Boer War

There were two Boer wars, one from December 16,1880-March 23,1881 and the second from October 11, 1899-May 311902 both between the British and the settlers of Dutch, French and German origin (called Boers, Afrikaners or Voortrekkers) in South Africa that put an end to the two independent republics that they had founded.

Second Boer War, also known as the South African War

With the discovery of gold in Transvaal, thousands of British settlers streamed over the border from the Cape Colony. The city of Johannesburg sprang up as a shanty town nearly overnight as the uitlanders poured in and settled near the mines. The uitlanders rapidly outnumbered the Boers on the Rand, but remained a minority in the Transvaal as a whole. The Afrikaners, nervous and resentful of the uitlanders' presence, denied them voting rights and taxed the gold industry heavily. In response, there was pressure from the uitlanders and the British mine owners to overthrow the Boer government. In 1895, Cecil Rhodes sponsored a failed coup d'etat backed by an armed incursion, the Jameson Raid.

Related Topics:
Cape Colony - Johannesburg - Shanty town - Uitlanders - 1895 - Cecil Rhodes - Coup d'etat - Jameson Raid

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The failure to gain improved rights for Britons was used to justify a major military buildup in the Cape, since several key British colonial leaders favoured annexation of the Boer republics. These included the Cape Colony governor Sir Alfred Milner, British Colonial Secretary Joseph Chamberlain and mining syndicate owners (nicknamed the gold bugs) such as Alfred Beit, Barney Barnato and Lionel Phillips. Confident that the Boers would be quickly defeated, they attempted to precipitate a war.

Related Topics:
Alfred Milner - Joseph Chamberlain - Alfred Beit - Barney Barnato - Lionel Phillips

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President Marthinus Steyn of the Orange Free State invited Milner and Kruger to attend a conference in Bloemfontein which started on 30 May 1899, but negotiations quickly broke down. In September 1899, Chamberlain sent an ultimatum demanding full equality for British citizens resident in Transvaal.

Related Topics:
Marthinus Steyn - Orange Free State - Bloemfontein - 30 May - 1899

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Kruger, sure that war was inevitable, simultaneously issued his own ultimatum prior to receiving Chamberlain's. This gave the British 48 hours to withdraw all their troops from the border of Transvaal otherwise the Transvaal, allied with the Orange Free State, would be at war with them.

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The first phase: Boer offensive - October to December 1899

War was declared on October 12, 1899 and the Boers struck first by invading Cape Colony and Natal Colony between October 1899 and January 1900. This was followed by some early Afrikaner military successes against General Redvers Buller. The Boers were able to besiege the towns of Ladysmith, Mafeking (defended by troops headed by Robert Baden-Powell), and Kimberley.

Related Topics:
October 12 - 1899 - Cape Colony - Natal Colony - Redvers Buller - Ladysmith - Mafeking - Robert Baden-Powell

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Siege life took its toll on both the defending soldiers and the civilians in the cities of Mafeking, Ladysmith, and Kimberley as food began to grow scarce after a few weeks. In Mafeking, Sol Plaatje wrote, "I saw horseflesh for the first time being treated as a human foodstuff." The cities under siege also dealt with constant artillery bombardment, making the streets a dangerous place. Near the end of the siege of Kimberley, it was expected that the Boers would intensify their bombardment, so a notice was displayed encouraging people to go down into the mines for protection. The townspeople panicked, and people flowed into the mineshafts constantly for a 12 hour period. Although the bombardment never came, this did nothing to diminish the distress of the civilians.

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The middle of December proved difficult for the British army. In a period known as Black Week (10-15 December 1899), the British suffered a series of devastating losses at Magersfontein, Stormberg, and Colenso. At the Battle of Stormberg on December 10, British General Sir William Gatacre, who was in command of 3,000 troops to beat off Boer raids in Cape Colony, tried to recapture a railway junction about 50 miles south of the Orange River. But Gatacre chose to assault the Orange State Boer positions surmounting a precipitous rock face in which he lost 135 killed and wounded, as well as two guns and over 600 troops captured. At the Battle of Magersfontein on December 11, 14,000 British troops, under the command of Paul Sanford Methuen, 3rd Baron Methuen, attempted to fight their way to relieve Kimberly. The Boer commanders, Koos de la Rey and Piet Cronje, devised a plan to dig trenches in an unconventional place to fool the British and to give his riflemen a greater firing range. His plan worked. The British were decisively defeated, suffering the loss of 120 British soldiers killed and 690 wounded, which prevented them from relieving Kimberley and Mafeking. But the nadir of the Black Week was the Battle of Colenso on December 15 where 21,000 British troops, under the command of Redvers Buller, attempted to cross the Tugela River to relieve Ladysmith where 8,000 Transvaal Boers, under the command of Louis Botha, were waiting for them. Through a combination of artillery and accurate rifle fire, the Boers beat off all British attempts to cross the river. The British had a further 1,127 casualties and worse still, during the retreat, the British were forced to abandon 10 artillery pieces which the Boers captured after the battle having suffered fewer than 40 casualties.

