1.
Second Boer War
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The Second Boer War, usually known as the Boer War and also at the time as the South African War, started on 11 October 1899 and ended on 31 May 1902. Great Britain defeated two Boer states in South Africa, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State, Britain was aided by its Cape Colony, Colony of Natal and some native African allies. The British war effort was supported by volunteers from the British Empire, including Southern Africa, the Australian colonies, Canada, India. All other nations were neutral, but public opinion in them was largely hostile to Britain, inside Britain and its Empire there also was significant opposition to the Second Boer War. The British were overconfident and under-prepared, the Boers were very well armed and struck first, besieging Ladysmith, Kimberley, and Mafeking in early 1900, and winning important battles at Colenso, Magersfontein and Stormberg. Staggered, the British brought in numbers of soldiers and fought back. General Redvers Buller was replaced by Lord Roberts and Lord Kitchener and they relieved the three besieged cities, and invaded the two Boer republics in late 1900. The onward marches of the British Army were so overwhelming that the Boers did not fight staged battles in defense of their homeland, the British quickly seized control of all of the Orange Free State and Transvaal, as the civilian leadership went into hiding or exile. In conventional terms, the war was over, Britain officially annexed the two countries in 1900, and called a khaki election to give the government another six years of power in London. However, the Boers refused to surrender and they reverted to guerrilla warfare under new generals Louis Botha, Jan Smuts, Christiaan de Wet and Koos de la Rey. Two more years of attacks and quick escapes followed. As guerrillas without uniforms, the Boer fighters easily blended into the farmlands, which provided hiding places, supplies, the British solution was to set up complex nets of block houses, strong points, and barbed wire fences, partitioning off the entire conquered territory. The civilian farmers were relocated into concentration camps, where very large proportions died of disease, especially the children, then the British mounted infantry units systematically tracked down the highly mobile Boer guerrilla units. The battles at this stage were small operations with few combat casualties The war ended in surrender, the British successfully won over the Boer leaders, who now gave full support to the new political system. Both former republics were incorporated into the Union of South Africa in 1910, the conflict is commonly referred to as simply the Boer War, since the First Boer War is much less well known. Boer was the term for Afrikaans-speaking white South Africans descended from the Dutch East India Companys original settlers at the Cape of Good Hope. It is officially called the South African War and it is known as the Anglo-Boer War among some South Africans. In Afrikaans it may be called the Anglo-Boereoorlog, Tweede Boereoorlog, in South Africa it is officially called the South African War
2.
George White (British Army officer)
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Field Marshal Sir George Stuart White VC, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, GCVO was an officer of the British Army. He was stationed at Peshawar during the Indian Mutiny and then fought at the Battle of Charasiab in October 1879, for his bravery during these two battles, he was awarded the Victoria Cross. He went on to command a brigade during the Third Anglo-Burmese War in 1886 and became commander of Quetta District in 1889 in which role he led operations in the Zhob Valley and in Balochistan. He was commander of the forces in Natal at the opening of the Second Boer War and he finished his career as Governor of Gibraltar and then as Governor of the Royal Hospital Chelsea. White was born at Low Rock Castle, Portstewart, County Londonderry and he was the son of James Robert White of Whitehall, Broughshane, County Antrim, and Frances Ann Stewart. He was educated at Bromsgrove School in Worcestershire and later at King Williams College on the Isle of Man and then at the Royal Military College and he was commissioned as an ensign in the 27th Regiment of Foot on 4 November 1853. White was sent to India in 1854 and, having promoted to lieutenant on 29 January 1855, was stationed at Peshawar during the Indian Mutiny in 1857. He was promoted to captain on 10 July 1863 and transferred to the 92nd Regiment of Foot on 4 August 1863 and he returned to England before being further promoted to major on 24 December 1863. After five years in England he went back to India with his regiment in 1868 and he was given command of his battalion in 1875 and then