SERIES ED I T OR : LEE JOHN S ON
THE HOER WARS (2)
1898·1902
TEX T BY
IA N KN IGHT CO L OUR PL ATE S B Y
G ER RY E M B L ET O N
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MILITARY
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THE BOER WARS (2) 1898·1902
INTRODUCTION 'Cape to Cairo'
B
A s tirri ng an d decidedly rom ant ic i s ed vi e w of Jameson 's s tan d at Doornkop on 2 January 1896 .
y th e m id dl e o f the 189 0s t he So u th African Republic (Z u id-
Afrik aa ns c Rc publick) - th e Tra nsvaa l - had la rgely wo n its 50-yea r strugg le to im po se its a u tho rity a nd self-p ro cla im ed b oundaries o ve r the b la ck population . A n y sa tisfac tio n it m ay have fel t in that re ga rd. ho we ver, was sh o r tly 10 he overshadowed by a n in te n sifica tio n o f t ha t o th er perennia l Ho e r struggle - again st th e d omi n a n ce of th e British . Fo llowin g th e 1881 Transvaal \\'ar Britain had a ba ndo ned its administratio n of the Tran svaa l, re ta ini ng claim o n ly to 'su ze ra in ty' - a vague a n d ill-defin ed righ t of umbrella a ut h o rity, whi ch in p ractice it chose not to ex ercise. Tra nsva al affa irs m ig-ht h ave con tin u ed withou t British in terfe re nce indefinitel y h ad go ld not b ee n di scovered in extraord inary quanti ties a t th e \\'itwate rsra n d in 1886 . The su bseq ue n t gold rush led to a flo o d of foreig n prosp ectors - known to the Boors as uitlanders (o u tsid e rs) - a n d to th e birth o f th e boom-to wn o f J o h a n n esb u rg. It also intensifi ed th e eco no m ic r iva lry wh ic h u nd e rp in n ed Bo er-Briush relati ons i ll th e last yea rs of the 19 th ce n tury The 1890s were th e decade of th e min ing mag n ate ill So ut h Afri ca. Cccil Rh odes, wh o had mad e his fo rt u ne in d iamonds a t Kim b erley, was prime m ini ste r o f th e Ca pe, a n d d ream ed o f ex te n di ng a corridor o f
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The la c k of military p re ten s io n which characterised t he Bo e r forces i s summed up in this study of the Free State g e n eral W.J. Ko lbe. His dress is t y pical of Boers in t h e fie ld; his rank is suggested by n othing m o re t ha n his revol v er and fiel d glasses. Hi s o ther weapon is a Mauser carbine. Note t he OFS r o se tte in his lapel, and h is coloured puggree. (Bryan Maggs Collection)
un in terrupted Briti sh in flu ence fr o m ' the Ca pe to Ca iro'. Fo r Rhode s a n d his capita list cliq u e it was pa rt icu la rly frust rating that go ld sh o u ld be disc overed in th e introve rte d a n d un d eve loped Tra n svaal , wh ic h was sing ularly resis ta n t to Brit ish infl ue nc e . In 1890 Rh odes' British South A fr ica Co m p a ny had occ u p ie d Masb o u al au d . p art of mode rn Zim b a bwe to the n o rth o f the Transvaal, in th e h o pe th at it m ig h t co n tai n simil ar ri ch es, and to b lo ck Ho e r ex p a ns io n ill that d ir e ction . Th is p riva tee nter p rise co lo n ia lism was com p leted when Rhode s to o k the re st of Zim b a bwe by d e fe a tin g the X dc bclc in p·m .:~ " Sh o rt ly aft e r ward s, Bccliuanalaud - th e Tra n svaa l's wes tern n e ig h bo ur, sna tc hed by the Br it ish fr o m u n de r th e n o se s o f th e Be e rs in I R86 - was h a n d e d o ver to Rh ode s' Co mp a ny to ad m in ister. T hu s Br itish comme rc ia l int e re s ts crowded the Tra n svaal on two sides. X cvc rt .helesx, the Tra n svaa l itsel f, ru le d by th e h ard-lin e re pu bl ica n a nd fo rm e r voomekker Pa ul Krug cr; wh o h a d b e en elec te d p re siden t in the a fte r ma t h of th e Majuba ca m paign , re m a in ed firm ly oppo sed to Bri tish interests . Kru ger was afra id th a t the in flu x o f foreig n wo r kers a nd ca pi ta l wo u ld o ve rwh elm the Be e rs in th e ir o wn cou n try. H is policy tow a rds th e mi ning m ag na tes - nickn am ed th e 'go ld b ugs' - was o bs tr uc tive. T he uitlander: th e m sel ve s were re fu se d the vo te, yet we re still ex pec te d to p ay heavy taxes on t heir pro fits a n d were su b ject to mi li tary se rvice und e r the co m mando syste m. Fru stra ted, "a n d giv en co n fide nce by th e ir mi lita r y su ccesses in Zim ba bwe, Rhod e s and th e 'go ld b ugs' p lann ed to ove rth row Kruge r 's reg im e in a mi lita r y co u p, u sin g th e g r ieva nces of th e uitlanders as t h e ir e xcus e. Rh ode s' su p p o rters se t u p a ' Re fo rm Co mmittee' , wh ic h b eca m e a mo uthp ie ce fo r the uitlondcrs' rowdy d emands. The J a m eson R a i d
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T h e pl an was to o ve r- throw Krugc r' s govern me n t by a sim u lta n e o us re vo lt with in th e Rand , organi se d • by th e Refo r m Co m m ittee with gUlls su p p lied by the min in g mag nate s, and a rm ed in te r ve n tion fr o m o uts ide. Rhod e s' lie u te na n t, Dr Leandar Sran-j amcso n, was tr u ste d wit h ra ising a ll a r me d fo rce 0 11 th e Tra n svaal b o rd ers; fro m there h e was to st r-i ke at Joh an n esburg , whe re th e uitla ndcrs wo ul d rise to g ree t h im . Le a rn in g nothi ng from the stu bb o r n adh e rence to th e lib e runi a n id eals and se ns e of racia l su pe r io rity wh ic h had c h aracte rise d Afri kancr h istory sin ce th e beg inn in g of th e centu ry, th e co n spi ra tors fu lly ex pected Kr uge r 's gov e r n m c n t to co lla pse u nd er th is pre ssu rc . J a m eso n 's fo rce muste re d a t Pi tsani , a du sty haml et j us t a cross th e borde r in the Co m pany's Be c h u analan d te rrito r y, abo ut 170 mi le s wes t of J ohann esb u rg . .Mo st of h is m en we re d ra wn from the Company's Ma shonalan d Mo u n te d Police (~'lrVI P), wh ic h was effectivel y Rhod es' priva te a r my. j a m c so u 's officers were largel y p rofe ssionals, Jikc-min d cd adventure rs who h e ld
d orman t co m m issio ns in th e Br-it ish arm )'. Xcvc rt bclcss, the n u mbe r o f vo lunteers fro m th e J\L\I P fai led to m e e t the target , a nd J alll csolI es ta blish ed a sec o n d po st at th e to wn of .\lafike ng, a fe w m iles so u th ofPi txau i. .\Iafikeng was in th e Ca pe Co lo n y: wh e n Britai n ha d a ba n doned co n trol of Bc c hu an ala nd. th e govc n u n c n t-ra iscd Bcch ua nal a n d Border Po lice (B HP) ha d b e e u d isb a nded at .\Iafikeng . a nd j a m e so u fo und tha t ma ny of th e m we re the n un emplo yed, loo kin g fo r adve nt ure. a n d p re pared to joi n him. T he d a te o f th e co u p was set for th e e n d of De ce mber IB95. By that time J a m c son h ad raised ;)72 m e n from the ~ I :o. I P a nd 122 former members of the BHP. a ll o f whom were issued n e w l.cc-Met fo rd magazine rifles. They were su pported by eig ht Ma xim mac hi ue-guus. two 7-pdr field guns, a nd one 12-pd r. The Re fo r m Co mmittee was su p posed to strike the first blow h ut , to the conspirators' confus io n , they failed to d o so . Rho d e s de liberately le ft a final decision regard ing the e n te rp rise toJa m e so n , a u djameson opted to marc h a nyway. H e hoped th e su d den arriva l or h is troo p s in j ohaun c sb urg wo u ld force the uitlandrrs ' hand . j .un e so n 's two col um ns set o il from l' itsa ni a nd :o. la fike n g o n 29 Decem be r IR90 , and join ed u p a fe w mi le s in to Tra nsvaal territo ry. T he ra id ha d be en pl an n ed m e tic ul ously, with SCtTCt 1()Od de pots a nd fres h h o rse s a rra nged hy sym p a th isers a lo n g the ro ute. h ilt a ttempts to ke e p th e ex pedi tio n secre t h ~t d be en u n su ccessfu l. Xo soo n e r ha d th ey c rossed th e bo rder th an th e T ran svaa l gove rn m en t ca lle d out th e com m a n do fro m l .icln enbu rg. a town to the so u th o ljam e so ll 's rou te, to in te rce pt th e ra id e rs . j .u n c son moved qu ic kly. howeve r, a nd slip p ed pa st the co mm a n do. p us h ing 0 11 to wa rds J o han n e shu rg with the Bo e rs in p ursu it , wh ile a llo th e r Hoer fo rc e m u ste red outsid e th e tow n to block h is pa th . The first skir m ish took p la ce be fore d awn o n Ne w \'i.~a r ' s Day IR96 an d m ar ke d a tu rn in g po int in J am e son 's lu ck. A hidden su p p ly d e p o t had be en d iscove re d hy th e Be e rs , a n d th e fo od a n d Fresh h o rses were m issin g . T h e 'City o fCo ld ' wa s n o w in sig h t, butjam csou 's m e n were tire d a n d hun gry, and d isillu sio n ed by th e lac k o f su p po rt from the uitlnndrvs.
Typica l B o er s on c om ma nd o ; probab ly Fr e e St a t e bu r gh er s, p h oto grap h e d after Ma y 19 0 0 . T he m aj ori ty a re c ar ry ing Mausers . No t e the v ar i et y o f bando l i ers . (B ry an M aggs Colle c t i on )
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That afte rn oo n th e ra iders a pproac hed th e (own of Kruge rsd orp. o utside j ohan ncsb u rg . o nl y 1<) fin d a co m m a n d o entrenched across their path . A fi re-fig ht e nsu ed , wit h litt le a p pa re nt effec t. a nd j amc son 's men tried to slip away so uth , a ro u nd th e Ho e r left flank. Du rin g th e ni gh t, howeve r, th e Be ers sh ifted th ei r p o sitio n, a n d d aylight saw th e way a h ead still barred. Th e ra id e rs we re fin ally b ro ugh t to a halt at a kopje ca lled Do orukop, A ga lla n t charge hy so me o f the .\1.\1 P broke tip in th e face o f accu ra te Be e r ri fle fire , a n d afte r h alf a n hour o f b risk firin g j am eson 's arti llery bega n to run out of ammunitio n. The Bo e rs b rough t up a ha lter)' of Staa tsartillcrie, who began firing at close range, a n d it soon b ecam e a p parent that the raid e rs' po sition was hopel ess. To hi s intense fr llstr a lio n , Jam csolI h ad 110 ch o ice hu t to su rre n d e r. To all a ppeara nces th e raid had b een a fiasco . T he raid ers los t 16 men killed a n d 56 wounded , vvh ile th e Bo ers lo stj ust o n e mall . The uitlandrrs, seem ingly so vociferous before , had refused to risk th ei r lucrati ve milling in te res ts, a n d n ot o ne m an h ad ta ke n up a rifle to suppo rtjamcso n. Confrontation
A Bo er laager in the fi eld. This picture dates from the guer rilla w ar - it shows Commandant P.H. Kritzin ger's com ma n d o during his r aid in t o t he Cape Co lo ny at the begin ning o f 190 1 - b ut it is a scene whi ch typifies Boer mil it ary ex peri ence for much of the 19 th cen t ury.
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The jamcson Raid was a major ste p o n th e road to Allg lo-Boer CO IIfr o n tatio n. T h e raide rs were eve n tually release d in to British cus to dy, but th e in cid en t ma rked a uuniu g po int ill Rh o d es' caree r, a n d h e was forced to resign as p rime m in ister of th e Ca p e. Krugcr 's govern m e n t had be en shocked "by th e au dacity o f th e mo ve, a n d promptly began reorganisi ng its a rmed forces a nd im po rti ng modern wca pons from Eu rope . Ang lo-Bocf mistrust wa s furthe r he ightened whe n a new Bri tish hi gh co m m issio ner, Sir Alfred Miln c r, arrived ill the Ca pe . Milner was a n a rden t su p po rte r of th e fo rward po licy, and believed that British fu ll' in the Transvaa l was not on ly d esirabl e hu t in evita ble .
Fo r ei gn vo lunt e ers: Italian s under C apt ain Ricciardi , an d Fr enchmen , u n der Lt Gallopau d. A number of these m en are weari n g k ha ki uniforms. Note t he obvious pre sence of bl ack servan ts.
The other Ho e r re p ublic, th c Orange Free Sta te , wh ile not d irectly invo lved in the quarr el, agree d to su p pon the Tra nsva al in the event of a n a r me d co n f ro n ta t io n . Kt-u g c r r e f'u s e d to bud g e on the uitlmulf'rissu e a nd , d espite th e fac t th at th e Bri tish government ill Londo n was am bivale n t a bou t a military confron tat io n , Miln cr began to wo rk towards a ll opcn rift. III .June 189 9 Miln cr an d Krug er met at Bloe-mfou tciu , the Free State ca p ita l, but their re sp ective po sitions were so ent ren ched th a t nego tiation s co lla psed. By September th e uitlander: were flee ing J oh ann esburg in tra in-lo ads. British troops were marched u p to vulnerable town s on th e bo rd ers of Natal and the Ca pe , whi le re servi sts were mustered in Britain , in
BOER FORCES, 1899 The j am eson Raid ca m e as so me th ing of a sh oc k to the T ran svaal gm'e rn ment, wh o were fo rced to recogn ise bo th th e Briti sh th reat and that th ei r own forces were sca rcely adeq ua te to m eet it. Neither republic boasted a st ron g p ro fessional a rmy; th e on ly regu la r troops were small
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Office rs o f the Ge ...m an Volunte e ... Co r p s , photographed outs ide La d ys m it h , Novembe r 18 9 9 . Thi s corps o b t a i n e d a s t o c k o f kh a k i un iforms , and seve...a ! a re in e vi dence h e re . Th e office r s eated centre f ront (Lt von Z e le ski) seems to be w e a rin g a c oloured sa s h, pre suma bly o f T...e ns v aa t colo u rs, ov e r hi s right shoulde r; On the r ight is Or Elsberger, di stinguished by a r e d cro s s a r m - b a n d.
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bod ie s o f po licemen a n d arti llcri sts. From a bout I H94 ho th re p u blics h ad r a ise d small un iformed volu nt eer u n its, a n d th ese h ad seen actio n in so me of th e wars against bl a c k Afri can s, but th ey had be en d isbanded at the be ginnin g of I H99. The commando syste lll remain ed th e true heart o f the 130 er mil ita ry system . th e refore. a n d th e Be e rs ill 1899 were , as th ey h ad a lways be en , a ci tizen militi a . En~ ry Hoer m an between the ages o f 16 a n d 60 wa s le g all y required to serve if the g m 'cfn me nt called him lip. a n d to hrin g wit h him his o wn h orse a nd sup plies. Co mmandos we re ba sed on lo cal ad mi nistrative d istr ict s in peacetime: e ac h wyk. o r wa rd . p rovided a conungc nt co m m a n d e d by a reld-kornrt (fiel d -co rn e t - eq ui va len t to a cap ta in) . As Illa n y as six wa rds g rou ped tog eth e r to fo rm a d istr ict co m ma n d o , und e r th e le ad e rs h ip o ra com m andan t, whose ra n k was ro ugh ly e q ui va le n t to a co lone l. In I H 9 ~ ) th ere we re 2 1 comm an d o s ill th e T r an svaa l a n d 18 in th e Fre e State , a n d th ey va r ie d conside ra b ly ill size , fr om as lo w a s 200 m e n to ove r 1,000 , T he m a in cha rac ter istics of th e co m man do syste m we re individ u a lity, flexibility, a n d a lack or d iscipline whic h astonished th e Br itish . Com m a ndan ts were e lected h y the m en in th e ranks. often a s muc h as a re sult o f the ir peace time po litical in flue n ce o r popu larity as thei r milita r y pro wess_Although fa ilure to se rve wa s an of fen ce, com m a n da nts had a lmos t no other le g al pow ers with wh ich to co n trol th eir m en , a n d they exe rc ised th eir auth o ri ty h y stre ngth o f pe rsonality alon e . In d ivid ual burgh ers we re quite e n title d (() opt out of battle-pl ans if th e y co nsi de red the m fo o lish . or to di sobey orders - even in battle, a n d prolonged p e r io d s of leave we r e acce pted as a necessity si nc e m an )' of the me n had le ft fa m ilies to fend for them selves o n thei r farm s. La rg e r arm ies were co m ma n ded bv ge nerals, wh o were elec te d in th e OFS hut a p p o in te d ill th e Tr a n svaa l; th e Tra n svaa l a lo ne had a full-ti m e co nu ua u dan t-gc uera l. who in I K ~ )~ ) wax l' ictjo ubcrt . a he ro o ft he ;\L ~ j ll ha ca m p a ig n. Neve- rt heless. su b tle ch a ng e s had be e n ma de to th e Bo cr fig h tin g syste m by I K ~ )~) . T h e hi g h vel d ,..'a s 110 long er the A fr-ican wilde r ness it h ad be en eve n a g e ne ra tio n bef ore: th e vast h e r d s o f g a m e wh ic h h ad be e n a fea tu re of both the Tra nsvaal an d th e O FS int o the 187 0s h a d larg el y be e n shot out as th e la nd was marked out for farm s. Fe w Boers lived e n t ir ely hy huntin g ; indeed , th ere had been a small but s ig n ifica n t move m ent to wa r d s u r banisa tio n . th e r esu lt of a m o re -.. se tt le d li fe s tyle a n d th e mi n ing boom . Th e se min omad ic li fe of th e o ld Tre k-Be ers had b e come a th in g o f th e pa st ill a ll b ut th e m o s t re m o te bo rd er regio n s. Alt ho ug h m a n y Be ers who fo ugh t in 1899 we re indeed r u ra l fanne rs. man)' were u rbani sed a n d cos m o po lita n in th eir
out look. an d th e image o f ti le hard-riding , d ead-sh ot Front ier fa rmer, acc usto m e d to li\'in g o u t in a ll wea thers fo r weeks 0 11 c u d O il a h and ful o f eo fle e bean s a n d a fe w st rips of hi/tong (s u n -d r ie d meat ) has, p erhap s. been overstressed. Nevert heless. o n the whole the Boe rs re m ai ned part o r a cu lture wh ich stres sed the virt ues of in d ividua lism , self d e p enden ce , of the o u tdoor life a n d a practica l knowledge of firearms: in these respect.s they were far more su ite d to th e co m ing fig h t t h a n thei r Bri tish co u n te rpa rt s. We "apons and Uniforms
Fro m 18S1 until th e m id- 1 8~){)s the single most popular wca poll a mong the Be e rs was the single shot .4:">0 vla rt ini-H e n rv, usually, ironica lly, of Br itish ma n u facture , By the lat e I88 0s. howeve r; the in trod uct ion of m aga zin e ri fle s - the .303 l.cc-vlc tford a mong th e British , fo r exa m plehad rend e red the Mart in i-H enry o bsolete. Fo llo win g th e { a m c so n Raid , th e Tra n svaa l h ad m ade a se r io us a UClll pt to improve its sto c k of wea p o lls . Small n umbe rs o f m a gazin e wea po ns were bo ug h t fr o m a variety of o ve rseas ma n ufactu rers. in cl udi ng th e Briti sh l .c c-v lc tfo rd. the Austri an .\ Ia u nli cher, th e Stcvr-C ucdcs a n d even th e Ameri can \\'in c h e ste r, a lthough the type evcnmallv imported in the greatest q uantity wa s th e Germa n 7m m .\Iau se r ~ 11 896 . By th e o utbrea k of war th e Tran svaa l h a d im port e d :)7,000 Xlau scrs a n d j h c O FS I ~ , O(J O. T hese wea po lls we re issued to th e co mma ndos Oil mob ilisa tio n , a lt ho ugh th ey n ever e n tire ly di spl ace d ea rl ier typ e s ill th e field , The Xla us e r h ad a maximu m ran ge of 2,000 ya rds, fi re d s mo keless powder. a n d held five rou n ds in its m aga zin e . It could he lo ad ed quic kly from c lip s. a significantly faste r o perat ion than that requ ired fo r th e Br itish Lce-Xle tfo rd o r Le o-En fie ld. wh ich had a greater magaz in e ca pacity - te n roun d s - but h ad to he loaded o ne rou nd a t a tim e . The Be ers ca rried the ir am m uni tion i ll ba ndo lie rs, th e m o st popu la r of wh ic h wa s m ade o r lea th e r and ha d 12 sm a ll pouch e s, p ro te ct ed h y fla p s to p re vent rounds fail ing o u t, with each po uc h holdi ng o n e cli p a tota l o f no ro u n ds a ltoget her. O ther bandoli e rs were n o t un common , however, in cluding some m a d e of canvas we bb ing, or the o ld sty le with lo o p s for :)0 in divid ual ro un d s. Some Boo rs even ca rrie d sp a re a m muni tio n in the po cke ts of specially d e sig n ed waistcoats. As befi ts such a ll ind ividuali stic a rm y, th e Bo e rs wore littl e ill the way of uniform s but th ey we re not e n tirely oblivious to th e n e ed to d emo nstra te th e ir a llegia n ce s, Mo:st Bo e rs fo ug h t ill th ei r cvc rvday clo th e s: for
A grou p of acers photographed outside Ladysmith, 18 9 9, Th e m an i n u niform i n the front row is a St aa tsarti llerie NC O. He is wearing t h e 1896 pattern tunic: dark b l ue with sky blue cuffs, with bl a c k b r aidin g across the c h est and go ld shoul der co rds and collar piping . This s am e t u n ic was worn by officers, but w it h stars o n t he collar indicating r ank. The man ba ck row rig ht is w earing a gunner's tunic with a bl ack vel vet c ollar. Bo th ca r ry Ma user carbines, while the NCO h a s fie ld glasses and a re vol ver.
