The Boer War

It took the mighty British Empire nearly three years, 1899-1902, to crush the Boers, a pioneering people who tried to build an independent nation for themselves in South Africa.

To the British it was a war mainly fought to establish their supremacy in South Africa, while to the Boer Republics it was a defensive war.

The Boer Wars was the name given to the South African Wars of 1880-1 and 1899-1902, that were fought between the British and the descendants of the Dutch settlers (Boers) in Africa. After the first Boer War William Gladstone granted the Boers self-government in the Transvaal.
The Boers, under the leadership of Paul Kruger, resented the colonial policy of Joseph Chamberlain and Alfred Milner, which they feared, would deprive the Transvaal of its independence. After receiving military equipment from Germany, the Boers had a series of successes on the borders of Cape Colony and Natal between October 1899 and January 1900. Although the Boers only had 88,000 soldiers, led by the outstanding soldiers such as Louis Botha, and Jan Smuts, the Boers were able to successfully besiege the British garrisons at Ladysmith, Mafeking and Kimberley.
Army reinforcements arrived in South Africa in 1900 and counter-offences relieved the garrisons and enabled the British to take control of the Boer capital, Pretoria, on 5th June. For the next two years groups of Boer commandos raided isolated British units in South Africa. Lord Kitchener, the Chief of Staff in South Africa reacted to this by destroying Boer farms and moving civilians into concentration camps.

The British action in South Africa was strongly opposed by many leading Liberal politicians and most of the Independent Labour Party as an example of the worst excesses of imperialism. The Boer War ended with the signing of the Treaty of Vereeniging in May 1902. The peace settlement brought to an end the Transvaal and the Orange Free State as Boer republics. However, the British granted the Boers £3 million for restocking and repairing farmlands and promised eventual self-government (granted in 1907).

After the Boer War, the British war minister, Richard Haldane, created the British Expeditionary Army (BEF), in case it was necessary to take part in a foreign war. By August 1914, there were about 120,000 soldiers in the BEF.

The first concentration camps were erected early in 1901. Thousands of women and children were removed from the farms and towns where they lived and placed in these camps. At the outset the British military authority was unprepared to accommodate thousands of people, and made scanty provision for food and medical supplies to the women and children. This resulted in malnutrition and disease, and the subsequent death of thousands of people in the camps.

On 28 January 1901 the British columns stretching from Pretoria to Heidelberg began their march. The Republican forces were caught off guard by this new strategy. Superior numbers confronted them and only in small bands did they manage to break through the British lines. Behind the British lines they found little in the devastated countryside to subsist on.

Shortly after French’s force started moving a second force joined them. In April 1901 the British columns reached the Natal border. A vast part of Transvaal now lay in ruin. Nearly all Boer farms were burned down and destroyed.

The scorched earth policy was soon applied in most parts of Transvaal and the Free State. As a result the winter of 1901 was one of unknown hardship to man, woman and child in these areas. Due to them being deprived of food, and due to the fact that weapons and ammunition were not available anymore, the Boer commandos were forced to depend on the British for supplies. British columns were attacked and forced into surrender. The Boers then confiscated their food supplies, weapons and ammunition and helped themselves to clothing and other necessities. Due to the shortages, the Boer commandos were much less active during the winter months.

Considering these circumstances, members of the Transvaal Government came to the conclusion that the only way out was the cessation of hostilities and the commencement of negotiations for peace with the British. In a letter to the Free State Government, the Transvaal Government set out its proposals. In June 1901 the two Republican governments met at Standerton to discuss their positions. It was decided that the war should be continued until Britain acknowledged their independence. To bring some relief to the battered Republics, it was also decided that Gen. Smuts should launch a new attack into the Cape Colony.

The coming of spring 1901 brought new life to the Boer war effort during the Anglo-Boer War and saw an increase in the number of battles in the Cape Colony, Orange Free State and Transvaal. Because of the British superiority in numbers, the Boers avoided large battles as far as they could and only engaged in small skirmishes.

On 3 September 1901 Gen. Smuts crossed the Orange River into the Cape Colony. Strong British columns continuously gave chase to Smuts’ commando and only with the greatest of efforts did Smuts manage to evade the British. In January 1902 his commando joined forces with that of Gen. Maritz. With the two forces joined, Smuts and Maritz attacked and captured Springbok in March 1902. Thereafter they launched an attack on Okiep, but were forced to evacuate their position when a strong British force arrived.

As in the other parts of South Africa, several small skirmishes occurred in the Free State. On the night of 24 December 1901 Gen. De Wet dealt the British a painful blow when he attacked and completely overrun the British camp at Groenkop between Bethlehem and Harrismith. De Wet’s successes in the Free State made Kitchener more determined to pin the Boers down by erecting even more blockhouses. To hamper the Boers’ escape, barbed wire fences were put up between the blockhouses. Special effort was made to capture De Wet. More than 30 000 troops were used in three unsuccessful drives in early 1902 to capture him.

As many as 22,000 British soldiers died – More than 14,000 British soldiers died of disease. Another 8,000 soldiers were killed in action or mortally wounded. There were at least 57,684 cases of typhoid fever among the British.

The intention on this site is to answer some "frequently asked questions" and to give an insight into certain aspects of World War One that are difficult or impossible to find elsewhere.

Western Desert Battlefield Tours

Many Excellent Tours

Please make a visit to this very informative website