Related Topics:
Black Week - 10 - 15 December - 1899 - Magersfontein - Stormberg - Colenso - Battle of Stormberg - William Gatacre - Orange River - December 11 - Paul Sanford Methuen, 3rd Baron Methuen - Koos de la Rey - Piet Cronje - Trench - Nadir - Battle of Colenso - Redvers Buller - Tugela River - Louis Botha

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The second phase: British offensive - January to September 1900

The British suffered further defeats in their attempts to relieve Ladysmith at the Battle of Spion Kop on January 19-24, 1900 where Redvers Buller again attempted to cross the Tugela west of Colenso and was defeated again by Louis Botha after a hard-fought battle for a prominent hill feature which resulted in a further 1,000 British casualties and nearly 300 Boer casualties. Buller attacked Botha again on February 5 at Val Krantz and was again defeated.

Related Topics:
Battle of Spion Kop - 1900 - Colenso - Louis Botha - February 5

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It was not until reinforcements arrived on February 14, 1900 that British troops commanded by Lord Roberts could launch counter-offensives to relieve the garrisons. Kimberly was relieved on February 15 by a cavalry division under General John French. At the Battle of Paardeberg on February 18-27, 1900 Lord Roberts finally defeated the Boers and was able to force the surrender of General Piet Cronje where he and 4,000 of his men were captured, which further weakened the Boer fighting force and led the way for the Relief of Ladysmith the following day. The Relief of Mafeking on May 18, 1900 provoked riotous celebrations in England. The British then advanced into the two republics, capturing the capital of the Orange Free State, Bloemfontein on March 13 and the Transvaal capital, Pretoria, on June 5.

Related Topics:
February 14 - 1900 - Lord Roberts - February 15 - Battle of Paardeberg - February 18-27 - Piet Cronje - Relief of Ladysmith - Relief of Mafeking - May 18 - Bloemfontein - March 13 - Pretoria - June 5

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British observers believed the war to be all but over after the capture of the two capital cities. However, the Boers met at a new capital, Kroonstad, and planned a guerrilla campaign to hit the British supply and communication lines. The first engagement of this new form of warfare was at Sanna's Post on March 31 where 1,500 Boers under the command of Christian De Wet attacked Bloemfontein waterworks about 23 miles east of the city, and ambushed a heavily escorted convoy which resulted in 155 British casualties and with seven guns, 117 wagons and 428 British troops captured. One of the last formal battles was at Diamond Hill on June 11-12, where Lord Roberts attempted to drive the remnants of the Boer field army beyond striking distance of Pretoria. Although Roberts drove off the Boers from the hill, the Boer commander, Louis Botha, did not regard it as a defeat, for he inflicted more casualties on the British (totalling 162 men) while suffering around 50 casualties. This battle ended formal military operations and set the stage for the new phase of the war.

Related Topics:
Kroonstad - Guerrilla - Sanna's Post - March 31 - Christian De Wet - Bloemfontein - Diamond Hill - Lord Roberts - Pretoria - Louis Botha

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The third phase: Guerrilla war - September 1900 until May 1902

By September 1900 the British were in control of both Republics, except for the northern part of Transvaal. They however found that they only controlled the ground their columns physically occupied. As soon as the columns left a town or district, the control the British had there, faded away. The huge territory of the Republics made it impossible for the 250 000 British troops to control it effectively. The vast distances between the columns allowed the Boer commandos considerable freedom to move about. The Boer commanders also decided to adopt a guerrilla style of warfare. The commandos were sent to their own districts with the order to act against the British there whenever possible. Their strategy was to do as much damage to the enemy as possible, and then to move off and vanish when enemy reinforcements arrived.

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The Boer commandos in the Western Transvaal were very active after September 1901. Several battles of importance were fought here between September 1901 and March 1902. At Moedwil on 30 September 1901 and again at Driefontein on 24 October Gen. De la Rey?s forces attacked the British but were forced to withdraw after the British offered strong resistance.

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A time of relative quiet descended thereafter on the western Transvaal. February 1902 saw the next major battle in that region. On 25 February De la Rey attacked a British column at Ysterspruit near Wolmaranstad. De la Rey succeeded in capturing the column and a large amount of ammunition - enough to last his commando a long time.

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The Boer attacks prompted Lord Methuen, the British?s second in command after Lord Kitchener, to move his column from Vryburg to Klerksdorp to deal with De la Rey. On the morning of 7 March 1902 the Boers attacked the rear guard of Methuen?s moving column at Tweebosch. In the confusion that soon reigned in British ranks, Methuen was wounded and captured by the Boers. The battle of Tweebosch was one of the De la Rey?s finest victories.

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The Boer victories in the west led to stronger action by the British. In the second half of March 1902 large British reinforcements were sent to the Western Transvaal. The opportunity the British waited for, arose on 11 April 1902 at Rooiwal where the combined forces of Gens. Grenfell, Kekewich and Von Donop came into contact with the forces of Gen. Kemp. The British soldiers were superbly positioned on the mountain side and mowed down the Boers charging on horseback over a large distance, beating them back with heavy casualties.