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A su rv iv i ng exam p le of a Maxi mNorden fe ldt quic k -firing 'p om -p om ' gun . Th e ZAR St aatsa rtill e r ie ha d se ve ral of these weap cnat the Brit i sh als o used th em l at e r. (Fo rt Sc ha n skop Museum, Pr etori a)
M ajo r Fri ederich A l brecht and offic ers of t h e Free St ate Artillery i n th e fie ld . All are w earing pl ai n k h aki-co lo ured t unic s an d d ar k er trousers, with Fre e State badges on their hats . The man on t h e left is a m edical officer, identified by h is red cross arm-band .
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fa nn e rs this us ua lly co nsisted of a d ark-co loured jacket, a nd perha ps co rd uroy tro users, wit h th e u b iqui to us broad-b r im med hat. Shoes were often home-made leath er neld -skoenen, alt houg h riding bo o t'; were no t unkno wn . In th e early stages of th e war, the ut-ban o r ig in s of m a n y Bo ers we re refl ected ill th eir sma rte r to wn clothes, in cl ud ing jacke ts o f a more stylish c ut a n d straw h at s. Mo st Bo ors al so ca rr ied water b o ttl e s a n d po ck e t kn ives. The y wen t o n ca m pa ig n with the ir oxwago ns , wh ic h se rve d t heir tra n sport n eeds, ca rry ing ten ts, beddin g a nd su p p lies . The Bo er mili ta ry mac hine wo u ld n o t h ave fun ct ioned witho u t th e services of thousa n ds of uglenJers (afte r-rid e rs), the black African se rva n ts wh om the Bo e rs took in to the field wit h th e m , a n d wh o drove wagons, led spa re h o rses, hun ted, co o ke d a n d dug e n trenc h me n ts. Desp ite th eir ge nera lly n on-mili ta ry a p p ea ra nc e, the Boers mark ed th ei r co m ba ta n t status wit h a va riety o f bad ges. Some a tte m p t was m ad e to issu e met al badges b ea r ing th e O FS a n d Tran svaal co at-o f-arms, a n d th ese were so me times wo rn o n th e tu rn ed-u p brim o f th e h a t. Ge ne ra lly, a h at with th e rig ht b rim turned up was th ought 10 in di ca te Ho e r sym pa thi es, whi le Bri tish troo ps and their su p porte rs tu r ned up the le ft brim - alt hough the re were a lmost as many exceptio ns to this rule as examples . Co loured cockades, worn o n the ha t, in the lapel . o r as a pu ggree, were co m mon ; the OFS\ co lo u rs we re yellow-re d -white-blue a nd th e Transvaal's gree n-red-whi te-bl ue. Co lo u re d Jluggrees were ge nerally pop u lar, but alt h o ug-h o ra n ge was an obvious c h o ice amo n g O FS co mmandos, a n d gree n or blue a mo ng th e Transvaa l b u rg h ers, th e re was litt le uniformity. Diffe ren t co lo u rs were ad o p te d a t rando m , as a m a rk o f d iffe re n t co m ma nd os o r even d i fferent sq ua d ro ns with in a co m ma n d o. Wh ite was rc cogu lscd as the co lo u r o f a 'Ca pe re bel' (a n Afri ka ne r su bject of th e Br itish Ca pe Colony wh o sided wit h th e Bo e rs) , alt h o ug h it was also used b y so mc British , a n d, in d eed . o ther Bo e r un its. Red was n ot a p o p ular co lo ur, ho wever, as this, was a tr adi tional b adge of tr o ops raised in So uth Africa by th e Bri tish . No u n iforms were officia lly re cog ni sed for co m ma n d a n ts (o the r th an for th e co m m a n da n tge n e ra l. wh o wore a versio n o f th e Staa tsart illeric d ress uni form ) , a lt ho ug h a Humber c h ose to sp ort colo u re d sash es, a t lea st wh e n b ein g phot ograph ed ill the ea rly part o f th e war. T h ere is little evide nce that th ey were worn in to actio n, h o weve r. Simi la rly, a fe w com mandants who d csigned
t
thei r ow n fancy uniforms d o n o t see m 10 ha ve wo r n th em in to ba ttle. Mo st co m m a n d a n ts carried field -glasses a n d revolvers in ad d itio n to their rifles - bu t so d id many o rdi nary b u rgh ers. Given the ega lita ria n natu re of the Bo e r army. osten ta tio us d isplays o f ra n k were ge n erally frowned upon, a n d in a ny case most command ants were well known to th e me n u nde r th eir co m man d . In additio n to the tr ue Bo ors . th e re wer e lll a ll Y of fo reign d esce nt wh o fo ught in th e Go e r ranks. No t a ll th e uitla nders were British, a n d m an y su p po r te d the Bocr ca us e. The y fo rm ed small vo lu nt e e r g ro u ps oft en kn own . romanti cally. as 'c o rps ' o r ' b rigades". although th ese titles bel ied th e ir actu al num be rs . T he re were \ U ! 1I1l 1CC r corps o f Iri shm e n , Am erica ns, French m en , Ital ian s, Ge rm a n , and Dut c h . In ad d itio n , a t th e o u tbre ak of wa r, n um b e rs of fo re ign e rs e n tered So u th Africa with th e intention of figh tin g for th e Boc r ca use ; the y were usu ally fig h ting fo r lib e rt y, a n ti-im pe ria lism o r adve n tu re. Th e Beers h ad am biva le n t feelings to ward s th ese vo lu n tee r co rps. For mo st b u rg h e rs, th e war was a practi cal n ecessity, a strugg le to d efend thei r land s from Brit ish agg ress io n , a nd they were sus p icious o f th e exo tic mo tives claim ed by th e fore ig n volu nteers. Krug e r su m m ed up th e a ttitu d e whe n h e comme n ted tha t the Be ers did n ot n eed or ask fo r foreign h el p , but th e vo lunteers were n o n eth el ess welco m e to fig ht if th e y wa nted to. T h e y we re n ot p aid , but did rece ive gO\'c rn me n t wea po ns a n d eq ui pme n t.' ~ I a n y o f the fo reign vol un teers h ad m ilita ry expe rie n ce in th e ir own co u n try, a n d th e y o fte n found the Boe r a ttitu de to war exas perating. So me co rps - particul a rly th e Sca n d ina via n. Ce rma » a n d Du tch g ro u ps - m ad e a se r io us a tte m p t to prescnt a mi litary a p pearan ce , a n d u niforme d thems elves with lij.{h t khaki o r sa n d-co lo u re d jackets, trouse rs a n d h at s; apa rt fr o m o ccasio nal colou red pll gg rees, co ckad es a n d Mause r eq u ip men t, th ey lo o ked littl e d iffe rent to the vo lu nteer un its raised by th e British . T h e sh owing o f these units was m ixed, hu t so me n o tably th e Sca n d in avians, German s a n d Du tch - imp ressed bo th frie n d s a n d e n e my alike with th ei r effi cie nc y a n d European-style d iscip lin e .
The flag of the Har ri smith commando, m ad e by ladies o f the town, an d b as ed on t he Fr ee State c o lo u rs (o rang e , red, white and bl u e). Photographs su g g es t t hat many commandos took su c h f lags to w ar, but used them a s headquarters m arkers, and did n o t carry them in action. The motto r e ads 'P atience a n d C ou r a g e ' . (Qu e en's Regiment Mus e u m , C anterbury)
Hoer Regulars
T h e O FS a n d Transvaal forces bo th included sm all re g u lar co n tin ge n ts o f a rtille ry a n d poli ce m e n . The la rgest of th ese was the Transvaal Sta atsartillerie. T h is h ad fir st b een form ed as th e ' Battc ric Diugna n ' in th e 18 70s; it had b een di sb anded by th e British fo llowing the a n nexatio n of 187 7, b u t h ad b ee n re -fo rmed in 1882 as pa n o f a co m b ined a rt illery a n d poli ce uni t. As suc h it to o k pan in several o f the Afri can wars o f th e 1880s a n d 1890 s, but uicj am cson Raid h ad in di ca ted th at its numbers we re in adequate , so it was reorgan ised and se parate d from th e p oli ce , a n d by 1899 it co nsisted o f so me 650 p e rsonn el. in clu d in g a te legraph sectio n. T he gu ns we re varied : the h eaviest were fou r 150 m m Crc uso t siege g u ns (' Lo ng Toms' ) - wh ich th e Bri tish mi stak e nl y believed co u ld n o t be moved fr o m th ei r cm place me n ts in forts bui lt a rou n d Pret oriaa n d fo ur 120 mm Kru pp h owitze rs. The remai nde r we re 75 m m field g Ulls ma nufactured by Krupp. Creusot or Maxun-No rd e n teld t, 65 m m Krupp mou ntain g u ns , a n d l -p d r q u ick-firing Maxim-Xo rd e n feld t 'po m-poms' . The u ni t also possessed a bo u t 30 M ax i m machine-gu n s, moun ted on vario us ca rriages.
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The Transvaal Staatsartillcrie bo a sted a n impressive dre ss uniform. In 1890 a d a rk blue sin gle-bre asted tun ic , ba sed on a n Au strian pattern and piped sky blue , h ad be en a d o p te d for O Rs, to g-ether with a ll Austrian style Gip. Officers wore a d ark bl ue b raided p a trol j ack e t. T hi s was re p lac ed in 189f) with a more orna te un ifor m of Dutch in flue nce, alth o ugh so me of the earlie r unifo rm s rema ined ill issue u u ti l as la te as IH99. T he new un iform wa s a very da rk blu e , with thre e ro ws o f buttons down the fron t. black hussar-style braiding a nd black co lla r a nd sh o ul d e r co rds. The c uffs we re pointed a n d sky b lu e , th e co lla r wa s piped sky blue , a n d the d ark bl ue trou sers h ad a sky blue stri pe d own th e o u tside. On th e CH: of the war th e style o f c u ffs was changed: th e new c u ff, we re ro unded a nd dark blue with sky blue piping . O fficers wo re a more e la b ora te ve rsi on o f' th e me n 's tu n ic , with go ld piping o n th e co lla r, go ld sho u lde r co rds a n d go ld co llars fo r staff o ffice rs. Ran k was d e n o te d by up to th ree silve r sta rs on th e co lla r. A ll ra nks wo re in congruous fur busb ie s, sabre rachc s and swo rds. By the mid-I 89 0s a field service dre ss had b e en a p p roved. It co nsisted ofa sa n d-colo ured o r kh a ki tuni c a n d trousers. with blue shou lde r stra ps , co llar a n d p iping. This, to gether with a pl ai n e r version wit hout pipin g , was sta n d a rd dre ss in the fi e ld in th e ea rly p a rt o f th e An glo-Boer \\'a r; th e Austria n ca p was se ldom WOI'll, a n d was re p lace d wit h a slo uc h ha t , turn cd lip on th e right side a nd fa ste ned wit h a bad ge with th e letters 'SA' or 'A' (fo r Staatsartillerie or Art illeric) . Shortly bel. n e the wa r a kh aki uniform with bla ck braid on th e co lla r, cuffs a n d shoulder co rds was a ut ho rised fo r o fficers. In fa ct , a ll ranks seem to h ave taken to th e fiel d in a mi xture o f orders o f d ress: fu ll-dre ss tu n ics worn with undre ss or civilia n tr ousers; se rvice dress; or, qu ite often , c ivilia n dre ss. Th e sta n d a rd we apon was th e x la user ri fle for a ll ra n ks - with correspo nding bandolie r, wh ile o ffice rs and ~COs we re issu e d with revo lvers. T h e Free State Arti llery was co n side ra bly smalle r th an its Tran sva a l co u n te r p a rt - just 400 m e n, in cl ud in g re servists, in 1 8 ~J9 . It had been established in I X-57, but had been revitalised from 188 0, wh en a form e r Pru ssia n :\' CO , Fri ede ri ch Alb rc c ht, h ad b e en a p poin te d to th e com ma nd. U n de r Albre cht's su pe rvisio n. the Free Sta te Artillery ad o p te d a Prussian-style d re ss u n iform - Cl dark blue tu n ic. with bla ck facings an d orange p iping . Hea d-ge ar was a l' ru ssian -srylc l' ick clh nn bc wit h a ba ll to p o r, in revie w o rder, a n orange a n d whi le pl um e . Tro users we re b lack with a narrow ora nge stripe, Un like the T ra nsvaa l a rt ille r y, th e Fre e Sta rers do n ot a p pear to h ave wo rn their dress uniform s ill ac tio n; in stead they wo re a single-b reaste d khaki tuni c with o ra nge sho u lde r stra ps, bl ack co lla r a n d bl ack piping , including a lo op on the cuffs. Hats we re o f th e ub iqui tous slo uc h "arid )', often worn with a meta l badge of th e OFS's coat..of -arms. O ffice rs seem tu h ave WOI" I1 p la in civilian-style kh aki uni fo r m s. T ile O FS arti llery posse ssed th e u sual mix ture of WCap( 1I 1 types, c h ie fly obsolete 75m m Kru pp fiel d g UllS a nd Armstro ug 9-pdrs. As with th e a rt ille ry, t he Transvaa l posse ssed a m u ch la rger police force th an th e OFS. A t the outbreak of war the ' ZA RPs' (the l.uid Afriknanse Rijdrnde t'olitie - Sou th African Mo u n te d Pol ice ) n u m bere d just o ve r 1,500 m en , 800 o f whom were based ill J ohann eshurg . Thei r dress un iform was dark b lu e wit h a blue cap or white su n-h el me t for dre ss occasio n s. T his was n o t gene ra lly worn in the field , h oweve r: the re a p lai n blue pa tro l j ack e t, fa sten e d by ho o ks a nd eyes a n d with flat black
The B r i t ish sol dier on cam paign in South A fric a. Unid en t ifi ed private i n k h ak i service dress a n d Sta d e - Walla c e e q u ip m e nt , in front of a typ ical b ell-tent , which b oth si des u s e d i n a b u nd anc e. In the B ri t i sh army the bell tent c o ul d house up to 15 men. (B ryan Maggs Colle c t io n)
-'bra idi n g down th e fro n t a nd a round the cuff, was the usual su bsti tu te , toget he r wit h th e slo uc h hat. T ro u se rs were k haki-colou red riding
bre eches. -'l an y ZARPs foug ht in th e ea rly stagcs o f th e war in kh aki civilia n-style u n iforms. Un til 1899 th ey were a rm ed wit h Mart in i-H en rys. hut th e y we r e issu e d with .\ lall se rs 011 th e o u tb reak of h o st iliti e s. Th e Free Sta te police , wh o nu mbe redjust l :lO o f all ran ks in IB99 , in clud in g m ounted a n d foot pol ice m en , wo re a sim ila r uniform . but with breast poc ke ts 0 11 th ei r undre ss tuni cs a nd Fre e State badg e s on their h a ts. III ke e p ing with th e un p ro fe ssion al n a tu re 0 1' the ir fig h tin g fo rces, the Beer repu b lics po sse sse d 110 in teg rated a nd so p h istica te d m e d ica l service s. Alth o ugh bot h re p u b lics m a inta in ed nominal medi ca l sta ff, th e m o st e ffec tive un its ill th e field we r e n in e ambulan ces, m an n ed by foreign vo lu n tee rs, a n d in m o st cases pa id for by overseas Red C ross so cie tie s. In the field th e Red Cross sym bo l wa s used to d istinguish th em from com ba ta n ts. A t t he e n d of t h e war Bri ti sh inte ll igen ce so u rces co n cl u de d t hat the tota l Ho e r forces th e y h a d fa ced h ad nu m b ered so m e 9 0. 000 m en . in cl u d in g Cape re b e ls. T h is figu r e was probabl y o ve re st imat e d . a n d it fa ile d to tak e acco u nt of th e s h i ft j n~ nat ure o f Bo er se rvice. N o t a ll m en r equire d to j o in t h e co m m a n d o s d id so. s u p po rt alllon~ th e Afrika nc r c o m m u n ity ill t h e C a p e was patc h y, a nd at a llY g ive n time a l a l' ~ e proport ion of t h e Ho e r forc es we re a bsent 0 11 o nc pre te x t o r another. ~ Io r c r e ali st ic es tim a tes su g g e s t t hat t h e re were n ever m ore th a n 40,0 00 Bo e rs in t he field a t a llY g i\'e l1 ti m e .
