The Second Boer War
Revision cards on the Second Boer War. Please rate once you're done, thanks :)
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- Created by: RhiannonHarradine
- Created on: 08-05-17 19:31
Causes of the Second Boer War
- The Transvaal & the Orange Free State were run by the Boers, whilst Cape Colony & Natal were run by the British
- The discovery of gold in the Transvaal led to an influx of foreign businessmen (uitlanders), who were not given voting rights by the Boers.
The Jameson Raid, 1895
- A ploy, led by Cecil Rhodes, that was intended to give Britain an excuse to intervene in the Transvaal on the side of the uitlanders.
- Failed when it could not prompt an uprising
- Rhodes resigned as premier of Cape Colony
- The Transvaal & the Orange Free State united under Kruger. The Boers & the British begin to mobilise
Outbreak of war
- The Boers issued an ultimatum to Britain, which was rejected
- October 1899: The Boers declare war on Britain
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The Nature of the British Army in 1899
- Main aims of military reforms up to 1899 had been to increase numbers & boost professionalism, but the govt. did not want to invest
- Victories in the colonial wars during the 1880s & 1890s meant there wasn't much impetus for change
- There was acknowledgement of the importance of supply & logistics after the winter of 1854-55
- Shortage of khaki uniforms
- Failure to recognise the impact of fire from trench positions or the mobility of cavalry raids
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Significance of the Sieges of Ladysmith, Kimberley
- The British were too slow to get organised
- October 1899: Sir George White became trapped in Ladysmith after two disasterous battles
- November 1899: Colonel Robert Baden-Powell raised men at Mafeking, but became trapped when the Boers besieged the fort
- November 1899: Boers beseiged Kimberley
Significance
- Other than one attempt to storm Ladysmith, the Boers made no attempt to capture the besieged towns. The intention was to starve the British into submission
- The British commanders has underestimated the Boers
- The British were on the back foot, and now had to plough more men and resources into relieving the towns.
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Black Week, 10th-17th Dec 1899
- !0th December: Gatacare failed to take Stormberg
- 11th December: Methuen launched an ill-judged attack at Magersfontein, failing to relieve Kimberley
- 15th December: Buller failed to relieve Ladysmith
Impact
- Buller signalled to White at Ladysmith to surrender. This led the British govt. to replace him with Field Marshal Roberts
- Recruitment drive - 180,000 troops sent to southern Africa
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The First Phase
Dates: Oct. 1899 - Jan. 1900
Commander: General Sir Redvers Buller
Strategy / Outlook:
- Originally wanted to attack the Boers in the Transvaal, but had to abandon this plan as the sieges had began by the time he arrived in South Africa
- Thought it would be quick & easy to defeat the "amateur" Boers
- Indecisive
- Haphazard; lack of intelligence, scouting & reconnaissance
Battles:
- Attempted to relieve Kimberley, Ladysmith & Mafeking (Black Week)
- Spion Kop (Jan 1900)
- Led the guerrilla campaign in Natal, advancing in to the Transvaal, after being replaced as commander-in-chief
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The Second Phase
Dates: Jan. - Nov. 1900
Commander: Field Marshal Roberts
Strategy / outlook:
- Wanted to raise morale, repaire railway lines & improve supply
- Avoided frontal assaults in favour of outflanking the Boers
- Began the scorched earth policy
Battles:
- Relieved Kimberley (15th Feb 1900)
- Bloemfontein (13th March 1900)
- Johannesburg (31st May 1900)
- Pretoria (5th June 1900)
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Third Phase
Dates: Nov. 1900 - May 1902
Commander: Field Marshal Kitchener
Strategy / outlook:
- War of attrition
- Scorched earth policy
- Concentration camps
Battles:
- Guerrilla warfare
- End of the war - Treaty of Vereeniging
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Scorched Earth Policy
- Began under Field Marshal Roberts & continued under Kitchener
- Intended to deny food & shelter to the guerrillas
- Removal and / or destruction of food, livestock, ammunition & anything of use to the enemy
- Produced thousands of refugees, who were brought to concentration camps by the British
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Concentration Camps
- Intended to house Boer refugees from the Scorched Earth policy
- Would stop civilians giving aid to Boer fighters
- Some thought it would encourage Boers to surrender, but others argued it would only stiffen stubborn resistance
- Poor administration. Low priority
- Poor sanitation & lack of food & medicine
- March 1901: 27 camps holding 35,000 people. September 1901: 35 camps with 110,000 people
- 25% of internees died from disease
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The Hobhouse Report
- Hobhouse founded the South African Women & Children Distress Fund to collect money for Boer families
- December 1900: Went to South Africa to investigate conditions in the concentration camps
- Received help from the British high commissioner, Alfred Milner
- Realised that people were in desparate need of food. Disease was rampant
- British authorities in South Africa would not listen, so Hobhouse returned to Britain and her report reached the British govt. in June 1901
Reaction:
- Liberal MPs and newspapers circulated the report
- Conservative politicians & press were hostile
- Committee of inquiry sent to South Africa, led by Millicent Fawcett. Hobhouse was not asked to join and was not allowed to return to South Africa
- The Fawcett committee's report corresponded with the Hobhouse Report. There was outcry in Britain & the govt. was forced to act.
- The camps were taken out of the hands of the military & put under civilian administration. Death rate fell to 2% by the end of the war.
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The Blockhouse System
- Introduced by Kitchener to segment the countryside using barbed wire & blockhouses
- The army sealed off sections before sending in mounted infantry & cavalry to clear out any Boers section by section
- 8,000 blockhouses & 4,000 miles of barbed wire
- Only a small force left over for offensive actions
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