fought at the Battle of Charasiab in October 1879 and at the Battle of Kandahar in September 1880 during the Second Anglo-Afghan War. Advancing with two companies of his regiment, and climbing from one ledge to another, he came upon a body of the enemy, strongly posted. His men being much exhausted, and immediate action being necessary, Major White took a rifle and this act so intimidated the rest that they fled round the side of the hill, and the position was won. Whites Victoria Cross is displayed at the Gordon Highlanders Museum, Aberdeen and he then joined the staff in Egypt as assistant-adjutant and quartermaster-general in February 1885 with promotion to colonel on 2 March 1885. In September 1885 White was given command of a brigade of the Madras Army, promoted to the substantive rank of major general on 1 July 1887, he was given command of Quetta District in April 1889 and led operations in the Zhob Valley and in Balochistan. In the 1890 New Year Honours List White was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire, White became commander of the forces in Natal in September 1899 at the opening of the Second Boer War and fought at the Battle of Elandslaagte in October 1899. White responded I hold Ladysmith for the Queen and held out for four months before being relieved in February 1900. For this he was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George later that year, having earlier been made a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order in May 1900. White became Governor of Gibraltar in May 1900 and, in role, was promoted to full general on 9 October 1900. In 1905 he was appointed to a Commission of Inquiry into contracts placed with private contractors during the Second Boer War and he was Governor of the Royal Hospital Chelsea from 17 June 1905 until his death there on 24 June 1912
3.
KwaZulu-Natal
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KwaZulu-Natal is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu and Natal Province were merged. It is located in the southeast of the country, enjoying a long shoreline beside the Indian Ocean and its capital is Pietermaritzburg and its largest city is Durban. It is the 2nd most populous province in South Africa, with fewer residents than Gauteng. Two areas in KwaZulu-Natal have been declared UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, at around 92,100 km2 in area, KwaZulu-Natal is roughly the size of Portugal. It has three different geographic areas, the areas largest river, the Tugela, flows west to east across the center of the province. The coastal regions typically have subtropical thickets and deeper ravines, steep slopes host some Afromontane Forest, the midlands have moist grasslands and isolated pockets of Afromontane Forest. The north has a primarily moist savanna habitat, whilst the Drakensberg region hosts mostly alpine grassland, the province contains rich areas of biodiversity of a range of flora and fauna. The iSimangaliso Wetland Park and the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park have been declared UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, along with uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park and Ndumo, are wetlands of international importance for migratory species, and are designated as Ramsar sites. South Africa signed the 1971 Ramsar Convention to try to conserve and protect important wetlands because of their importance to habitats, the former Eastern Cape enclave of the town of Umzimkulu and its hinterland have been incorporated into KwaZulu-Natal following the 12th amendment of the Constitution of South Africa. The amendment also made changes to the southern border of the province. The northwesterly line of latitude and longitude traverses the province from the coast at Hibberdene to northeast Lesotho. KwaZulu-Natal has a varied yet verdant climate thanks to diverse, complex topography, generally, the coast is subtropical with inland regions becoming progressively colder. Temperature drops towards the hinterland, with Pietermaritzburg being similar in the summer, Ladysmith in the Tugela River Valley reaches 30 °C in the summer, but may drop below freezing point on winter evenings. The Drakensberg can experience heavy snow, with light snow occasionally experienced on the highest peaks in summer. The Zululand north coast has the warmest climate and highest humidity, one of these, eThekwini, is a metropolitan municipality and the other ten are district municipalities. The local seat of district municipality is given in parentheses. In 2012, the Ingonyama Trust owns 32% of the land in KwaZulu-Natal and this amounts to about three million hectares, occupied by over 4 million people. The Zulu king is the chairman of the Trust, the coastline is dotted with small towns, many of which serve as seasonal recreational hubs
4.