S id e , b a ck and front of a B r itish offic er's foreign service helmet , without cover. This example be longed to C ap t a in C.R .C . Ellis o f the C ame roni an s, who was w ou n ded at Sp io en k op . It shows s igns of shrapnel da mage and bl o od sta ins. Note t he lar g e f lash of re gimen t al tartan - a typical unit identification early i n the war. (Peter Jordan Colle c t io n)
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THE BRITISH ARMY IN 1899
--, .'
ORs foreign service h elmet with kh ak i c o ver and regimental fl ash of the Somerset Light Infantry (w h ite embroidery on red ba ckground). This example belonged to a Lance Corporal M abey, an d su ggests one reason why fla sh es be c ame le ss conspicuous as t he war progressed - n ote the bu ll et-hole . (Taunton Museum)
The Br itish army in 1899 was th e most po we r fu l professio nal a rmy in the wo rld . Th e regular a r my a lo ne totalled I Oh,OOO men se rvi ng with th e co lo u rs a n d a furth er 7H,OOO re se rvists: a n d thi s was without vol uu tc c r a n d militia units. a n d before the so-called 'white co lo nies"> the se ttle r co m m u n ities in Can ada , Au stralia a n d New Zea land m ad e th e ir unpreceden ted co n trib u tio n to th e mot her cou ntry's wa r effo rt. T he bac kbone o f the Br-itish arm y was th e in fantr-y b a tta lion - e ig h t com p a nies of no m in a lly 100 m en a n d a h e adqu a r te rs. Until 1881 man y reg im ents co ns isted ofjust (HI C battali on , b ut in th at yea r th e o ld practi ce o f id entifyin g battalions by numbe rs was di scard ed. and th e b att alions we re linked to ge th er 10 form regimen ts of two or m o re b a ttalion s. id entified by a te rrito ria l tit le . In 1899 th e ave ra ge regiment th erefo re co ns isted o f two se rvice ba tta lions, two m ilitia hattalions a n d a vo lu n teer ba tta lio n . T h e la tte r ge nerally re mained at home , but we re u sed to su p p ly th e se r vice ba ttal ions wit h replace m e n ts. The average cava lry regi m ent consisted of a bout 650 m en. d ivid ed into four squad ron s, eac h of two troo p s. A sta n da rd a rt ille ry battery co nsi ste d of six g u ns, with 12-p dr breachlo ading field gu n s being usu al for th e ho rse a rt ille ry. an d the h ead e r l fi-pdr by fiel d a rt ille ry ba tteries . Th e l c-p d r cou ld proj ec t a sh ra p n el she ll that wo u ld ex p lo d e in the air a n d sh owe r th e targ et a rea wit h lead balls to a ra nge of 4 ,00 0 ya rd s a n d h ig h -e xp lo sive she ll rath er fu rt h er. H o wever; th is was still o ut-ran ged hy so m e o f th e gu ns p o ssessed by the Be e rs . T h e re we re also a n um ber o f siege batteries, eq u ip p ed wit h Sin h owitz e rs . Uniforms
Un id entified battery of British Sin ho witzers in the fie ld . (Bryan Maggs Collection)
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To th e dis appo intme n t o f m an v B o e rs wh o r em ember ed s to r ies o f t h e vl aju b a ca m pa ig n , t he Br i t ish h a d lon g si n ce a b a n do n e d sca rlet uni form s in th e fi e ld , a n d th e li ght , d u s t-c o lo u r known as khaki had bee n adop ted as ca m paig n dress in 189 7. It had lo ng been p opula r ill In d ia. a n d wa s wo rn exclus ive ly in bot h th e Nor th-West Fro ntier ca m paign of 1897 a n d in th e Su d a n , 189 7-99. For a ll a rms of service , field dress co n sisted of a loose k h a ki jacke t a nd tro use rs, pu ttees (kh a ki fo r in fa n try a n d cavalry; th e RA in it iall y wo re blu e , bu t a ba n d o n e d th em for khak i in th e earl y m onths o f th e war ) a n d a wh it e co r k fo re ig n se rvice h el m e t covered with a kha ki cover. Mo st re g im e nts retain ed the p ugg ree - a band o f cotto n cl ot h wrapped a ro u n d the m id d le o f th e
helmet, d e sig n ed to kee p th e helmet cool - under a plain co ve r; wh ile so me reg im ents' covers in cluded a fol d ed represe n tat ion of a puggre e . Clo th n e ck -co vers we re aut horised for wear in So u th Africa , h ut alt ho ug h pho to graph s s tl~gest they were p opular wi th so me battali ons. th ey we re n ot wid el y worn . Offi cers p rovid ed their own hel mets, ofte n of kha ki clo th a n d wo r n without a cover. The \\'ol scl ey-stylc helm et, wh ich was flatte r a n d h ad a wider b rim , was fash ionabl e with so me regimc n tsa nd in d ivid ua ls, particu larly a mo ng staff a n d ge ne ra l off icers. H ighland Sco tt ish u ni ts wo re khak i fro ck s wit h a di stin ctive round ed skirt, a nd reta ined their reg im en ta l ta rt an kilts , spo r ra ns. ho se a n d spats. A khaki a p ro n was issu ed to make th e Front of th e kilt le ss co ns p icu o us ; it wo r ke d wel l enough whe n th e men were a d v..mcing . but it was u sel e ss when they were lyin g down , as it did no t co ve r the b ack of the kilt. Lowland Scots regiments began th e war in tartan tr ews, but so on aba nd o n e d these in favour o f ordinary khaki trousers. In th e early stages, troo ps fo uglu in a lig ht..colo ured , ligh twei gh t khaki drill cloth: th is h ad bee n designed fo r se rvice ill Nort h Africa a n d In di a , a n d p roved bo th un comfortable a n d imp ra ctical ill So uth Afr ica. It was to o thin to ke ep o ut th e chill o f th e Africa n n ights, p a rt icuhu-l y o n th e h igh vel d , whe re the te m pe ratu re often droppe d bel o w fi"e c/iu g o n a clea r win te r 's ni gh t, a nd the colo ur was too reflective to a fford mu c h ca m o u llage p rotectio n . As the war progressed it was stea dil y repla ced with a he;wy khaki se rg e ma te rial, wh ich was d arke r' in colo u r. Ser-vice dre ss made it a lmost impossible to distin gu ish e ith e r rank o r unit. Officers wore ra n k badge s 011 their sh ould er stra ps , and went in to the war wearing Sa m Brown e bello; a nd ca rrying swords a n d revolvers. g rown le a th e r Sto hwasse r ga ite rs, whic h faste ned by a sp ira l stra p, we re o fte n p referred to boots o r pu tte e s. However, these di st in ctions were no tice ab le e n o ug h for th e Boors to ide nt i fy a n d pi ck off the o ffi ce rs . even at a di stan ce , a n d by th e beginning of 190 0 m o st h ad a bandon cd th eir Sa m Bro wn e s in fa vour of O R equip men t, a n d they ca rried rifle s rather than swords . Priva tel y purchased h el m e ts began to g ive way to the less co n sp ic uo u s O R typ e. Sim ilarly, most units had sta rt ed the war with o ste n ta tio us identification fla sh e s o n th e sid e o f their helmets. For infantry thi s u su all y co n sis ted o f a piece of cloth cut from th e sh o u lde r strap of the scarlet ho me se rvice froc k, a n d which h ad so m e so rt of reg-
Mou nted i n f an t ry of the 1st
Lercest er s during Vule's retreat from Dunde e in October 1899. The men are w earing greatcoats. Note the c arbines carried in s ho rt MI buckets, with sling s around the right arm.
15
imcntal title em b roi dered in wh ite . Altho ug h mos t reg imen ts opted for a small o blo ng patch , so me preferred large sq ua res, dia monds or even la rge pat che s ba sed on the sha pe o f th e com ple te sh o u ld e r-stra p. Some regi ments preferred a piece of th eir tra dition al far in g colo u r. Hi ghland re giments ge ne ra lly ad o p ted a piece of re gimen ta l tart an , while rifle regim enrs wore g ree n flashes" T h e RA wore oblong pat ch es d ivided verti call y red and blue, the Royal Engineers yello w, and th e medical se rvices ma roo n . It soon bec am e clear, however, that cons p icuo us flashes me rel y d rew c nem y fire, and as th e war progressed th ey were often re p lace d wit h mo re di screet vari ants, or a ba n do ned a ltoge the r. Those regi me n ts whic h p rized p a rti cul a r coc kades a mo ng the ir reg im ental di stin ctions - the sca rle t o f th e Coldstream Guards an d Black \\'atc h , for exa m p le, a nd the wh ite of the Argyll a n d Sutherland H ig h la n d e rs retai ned th em in the fiel d, but usu ally only amo ng the ir offi ce rs . Weapons
The latter hal f of the Victo rian e ra had see n importan t c ha nges ill in fantry a rms and equipment. T h e bolt-act ion Lee-V letford rifl e , whi ch ca rr ied te n .303 rounds in a magazinc, had been in tro d uc ed ill 1888, a n d , alt ho ug h still ill se rvice, was being replaced a t th e outbreak of war by a n improved version , the Lee-En fi e ld. This was sighted up to over 2,000 ya rds , hut its most eff e cti ve battle-range was betwee n 500 and 800 ya rd s. Cavalry ca rried a ca rb in e vers ion , a nd a swo rd; bo th la n ce r reg im cll ts a n d the front rank o f dragoon reg ime n ts a lso ca rrie d 9ft b am h o o la n ce s wit h steel tips a nd re d a nd wh ite p e llll o lls. In fant r y was the equ ip m e nt ing ra ted Sladc-wal lace
16
BELOW Stuck i n the mud: throughout the wa r B riti sh movements w ere h ampered by their transport s ys tem . Here a wagon h a s com e off the road. This photo dates from the Natal campaign, a nd shows troops unusua lly, on this front - w e aring neck-cove rs w ith their h elmets. (S.B . Bourquin) BOTTOM The Empire 's mig ht: men of the 2 nd (Queen's) Regiment - part of Bu ller's 1st Army Corps - a bo u t to e m ba rk on a train afte r their arrival at Durban docks. Note the consp ic u o us helmet fl a sh e s. (Bryan
syste m , wh ich ca rrie d 100 rou nds of a nun uuiti ou in le a th e r po u ch e s on ei the r side of t ln: wa ist-bel t cl asp , as we- ll as a g rea t{'o a t, m e ss-t in , h ave rsa ck a n d wa te r-bott le . Equ ipmen t stra ps we re o f buf f lea th e r fo r line re gime n ts a n d bla ck fo r rifle s, h ut it was co m mo n p ra c tice to d ull the m with d yes m ade fro m tea , co ffe e, tree ba rk , or 1J11I<1. Cava lry carr ied E)O round s ill brown le a ther ba n d o lie rs . By th e I890s t he cumbe rsom e h and-cran ked m ac hi ne-gu lls o f the IS70s - th e C a ll in g , Oard ne r a w l Xo rd cufcldt - had been rep laced by the awe some Ma xi m gUll . Sig htcd II p to ~ O ()O ya rds, th is was fed by belts co ma iuiug 250 rounds and co u ld sp ray o u t bu lle ts a t a ra te or GOO a mi n ut e . T he Ma xim h ad p ro ve d its e ffe ct ive ness ill bot h th e Nort h-Wes t Fron tie r and Sudan ca m pa ig ns, hut it h a d made littl e im part o n tact ica l th eory, a n d was la rg el y rega rd ed a s a n in fan try su p p o rt wea p o n. Ea ch in fan tr y batta lio n and cava lry reg im en t, th erefore. in cl u de d a Maxim sec tio n - two gl ll lS . so m e tim e s m o u n te d on tri p ods, hil t m o re IIsu a lly Oil a horse-drawn ca rriag e . Th e colo n ia l ca m pa ig n ing o f th e I H70s a n d 1HHOs had a lso d emonstra te d th e effect ive- n e ss of m oun ted in fantry un its. Th e se had b een ra ised o n a n tiff 11Of" ha sis, with m e n who co u ld rid e he in g ta ken o u t o f th e ir b a tt a lion s a n d lumpe d tog eth e r in im provised sq u a d ro ns. H o we ve r, in I HHH perman cnl sc h oo ls o f m oun te d in fan tr-y we re set up , and eac h ba ttal io n was requir ed to su bm it j~ m en fo r training . ' ''h e n o pera ting as pan of a la rg-er fo rce - a b rigad e o r d ivision - th e se d et a chme nts co u ld he com b ined to for m co m pa n ie s. A lt hough th e se m ounted un its we re sm a ll ill 1899, a nd la rgel)" u nde rva lu ed , th ey we re destined to be com e the dom in ant troop typ e o f th e war.
Na tal troo p s - m o s tl y C a rb in ee r s a n d Mount ed Polic e (i n h elme t s) - under the c o m man d o f Brigadier-G en eral J .G. D artnell, photographed durin g t he si eg e of Ladysmith. (Bryan M ag g s Collection)
Medical Services
If \,"ea pon types had hupro vcd im m e as u ra b ly ove r the previous d e cade s, so 100 had the a r my's m edical services . Ea c h m an ca r rie d a field dn.~ss ing - a wad o f sterilise d gauze a n d a ba ndage. The job o f hea rin g stre tc h e rs h a d be en ta ke n o u t of th e h ands o f th e reg im e n tal ban d sm e n , a n d was in ste ad p e rf ormed by Ro ya l Ar m y Me d ica l Corps p erso n n e l. who co u ld g i\'e tre a tm en t. Cas ua lties we re re moved fro m the fie ld an d ta ke n to fie ld d re ssin g sta tio ns , wh ere th eir injuries we n : asse sse d an d th e wo rst
17
treated. T hey were the n se n t down th e lin e to mobile fie ld ho spitals attache d to th e CO IUIllIl S, an d th en to sta ti o na ry h o spi ta ls e stab lished on th e lines of co mm u nica tion. Alt h o ugh ce rta in types o f injurie s - su ch as h e a d o r abdomi n al wo u n ds - we re still hi g h ly d a n ge ro u s, im p rove m e n ts in surgica l te ch n iqu e , ill an a e sth etics a n d in th e und erstand in g o f h ygie n e m ea n t that th e recove ry ra te was im p re ssive . T he fa ta lity rate a mo ng th e 22,000 so ld ie rs trea te d for wo u n ds in the Ang lo-Boe r War was j ust 2 p er cen t a fig ure that wo uld h ave staggered ve te ra ns o f th e C rimean War j u st 40 yea rs b efore . In add itio n to the reg u lar RA t\IC pe rso nn el , th e a r m y re cei ved th e se rvic e s of a numbe r o f vo lu n te e r c ivilian su rgeo ns a n d nurses. Am o ng th e vo lu n te e r stre tc he r-be a rer co mpan ies was o n e p ro vide d by th e Ind ian co m mu ni ty in Na ta l, a n d a m ong its ranks was o n e Moh an d e s K. G a n d h i, th e n a yo u ng lawyer working in N a ta l. South African Units
Offic ers of t he La nc a sh ir e Fu si l iers, ph otographed duri ng the Spioenkop campaign, January 1900. Ev e n by this stage, se veral have d iscarded Sam Browne b e lt s in favour of Slade-Wallace pouches, and rifles i n st e a d of swords. The y st i ll retain their conspicuous hel met f lashes, however. (S.B. Bou rq u in Collection)
18
At the sta rt of th e wa r th e British co lon ies in N a ta l bo asted a n u m b e r of small p rofessio n a l vo lun teer un its whic h had been raised a m o ng th e se tt le r com m u n ities fo r the ir o wn d e fe n ce . T hese , n o tably th e Cape Mou nted Rifle s, th e Na ta l Ca rbi n ecrs a n d th e N a ta l Mou nt ed Po lice , pra ct ised a m o re d iscipl ined va ria tio n or Bo er fighti ng te chniq ue s. In 1881 Br itis h 'p o licy h a d b een to avo id u sin g such un it') agai n st the Beers fo r fe ar o f th e a n im osi ty it m ig h t p rovoke in th e civilia n co m m u n ity. However, suc h n ice tie s p ro ve d im pra ctica l in 1899 , and the co lo n ia l vo lun te e r u n it s we re fu lly co m m itte d to th e Brit ish cause . In a d dition , a nu mbe r of vo lu nteer u n its were qu ickly ra ised a m o ng th e uitlander: wh o fle d th e Tra n svaal wh e n the war b egan . T h e m o st n o ta bl e o f th ese were th e Imperia l Lig ht H o rse , So uth African Light H o rse , Be thun c 's H o rse a nd Thomeycroft 's Mou n ted In fa ntr y. A ll we re esse n tia lly m ou n te d infanu- v who wo re kha ki u n ifo r m s wit h slo u ch h a ts, ofte n sp o rtin g di stin cti ve co cka d es o r badge s. T hi s typ e o f un it was to p ro life ra te as the wa r we n t o n .
TACTICAL DIFFERENCES The British a rmy ill 1899 h as often been c ha ra cterised as co ns ervat ive ill outlo ok. hid e-bou nd , we dded to fo rmal parade-ground tacti cs a n d un a b le to adapt to lo cal co nd itio ns a nd ci rc u ms ta n ces. Th is is o nly partly. tr ue: i ll fact it wa s the m o st consistent I" su cce ssfu l arlll)' of its day. a n d its fa ilu re s in th e ea rl y sta g cs of th e wa r we re due to th e n 'r)' rea l chall enges it faced. T h e 18VOs were a p e riod of c ha nge brought a bout hy improvements in weapon te chnolo gy T h e str ic t ad herence to clo sequarter fig ht ing m ethods, of a dva nc ing in colu m n a n d attacking in lin e , wh ich had se r ve d th e Brit ish a r lll)' we ll sin ce t he Na po leo n ic " 'ars, were reco g ni sed as largel y o bso le te by the IS70s ; h e n ce m o re fle xibl e forma tion s a nd ope n-o rde r fig hting ha d be en a d o p te d . Ncvert hc k-ss, the a r my 's ex tr a o rdi na ry ra n gc of e x perie n ce in the fiel d ha d ta ug ht co n fus ing a n d ofte n co n trad icto r y les so ns, he ca us e o f the h-llg e di ffe r en ce s in the ta c tics a n d ca p a b ilitie s o f its e nemies. Th e individ u a l initia tive , fle x ibi lity, field-craft a n d g o o d m arksman sh ip whic h were needed to win bat tle s o n the N o rt h-west Fron tier in 1HY7, for exa m p le , were th e antit hesis of the Sudan ex p e r ie nce, a yea r later. l le re ba ttle s h ad been fou g ht in a fe aturel e ss terra in , a n d had been wo n b y co n cen trat ed fin-power an d tig h t Iorm.u iou s (wh ere fo rm at ion s had b een too open , th ey had p roved vu lne ra ble to th e ferocio us Ma hd ist sho ck-ch a rge ) . In 1899 most Bri tish offi ce rs looked 1l 1)0I1 th e Bo e rs as ba ck -veld yo kel s wh o wo u ld qua il befo re a lin e o r Br itish bayon et s. T h us , al though open-ord er forma tions we re sta n d a rd for a ttac ks aga inst a n c ne m y armed wit h firearm s. th e re wa s a pre vail in g o pi n io n tha t th e wa r would be wo n b y the p sycho lo g ica l e ffec t o f th e in exora b le a d va n ce. Ind e ed . co m man ders we re urged It) p reven t th ei r In CII from takin g cover d u r in g th e last 500 ya r ds of
.