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This was the end of the war in the Western Transvaal and also the last major battle of the Anglo-Boer War.

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The concentration camps

These had originally been set up for refugees whose farms had been destroyed in the fighting. However, following Kitchener's new policy, many women and children were forcibly moved to prevent the Boers from resupplying at their homes and more camps were built and converted to prisons. This relatively new idea was essentially humane in its planning in London but ultimately proved brutal due to its lack of proper implementation. This was not the first appearance of concentration camps. The Spanish had used them in the Third Cuban War of Independence that later lead to the Spanish-American War, and America used them to devastate guerilla forces during the Philippine American War. But the concentration camp system of the British was on a much larger scale.

Related Topics:
Spanish - Third Cuban War of Independence - Spanish-American War - Philippine American War

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There were a total of 45 tented camps built for Boer internees and 64 for black African ones.

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Of the 28,000 Boer men captured as prisoners of war, 25,630 were sent overseas.

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So, most Boers remaining in the local camps were women and children, but the native African ones held large numbers of men as well. Even when forcibly removed from Boer areas, the black Africans were not considered to be hostile to the British, and provided a paid labour force.

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The conditions in the camps were very unhealthy and the food rations were meagre. Women and children of menfolk who were still fighting were given smaller rations than others. The poor diet and inadequate hygiene led to endemic contagious diseases such as measles, typhoid and dysentery. Coupled with a shortage of medical facilities, this led to large numbers of deaths — a report after the war concluded that 27,927 Boers (of whom 22,074 were children under 16) and 14,154 black Africans had died of starvation, disease and exposure. In all, about 25% of the Boer inmates and 12% of the black African ones died (although recent research suggests that the black African deaths were underestimated and may have actually been around 20,000).

Related Topics:
Ration - Hygiene - Measles - Typhoid - Dysentery - Starvation - Disease - Exposure

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A delegate of the South African Women and Children's Distress Fund, Emily Hobhouse, did much to publicise the distress of the inmates on her return to Britain after visiting some of the camps in the Orange Free State. Her fifteen page report caused uproar, and led to a government commission, the Fawcett Commission visiting camps from August to December 1901 which confirmed her report. They were highly critical of the running of the camps and made numerous recommendations, for example improvements in diet and provision of proper medical facilities. By February 1902 the annual death-rate dropped to 6.9 percent and eventually to 2 percent.

Related Topics:
Emily Hobhouse - Fawcett - 1901 - 1902

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POWs sent overseas

The first sizable batch of Boer prisoners of war taken by the British consisted of those captured at the battle of Elandslaagte on October 21, 1899.

Related Topics:
October 21 - 1899

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http://www.anglo-boer.co.za/boerpow.html

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At first many were put on ships. But as numbers grew, the British decided they didn't want them kept locally. The capture of 400 POWs in February 1900 was a key event, which made the British realize they

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could not accommodate all POWs in South Africa.http://www.boerwarsociety.org/Interests.cfm

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The British feared they could be freed by sympathetic locals. They already had trouble supplying their own troops in South Africa, and didn't want the added burden of sending supplies for the POWs. So, Britain chose to send many POWs overseas.

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The first overseas (off African mainland) camps were opened in Saint Helena, which ultimately received about 5000 POWs. About 5000 POWs were sent to Ceylon (Sri Lanka). Other POWs were sent to Bermuda, and India. Some POWs were even sent outside the British Empire, with 1443http://www.boerwarsociety.org/Picture.cfm?Page=Outline&ID=38 Boers (mostly POWs) sent to Portugal.

Related Topics:
Saint Helena - Ceylon (Sri Lanka) - Bermuda - India - British Empire - Portugal

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http://www.boerwarsociety.org/Interests.cfm

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The end of the war

In all, the war had cost around 75,000 lives — 22,000 British soldiers (7,792 battle casualties, the rest through disease), 6,000-7,000 Boer soldiers, 20,000-28,000 Boer civilians and perhaps 20,000 black Africans. The last of the Boers surrendered in May 1902 and the war ended with the Treaty of Vereeniging in the same month. But the Boers were given £3,000,000 in compensation and were promised eventual self-government, and the Union of South Africa was established in 1910. The treaty ended the existence of the Transvaal and the Orange Free State as Boer republics and placed them within the British Empire.

Related Topics:
1902 - Treaty of Vereeniging - Union of South Africa - 1910 - Orange Free State - British Empire

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The Boers referred to the two wars as the Freedom Wars.

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See also: History of South Africa and History of Cape Colony from 1870 to 1899

Related Topics:
History of South Africa - History of Cape Colony from 1870 to 1899

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During the conflict, 78 Victoria Crosses (VC) — the highest and most prestigious award in the British armed forces for bravery in the face of the enemy — were awarded to British and Colonial soldiers. See List of Boer War Victoria Cross recipients

Related Topics:
Victoria Cross - List of Boer War Victoria Cross recipients

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