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was established as a sovereign state on 1 January 1801 by the Acts of Union 1800, which merged the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland. The growing desire for an Irish Republic led to the Irish War of Independence, Northern Ireland remained part of the United Kingdom, and the state was consequently renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Britain financed the European coalition that defeated France in 1815 in the Napoleonic Wars, the British Empire thereby became the foremost world power for the next century. The Crimean War with Russia and the Boer wars were relatively small operations in a largely peaceful century, rapid industrialisation that began in the decades prior to the states formation continued up until the mid-19th century. A devastating famine, exacerbated by government inaction in the century, led to demographic collapse in much of Ireland. It was an era of economic modernization and growth of industry, trade and finance. Outward migration was heavy to the colonies and to the United States. Britain also built up a large British Empire in Africa and Asia, India, by far the most important possession, saw a short-lived revolt in 1857. In foreign policy Britain favoured free trade, which enabled its financiers and merchants to operate successfully in many otherwise independent countries, as in South America. Britain formed no permanent military alliances until the early 20th century, when it began to cooperate with Japan, France and Russia, and moved closer to the United States. A brief period of limited independence for Ireland came to an end following the Irish Rebellion of 1798, the British governments fear of an independent Ireland siding against them with the French resulted in the decision to unite the two countries. This was brought about by legislation in the parliaments of both kingdoms and came into effect on 1 January 1801, however, King George III was bitterly opposed to any such Emancipation and succeeded in defeating his governments attempts to introduce it. When the Treaty of Amiens ended the war, Britain agreed to return most of the territories it had seized, in May 1803, war was declared again. In 1806, Napoleon issued the series of Berlin Decrees, which brought into effect the Continental System and this policy aimed to eliminate the threat from the British by closing French-controlled territory to foreign trade. Frances population and agricultural capacity far outstripped that of the British Isles, Napoleon expected that cutting Britain off from the European mainland would end its economic hegemony. The Spanish uprising in 1808 at last permitted Britain to gain a foothold on the Continent, after Napoleons surrender and exile to the island of Elba, peace appeared to have returned. The Allies united and the armies of Wellington and Blucher defeated Napoleon once, simultaneous with the Napoleonic Wars, trade disputes, arming hostile Indians and British impressment of American sailors led to the War of 1812 with the United States. The war was little noticed in Britain, which could devote few resources to the conflict until the fall of Napoleon in 1814, American frigates inflicted a series of defeats on the Royal Navy, which was short on manpower due to the conflict in Europe
5.
South African Republic
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The territory of the ZAR became known after this war as the Transvaal Colony. Constitutionally the name of the country was Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek, many people also called the ZAR Transvaal, in reference to the area over the Vaal River including the British press and the press in Europe. In fact the name Transvaal was later so often used later the British objected to the use of the real name. The British pointed out that the Convention of Pretoria of 3 August 1881 referred to the Transvaal Territory and that the Transvaal and the South African Republic did not have the same boundaries. However, in the London Convention dated 27 February 1884, a subsequent treaty between Britain and the ZAR, Britain acquiesced and reverted to the use of the true name and this proclamation was issued during the Second Boer War and whilst the ZAR was still an independent country. On 20 May 1903 an Inter Colonial Council was established, to manage the colonies of the British Government, the name Transvaal was finally changed in 1994, when the ANC government broke up the Transvaal area and renamed the core to Gauteng. In paleolithic times, between 2.2 and 3.3 million years ago, hominids lived within the area of the ZAR. The earliest hominid bones, between 2.2 and 3.3 million years old, were discovered at Sterkfontein in 1994, in 1938 Paranthropus robustus bones were found at Kromdraai, and during 1947 several more examples of Australopithecus africanus were uncovered in Sterkfontein. The capital was established at Potchefstroom and later moved to Pretoria, the parliament was called the Volksraad and had 24 members. The South African Republic became fully independent on the 27 February 1884 when the London Convention was signed, the country independently also entered into various agreements with other foreign countries after that date. On 3 November 1884 the country signed a Postal convention with the government of the Cape Colony, on the November 1859 the independent Republic of Lijdenburg merged with the Zuid Afrikaansche Republiek. On 9 May 1887, burghers from the territories of Stellaland, on 25 July 1895 the burghers that took part in the battle at Zoutpansberg, were granted citizenship of the ZAR. The constitution of the Zuid Afrikaansche Republiek has been referred to as interesting for its time. It contained provisions for the division between the leadership and office bearers in government administration. The legal system consisted of higher and lower courts and had adopted a jury system, the laws were enforced by the South African Republic Police which were divided into Mounted Police and Foot Police. Also established was a Municipal Government, Witwatersrand District court and the High Court of Transvaal, initially the State and Church were not separated in the constitution of the ZAR, citizens of the ZAR had to be members of the Dutch Reformed Church. In 1858 these clauses were altered in the constitution to allow for the Volksraad to approve other Dutch Christian churches. The Reformed Church was approved by the Volksraad in 1858, which had the effect of allowing Paul Kruger, the Bible itself was also often used to interpret the intention of legal documents
6.