Major-G ener al Neville Lytt le t on , i n typi c al g ener al officer's unifo rm. Note t he gorget patch o n t he c o llar (scarle t with gold loop a nd button) and the
'w crserey' p attern helmet.
19
NC Os of t h e 4 t h B e a re r C ompan y, ph otograp he d at 5 pea r ma n 's ca m p du ri ng t h e 5pioen k op op eratio n s, J anu a ry 1900, (5 . B , Bourqu i n)
20
ln -c-n full y a p p rccian-d. The almost unive rsa l use o f sm o keless powde- r a lso nu-a n t th at thi s h igh ra te of accurate lire could be prod u ce d wit hout gi\"ing aw ay the liring part y's where-about s. Given th e g o ers' ini tiau vcs c arl y ill the war, a n d th eir p re ference for fightin g fro m defensive positio n s, I\.-i lish I.-oops we- re a lm ost a lways COIll pd lc d 10 make a u acks in tlu: o pe n ill th e teet h o r suc h fir e " T h e d ifflc ul rics wh ich fa ce-d th o rn u n d e r suc h ri rcurust a ncc s Ioresha dowcd th e pro bl ems o f a la ter g e n e ra lio n or co m m a n d e rs 011 the \\'e ste r n Fron t. Th is sa me ph en om en on a cce n tu a te d th e poor II)p()grapllicl l knowledge with which the Br itish hegan the \\ "'1', siuc-c Boo r fire ke p t scouts wel l awav from rhein with out revealin g th e ir posit ions. :\'01' could the Br itish hope to mat ch Bo c r mobilit v: the Bo e rs lived off th e land, a nd . possessi ng 110 ill 1;1Il1ry, m o n ..d at tlu: pan : o f th e ir ho rse s and wago ns. T h ro ug h out th e wa r the Br ili .\ iJ 11l'\'(' 1' rcallv suc t-r-c-c h-d in fn '('ing themsel \'('s fr o m th e b u rd en of th e ir r- umbcrscu u c su p pl y-trai ns , a n d u n til the e n d 0 1" the war IIlt:y advan ce d at the sn ai l's pa ce o f th e ir in fau trv. In a vas t. la rg el y o p e n cOlllll r y, m o st o r it wit ho ut trac ks a n d SO llll' o f it st ill unm app ed . thi s was a serio u s di sach "anl a g c . a n d iu itia llv regu lar Br itish cava lry uni ts Ia ik-d to provide the su p po rt required o f them. .\lost went iu to the war im bue-d wit h tile rat he-r grim rornauce oft he arme hlun che -: the sh oc k c ha rg e with swo r d or l.m ce : onl y slowl y d id they ad apt 10 the scouting a n d mounn-d inf anuv rol l' wh ic h the wa r d emanded o f the m. Po o r fo o d , h arsh cl ituau- a n d ove-r-wo rk ca used a te rribl e m o rt a lity ra te a m o llg the ir sp le n di d c harg e rs . a nd cas ua lties a m o llg h orse . . r e ach e d a lm os t obsce- ne p ropo r tions as ru -vv mo u nt ed u n its were r a ised a n d p u t in to th e field to o quirklv. Art ill crv th eo r y at th e ti ut c rc-c-ormn o u r h-d th .u g llns h e d ep lo Yl'd I' ll JIJ(JUf'. although a scu n-i tv of re-sou rces - a n d th e Bri tish a r my began the war with too fe w g uns - m e ant th at the u su al ta cti cal unit remained the six-gun battery. Couuuuuirutious h,u! 1101 progressed so far a s to permit indirect fir e . a nd a ll a rt ille ry lire '." IS th e refo re CO il trolled by dire ct obse rvati on . In th e age of sm oke- less powde r. thi s m ade the m rat he r mo re vulnerable 10 co ncealed rif le fir e th an th e y mi gh t o therw ise have bccu , es p eci a lly as th e g Ulls d id no t have sh ie lds to p ro te ct th e crews. T h e a rt of th e cre epin g ha rrag e ill su p po rt o f a ll iuf a n trv att ac k h ad to b e lea r n e d ill the fie ld . the h a rd \,·ay. I II add itio n to the se di stin c t p racti cal d isa d \'a ll t,lges, th e Bri tish were hampe red bv a nn-nt alitv fostered by -10 ye a rs o f co lonial warfare. Campai gn s had u su all y been uu dcrtakcu wi th 100 fe w m en a n d resource..·S . and co m m an d e rs \n'n' used to relyin g on their individual capabilities. A trained sta ff corps was a new phcuo uu-non . a n d t here was no infrastru ctu re to en ..ure th at larg e bodie s of Iroops worked well together. T h is becam e a ll too apparent in the earl y stag-c s of" the wa r, \vlu -t-e b rig ade co u u u .mdc rs we l"(' slow to a d a p t to th e d e ma nd s 01" \\"( )r k illg within d ivision s. a n d d ivisiona l co m ruauc k-rs with in n)rps. Tli is was fu rt h e r exaggera ted h y IOl1 g -.\ ta n d illg r iva lr ie s b et we e n t h e COIIIIII' lIH!c r-i n-C hie f. Lord \ \'o lsd ey, a nd hi s 'Afr ica n ri ng ' , a n d th e ' Ind ia ri ng' o f Lo rd Robcrts. who tended 10 he d ismissive of e-ach ot her's
Fi eld M arshal Lo rd Ro b erts in t he fi el d , 1900.
exp e rien ce . Th e a p pa re nt fa ilings o f ind ividual cc n uua uders sh o u ld be asscsscdiu thi s ligh t. By cont ra st, th e B ()( ~ r s ' g rea te st weak ness was th eir indi vid ualit y. A lt ho ug h th e arm ie s wh ic h in vad e d the Briti sh co lo nies in O c to b e r I R9 ~ ) were th e la rge st ever fielded by th e rep ubl ics, th e re was 110 ~r ('a t u nity of pu r po se . A broad stratqn: had be en agre ed. hut it proved impossible to co ntrol th e act io ns o f individ ua l co m ma nd a n ts. and th e d iffe rences of o p in io n within the se ni o r ra nks m eant that th e Bo e r advan ce was overcome with a ul'l'pin g inertia. Th e Ho er a r my remained a collection of individual s who were mobil e , fle xibl e a n d se lf-re-lia nt, but who co u ld not a h\'ays work well to gether e ithe r. Ordinary burgh e rs re mained relu ctant to m ount co stly front al a tt a c ks - a n a tt itude which d at ed ba ck to th e time when unnecessary heroism ofte n m e an t wo me n and children bein g left to fend for th emsel ves on th e ve ld . Th ey had a ~o o d ta cti ca l sense a n d excellen t fie ld-craft, bu t havin g sec u red all objective th ey preferred to n e stle in behind roc ks or breastworks an d sho o t the British down as th ey a tt ac ke d them. If the British go t too dose , th ey saw n o sh a m e in retreat, a nd they g e llc ra lly avoi d ed h and-to-h and combat. The re g ula r u n its proved m o re adept a t sus ta in ing th e so rt o r casualties wh ic h c los e-q ua rte r fig h ting requi red. U n like th e Br itish , Be e r artille rts ts preferre d to use the ir g u ns ind ividu a lly, m as ki ng the m beh ind n atu ral fe a tu re s a nd m o vin g the m wh en th e y we re discovered . Alt ho ug h th is di lute d the ir fire-po we r, it ga\"l~ th e m a fle xih ility wh ic h co u ld be devastating.
THE CONVENTIONAL WAR Th e 4.7in gu ns (f oregr ou n d) an d 12-pd r s lan d ed at Du rb an b y HMS Terri ble . Th e sa i lo r w ears kh aki j acket a nd trou se r s, an d a khaki cover ove r h is stra w h at. Equ ipmen t s t ra ps are bro wn leather, an d am m u ni t io n b an dol iers can vas web bi n g. (Bryan M aggs C ollec t ion)
De sp ite th e tensio n wh ic h preced ed th e ou tb re ak o f h o stil iti es, Britain had sca rcely IO,GOO tr o ops in So u th Afri ca whe n th e war began . T h is was o bvio us ly in suf ficie nt 10 III C l"t the Ho e r threa t , an d the 1st Arm y Corpsa tota l o f 4 7,000 nu-n . ineluding :13 iuf an tr y battali ons, seven cavalry regi m en ts a nd 19 baucri cs - was m obi lise d in Br ita in . \ \'hile th e l st Army Corps was ill tr a in ing , 10,000 m en were rus hed to So u th Africa u nder th c comma n d of Sir Ceorgc " 'h ite . Eve n with the se reinfo rccrucms, the
21
.:.
: ...
Briti sh 2.5in guns in act io n at Kimberl ey during the s ie g e . (Bryan M aggs Collection)
Th e Wolf - the most famou s of t h e guns improvis ed by the B r it ish garrison during the siege of Mafikeng. This s ho w s the damage after Th e Wolf burst in action. (Bryan Maggs Collection)
-
Br-i tish were u ndc rstrc n g th . and Ro ya l Nava l la ndi n g part ie s we re pu t as ho re at hoth Ca pe Town a n d Durban, Th e :\avy h elped o ffse t th e Bri tish shortage o r art illery h y la n d in g a num be r o f I ~ iTl a n d 4 .7in Ru ns o n ca rriages improviscd b y Ca ptain Pe lTY Scott. \Vith ~ I<~j llba ,'e r y mu ch in mind , th e g o ers o p te d fo r a n offen sive stra te g y, h opin g to s tr ike qu ick ly in to th e Bri tish colon ie s a n d in fli c t suffi cient h e;",")' reverses to hring the British to the n e g otia tin g ta bl e be fore th e resources of the ir wirie r e m p ire co u ld be m o b ilised . In th e west th ey a dva nced a n d surrou nded Kimbe rl ey whe re Cccil Rh ode s him sel f had th e mi sfo rtun e to b e tr a p ped wit hi n th e Bocr co rd on : furth er n o rt h they a ttack ed .:\1alikell g, wh ich co mmanded the ro a d to Zim ba bwe. III the so u th a fu rt h e r str ike was m ade int o th e Ca pe Colo ny: in a n atte m pt to e nnmrage Ca pe Bo e rs to ri se to the repu blic, ' su pport. By Ell' the grea test th r ust , however. was m ade in to Xat a l. H e r e the main Tra nsva al forces. supported b y co mma n dos from th e Fr e e State , poured across the l. a in g ' s Xe k pass, pa st th e grim b u lk of ~1 ; ~jll ha . a n d started 0 11 th e ro ad to Durban . .\ Io st of th e T r an svaa l' s a rt illery wa s with th is co lu m n, a ltho ug h d ct a cl uu cnts h ad been sc u t to \1a fik cn g a n d Kimberley; th e OFS a rt ille ry was attac h e d to th e Kimb erley fo r ces. Th e Br itish co nuuan d e r ill So u th Afric a , G e ne ra l l' c n n -Svm o u s. assem b led 4 ,:")00 Br itish troo ps a t the n o rth ern Na ta l to wn o f D u nde e to b lock the Ho e r advance. all 20 O ctober the Bo e rs occu pied Tal a n a Il ill , outside th e to wn , a nd Peu n Symo us dre w hi s m e n u p a n d rushed th e h ill in style. T he Be e rs we re drive n 0 0 ', hu t th e Bri tish su ffe re d h e avily from a h e avy and accurate Hoe r fir e as th ey scra m b le d lip th e rocky slo p es ; PcnuSYIllOIlS himsel f was mortall y wo u nd ed. Th e next day, with the Bo e rs sti ll in the vicini ty, Pe unSvmous ' succe ssor. ~ I ;~j c ) r-Ge n e ral Yul e , d e ci d ed D u nd e e was ind e fe n sib le , a n d h e m ade p re para tio ns to re tire . The Siege of Ladysm ith
T h e Dunde e garr iso n re tired o n I.adysmi th , in ce n tra l Xa tal. La d ysm ith was th e 'A ld ersh ot of So ut h Afr ica ' , the h ome o f th e main Bri tish ga rriso n in Natal. Stra tegically it was Ho t we ll
22
placed . lying no rt h of th e sig n ifican t barrie r of th e T h ukel a River: whe n \\' h ite 's co n tinge n t arrived . h is fir st in clination wa s to abandon Ladysmith in favou r of a be tter line nea rer th e port a t Du rban .
\\'hitc felt th a t Pcnn-Syruon s' sta n d a t Du nd ee had co m p r o m ised su ch a p lan, ho weve r, a nd h e m o ved north to l .adys mi th . a rriving j us t befo re th e ac tio n a t Tala u a. As th e Du nd e e g a rriso n fe ll ha ck , \\'h ite mad e a fo ray to p re,"ent th e Beers fr om c Ulling it o ff, a n d ca ugh t th e Free State co m ma nd os a t Elandsluagt e sta tio n o n 21 O ctober. In a lmost te x t-bo ok style , Wh ite 's tro ops - vete ran s o f th e Xorth-west Fr ontier - d rove th e g oe rs fro m o ne k()l~ j e to an ot he r; a n d fi nished th em o ff wit h a gri m la n ce r c harge. Ye t White did 110 1 follow up hi s victo ry, preferri ng in ste ad 10 co n ce n tra te hi s fo rc es. Pictj o ube rts Tran svaal co m m a n d os p romp tly took adva n tage of th is d el ay, a n d advanced r a p id ly to se ize a circle o f hi lls su rro u n di ng La dv srnit h . Whit e tri e d to b re ak o ut of th e trap , a nd Oil th e n igh t of 29/30 Octobe r h e mo u nted a hold a tta ck 011 g o e r po sition s a t l'c pwo rth H ill a n d N ic ho lxon's Nc k. U n fo rt u ua n-lv th e pl a n had ly m isca r r ied ; the d arkn e ss ad d ed to th e co ntusio n. a n d dayligh t fou nd the a tta cki n g B ri tish ba d ly cx p osec l to the li r e fnu» Bee rs se cu re ly co ncea led 01 1 th e h ills. Th e Br itish att ac k co lla p sed, a nd \\'h ite 's me n fe ll hac k 0 11 Ladvsm it h . \\11ite n ow found hi s 13,000 troops, th e ir 2.500 se rvan ts and 5,400 c ivilia ns were su rro u n ded in a litt le toWII of tin -roofed b un galo ws. at the mercy o f h eavy Ho e r a rti lle ry whi ch shel led th em wit h impuni ty fro m th e su rro u n ding h e igh ts. Th e l st Army Co r p s was, m e an whil e , h eading for South Afri ca , co m m anded by G e nera l S ir Redvc rs Bulk-r, a hi g , bulldo g o f a m all with a fam o usly gru ff m an n e r who h ad won th e \ 'C in the Zulu \\'a r a n d wa s wid ely rega rded b y a j ingo ist ic Bri tish puhl ic as a hero who co u ld d o no wron g . \\'h en Bu llcr h ad left th e UK, h e h ad sha red th e popu la r beli e f th a t th e qu icke st wa y to win the war was to stri ke up th r o ugh the in teri o r fr om th e Cap e , foll o win g the lin e o f the ra ilway, fi rst to th e Fre e S tate ca p ita l o f Blocmfon tcin , then to Pre to r ia . li e a rr ive d ill So uth Afri caj us t in tim e to h e a r o f \Vhil c 's in vc stmcu t a t l.a d ysmi th , howeve r, a n d o p te d in ste a d to sp lit hi s fo rce . Le avin g th e sma lle r pa rt unde r Lord Meth ucn to try to relieve Kimberley, h e despa tc h e d th e re m ainde r to Xa ta l.
A Wh ite Man 's War? C ol on el Scobell and members of t he Cape Mounted Rifle s. No t e the African ' i ntelligen c e sta ff ', front row. Th e British, i n p articula r, m ad e extens ive u se of ar med scout s du ri n g the war.
The British Counter-Attack
Xovem bcr 1899 saw something o f a lull . The Bo er a ssaults lo st thei r im pe tus a nd fri tte red a\\, ly th eir reso urces in th e lon g a n d ul nm atc lv p oin tl e ss sieg e s. With W hite bo tt led up ill Ladysmitb , Na ta l was a cu tely vu ln e r a b le to an a tt a c k "O il D u rban , which m igh t h ave d e n ie d the British the g re a t adva ntage of th ei r wo rl d-w ide m artlime tra ns port n et wo rk . To the di sg u st of you nger. m ore ad ve n tu rous. leaders, ho we ve r, the ca ut io us a nd
23
co n se r va tive j onbc rt refused to se ize the o p p ot-tu n j ty, an d th e yo u nge r co n u n..md a u ts h ad to be co n te n t with a m in o r ra id into Natal. T h e resp ite g ave th e Br iti sh tim e to o rga n ise the ir fo rces, a nd by the e n d o f Nove mber, a s Bu llc r's troo ps beg a n to d ise m bark a t D u r ban , M e tb u cn was r eady to g o o n the a dv a n ce in th e wes t. H e had 10 ,00 0 m e n at h is d isposa l, a n d push e d u p th rou g h th e a r id was tes of the no r th e r n C ape, follo win g the r ailway lin e . On ~3 a n d ~ 4 X ovem bc r h e wo n two m in o r actions at Bc lm on t a n d Grasp a n re sp e ct ivel y, wh ile th e goe rs fell ba ck O Il th e lin e o f th e Mo dder Rive r, wh ich b lo cked th e r o a d to Kimbe r ley. Th e Mod d er was a g o o d n a tural d e fe n sive p o sitio n , m eand e r in g thro ugh la rgely o pe n a nd fea tu r e less co u n try, and th e Be e rs . u nde r Gen eral Pie t Cro n]e-, se cu re d th emsel ve s in slit tre n ch e s a lo ng the ba n ks, so that a ny Br itish a d va n ce wo u ld h ave to be m a d e a cr oss mile s o f flat ope n co u n tr y. On ~ H Nove-mbe r Me th ue n a ttacke d the Moddc r, with p red ict a ble r e su lts: h is assa u lts be cam e p inn e d d o wn un d er a h a il o f rifl e a n d pom-porn fire. Th e fig h ting h ad re ach e d a sta le mat e by n ig htfall , but the Beers a ban d o ned th e ir position s und e r co ve r o f d ar kn e ss. T h ey too k up a n e w posi tio n a few m ile s aw ay, a lon g a lo w r id g e kn o wn as :\lage rs fu n te in. Methucn spellt a fo rt ni g h t r eg roup in g , th en p r epar e d to a tt a ck Magcrsfomci n . ' B l a c k Week '
A sergeant of the Imperia l Yeo m a n ry . Note the short mo unted i n f a n t ry rifle-bucket. This uniform is typical of Yeomanry, CIV and Colonial units, and , indeed , of al m os t all mounted British units from 1900.
