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

• 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

• 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.

• !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

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

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)

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

• 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

• 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

• 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.

• 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