Redvers Buller
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Redvers Buller was born at the family estate of Downes, near Crediton in Devon, inherited by his great-grandfather James Buller from his mother Elizabeth Gould, the wife of James Buller, MP. The Bullers were an old Cornish family, long seated at Morval in Cornwall until their removal to Downes, after completing his schooling at Eton he was commissioned into the 60th Rifles in May 1858. He served in the Second Opium War and was promoted captain before taking part in the Canadian Red River Expedition of 1870, in 1873–74 he was the intelligence officer under Lord Wolseley during the Ashanti campaign, during which he was slightly wounded at the Battle of Ordabai. He was promoted to major and appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath and he then served in South Africa during the 9th Cape Frontier War in 1878 and the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879. In the Zulu War he commanded the infantry of the northern British column under Sir Evelyn Wood. He fought at the British defeat at the Battle of Hlobane, the following day he fought in the British victory at the Battle of Kambula. After the Zulu attacks on the British position were beaten off, in June 1879, he again commanded mounted troops at the Battle of Ulundi, a decisive British victory which effectively ended the war. His VC citation reads, For his gallant conduct at the retreat at Inhlobana, on the 28th March,1879, in having assisted, whilst hotly pursued by Zulus, in rescuing Captain C. DArcy, of the Frontier Light Horse, who was retiring on foot, also for having on the same date and under the same circumstances, conveyed Lieutenant C. Everitt, of the Frontier Light Horse, whose horse had been killed under him, Buller. it was discovered that the mountain was surrounded by a vast horde of Zulus. An attempt was made to descend on the side opposite to the pass, ashby and his little party endeavoured to fight their way down, and at last he and a man named Andrew Gemmell, now living in New Zealand, were the only ones left. With their faces to the foe, firing as they retired, then an unfortunate thing happened, Cpl. Ashbys rifle burst, but, fortunately for him, Col. Buller, afterwards Sir Redvers Buller, who was one of the party, came galloping by, Col. Buller was a heavy man, and his horse was a light one, and realizing this, Cpl. But the Colonel stayed with him, and, Cpl, ashby having picked up a rifle and ammunition from a fallen comrade, the two men retired, firing whenever a foeman showed himself. They eventually reached the camp, and for this service. Out of 500 men who made the attack on the Zjilobane Mountain, in the First Boer War of 1881 he was Sir Evelyn Woods chief of staff and the following year was again head of intelligence, this time in the Egypt campaign, and was knighted. He was sent to Ireland in 1886, to head an inquiry into moonlighting by police personnel and he returned to the Army as Quartermaster-General to the Forces the following year and in 1890 promoted to Adjutant-General to the Forces, becoming a Lieutenant general on 1 April 1891. On 24 June 1896 Buller was promoted to full General, Buller became head of the troops stationed at Aldershot in 1898
7.