24
Th e seco n d wee k o f De cem be r saw a re su m p tion o f fighting on a ll th e m a in Fro n ts, wit h a fe r o city u n pre ce d e nted in th e wa r. In the ev e nt, circu ms ta n ces co ntrived to d el ive r th re e d efe a ts to th e Br iti sh ill qui ck su ccessio n, a str ing of d isast ers so sh oc king th at they \\T IT known co llective ly a s ' Bla ck Wee k' . T he first occ u rred ill th e eas tern sec to r o f th e N o rt he rn Ca pe, whe re Fr e e State Bo e rs h ad be e n threate n ing th e strateg ica lly im p o r tan t S to u n bcrg junc tio n . O n 10 / 11 Decembe r Ge ne ra l C a ta c rc to o k 3, 00 0 troo p s o ut in a darin g ni ght m arch to cl e a r th e Bo e rs away, bu t the d a r kn e ss, im p e r fe c t map s, a nd im precise o rd ers co m b ine d to co n fu se Catacre 's co m ma n d co m p le tely. Da wn th e fo llo win g m o r n in g fo und th e Br itish fo rce s wide ly scatte re d a nd at th e m e r cy o f th e Bo e rx, who killed a n d wo un ded n ea rly I SO a n d to o k 60 0 pns(lIle r. Th e vc rv n e x t d ay Me th u en him sel f suffe red a se r io us reverse a t S la ge rs fo ll te in. Real isin g t ha t th e Mag c rs fontci n r id g e was a st r o ng p o siti o n , Me thue n h ad be en r el ucta n t to m oun t a fron tal ass a u lt in th e d ayligh t, a n d so ha d p lann ed a ca re fu l ni g h t a tt a c k. In th e even t the p la n mi sca rr ie d, a n d dawn caug h t the lea d ing brigad e s sti ll in close fo rm a tion , fa ta lly exp o sed to Ho e r fir e . T he att ac k collap sed in co nfus io n, a nd M e th u en lo st ~F) O kille d an d wo u n de d co m pared to less th an 30 0 cas ualt ies a m o ngst th e g o ers; th is tim e the Be e rs staye d in th e ir tr enche s. T h e de fe at was all th e m o r e hu m iliatin g b e ca u se it ha d fal len m o st h e avily on the Hi g hlan d a n d
EARLY BO ERS, 1899 1: Co rporal, Tr an sva a l St aatsartil1erie
4: Offic er, f oreign vo lunteers 5: Offic er, foreig n contingent
2: Officer, Transvaal Staat sartillerie
6: Ex am p le s of Boer f orces
3: Burgher
A
EARLY BOERS, 1899/ 1990
3: Volunteer, 'C h ic ag o Ir ish -A m e ric an Co r ps ', Sl ak e 's Ir ish Br ig ad e
1: Urban Boer, 1899
4: Gunne r, Tr an sva al Staatsa rt iller ie
2: German vo lu n teer d o c t o r, 1899
5: Afric an agyterryer
4
B
~f
EARLY BRITISH, 1899/ 1900 1: Pri vat e, King 's Royal Rifle Corp s
2: Privat e , 5th l ancers 3: Infan try sergeant 4: Offic er, Lancashire Fu silier s
2 4
J
c
BRITISH UN IFORMS, WESTERN THE ATRE, 1899/ 1900 1: Private , Argyll and Sutherland High landers 2: Officer, Highland Light Infantry 3: Private, Grenad ier Guard s
D
BRITISH TROOPS, 1900 1: Troop er, Riming ton's Sea t 2: Staff officer U 5 3: Private, Roya l Ca nad ian Regime nt
E
BOER AND BRITISH FORCES, 1900
3: Offic er, City Imperial Volunt eers
1 and 2: Boer Burgher and Z.A .R.P.
4: Troopers, Natal Carbineers
4
F
LATE WA R DRESS, C.1901 1: British infantry officer
2: Beer 'bitter-ender' 3: 'Bitter-ende r'
3
;
G
LATE BRITISH UNIFORMS , 1901/1 902 WITH RICE BLOCKHOUSE 1: African sco ut 2: Infan try private
3: Privat e , 17th l anc ers 4: Regul ar mounted infantry
2
H
r
G uard s brigades, who en joyed a hi g h reputa tion within th e Britis h a rmy. T he n ews of Sto r m berg and Magc rsfontc in reac hed Bulle t- in N a tal a t a crit ical time. T he Bo e rs had tak en u p a stro ng d efensive po siti on al ong a lin e of hill s on th e n o r th bank or the T h ukcla River, wh ic h b lo ck ed a ny British adva nce OIl La dysm ith . The Bri tis h adva nce wo u ld inevi tab ly take them acro ss o pe n , un dulatin g coun try where they wo u ld be ex posed to th e fu ll we ig h t o f Bo e r fire . Bu llc r was r el uctan t to take such a risk , bu t while h e ponde r ed h is option s, th e n e ws o f Storm be rg a n d Mag c rxto n te in fo rce d hi s h and . With th e n eed to restore Bri Lish p re stig e pa ramoun t, h e o p te d fo r a frou ta l a ssault o n th e village of Cole nso, wh ic h comma nded the m ain rou te to Lad ysmith . Huller h ad ab o u t 18 ,000 tro ops ava ila b le. T he Hoer comm and e r, Louis Botha , had " less th a n 7,000 ill th e hill s o p posite, b ut Bu llc r's m en h ad o n ly recently arrive d in So uth Afr ica, a n d th e brig
.
TOP Before: si x brothers named Westley of the 62nd Company, Imperial Yeomanry, are photographed in the smart khaki serge uniforms, Stohwasser gaiters, and webbing bandoliers with which many Yeomanry companies were issued prior to departing to South A fric a... ABOVE After: a month or two in the veld soon gave a more warworn appearance, making many such u n it s difficult to distinguish from the Boers . The 53rd Company, Imperial Yeomanry. This company suffered heavily at the action at Tweefonte in on Christmas Day 1900.
33
pr
o u tcr y amo ng po litician s and t he Press a t home that Bul lcr was sen t a fres h d ivisio n as re inforce m ents, and a new overa ll co m ma nder, Lord Roberts, was d espatc hed to So ut h Afric a . On the whole, th e Bo ers fai led to fo ll ow lip the ir victories. but th ey d id ste p u p till: prcssu re O il La d ysm it h . laun chi ng an a ttack o n British po sitions ou tsid e th e to wn which was narrowly repulsed o n 6 J an uary 1900 . Bull e r, well aware th at he co uld no t d awdle befo re the Thukc la H eig h ts indefin itely, wa ited for th e a rrival of hi s rein forceme n ts and th en mad e a second a tte m pt to b re ak th ro ugh . Spioe n kop
Th e battl e of Spioenkop, Although thi s p ictu r e is c lear ly po sed, it does su ggest so methi n g of the c l ose- quarter fi re -fights o n t he bould er- s t r e wn su m m it w hich characteri sed the b attle. (Tran sv aal Archiv es D epo t )
For th is h e re sorted to h is o rig inal pla n . Fifteen m iles u pstream fro m Colenso, th e re was an a lte rna tive crossing poi n t o n the Thuke la. and Buller resol ved to try to o u tfla nk the Bo e r lin e a t th is poin t. Huller's troo ps bega n a n assau lt 011 the Bo er po sitio ns 0 11 19 J an uary, b u t so o n beca me p in ned d o wn 0 11 the roc ky hillsides un d e r heavy fir e from above. Oil the sp u r of the mome n t, o ne o f Bu tler's d ivisional co m mande rs, Ge neral Warren , suggeste d that the key to th e Bo er po sition was a whale-hacke d r id ge in the ce n tre of the ir line, kn o wn as 'Look-out H ill' - Spiocn ko p . O n th e n igh t of 23/ 24 J anuary 1,900 British tro o ps scaled th e slo pes an d dro ve off a Ho er piq ue t 01 1 the sum m it. At da wn th e next m o rni ng , ho wever, the Brit ish lin e proved to be badl y sited , exposed to both Boer art illery fir e an d d ete rmi ned i nfan trv assault. Du ring a day of b u ng ling a nd co nfusio n , the tr o o ps clu ng to th e su m m it wh ile Warren and Bu ller failed to mount effective su p porting a ttac ks, By ni gh tfall British casualties were so heavy tha t the co m mande r o n Sp ioc n ko p d ecided to withd raw. The attack had cos t th e Brit ish 300 dead , 1,000 wou nd ed an d 200 cap tu red , to end u p p re cise ly " whe re t hev had start ed. A few davs , la ter Huller moun ted an attack on the Bocr positio n a few m iles to th e east, a t Vaalkraan z, b u t abando ned th e attack in the face o f reso lu te Be er resista nc e . The Weste rn Front
34
Wh ile Bu tler struggled to overco me his ,'ery real d ifficulties before l a dysnut h , Lo rd Rohe rts broug ht a fresh e lle rbT)' to th e war o n th e weste rn fro n t, and gave th e Bri tish th eir fir st m ajo r victo ry of the campaign. By early Febru ary Robe rts had amassed nearly 37.000 me n . T h e Bo e rs were still in po sitio n at the Xlagc rsfo n tci u rid ge , but rather than co nfront them di re ct ly, Ro bc rts plann ed to o u tfla n k t hem. striki ng o ut to h is righ t, hoping to su rp rise the Bo ers by aband o n ing the line of th e railway, H e was righ t: he began his move o n 12 February, and d es p ite so me o p positio n , h is ca valry circled wid e of the m ain Bo cr line and en te re d Kimberley O il 15 February, rel ieving it afte r 12-4 d ays o f siege , which had co st the lives o f 35 so ld iers and five civilia ns. Rohe rts' ma in force fo llo wed in the cavalry' s wake. T heir line was ve ry e xte nded, and vuln erable to Be e r co u nte r-attac k (o n the sa me d ay th a t Kimberl ey was rel ieved, Cluistiaa n De " 'e t ca ug h t a su p p ly tr ain crossing the Rie t River and captu red o r d estroyed 1,flOO d raug h t o xen ) b ut th e threa t it posed
to Cronje a t Magcrsf o nr cin ,.. 'as obvious. C ro nje d ecid ed to a b a n d o n hi s po sition, a n d ret ired cast towa rds Blo emfomein . li e was e nc u m be re d hy a long wago n trai n a n d hy several h undred n on-com b at ants. a n d hi s ro ut e roo k him righ t ac ross Robe rtx lin e of advance. Brought to hay by Bri tish cavalry, h e laagered h is wago ns at Paa rd ebc rg on the Xlo dd c r River, a n d dep loyed his men alo ng the banks. The British were des pe rate to brea k u p h is force - the larges t Be e r co ncen tratio n o u the western front - a n d 0 11 17/1 8 February, wh ile Robe rts was abse n t sick, h is c h ief-of-staff, Lord Kitchenc r, laun ched a direct assa u lt. The att ack was badly co-ordi na ted , h owever, a nd broke u p in th e face of h eavy cas ualties, but it d id at least su rr o u n d C ro nje a n d p re vent fu rt h e r retreat. Cro ujc fin ally realised th e h opelessn ess o f h is po sition , and su rre n d e re d his co m ma nd of ( WC I' -1,000 m en on 27 Feb ru ary - th e a n ni versary of Maj u ba.
Tommy in rag s : since most s ol diers preferred to pose for photographs l ooki ng their best, imag e s s uc h a s thi s - w hich s h ow the effects of l if e in the veld on unifo r m s - are rare, although the w e ar and tear itself was common e no ugh .
The Relief of Ladysmith By this time the tide h ad also turned ill Na tal. Hulle r h ad retu rn ed 10 th e
Colenso road. 011 th e ex tre m e right of the o ld batt lefie ld we re a se ries of ridg es a nd broke n kop jcs th at were se parated from th e main Hoer po sition by the T h u kela Rive r. In th e fir st battle , Bu lle t- h ad m ad e n o more than a di vc rslo ua ry attac k against the m , b ut Oil 14 Feb ru ary h e be gan a series of in te ns e assau lts. By now hi s troops we re working well to gether, a nd th e h ills were ta ke n afte r a se ries o f o pe n-o rde r a ttacks closel y su p p o rted by artillery fir'e. By 18 February th e British had clea red the gro u n d up to th e river, and we re preparing t ( ~ cross at a point whe re it flowed through a n arrow gorge. On the other side of th e Tbukela th e gro u n d ro se up ill a se ries of hill s, eac h we ll-en tre nc hed by th e Be e rs \\'ynn e 's H ill, Ha rt 's Hill , l'ic te r 's Hill a n d Rail way I Iil l. Bull et -beg an hi s a ttac k o n 22 February, hi s tr o ops adva nc ing up o u t o f the Thu kcl a vall ey in the wa ke of a n effective cree pi ng ba rrage. The Bo e r resistance was stu b born, an d several a ttac ks we re p in ned d own , but this time Butl er was reso lu te, a n d o u tfla n ke d th e ma in Bo e r po sitions. On the sa me d ay th at C ronje su rren dered at l'aa rd c bc rg . the Bo er lin e cracked, and they sudde n ly a bandoned thei r p os itio ns . Bull e r was content to le t them go, and on 28 Febru a ry the first British cavalry reached the beleag ue red garriso n. The siege of l.ad ysm hh h ad lasted 118 d a ys a nd cost over 200 m e n kille d in ac tio n ; 600 so ldiers an d civilians h ad d ied of d isease . Bull e rs losses were twice that number, yet th e e nt ire Xa ta l ca m paign h ad proba b ly cost the lives o f 400 o r 50 0 Be e rs . T he British su ccesses of February 1900 undoubtedly marked a tu rnin g point in th e war. The Be e r in va sions o f Briti sh te rri tory h ad be en
35
A particularly well -s t ocked k itchen belongi n g to t he 1st
South Lanes Regt. Such l u xu r ie s w e r e possi b le only at fixed ga r -
r is on s, Thi s ba tta li on w as statio n ed on t he h ills ov erl oo k i n g Vryh eid , a republ ican s t r o n g h o l d in northe rn Na t a l . (K e it h Re e ve s
C ol le c t io n)
36
stead ily re pulsed, a nd th e British we re po ised to go o nto th e offe nsive a n d to take th e war in to th e Bo e r re p u bl ics. In the we st Robcrts pre sse d o n to wa rds Blo emfon tci n , the Free Sta te ca p ita l. The Be ers a tte m p te d to stan d a t Popla r C rove , b ;H th ey h ad te m po rarily lost h e ar t. On 13 Ma rc h Ro b c rt s' troo p s e n te re d Blo e mf ou tc in . To th e Bri tish it se e m e d th at th e wa r was a ll bu t o ve r; th a t th e re re m a ined o n ly th e captu re of th e T ran svaal capita l, Pre toria , to e n sure a co mp lete Bo cr collap se . Fo r sev e n wee-ks Ro b e r-ts lin g e re d in Blo ern fo nt ei n , re orga nising h is tr a ns po rt syste m an d accu m ulating su p p lies. T h e enfo rced wai t h a d a n u nfortun a te co nse q u e nce fo r h is tro o p s, wh o we re a ll lic tc d by an outbreak of typh oi d wh ich at tim e s reac h e d al m o st C ri ru ea n le ve ls o f suffe ri ng. T h e Be e rs too k a d van tage o f th e lull to reg ro u p, an d at th e e n d of Ma rc h de We t mou nte d a ligh tn in g attack which ca ugh t a British \vag o n co nv oy off g ua rd a t Sa n n a h's Po st in th e Free S ta te. T h e British lo st 170 killed a n d wo un d e d a nd d e \ Vet took 40 0 priso n e rs. It was the first h in t that, far from bei ng o ver, the war was ab o ut to e n ter a n ew phase . O n 16 .M ay 1-1afi keng was reli eve d . The littl e ga rriso n h a d h el d o u t for 2 17 d ays, th o ugh it was on ly severely tested in th e la st few d ays befo re th e rel ief, wh e n th e Be e rs mo u nted a last d espera te - a nd u n su cce ssfu l attempt to ta ke it. The siege h ad ca ug h t th e im ag inatio n of th e Br itish pu bli c, a n d Mafike nu ac h ieved a n e m o tio n a l im p orta n ce ou t o f all p rop ortion to its stra te g ic sig n ifica n ce; its reli e f wa s g re e te d with immense ce le b ra tio n in Britai n , a n d th e garriso n co m m a n de r, l .t-Col . BadenPo we ll, be came a public h e ro ,
By th is time Robc rtx h ad be gu ll h is m arch o n Pre tori a . Afte r d e sulto ry figllli n g h e took J o h an lle sb urg on 30 May, a nd 011 ~ j u n c Kru gc r a nd th e T ran svaa l goyc n ll llc n t a b a n do ned Pr e toria . T h re e days la ter Robe r ts e n tered th e cit y in triumph . Bullc r, m ea nwhi le , had been a dva ncing ca u tio us ly hu t ste ad ily up throug h Natal, suppre ssin g Hoer resista nce ill the Orak cnsh erg pa sse s. On 12 J u n e h e cross ed in to the T ran svaal . a n d th e n e xt d ay Roberts' tr o ops fo u ght th e last battl es with Be e rs retrea tin g cast (lfJtlha llllesbu rg, to wards th e v lo za m biq u e border. On a ll fro n ts it seemed th at th e British were triumph ant.
