335389.