Louis Botha
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Louis Botha was a South African politician who was the first Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa—the forerunner of the modern South African state. A Boer war hero during the Second Boer War, he would fight to have South Africa become a British Dominion. He was born in Greytown, Natal as one of 13 children born to Louis Botha Senior and he briefly attended the school at Hermannsburg before his family relocated to the Orange Free State. The name Louis runs throughout the family, with every generation since General Louis Botha having the eldest son named Louis, Botha led Dinuzulus Volunteers, a group of Boers that had supported Dinuzulu against Zibhebhu in 1884. He later became a member of the parliament of Transvaal in 1897, in 1899, Botha fought in the Second Boer War, initially under Lucas Meyer in Northern Natal, and later as a general commanding and fighting impressively at Colenso and Spion Kop. On the death of P. J. Joubert, he was made commander-in-chief of the Transvaal Boers, after the battle at the Tugela, Botha granted a twenty-four-hour armistice to General Buller to enable him to bury his dead. Winston Churchill revealed that General Botha was the man who captured him at the ambush of a British armoured train on 15 November 1899, coetzer 1996, p.30 also claims that Botha captured Churchill at train ambush 15 November 1899. Churchill was not aware of the mans identity until 1902, when Botha travelled to London seeking loans to assist his countrys reconstruction, the incident is also mentioned in Arthur Conan Doyles book, The Great Boer War, published in 1902. But more recent sources claim that Field-Cornet Sarel Oosthuizen was in fact the Boer-soldier who, at gunpoint, another version claims that the unit to capture Churchill was the Italian Volunteer Legion and its commander, Camillo Ricchiardi. After the fall of Pretoria in June 1900, Botha led a guerrilla campaign against the British together with Koos de la Rey. The success of his measures was seen in the resistance offered by the Boers to the very close of the three-year war. Botha was a representative of his countrymen in the negotiations of 1902. He later worked towards peace with the British, representing the Boers at the negotiations in 1902. In the period of reconstruction under British rule, Botha went to Europe with de Wet and his war record made him prominent in the politics of Transvaal and he was a major player in the postwar reconstruction of that country, becoming Prime Minister of Transvaal on 4 March 1907. In 1911, together with another Boer war hero, Jan Smuts, he formed the South African Party, widely viewed as too conciliatory with Britain, Botha faced revolts from within his own party and opposition from James Barry Munnik Hertzogs National Party. When South Africa obtained dominion status in 1910, Botha became the first Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa, after the First World War started, he sent troops to take German South-West Africa, a move unpopular among Boers, which provoked the Boer Revolt. At the end of the War he briefly led a British Empire military mission to Poland during the Polish-Soviet War and he argued that the terms of the Versailles Treaty were too harsh on the Central Powers, but signed the treaty. Botha was unwell for most of 1919 and he was plagued by fatigue and ill-health that arose from his robust waist-line. ”General Louis Botha died of heart failure following an attack of Spanish influenza on 27 August 1919 in the early hours of the morning
8.
Siege of Kimberley
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The Siege of Kimberley took place during the Second Boer War at Kimberley, Cape Colony, when Boer forces from the Orange Free State and the Transvaal besieged the diamond mining town. The Boers moved quickly to try to capture the British enclave when war broke out between the British and the two Boer republics in October 1899, the town was ill-prepared, but the defenders organised an energetic and effective improvised defence that was able to prevent it from being taken. Cecil Rhodes, who had made his fortune in the town, and his presence was controversial, as his involvement in the Jameson Raid made him one of the primary protagonists behind war breaking out. Rhodes was constantly at loggerheads with the military, but he was instrumental in organising the defence of the town. The Boers shelled the town with their artillery in an attempt to force the garrison to capitulate. The British military had to change its strategy for the war as public opinion demanded that the sieges of Kimberley, Ladysmith, the first attempt at relief of Kimberley under Lord Methuen was stopped at the battles of Modder River and Magersfontein. The 124-day siege was relieved on 15 February 1900 by a cavalry division under Lieutenant-General John French. The battle against the Boer general Piet Cronjé continued at Paardeberg immediately after the town itself was relieved, South Africa was initially a Dutch colony after the Dutch East India Company set up a shipping station at the Cape of Good Hope in 1652. Many Dutch farmers elected to move away from British influence into the hinterland, the discoveries led to a massive influx of Uitlanders into the Boer republics of the Orange Free State and