THE BRITISH ARMY, 1900-1901
A bivouac on the v eld. An officer of the Yeo manry sn a t c h i n g a few moments s leep during the gu errilla w ar. (Bryan M aggs Collection)
T he series of d e fe a ts in ' Blac k " 'e e k' had se nt shock -waves a ro un d the Empi re , a nd resulted in an e xtraord inary outpouring of patri o tic se ntiment. To m ak e good some of th e lo sse s at the front. the govern me nt ap prove d th e ra isin g of vo lunt e er uni ts. T h e City of London offe red to fina nce a uni t 1,000 stro ng - known as the City I m pe ria l Volunt e e rs a n d th e ir numbers exceeded [),OOO be fore th e war was o yer. A number of wealt hy individu a ls rai sed sm a lle r un its on thei r OWIl ini tiati ve , suc h as Page t's Il o rse o r l .o vat 's Sco u ts, wh ich we re ra ise d by Lo rd Lo vat from am o ng th e g h illies o f th e great H ig h la n d esta tes . By fa r th e g rea tes t co n tri b u tio n came fro m the British Ye oma n ry re gim en ts, h o weve r, Since th e co u n ty Yeomanry h ad be en raised as a local d efence force , th ey co u ld no t b e se n t ove rse a s, but a n ew u ni t, the Impe r ia l Ye oman ry, was ra ise d , wh ich d re w its recruits fr om th e e xistin g Yeo m anry un its, auguu-ntcd by re se rvists a nd vo lu nteers. T h e Im pe ria l Yeoma n r y we re organi se d in ba ttal ions, e a ch consistin g o f fo ur CO II Ipa ni c s a nd a mach iuc-guu se ctio n , a total of f>~6 m e n , Eac h cOI ll pa lly's re crui tin g a rea co in cided with a co u n ty Ye oman ry d istric t, so tha t Im p e rial Yeomanry co m pa n ies retain ed so m e th in g o f th e ir pa rent u n it 's loc a l n ature . T h e first d et nclunen t of Imperial '\e omanry, 9, 000 stro ng , a rrived in South Afri ca bc twc cnj a nua rv a nd Ap ril 190 0 . T h ey h a d be e n enlisted for one year's service " a nd m a ny retu r n ed ho m e d u rin g 190 I; a se cond bat ch , 17,000 stroug. was raised to re place th em . Ma ny of those with p revious trai ni n g had j oi ned the fi rst d et a chment, and the ' ~ cw Yeomanry' suffered a se rio us lack in thi s reg a rd . Train in g was su p posed to b e given in th e field, but thi s wa s o f suc h a c u rsory n atu re th a t th e second d etachmen t p ro ved le ss e ff ec tive , a nd th e wastage o f h orses was high . In addition, th e d isgrace of ' Black " 'e e k' prompted the se lf-governing 'whi te colo nies' of Can ada, Au strali a a nd Xcw Zealand to offe r th e ir su pport. To th e di sgust of th e Boc rs, wh o
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No . 5 Wing of the Tr an svaal Natio nal Scouts, commanded by Gen eral A .P. Cronje (right fore g roun d); the sc ou ts w ere Bo ers who si de d with the British t owards the en d of the w ar. They were p articularly despi sed by the 'bitter-ender s' who r emained in t he fie ld .
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co u ld no t u nderstan d \vliy sett le rs like th em selves sho u ld rally to th e ca use of im perialism , over 7,300 Canad ian s, l 6 , 6 :1 ~ Aus tra lians a nd 6,343 New Zealande rs volu n teered fo r se rvice, Co lo nial su p po rt was motivated by a ge lluine sym pa thy for th e plight of the uitlanders. and by a d esire to prove their self-sufficiency to th e mot her-cou n try. The Ca nadia n co n tingen t included the 2nd (Spe cial Se rvice ) Battalio n of th e Royal Ca nad ian Regi m ent - a n infan try unit wh ich found itself in ac tio n at Paardcbcrg within weeks of its arriva l. and an artillery uni t. Fo r the mo st part, ho wever; th e Colon ial uni ts were m oun ted ; the Ca nad ians were d rawn largely from ex isting mi litia uni ts. while the Austra lian a nd ~ew Zealand u ni ts were created es pecially fo r the p u rpo se , since existing volun teer corps were liable o n ly for ho me defe nce. In a ll. so m e 57 Au stralia n un its were raised. mo st by state, sin ce the Austra lian states were independent of one anot her. (A u ni ted Au str al ian a rmy only ca me in to be ing when Au stralia was fede ra ted in 190 1,) A natio nal unit, th e Aust ra lian Commonwealt h Ho rsc , arrived in So u th Africa towards the en d of the war. Alm ost all of th e new arrivals. Bri tish and Co lo nials, were dressed in simi lar un iforms - d ark kha ki serge with slo uc h hat s, and ba ndoliers. T he o n ly di sti ngui shing marks were badge s, cockades o r, o ccasio nally, colo ured puggrees. Mo re over, th ey represe nt ed th e chang ing EKe o f th e war, a shi ft awa y from a n infant ry war towards a ~ rO\...illg relian ce O il moun ted infa nt ryme n who co uld , in th eory, match the Be e rs ' mo bility an d fire power. In so me cases , thi s p ro ved to be th e case : lIIall Yof th e first Yeomanry d etachmen ts soo n ad ap ted the m selves to co nd itio ns in th e field; a nd so m e Co lo nial un its, filled with men who were no less used to th e sad d le a nd th e rifle th an th e Beers, were ex tre mely e ffec tive. No ne thel ess, the fact re ma ined that most Briti sh mounted uni ts,
incl udin g regul ar 1\11 , co uld not ma tch the goe rs for horsemanship . marksman sh ip , su rvival in the veld a nd e nd u ra nce, and in action th e ir fi re-power was d ilu ted hy the pract ice of d e plo ying o ne man in fo u r as a ho rse-hold er, Amo ng the Bocrs, horses were train ed to sta nd th ei r g ro u nd, a nd e\ 'cry m all fo ught. T h e British army ad ap te d itsel f to co nd itio ns in th e fiel d as 1900 wo re o n , [ \ 'C I I amo ng the in fa nt ry, uni fo rms we re beco m ing mo re pract ical. Kha ki serg e had re placed khak i dri ll, unit di stin ct ions were less co ns picuo us, a nd oflicers had a ba ndo ned the ir impractical swo rds . and were usu ally armed and d ressed like th eir me n, \\'hc n helmet s were lo st o r di scard ed, they we re increasing ly replaced with slo uc h hats, a m i by 1901 man y rc placc mc n t drafts se n t from ho me were be ing issued with slo uch hats as sta ndard . Ind eed , when so me un its had been in th e field for a few mo nt hs, thei r war-wo rn ap peara nce was hardl y d isting uishable fro m th at o f the Be e rs. In batt le , ext e nd ed fo r matio ns we re becoming the no rm , a nd the men were taug h t to attack by rush ing from cove r to co ver un d e r a rt ille ry and sm all-a rms su p port. T he Slade-Wallace eq uip me n t pouches p roved unsuitab le un d e r such ci rcu ms tan ces, and so me in fan try ba ttalio ns ado pted either the cavalry-style leather band ol ie r o r a ligh t-kh aki canvas webbing bando lier. Hig hla nd re gim ents gen erally retain ed the ir kilts, but ad opted slo uc h hats an d sho rt pu tte es in stead o f spats. Many o f the se ch anges were also reflected among the reg u lar cavalry, who were at last ad o p ting a mo re practical mounted infantry ro le . At th e c ud o f 1900 this sh ift ill fu nction was reco gn ised: lan ces, swo rd s and ca rbines were with drawn from ca valry regimen ts. and repl aced with Leo-Enfie ld rifles. As th e war p ro g ressed. the re was a p roli ferat ion o f lo cal vo lu n tee r u ni ts. eithe r rai sed amo ng fresh vo lu n tee rs fro m the ex isting co lo n ies , fro m uitlander: in the o ccu pied rep u blics, o r by refilling ex isting u nits. Some Bo crs C VC 11 fo ugh t fo r the Bri tish . After th e fall of Pretoria a nd Blo emfou te in . m all Y burghers felt that d efeat was inevitabl e, a nd they sig ned pl ed ges no t to take up arm s aga inst the Briti sh . T hese me n we re d esp ised as ' ha nds-u p pe rs' hy th o se who staye d in th e field, and who were kn o wn as ' bitter-e nd e rs '. III Sep tembe r 190 1 the British ra ised two units from fo rm er Boer commandos, who were a p pa re n tly motivated by a d esire to h ri ng the war to a speed y co ncl usion. Tho se fro m th e forme r Free State (which th e Bri tish h ad re na med the Orang e Rive r Colo ny after the fall o f Blo cm fo n te iu ) we re kn own as th e Oran ge Rive r Volun te e rs, a nd th o se fro m the Tra nsva al as th e Na tio nal Scouts. T hese two un its rai sed the spectre of a civil war a mo ng the Afri kaner populati on , a nd th ey were d espi sed by the 'bitt e r-enders' . The Guerrilla War T he e nd o f the co nven tio nal war is so me tim cs assu med to mark the begin n ing o f the end o f the An g lo-Bo cr \\'a r, h u t th is impressio n is profo u nd ly mi slead ing: th e war had two mo re years to run . If mall Yof th e
' Bitt e r-enders', ca pt u red in th e Transvaal in 1901.
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ol d e r, slo we r; m os t co nse rva tive Bo er le ad e rs - m e n like Cronje o r j ou bcrt - h a d d ied o r su r re n de re d, a n ew, m o re fle xibl e an d reso lute gen era tio n h ad rise n to ta ke th e ir pl ace . Fre ed fro m th e n e ed to d e fen d th e cap ital s, m e n like de \ Ve t, Bo t.h a , Viljoc n, H erzo g a nd Sm uts we re abl e to use wha t re sou rce s they st ill h a d to the ir b e st ad va n ta ge, a nd th e Beers b e ca m e a fa st-m ovi ng g u errilla a rmy. The ir n um be rs never to tall ed m ore th an 25,000 m e n , a nd th ey h ad nea rly 150 ,000 sfJ u a re m ile s to roam in . T h e British he ld the mai n to wn s a n d th e rail ways - the arterie s by whi ch th ei r ga rriso ns were su p p lied - bu t it was almost impossible fo r th em to co n tro l the co un trys ide; the Boe rs knew th e ve ld infi ni tely be tt e r. A t first, th e g uerrilla wa r h ad so me di sce rnibl e p a tt ern . Roberts, d eter m in e d to b ri n g the Free State com m a ndo s to hay, a tt e m p te d to tr a p th e m in th e Brandwar er Ba sin , agai ns t th e Ba So th ol a n d bo rder, in.J u n e a n d J ul y 1900. Alt h o ug h 4, 000 Boe rs we re finally tr a p p e d a n d cap tured, 1,50 0 es ca ped, a m o ng th em d e Wet, wh o d isp layed a n a sto ni shi ng a bility to twist an d tu rn to avo id ca p tu re. T hi s e p iso de , kn o wn as th e ' First d e \Vc t H u n t' , sugges te d th a t British co -o rd ina tio n was still in effe ctive . De \Vct slip p e d into th e T ra nsva a l, ru n ni n g ri ngs aro u n d h is pu rsu ers, whi le in t h e n o rth -east ern Transva a l Botha .. we n t o n to t he defens ive. a tte m p ti ng to ke e p th e Br itish back fr om th e Mozam bique bo rder, where Kr uge r still m aintain ed a gove r n me n t in ex ile. O n 27 A ug us t, ho weve r, co m b ined troo ps fr o m Ro he rts' a n d Bull e r's com man d b ro ke th rough th e co rd o n at Bergcnd aal a n d push e d u p to th e bo rde r a t Ko oma ti Po o rt. Kr uge r fle d befo re th ei r advan ce, a n d le ft th e countr y 0 11 ] 1 Sep tember. H e d ied sh o r tly a ft e rw a rds in H o llan d . Eve n be for e he h a d go ne, Ro b crts h ad procl a im ed th e Tra nsva a l a Br iti sh co lon y once m o t-e . T h e Natal a rmv was formally broke n u p , a n d Butl e r re tu r ne d to Eng la n d. Robe rt s, lo o , was ke en to leave th e war, but it was no t un til th e end of Xovcm be r th a t h e fel t a ble to h and o ve r su p re m e com m a nd to Kitche n e r. Kitchener's War
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U n de r Kitchcn er's co m m an d the war d ege n era ted in to its la st bi tt e r p h a se. Kitch ener himse lf h as b e e n bl a m e d fo r th is, a n d h is co ld ly m ethodi ca l a p p ro ac h certa in ly exagge ra te d the g rowing sh ift to a wa r of a tt ritio n. Ye t, in tr u th the wa r was m erely follo wing a logica l co urse se t in moti on by the outb re ak of th e g uerrilla wa r. As early as .Ju n e 1900 Robe rtx h ad a u thorised th e b urnin g of fa rm s b e longi n g to Bo e rs kn own to be still in th e Gel d . Unab le to catc h a n d d e stro y them, Ro bc rt s was str ikin g a t th e ir su p p ly ba se ; Kitch cn c r sim p ly we n t one stage fu rt h e r by a d o p ting a p roper sco rched-eart h policy. Hoe r n on-comba tan ts - ,.. 'o m e n a n d ch ild re n - co u ld n ot be left un pro te c te d on th e ve ld; th ey wo ul d be ro u n d e d u p a nd ho u sed in m a kes h ift refugee ca m ps , kn o wn as co n cc n trati on ca m ps. T he ca m ps we re crow ded a n d in sa n itary, food was poo r, a nd the ad mi n istra tio n in effic ient. D ise a se soo n bro ke out in th e ca m ps , and by the e nd o f the wa r o ve r ~ 6, O O O Ho er wo m e n a n d ch ildre n h ad d ied in th crn , leavin g a scar o n th e so ul o f' th e Afrika ncr natio n which to thi s d ay h a s no t fu lly h e al ed. In itiall y, the sco rc h e d-earth p o licy was co u n ter-pro d uc tive, a n d p robably se rv ed to p rolo n g th e fi g hti n g , sin ce it stiffene d th e re so lve of th e ' b lue r-e n d e rs' a nd reli eve d th e m of th e n e ed to protec t the ir farm s
and fa m ilies. In No vem b e r a nd De ce m be r de \Ve t slip ped o u t of th e Fre e State a n d str uc k int o th e Ca pe Colo ny. T h e British we re )} O mo re a ble to ca tc h him ill thi s, th e 'Seco nd d e \\'e t H un t' , th an the y h ad b ee n in th e first. H o wever. Ho er h ope s t hat Afi-i ka n ers lid ng in the Ca p e wo uld rise to j o in the m were di sappo int ed, d espit e th e fact tha t a co m ma n d o le d by Sm uts pe n etra ted as far as the co a st in th e \\'este r n Ca pe. The Br itish fixat ion with de \\'e t led 10 a d angerous co m p lace ncy el sewhe re in th e cou ll try, a n d o n 13 De ce m be r a British ca m p was cap tu re d a t Xoo ug eclac lu . o n ly 40 m ile s we st of Pr e to ria , a nd o yer 600 tr o ops ta ke n p risoner. In J a n u a ry a n d Februa ry of 1901 d e \\'c t on ce aga in went o nto the o ffe nsive. cutting British lines of co m mu n icatio n , attacki ng cOII\'OYs a n d destroyi ng rai lways, in th e 'T h ird de \ \ 'e t H u n t' . By now, however. the Brit ish were d evel opin g a strategy o f co n ta in me nt. Blockhouses
The Br-i tish first he14
A Ri c e bl ockhous e w ith a particularly st ro n g garri s o n o f the 1st Argyll an d Sutherl and Highlanders, 19 01 , Helme t s h av e 9iven w ay to s lo uch ha t s , Sl ad eWallace pouches t o w ebbing bandoliers, a n d spa t s to s ho rt ankle puttees .
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The e nduring i m age of the m idd le p eriod o f the w ar: a B oe r f arm in fl a mes .
Naval 12-pdr gun on i mprovised carriage i n emp lacements o n Lancast er Hill , outsi de Vryheid, northern Natal. (Keith Reeve s Collec t ion)
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O nce the guerrilla war was un d crway in earnes t, it was d ecid ed to build ch ains of blo ckho uses, n ot m er ely to guard th e rail ways, bu t to trv to hamper Boe r moveme n t. Sto ne bl o ckho uses we re imp ractical in such qu antities, so Kitc he ner in stru ct ed an Eng inee r office r, Major Rice, to p e r fe ct a chea p p r efabricate d versio n of the co rr uga ted iron bl o ckh o use . Rice 's blo ckho u se re taine d th e idea o f the d o ubl e skin , but was roun d rat hloer than rectang ula r, and was loop-holed an d protected by a n iron roof. Sto nes were p iled up aro u nd th e o uts ide as fu rther protection. Th e Rice blo ckh ouse was cheap, and co uld be erec ted in less than a d ay by trained men. The approaches were u sually scree ned by tr en ch es and barbe d wire, and where wire co nnec te d o ne blockhouse to ano the r, it was u sually fesio on ed with tin ca ns o r booby-tra ps to m ak e a n o ise an d alert the ga rriso n if anyone tried to cross the line. Black Africans were e m ploye d in large n umbers to patr ol the wire. A typical garrison co nsisted o f a j u nior NCO an d six m en - a small enoug h nu mber, bu t one wh ich no ne theless re q uire d th e co mm itment of 50,000 m en at the guerri lla war's h eigh t. Ga rr iso n life was q uite safe, since the blo ckh ouse was secure agai nst rifle-fire and few Beers by that stage still had artillery. Howeve r, it was immensely tedio us. In all, so me 8,000 blockhouses were built, covering a to tal of 3,7 00 m iles. In so me places they we re just 1,000 yard s apart. Alth oug h the Boers p ro fessed to despise
the bloc kh o use syste m - d e Wet ca lled it th e 'blo ckh ea d system ' - th ere is no doubt that it was a sign ificant factor in th e war of attrition , and help ed to make the vc__k l a smalle r place for the roving guerr illa bands.
BOER FORCES, 1900-1902
Two office rs of th e 1st South l anes, 1901 . Unifonns became i n c reas i n gly practic al as th e war progressed , an d w ere al m os t devoid of unit or ra nk di stinctions . Th e officer on t he left w ears hi s collar open; t he ot her h as a sh irt an d t i e , an d Stohwasser gaiters Ins tead of puttees. (Keith Reeves Collection)
The cha nging Be er fort u nes in th e ea rly part o f th e war h ad a sigu ificam impact o n th e ir fo rces . In itiall y they had been a ble to tak e advantage o f th e windfall in material which the ir victories afforded th e m : British estimates suggest that 48 Bri tish g u ns were ca ptured by the Bo ors. an d most were pressed in to service by them . Neve rtheless, th e co lla pse o f February 1900 h ad a se rio us e ffect, part icul arl y on th e regular fo rces. The mo re di scipl ined foreig n voluntee r a nd po lice u ni ts h ad taken he;wy cas ualties ill th e set -piece battles. an d some of these un its ce ased to exist as the survivors b ro ke u p an d joined comman do uni ts. Alt hough so me o f the Free Sta te Artill ery survived th e d efea t a t Paa rde bc rg. an d in dividual g u ns co n tinue d ' 1<; serve wit h co m ma n dos, th e Transvaal Staatsa rti llerie had lo st o r d estr oyed mo st o f th ei r guns by the time th e guerrilla war broke o u t, an d m ost o ft he gu n ners fo ug h t as ordinary commandos, reverting to civilian dress. Earl y in the war so me burghers had taken to strip ping British p risoners o r dead of th e ir uniforms. and wearing them, usually as troph ies. As the \.. .ar p ro gressed, however, thi s becam e a question of ne ces sity, as burgh ers still in the field h ad no means o f replacin g wor n clo th ing. Man y con sid ered th is a legi timate act of war, since th e British h ad des troyed th ei r possessio ns when they burn t th e fa rm s. Since th e 'b itter-en d ers' h ad n o reso u rces to guard priso n ers, it becam e co m mon p ractice to strip British prisoners an d set th em free . T his p ract ice also applied to \veapon s. With Mauscr am mu n ition in cr easing ly difficult to co me by, it beca m e much easier to use ca pt ure d British Lcc-En fi clds and to rc supply am m u ni tio n from ca p tu re d co nvoys , o r by sco u ring th e site of Br-i tish ca m ps, wh ere lo o se ro unds, whic h had fa llen o ut or d amag ed bandoliers, co u ld usu all y be found . In 190 I man y .\lau sers were burned, sim ply beca use they were no longer useful. The Briti sh reacted harsh ly wh en they captured Bo ers in Briti sh u nifo rms, particul arly after a handful of incidents when Bo ers h ad passed th emse lves off as British tr oops. In 1901 Kitch ener o rde re d all Be ers ca p tu red in British un iforms to he sh o t, a nd m an y were. Sin ce the alternative was to live in rags, or h ome-made clothes of leathe r or a ni mal-skin, m an y Bo ers p referred to d efy th e o rde r, but st ri p pe d captu red uniforms of Briti sh insignia , to avoid being ch arged as spics. jan Smuts re adily admitted th at a lmos t e\"ery pie ce of clothing o r equipment worn an d carrie d by h is me n on h is ra id in to the Cape in Se p te m be r 1901 was Briti sh - includin g th e horses.
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As th e g ue rri lla war progre ssed, Ho e r co m m a n d os be cam e sm alle r, a n d in itiall y more effe ctive . T hey averaged p erhaps 200 m en, led by d yna mi c yo u n g comma nda nts; th e o ld and the h al f-h e arte d h ad go ne h o m e , and th o se wh o rem ained we re co m m itt e d a nd expe rie nc ed in th e tec hni q ues of h it-a n d-ru n warfare. H o weve r, by th e e nd of 1901 th e scorc hed -earth po licy was beginni ng to take effect, a nd the ' b itte re nders ' we re suffe ri n g real h a rd sh ip . Food, a mmu nitio n a nd clot hi ng we re h ard to co m e by, and those killed a n d ca p tu red were di fficult to re pl a ce . T he last stages of the Hoer War became a wa r of attrition which th e Beers co uld not h ope to win.
THE MYTH OF THE 'WHITE MAN'S WAR'
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Both sides in th e A ng lo-Boe r War we re dee p ly imbue d wi th the id ea that their whi te ski n s a nd Chri stian belie fs made th em su pe rio r to th e in dige nous Afri can po p ulation among whom th e wa r was waged. As su ch, both co n sidered it im pro per to u se bla c k tr oops again st o n e a no th er, a nd pe rpetuate d the m yth th at it was a ' Wh ite Man's \Va r ' . In fact, it wa s an ything b ut , a nd ne it he r side co u ld h ave su stained itsel f witho u t e normou s sup port from the b lac k po p u lation. Most. o bvio usl y, bo th sid es mad e e normo us u se of Africa n la bou r. Bo th a lso u sed African s as scouts. A lth o ug h bo th cl aime d su ch m e n we re u n ar m e d , th is was clearly no t the case , and th is pretence d rop ped ~l\vay a s the war prog ressed. Baden-Powell was onc of the fir st commanders to openly arm a nd organise Afr-ican support, whe n the Tswa na tr ib e smen , wh o se town was in co rpo rated into the Bri u xh peri meter at Mafik cug, were pressed into its d efe n ce . La te r th e British also u se d thousa n d s o f Afri can s to police the blockhouse lines. Both sides use d Afr icans as m e ssengers: Boer co m ma ndo s fr eq uently shot b la cks carrying m e ssage s to the Bri tish , whi le the Br itish so me times sh o t Africa ns wh o m th ey su spected of being Bo c r sp ies . In d e e d , Afr ica n s ca ug h t by e ith e r side in the se rvice o f th e othe r co u ld e xp e ct harsh tre a tm e n t Furthermore, th e b lack civilia n p opula tion as a who le suffere d h eavily, caug ht in the m idd le of a wa r whic h was n o t o f th eir m a kin g . They we re p re sse d in to se rvice wh e n eve r th e co mbatants saw fit , and usually re ceive d o n ly n eg le c t or harsh tr ea tm e n t in re turn. BadenPowe Il, fo r e xam p le, saw nothi n g wrong in red uci ng th e ra tio ns of Ma fi kc n g 's b la ck in h abitants and giving them inste ad to the wh ites, a nd d riv ing o ut those h e co n side red 'surp lus' to h is d e fe n ce req ui reme nts. During the gue rri lla war, bo th sides de stroyed Afr ica n h ome ste a d s if they mi gh t h ave she lte red th e e n e my. Thousa n d s of bl a ck civilians we re made h o m el e ss refuge e s. Ma ny Afr ica n servants of Bocr fa m ilies accompani e d their e mployers into th e co nce n tratio n camps, an d th e ir d ea th to ll was , if a n yth ing , h igh e r. By the end of th e war th e re we re indicatio ns tha t so m e Afr ican grou p s we re n o t p re pa re d to tol era te th is tr e at m e nt, and the re were vio le n t o utb reaks in the Zo u rpa nsbc rg a n d in Zu lu la n d. O n the most se riou s occasio n , o n 6 May 1902 , th e a haQ ulu si, a Zu lu royal se ct io n living cast ofVr yhe id , reta liate d aga ins t a Boer co m ma ndo wh ich h ad been ra id ing Zu lu ho m es teads fo r food for seve ral d ays. Ove r 50 \vere killed.
De sp ite su ch incide nts, the Africa n po pulation were undoubtedly th e tr ue lo se rs or th e wa r. T hey were excluded from the peace n e go tiatio n s, a n d we re th e o n ly g ro u p who e merged from th e war with o u t politi ca l o r CCOllOlIllC C Oll C C SSI Ol l.
THE BITTER END By th e midd le of 190 I th e British had b eg un to moun t co-ord inated ' d rive s', swee p ing throug h the co u n tr y, p ushi n g th e Bo e rs to wa rds th e ba rrie r o f the blo ckhouse cha ins. T hese we re sti ll slow by Bocr standards, b ut they gradually wh itt led down the su rv iving co m man do band s. Viljoeu a n d Bo tha regula rly hara ssed the Dclcgoa Bay ra ilway in th e eastern Tra nsv aal , but wh en Botha attem p te d a strike in to Zu ln laud, in Se p tem be r 1901 , it was e as ily chec ke d. By the bcgi nning of 19 0 2 th e Boe rs had clearly lo st th e wa r o f attri tion, a nd in May 190 2 they m et Bri tish re p rese n tatives a t Vcrccn igiug, outside Pre toria , and fin a lly ag reed to su rren der. The Ho e r \-Va r h ad b e e n im m e n sel y d e str uc tive . Some 8,000 Bri tish troo ps h a d d ie d ill actio n, a n d a fu r ther 13,00 0 from d ise a se . O ver 4,000 goers h a d be en kille d , in ad ditio n to th e civilian lo sse s in the ca m ps. The eco no m y of So u th Africa had be e n d eva sta ted, and the wa r had cost Bri ta in over .£220 m illio n . T h e lega cy o f bi tt e rn e ss it provoked affe cted the hi story of So uth A frica unti l re cently. A h a rd eni n g of Boer attitu d e s in th e post-wa r years co n tribu te d to th e philo sophy of racial se g rega tio n an d oppre ssion wh ich characterise d the co u n try u n til th e 199 0s. It is perh a p s fi ttin g th at th e wa r h ad o utlasted Q u ee n Victoria, who d ied in J a n u ar y 19 01 , for it was bot h the la st of the o ld wa rs of Em p ir e and the first o r a new, m o re b r u ta l, a nd recogn isa b ly 20 th-ce n tury style of warfare.
GLOSSARY Mrikaner - lite ra lly, wh ite Africa n ; Euro pean se ttler o f South Africa ag te r r yers - lite ra lly, a fte r-ride rs, Afr ican se rvan ts who worked for the Beers
BaSothola nd - the lan d o f th e So th o ad h eren ts of C hief Mo shoeshoe Bc chuan al an d - th e Tr a n svaal 's wes tern n ei ghbou r Boer - lite ra lly, fa rme r commando - Hoer armed m ilitia ghillies - a tten da n ts of H igh la nd c hie fs ko pj e - ko p p ie Of small h ill la ager- d efe n sive wago n cir cle uitlan der - lite ra lly o utsi ders, th e n am e the Beers gave to foreig n pn)sp e cto rs N debele - n a me g ive n to g rou ps Iro m the co ast who h ad settled in th e in te r ior
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TH E PLATES A : EARLY BOERS, 1899 A1: Corporal, Transvaal Staatsartillerie, in typical service dress - undress jacket, hat with 'A' badge and civilian trousers. A2: Officer, Transvaal Staatsartillerie, in service dress w ith
greatcoat. A3 : Burgher, wearing typical coloured puggree and cockade . A4: Officer, foreign volunteers in typ ical sand-coloured Norfolk jacket, and Transvaal ribbons. AS: Officer, foreign contingent, wearing automatic Mauser pistol. Many commandos carried flags early in the w ar: these were not carried into action, but usually mark ed the commandant's HQ. These are var iations on the Transvaal Vierkleur.
A6 : The Boer forces inc luded a wide variety of social ty pes, from 'townies' to frontier farmers. Note the different types of bando lier.
B: EARLY BOERS, 1899/ 1900 B1 and B2: Urban Boer and German volunteer doctor, 1899. B3 : Volunteer, 'Chicago Irish-American Co rps', Blake 's Irish Brigade. A corps of 58 republicans from Chicago joined Blake's Brigade - which itself num bered less than 200 men - as ambulance drivers. They wore a khaki uniform similar to that of the US Army, initia lly with a red cross armband. B4: Gunner, Transvaal Staatsartillerie, in blue undress jacket. Many Staatsartillerie continued to wear the ir b lue uniforms in the field: others wore the sand-coloured serv ice dress, or abandoned uniform completely. B5 : African agyterryer. Both sides made extensive use of African labourers and sco uts, w hilst maint aining the myth of 'the wh ite man's war'. C: EARLY BRITISH, 1899/1900 C1: Private, King 's Royal Rifle Corps. It was common to wear the haversac ks between the shoulders, rather than on the hip . Rifle regiments had b lack Slade-Waltace equipment , rather than the buff of the line regiments. ORs helmets were usually white with a khaki canvas cover. C2: Private, 5th Lancers. Cava lry regiments arriving from India wore sho ulder chains: those fro m Britain generally did not. C3: Infantry sergeant. A ty pic al infantry NCO in the light khaki unifo rm of the early war, and buff Slade-Wallace equipment . As the war prog ressed , ostentatious gold chevrons were replace d with pale khaki versions . This man has two 'long-service and goo d con duct' stripes o n his left cuff , together with a marksman's bad ge. C4: Officer, Lancashire Fusiliers, in the typical campaign dress of the beginning of th e wa r - Sam Browne be lt, still with sword, and a large helmet flash. Officers' helmets were generally made with khaki clot h, with puggree, rathe r than with a cover. D: BRITISH UNIFORMS, WESTERN THEATRE, 1899/1900 01: Private, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. Highland regiments we re iss~ed w ith khak i kilt-covers, althoug h these were only effective from the front, when the men were lying down, the back of the kilt remained conspicu o us. 02: Officer, Highland Light Infantry. The HLI beg an the war with trews and cro ss-hilted Scott ish swords: both we re soo n abandoned. The trews were replace d with khaki trousers. Wolseley helmets, as here, rema ined po pular wit h officers, however. 03: Private, Grenadier Guards. Photos of Guards regi ments embarking for South Africa show th em retain ing coloured hackles on their helmets , although ORs may have aba ndoned them in action . They remained com mon among officers, however. E: BRITISH TROOPS, 1900 E1: Trooper, Rimington's Scouts. Rimi ngt on 's Scouts we re one of the most successfu l of the locally raised mounted
The Brrtiah infantryman late in the war; a private of the 1st South Lancs, 1901, in bandolier, slouch-hat and ' sh i rt-
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sleeve order' . (Keith Reeves)
1
infantry units. They were known as 'Rimington 's Tigers', from the band of leopard-s kin wo rn around thei r hats. (The Afrikaans word for leopa rd is tier.) E2: St aff Offi cer. This is the typica l uniform of General and Staff Officers: note the co llar flash, leather Stbhwasser gaiters, and Wolseley patt ern helmet. E3: Privat e, Roy al Can adi an Regiment. The cont ribu tion of Co lonial troops to the British war effo rt was enormous: the RCR were an infantry unit, distinguishable by their map le leaf helmet flash and bando lier equipment. F: BOER AND BRITISH FORCES, 1900 F1 and F2: Boer bu rgher, wearing a waistcoat with pockets designed to hold Mauser clips; and Z.A.R.P. Like the Staatsartillerie, the Transvaal Police fought in a mixture of uniforms and ci vilian items. F3: Offi cer, City Imperi al Volunteers. This uniform was typical of officers of the CIVs and Yeomanry. although the sword - even with khaki hilt-cover - did not survive long in the field , and a few months campaigning led to a more dilapidated look! F4: Troopers, Nat al Carbin eer s. This unifo rm was common to most Co lonial and British mounted units, with unit differences indic ated by hat badges, pugg rees or plumes. The co mbi ned bandolier and carbine bucket - the 'Royston' equipment - was unique to the Natal units, ho wever. G: LATE WAR DRESS, 0.1901 G1: Br iti sh infantry offic er. Many officers abandoned Sam Brown es and carried rifles, to make them less distinguishabl e from their men. Slouch hats were increasingly common among all British arms. Compare this figure to figure C4 . G2: Boer 'bitter-ender', This man has just liberated a Brit ish Lee-Enf ield rifle; he is already wearing a British tunic
(strippe d of all insignia, to reduce the risk of being shot if cap tured), and British equipment. G3: 'Bitter-ender'. By late in th e guerrilla war, many commandos subsisted on what th ey cou ld loot or capture from the Britis h. This man has a Brit ish web bing bandolier: his clo thes suggest the we ar and tear of life in the open veld. H: L ATE BRITISH UNIFORMS, 1901/1902, WITH RICE BLOCKHOUSE. H1: Af rican sc o ut . The British made extensive use of African scouts duri ng the guerrilla war: most were armed , and many had a decidedly military app earance. H2: Infantry privat e in typically practical dress, late in the war: shirt sleeves , wide brim med hat, bandolier equipment and darker khaki trousers. Com pare to figure C3. H3: Privat e, 17th Lancers. Compare to figure C2 . Lances and swords were withdrawn and replaced with Lee-Enfield rifles, and helmets gave way to slouch hats. The 17th retained their famous ' Death's Head' badge as a dark blue and white cockade. H4: Regular m ounted infa nt ry ma n, in late-war khak i, with pale khaki chevrons, and bandolier equipment. Helmet flashes were either very small by this stage or abandoned altogether.
Gen eral s Jan Smuts (centr e) a n d Salomon M aria (ne xt t o him , r ig ht ) photographed during the r aid o n O'ki ep i n t h e Western Cape in April 1902, Smuts imposed military- style d i sci pl i n e on hi s m e n, an d t h is is re f lected in t heir sm art a ppeara n ce ; at least two (right) a re w earing ca ptured Br iti sh uniforms , wh il e se ve r al have British Sam Browne b el t s, Note the different coloured puggrees, including the w hite puggree of the 'Cap e re bel '. IKeith Reeves Collection)
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Notes su r le s Pl an c he s en Couleur
Fa rbtafe ln
Al : Caporal,Transvaal Staatsartiuene, enur ntorme deservice typique - veste de petite teoue. cetot avec badge 'A' et pentarcn de civil. A2:Officier,Transvaal Staatsartillerie, en umtorrne de service Met capote. A3: Burgher {simple sorcen qui porte unvoile sur son casque colonial et une cocarde coroee tvpques.A4: omcer desvoiorsalres etranqers en veste Norfolk typiquecoueur sable et rucansdu Transvaal. A5: ntncre; contingentetranqe r, equipe d'un pistolet automeuque Mauser. Beeucoupde commandos pcrtaient un orapeeu audebut de la querre. lis n'etaient pas pones ou.ant les batailles marsmarquareot souvent l'emplacernent du QG du commandant. Nous voyons ici des variationsdu Transvaal ve ruecr. A6: Les forces Boer contenaent destypes socauxtresdivers,desctaorns auxagnculteurs pionniers. Notez les ditlerentescanouchieres
Al : Oberqefreuer, Transvaal Staatsartillerie, im typischen Dienstanzup: Ausgehjacke,Hut mit 'A'· Abze ichen uno Zivilistenhosen. A2: Dttizier, Transvaal Staatsartillene, im Dlenstanzuc mit Mantel A3: Burger, der das tvplscne, farbige Wickeltuch mit Nackenscnutz uno eme Kokaroetragt. A4: Offizier der ausranoscnen Freiwilligen in der fvpischen seaneteoe n Norfolk-Jacke und transvaai-aem em. AS: Offizier des ausenoscnenKontmqents mit auiomanscner Mauser·Pistole vete xon manoos Irugen zu Kriegsbeginn Fahnen, die allerdingsnc nt mit in den Kampf genommen wurden, soncern gewohnlich oas Hauptqoartier deskommancenten beaec nneten Atlgebildelsindverschiedene Versionender 'Vierkleur' des Transvaal A6:Die Streitkratte oer Buren scniossen eln breit qetachertes Spektrum der uesesscrensscmcne n em. angefangen von 'Stadtern' bis zu Grenzfarmern. Man beachte die untersctnedncnen Bandolier-Men.