Transvaal. Tensions soon started rising between the British Empire and the two Boer republics, discussions broke down in October 1899 when the British ignored a Boer ultimatum to stop concentrating forces on the borders of the Boer republics. The town had a population of 40,000, of which 25,000 were white, the closest Boer settlements were Jacobsdal to the south and Boshof to the east. The De Beers company was concerned about the defence of Kimberley some years before the outbreak of the war, in 1896, an arms depot was formed, a plan of defence sent to the authorities and a local defence force set up. His reply to an appeal for arms in September 1899 stated, There is no reason whatever for apprehending that Kimberley is or will be in any danger of attack, the town next appealed to the High Commissioner, this time with more success. On 4 October 1899, Major Scott-Turner was permitted to summon volunteers to join the town guard and raise the Diamond Fields Artillery. Three days later, the town was placed under the command of Colonel Robert Kekewich of the 1st Battalion, Loyal Regiment, and secured against a coup de main, but not against sustained siege. Colonel Kekewichs troops consisted of four companies of the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment, some Royal Engineers, six RML2.5 inch mountain guns and two machine guns. Also at his disposal were 120 men of the Cape Police,2,000 irregular troops, the Kimberley Light Horse, eight Maxim machine guns were mounted on redoubts built atop tailing heaps around the town. Cecil John Rhodes, the founder of De Beers, was contemplating moving into the town, the citizens feared that his presence there, given his prominent role in the breakdown of Anglo-Boer relations leading up to the war, would antagonise the Boers
9.
Battle of Magersfontein
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The Battle of Magersfontein was fought on 11 December 1899, at Magersfontein near Kimberley on the borders of the Cape Colony and the independent republic of the Orange Free State. The British had already fought a series of battles with the Boers, most recently at Modder River, the Highland Brigade suffered the worst casualties, while on the Boer side, the Scandinavian Corps was destroyed. The Boers attained a tactical victory and succeeded in holding the British in their advance on Kimberley, the battle was the second of three battles during what became known as the Black Week of the Second Boer War. Following their defeat, the British delayed at the Modder River for another two months while reinforcements were brought forward, General Lord Roberts was appointed Commander in Chief of the British forces in South Africa and moved to take personal command of this front. He subsequently lifted the Siege of Kimberley and forced Cronje to surrender at the Battle of Paardeberg, substantial British reinforcements arrived in South Africa and were dispersed to three main fronts. Methuen advanced along the Cape–Transvaal railway line because a lack of water, also, Buller had given him orders to evacuate the civilians in Kimberley and the railway was the only means of mass transport available. But his strategy had the disadvantage of making the direction of his approach obvious, nevertheless, his army drove the Boers out of their defensive positions along the railway line at Belmont, Graspan, and the Modder River, at the cost of a thousand casualties. The British were forced to stop their advance within 16 miles of Kimberley at the Modder River crossing, the Boers had demolished the railway bridge when they retreated, and it had to be repaired before the army could advance any further. Methuen also needed several days for supplies and reinforcements to be brought forward, the Boers were badly shaken by their three successive defeats and also required time to recover. The delay gave them time to bring up reinforcements, to reorganise, after the Battle of the Modder River, the Boers initially retreated to Jacobsdal, where a commando from Mafeking linked up with them. Although closer to the British camp than the Boer camp, Jacobsdal was left poorly defended, the Free State government decided to reinforce Cronjes position after the Battle of Belmont. Reinforcements were also brought up from the Bloemhof and Wolmaranstad commandos who were besieging Kimberley, the remainder of Cronjes force arrived from the Siege of Mafeking. Their force now numbered 8,500 fighters, excluding camp followers and he arrived at the defensive positions on 1 December and surveyed the Boer lines the following day. He found the defences lacking, and realised that Cronjes position at Spytfontein was vulnerable to long range fire from the hills at Magersfontein. He therefore recommended that they should move their defensive position forward to Magersfontein, Cronje, who was the more senior officer, disagreed with him, so De la Rey telegraphed his objections to President Martinus Theunis Steyn of the Orange Free State. After consulting with President Paul Kruger of the Transvaal, Steyn visited the front on 4 December at Krugers suggestion. Steyn also wished to settle a rift that had developed between the Transvaal and Free State Boers over the performance of his Free Staters in the battle on 28 November. He spent the day touring the camps and defences, then summoned a krijgsraad
10.
Battle of Paardeberg
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The Battle of Paardeberg or Perdeberg was a major battle during the Second Anglo-Boer War. It was fought near Paardeberg Drift on the banks of the Modder River in the Orange Free State near Kimberley, Lord Methuen advanced up the railway line in November 1899 with the objective of relieving the besieged city of Kimberley. Battles were fought on this front at Graspan, Belmont, Modder River before the advance was halted for two months after the British defeat at the Battle of Magersfontein, in February 1900, Field Marshal Lord Roberts assumed personal command of a significantly reinforced British offensive. An earlier British attempt to relieve Kimberley, led by Lieutenant General Lord Methuen, had been opposed by Boers under Cronjé, over the next two months, the front south of Kimberley stagnated. A substantial Boer detachment under De la Rey was sent to Colesberg where, in contrast to the situation elsewhere, Cronjés remaining forces were weakened by lack of grazing for their horses. Many of the Boer fighters families joined Cronjés main encampment at Jacobsdal, the presence of large numbers of non-combatants with their slow-moving ox-drawn wagons would later prove a fatal handicap to Cronjé. Field Marshal Roberts had been appointed to command the British forces in South Africa in December 1899 and he intended to outflank the Boer left and pass his cavalry around them to relieve Kimberley, while his infantry secured vital fords behind them. Roberts had two divisions each of two infantry brigades, and a mounted division of three brigades under Major General John French. Another infantry division was formed during the campaign, by the evening of 12 February, his leading horsemen had secured fords across the first obstacle, the Riet River. The next day,13 February, the British mounted force made a march of 30 miles under a blazing sun to capture fords across the Modder. The effect of the heat was made worse when the dry grass of the veld caught fire from a carelessly discarded match, Frenchs division had to wait at the fords during the next day until the leading infantry reached them, after making an equally exhausting march. Luckily for the British, the move had taken the Boers by surprise, early on 15 February, Frenchs division began the final march to relieve Kimberley. Only scattered and disorganised Boers opposed them, and the mass of British horsemen broke through their thin line. Late that evening they reached Kimberley, where they were greeted with cheering crowds, French should by rights have gone to the military commander of the besieged garrison, Lieutenant Colonel Kekewich. Instead he called first on Cecil Rhodes, the former Prime Minister of Cape Colony and foremost Imperialist, the final days ride had crippled most of Frenchs division. Most of his British regular cavalry carried too much equipment and their horses were exhausted. His effective force was reduced to two regiments of New Zealand and Australian light horse, and two brigades of mounted infantry. French was to further tire his men on 16 February by futile attempts to intercept one of the Boers Creusot 40-pounder siege guns which was withdrawing to the north
11.
Siege of Mafeking
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The Siege of Mafeking was a 217-day siege battle for the town of Mafeking in South Africa during the Second Boer War from October 1899 to May 1900. The siege received considerable attention as Lord Edward Cecil, the son of the British Prime Minister, was besieged in the town, the siege turned the British commander, Colonel Robert Baden-Powell, into a national hero. The relief of Mafeking, while of little significance, was a morale boost for the struggling British. As well, the town had good stocks of food and other necessities, however, Mafeking was isolated, exposed and close to Boer controlled areas. Baden-Powell, whose orders were to command a highly mobile force of cavalry. Consequently, he chose to immobilize half his force to hold Mafeking against a Boer attack, however, contrary to Baden-Powells claims, his forces that remained outside the besieged town showed they were well trained as they performed remarkably well in their intended mobile role. The British garrison armed 300 African natives with rifles, were nicknamed the Black Watch and used to guard the perimeter. Prior to the siege, Lord Edward Cecil formed the Mafeking Cadet Corps of boys aged 12 to 15 who acted as messengers and orderlies and released men to fight. Work to build defences around the 6-mile perimeter of Mafeking started on 19 September 1899, president Kruger of the Boer South African Republic declared war on 12 October 1899. Under orders of General Cronje the Mafeking railway and telegraph lines were cut the day. Mafeking was first shelled on 16 October after the British commanders ignored Cronjes 9 oclock deadline to surrender, Colonel Baden-Powell had postage stamps printed with his own picture on them. In late 1899, he authorized the printing of siege banknotes, made by Townshend & Son, Printers using woodcut printing, notes were backed by the Standard Bank of South Africa and issued in denominations of 1,2,3, and 10 shillings, and 1 pound. Each note has the signatures of Robert Urry, Standard Bank of South Africa and Captain Herbert Greener. Redemption of the notes ended in 1908, although usually outnumbered by Boer troops, the garrison withstood the siege for 217 days, defying the predictions of the politicians on both sides. In reality, the Boers risked little to tie up Baden-Powells force and stores, while at one time the Boer troops numbered over 8,000 and more artillery was briefly brought up, most of these were merely moving through the siege camp. The Boers were able to control of the railway and roads just outside the town. Baden-Powell remained invested in the town despite repeated orders and, for most of the time until he ate his own horses, having the capacity to break out. As the siege drew on, it became apparent to the Boers that mounting public pressure in Britain would force attempted relief of Mafeking, tying up far more British forces, with few soldiers, no modern artillery and little risk, the Boers tied up enormous British forces
12.
Boer
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Boer is the Dutch and Afrikaans word for farmer. As used in South Africa, it was used to denote the descendants of the Dutch-speaking settlers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 18th century. For a long time the Dutch East India Company controlled this area, in addition the term was applied to those who left the Cape Colony during the 19th century to settle in the Orange Free State, Transvaal, and to a lesser extent Natal. They left the Cape primarily to escape British rule and get away from the constant border wars between the British imperial government and the tribes on the eastern frontier. The Dutch East India Company had been formed in the Dutch Republic in 1602, in 1648 one of their ships was stranded in Table Bay, and the shipwrecked crew had to forage for themselves on shore for several months. The result was that in 1652, a Dutch expedition led by surgeon Jan van Riebeek constructed a fort, landing at Table Bay, Van Riebeek took control over Cape Town, the settlement developed during the previous 10 years. In 1671 the Dutch first purchased land from the native Khoikhoi beyond the limits of the built by Van Riebeek. They formed a class of a class of vrijlieden, also known as vrijburgers, a large number of vrijburgers became independent farmers and applied for grants of land, as well as loans of seed and tools, from the Company administration. Political refugees from the wars in France, following the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, they were settled at Stellenbosch, Drakenstein, Franschhoek. The influence of small body of immigrants on the character of the Dutch settlers was marked. The Company in 1701 directed that only Dutch should be taught in the schools and this resulted in the Huguenots assimilating by the middle of the 18th century, with a loss to the community in the use and knowledge of French. The little settlement gradually spread eastwards, and in 1754 the country as far as Algoa Bay was included in the colony, at this time the European colonists numbered eight to ten thousand. They possessed numerous slaves, grew wheat in sufficient quantity to make it a commodity crop for export, but their chief wealth was in cattle. Through the latter half of the 17th and the whole of the 18th century, the administration of the Dutch East India Company was extremely despotic. Its policies were not directed at development of the colony, the effect of this tyranny was inevitable, it drove men to desperation. They fled from oppression, and even before 1700 trekking began, in 1789, so strong had feeling amongst the burghers become that delegates were sent from the Cape to interview the authorities at Amsterdam. After this deputation, some reforms were granted. It was largely to escape oppression that the farmers trekked farther and farther from the seat of government, the company, to control the emigrants, established a magistracy at Swellendam in 1745 and another at Graaff Reinet in 1786
United Kingdom
South African Republic
Orange Free State