81 et 82: Boer urbain et rnenecm aaemanc voloataire, 1899, B3: Volontaire du 'Chicago lrishAme rican Corps', brigade nanoarse de Blake. un corps de 58 republcains deChicago sejoignit a la brigade de Blake (qui comptait moinsde 200 hommes) dans le role dechauffeurs o'ambu lances, lis portaient un uniforme kaki similaire a celui derarmee arrenceme, initialement avec un brassarc de la cro« rouge B4: Canonnier, TransvaalStaatsartilierie,en veste de petitetenue meue Beaucoupde mernbres de la Staatsartillerie continuerentde porterleur umtorrnebleu en campagne alors que u'autres portaient I'uniforme deservicecoueur sable ou etendormerent compietement teur umtorrne85: agyterryer africain. Les deux camps ufrhserent beaucoup de manoeuvres et d'ectaire urs africainstout en perpetuantle rnythe de la 'queue de rnon rne blanc'
Bl und B2: stacnsct er Bute und oeutscher Freiwilligen-Arll, 1899. B3: Freiwilliger des'Chicago Irish-American Corps', Blake's Irish Brigade. Ein Korps vcn 58 Bepunlikanern aus Chikago sChloB sichals Krankenwagenfahrer der Bake'sBrigade an,die selbst aus weniger als 200 Mannem bestand.Sie trugen eine khakilarbene Uniform, die uerUniform oer amerikan ischen Armee annene. und hanen ursprung lich eine Rot-Kreuz-Armbinde. 84: Artillerist, TransvaalStaatsartillene, in blauerAusgehjacke, ZahlreicheAngehorigeoer staatsar tnene trugen auchweitertlin ihre blaue Uniform im feld, wahrend anoere den sandtartenenDienstanzuqcoer uoernacpt keineUniform trugen, B5: Afrikan ischer agyterryer,Beoe Seten setzten hiiufig afrikanischeArbeiler und Spaher ein,hielten jedoch weilerhinam Mythosdes'Kriegs desweiBen Mannes' lest
Cl : Simple soldat King's Roya l Rifie Corps. II elait courant de porter son havresac entre les epaulesplut6t quesur la hanche. Les regiments de lusiliers avaient du materiel Slade-Wallace noir plut6t quela couleurchamois des regiments de Iigne. Les casques ORS elaient generalement blancsavec unehousse enlissu kaki. C2: Simplesoldat, 5eLanciers. Les regiments de cavalerie arrivant d'lnde portaient unechainette a I'epaule mais pasceuxqui arrivaientde Grande-Brelagne,C3: Sergent d'infanterie.Un sous-officier d 'infanterietypique dans l'uniforme kaki clair dudebutde la guerre et avec du materiel Slade-Wa llace couleur chamois,Cet homme esl decore dedeux galonsde 'longservice et bonneconduite' sur la manchette gauche et un badge detireur d'elite.C4: Officier,Fusiliersdu Lancash ire qui porte I'uniforme de campagne typique du debut dela guerre: ceintu re Sam Browne, encore avec I'epee, et un grosecusson decasque.Les casquesdes officiers etaient generalementen tissu kaki et dotes d'unvoile plut61que d'une housse
C1 : Gefreiter, King's Royal Rifle Corps Eswar gang und gabe, den Tornister zwischen den Schullerblaltern anstatt ander Hlifte w tragen. Oie Schli12enregimenter halten die schwarze Slade-Wa llace-Ausrustunganstalt der gelbbraunen der Linienregimenter.Oie ORS-Helmewaren gewbhn lich weiB und halten einen Oberzug aus khakifarbenem Segeltuch, C2: Gelreiter, 5th Lancers. DieausIndien eintreffenden Kava llerieregimenter trugen Schulterketten , dieaus GroBbritannien generell nicht C3: Infanteriefeldwebel. Ein typischer Unteroffizier der Infanterie in der hellkhakifarbenen Uniform der fruhen Kriegsjahre mit gelbbrauner Slade-Wallace-Ausrlistung Dieser Soldat tragt anseiner linken Manschelte zwei StreifenfUr'Iange Dienstzeit undgute Fuhrung' sowie ein Schlilzenabzeichen.C4: Offizier,Lancashire Fusiliers, in der typischen Felduniform der IrD hen Kriegsjahre: Sam Browne-Koppel, nochmil Schwert, und ein greBes Helmabzeichen. Die Helmeder Offiziere waren im allgem einen aus khakilarbenem Tuch mit Wickeltuch undNackenschu12 und haltenkeinen Helmbezug
01: Simplesoldat, Highlanders d'Argyll et Sutherland Les regiments desHighlands elaient equipesde couvre-kilts kaki, qu'ils ne portaient que sur le front 02: Officier, Infanterie legere desHighlands, Le HLIentamala guerre habille en pantalonecossais et a~ec une epee ecossaise portee sur la hanche. Lesdeux lurent abandonnes. Le pantalonecossais fut remplace par un pantalon kaki, Le casque Wolseley conserva neanmoinssa popularite aupresdes officiers, 03: Simple soldal. Grenadier Guards,Sur les photos desregiments de la Garde Royale qui s'embarquent pour l'Afrique du SUd, ils ont encore la plumea leur casque mais les ORS I'abandonnerent sans doute durantles combats Ellesresterent courantes parmi les officiers.
01: Gefreiter, Argyll andSullleltand Highlanders. Andie Highland-Regimenterwurdenkllakifarbene Kilt-Bezugeausgegeben, obwohl diese slch nur vonvorneals wirksam erY1/iesen. 02: Offizier, Highland Light Infantry Zu Kriegsbeginntrugen die Soldatender HU enganliegende Hosen im SChottenmuster und waren mit sCh ottischen Schwertern mit Kreuz hefl bewaffnel. Sowohl die Hosen als auchdie Schwerter verschwanden schon bald von derBildflache, DieengenHosen wurdendurch khakilarbene Hosen erse12t Der Wolseley-Helm warjedoch bei den Offizieren nach wie vor popular 03: Gefreiter, Grenadier Guards. Auf Fotagratieren vonGuards-Regimentern sieht man noch farbige $chmuckfedern auf den Helmen, obwohl das ORS dieseim Gefecht wohl entfernte.Bei den Offizierenblieben sie weit verbreitet
El : Soldat de cavalerie,Eclaireurs de Rimington,Les EClaireurs deRiminglonlurenl l'unedes unites d'infanterie monteelocalesles plusreussies. On les surnommait les 'Tigres de Rimington' a cause de la bandede peau de leopard qu'ils portaient autour de leur kepi (en afrikaner, leopard se dit tier), E2: Officier d'etat major. Nous avons ici I'uniforme typique des Officiers Generauxet d'Etat Major: notezI'ecusson decol, les guetresStohwasser encuir et le casque modele Wolseley, E3: Simple soldal, Reg iment Royal du Canada. Le RCE etait une united'inlanterie, reconnaissable par I'ecusson de casque enforme de feuille d'erable et le maleriel de la cartouch iere. Fl et F2: Burgher Boer avec un gilet auxpoctlescon ~ues pour les clips Mauser et ZAR,P' Comme la Staatsartillerie, la policedu Transvaaicombalt it dans un melange d'uniformeset d'articlescivils F3: Officier,City Imperial Volunteers, Cel uniformeest typiquedecelui des officiers desCIVet de la Yeomanry bienque I'epee (meme avec sa housse de gardekaki) nesurvecut paslongtemps en campagne et quelques mois decampagne creere nt un aspect moinssoigne! F4:SOldats decavalerie,Carabiniers de Natal. Cetuniformeetait commu n a la plupart des unites montees coloniales el britanniques. Les differences entre les unitesetaient indiquees par des badges sur les kepis, des voilesde casque ou des plumets. Lacartouchiere et le seau de carabine combines (ou materiel 'Royston') etait neanmoins speciliqueauxunites de Natal Gl : Officier d'infanterle britannique, Beaucoup d'officier abandonnerent les Sam Browne et portaienl unlusil, ce qui les distinguait moins de leurs hommes, Leschapeaux mous etaient de plus en pluscourants danstoutes les unites britanniques, Comparer avecla figure C4 G2:'bitter ender' Boer,Cet homme vient juste de liberer unlusil britanniqueLee-Enlield II portedeja une tunique britannique(debarrassee detoules insignes pour eviter les risques d'etre abattu en cas decapture) et du materiel britannique, G3: 'Bilter ender'. Vers la fin de la guerilla, de nombreux commandossurvivaient avec ce qu'ils pouvaient piller ou capturer aux Britanniques Cet homme porte unecartouchiere britanniqueentoile a sangles Hl : Eclaireur africain. Les Britanniquesutiliserent beaucoupd'eclaireurs africainsdurant la guerilla,Beaucoup d'entre euxetaientarmes et beaucoup avaienl uneallure tout il fail militaire H2: Simple soldat d'inlanterie enuniformepratiquetypique, versla fin de la guerre:chemise, chapeau a larges bords, materiel decartouchiere et pantalon kaki plus lonce Comparez avec la figure C3. H3: Simple soldat, 17e Lanciers, Comparezave c la figure C2. Les lances et epees furent retin'ies et remplacees par desfusils Lee-Enlield et les casques cederent la placeaux chapeaux mous Les 17e conserverentl eur celebre badge'Tete de mort' sousla forme d'une cocarde bleufonce et blanche. H4:Soldat d'infanteriereguliere monMe, en uniformekaki de la fin de la guerre, avec chevrons kaki pale et maleriel decartou chiere,A celte date, les ecussons decasque etaient soit tres petits soit completemenl abandonnes.
4<
48
El: Kavallerist, Rimington's Scouts, Die Riminglon's Scouts waren eineder erlolgreichsten berittene n Infanlerie-Einheiten, die vor Ort zusammengestellt wurden.AufgrunddesStreifensaus Leopardenfell um ihren Hut gabman ihnen denBeinamen 'Rimington'sTigers'. {InAfrikaans bedeutet Leopard tier.} E2: Stabsoffizier, Diesist die typische Uniform der General- und Stabsoffiziere: Man beachle dasKragenabzeichen, dieStohwasser-Gamaschen ausLeder und den Helm desWolseley-Modells. E3: Gefreiter, Royal CanadianReg iment. Bei demRCRhandelte essich urneineInfanlerie-Einheit, die durch das Helmabzeichenmit demAhornblatt und die Bandolier·Ausrustung erken ntlich war. Fl und F2: Buren-Blirger in einer We ste mit Taschen flir Mauser-LadestreifenundZAR,P,!Me dieStaatsartilleriekampfle auchdie Transvaal-Polizei in einer Mischung ausUniformen und z i ~ ile n Kleidungsstlicken, F3: Offizier,City Imperial Volunteers. Diese Uniform war typisch fUr Offiziere der CIV und der Yeomanry,obwohl das Schwert - selbst mit khakifarbenem Heflbezug im Feld nichtlange liberlebte F4: Kavalleristen, Natal Carbineers. Diese Uniform war bei den meisten beriltenen Einheiten ausGroBbritannienunddenKolonien weil verbreitel. Die unlerschiedlichen Einheiten waren durch Abzeichen auf dem Hut Wickelllicher mit Nackenschutz oder Federblische erkenntlich.Das kombinierte Bandolier mit Karabinerhlille hatten jedoch lediglich die Natal-Einheiten. 61: Britischer Infanterie-Offizier.Viele Offiziere entledigtensich der Sam Browne-KoDpel und trugen Gewehre, um sich weniger vonihren Mannschaffen zu unterscheiden, Bei alienbritischen Einheiten sahman zunehmendSchlapphG te. Man vergleiche diese Figur mil der AbbildungC4 62: 'Bitter-ende r' der Buren.Dieser Mann hat sich gerade einesbritischen Lee-Enfield-Gewehrs bemachtigt. Er tragt bereits einenbritischen Waffenrock (samtliche Abzeichen wurden abgenommen, um weniger Gefahr zu laufen, bei der Gefangennahmeerschossen zuwerden) und einebritische AusrUstung. G3: 'Bitter-ender' Gegen Ende des Guerillakriegsexistiertenviele Kommandosvon dem, was sie vonden Briten plundem oder ergattern konnten. DieserMann hat ein britisches Textil-Bandolier Hl : Afrikanischer Spaher Oie Brilen bedienten sich wahrend des Gueriilakriegs naufig der Oienste alrikan ischer Spaher Diesewaren groBtenteils bewaffnet, undviele halten ein entschieden militarischesErscheinungsbiid. H2: Ge freiter der Infanterie im typisch praktischen Aufzug der spatenKriegsjahre: hemdsarmelig, Hut mir breiter Krempe, Bandolier-Ausrustung und dunkelkhakifarbene Hosen, Man vergleichediese Figur mit AbbildungC3. H3: Gefreiter, 17th Lancers. Man vergleiche diese Figurmit der Abbildung C2, Lanzen undSchwerter wurden auslangiert und durch Lee·Enfield-Gewehre ersetzl, Andie Stelle der Helmetraten $chlapphute.Die 17th Lancersbehielten ihr berlihmtes'Totenkopl'- Abzeichen als dunkelblaueundweiBe Kokarde bei. H4: Reguliirer beriltener Inlanterist im Khaki der spaten Kriegsjahre mit hellkhakifarbe nen Winkeln und Bandoliel-AusrDstung, Zudieser Zeil waren die Helmabzeichen entweder bereils sehr klein oder waren uberhaupt nicht mehr vorhanden.
Continued (rom backcover
IS] NAPOLEON'S GUAR D
160 16TH AND 17T H CENTURIES 256 THE IRISH WARS 1485-1603 191 HEN RY VIII'S ARMY 279 THE BORDER REIVERS 58 TH E LANDS KN ECHTS 10 1 T HE CONQU iSTADORES 2 39 A ZT EC , MIXT EC AND ZA POTEC 263 MUGHUL IN DIA 1504_1 761 235 GUSTAVUS ADO LPHUS (I) IN FA N TRY 262 GUSTAVUS A DO LPHUS (2) CAVALRY 14 EN GLISH CI VIL WAR ARM IES 110 NEW MODE L ARMY 1645-60 203 LOU IS X IV'S AR MY 267 TH E BRIT ISH AR MY 1660_1704 97 MA RLBO RO U GH' S ARMY 86 SAMURA I ARM IES 1550· 1615 18. POLISH ARMIES 1569-1696 (I) 188 POLISH ARM IES 1569-1696 (2)
199 88 44 4l
90
106 122
211 227
176
181 18TH CE N TURY I 18 THE JA CO BITE REBE LLIONS 1689·17 45 261 EIGHT EENTH CEN TURY HIGH LA NDE RS 296 LOU IS XVS ARMY (I) CAVALRY 260 PETER TH E GREAT'S ARMY (I) IN FA N T RY 26. PET ER THE GREAT'S ARMY (2) CAVALRY 285 KIN G GEORGE'S ARMY 1740. 93' 289 KIN G GEORGE'S ARMY 1740-93' 292 KIN G GEORG E'S ARM Y 1740-93: 3 236 FREDERICK TH E GREAT'S ARMY (I) CAVALRY 240 FREDERICK THE GREAT'S ARMY (2) INFANTRY 248 FREDERICK T HE GREAT'S ARMY (3) SPECIALIST T RO O PS 271 T HE AUSTR IAN A RMY 1740-80 (I) CAVA LRY 276 THE AUSTR IAN ARMY 1740-80 (2) IN FA N T RY 280 T HE AUSTRIA N AR MY 1740· 80 (3) SPECIALIST TROO PS 29l RUSSIAN ARMY OF THE SEVEN YEARS WAR (I) 298 RUSSIAN ARMY OF T HE SEVEN YEARS WAR (2) 48 WOLFE'S ARMY 228 AM ERICAN WOODLAND IN D IA N S 39 BRITISH ARMY IN NORT H AMERICA I 77S· 180 1 27l GENERA L WASH INGTON'S ARMY ( I) 1775-1778 290 GENERAL WASHING TON 'S AR MY (2) 1778-1783 24. FRENCH AR MY IN T H E AM ERICAN WAR OF IN D EPEN DEN CE
NAPOLEONIC PERIOD 257 NAPOLEON'S CAMPAIGNS IN ITALY 79 N A PO LEO N' S EGYPTIAN CAMPAIGN 1798. 180 I 87 NAPOLEON 'S MA RSHALS 64 NAPOLEON 'S CUIRASSIERS & CARABINIERS 55 NAPOLEON'S DRAGOONS & LANCERS 68 NAPOLEON 'S LIN E CHASSEURS 76 NAPOLEON'S HUSSARS 8l NAPOLEON'S GUARD CAVALRY 141 NAPOLEON'S LINE INFA NTRY 146 N A PO LEO N 'S LIGHT IN FA NTRY
21l
299 1S2 149 162 172 192 18' 189 84 11. 119 25l
126 110 20. 167 98 206 29. 096 226 77
78
"'
IN FA N T RY ( I) NAPOLEON 'S GUAR D IN FA NT RY (2) NAPOLEON'S SPEC IALIST TROOPS NAPOLEON'S ITALIAN & N EAPOLITA N TROOPS NAPOLEON 'S GERMAN A LLIES (I) WE STFALlA & KLEVE-BERG NAPOLEON'S GERMAN ALLIES (2) N ASSAU & O LDENBERG NAP O LEON' S GERMAN ALLIES (3) SAXONY N A PO LEO N 'S GERMA N A LLIES (4) BAVARIA N A PO LEO N 'S GERMAN A LLIES (5) H ESSEN, DA RM5TA DT & HESSEN KASSEL NAPOLEON 'S OVERSEASARMY NAPOLEON 'S SEA SOLD IERS AUST RIAN ARMY OF T HE N A PO LEO N IC WARS (I) IN FAN T RY AUSTRIAN ARMY OF THE N A PO LEON IC WARS (2) C AVAL RY AUSTRIAN SPECIALIST TROOPS O F T HE NAPOLEONI C WARS AUSTRIAN AUX ILIARY T RO O PS 1792-1 816 PRUSSIAN LINE IN FA NTRY 1792-1815 PRUSSIAN LIGH T IN FA N T RY 1792-1815 PRUSSIAN CAVA LRY OF T HE N A PO LEO N IC WARS (I) 1792_1807 PRUSSIAN CAVALRY OF THE N A PO LEO N IC WARS (2) 1807-1815 PRUSSIAN RESERVE, M ILITIA & IRREGU LAR T RO O PS 1806-1815 RUSSIAN ARMY O F T HE N A PO LEO N IC WARS (I) IN FANTRY RUSSIAN ARMY OF T HE NAPOLEO NIC WA RS (2) CAVA LRY W ELLING TON 'S GENERA LS WE LLING TON'S INFANTRY (I) WELLI NG TON'S IN FA NTRY (2) WELLI NGTON'S HIGHLAN DERS W ELLIN GTON'S LIGHT CAVALRY W ELLING TON 'S HEAVY CAVALRY W ELLING TON 'S SPEC IALIST TROOPS BRUNSWICK T ROOPS 1809· 1S DUT CH- BELGIA N TROOPS HANOVERIAN AR MY 1792-1 816 BRITISH FORC ESIN THE WEST IN D IES ARTI LLERY EQ U IPMENTS O F T HE NAPOLEON IC WARS T HE AM ERICAN WAR 1812-14 FLAGS OF THE NAPOLEON IC WARS (I) FLAGS O F TH E NAPOLEON IC WARS (2) FLAGS OF THE N A POLEONIC WARS (3)
19TH CENTURY 232 BOLlVAR AND SAN MA RT IN 281 US DRAGOONS 1833-SS 168 US CAVA LRY ON THE PLAINS 173 ALAMO & TEX A N WAR 1835- 36 ] 01 BOER WARS (I) 1836- 1896 56 M EXIC A N ·A MERIC A N WAR 1846·8 272 T HE M EXICAN ADV ENTURE 1861_67 63 A MERICAN INDIA N WARS 1860-90 170 AMERICAN CIVIL WAR ARMI ES (I ) CONFEDERATE 177 AM ERICAN CI VIL WA R ARM IES (2) UNI O N
'" 190 201 l8 31
252 2S8
26S
16] 186 288 27S
241 19] 196 198 201 212 215
219 22. 249 67 268 91
92 2ll
217
277 57 59
230 95 73
A MERICAN C IVIL WAR ARMIES (3) SPECIA LIST TROOPS A MERICAN C IVIL WAR ARMI ES (4 ) STATE TROOPS A MERICAN CIVIL WA R ARMI ES (5) VO LUN T EER MILIT IAS ARMY OF T HE POTOMAC ARMY O F N O RT HERN V IRGINIA f LAGS OF T HE AMERICAN C IVIL W AR (I) CONFEDERATE FLAGS OF T HE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR (2) UNION FLAGS OF TH E AM ERICAN C IVIL WAR (3) STATE A N D VO LU N TEER AM ERICAN PLAINS IN DI A N S APACH ES AMERICAN IN D IA N S OF THE SOU TH EAST TA IPIN G REBElliON 1851-66 RUSSIAN ARMY O F TH E CRIMEAN WAR 1854·56 BRITISH ARMY O N CAMPAIGN (I) 1816-1853 BRITISH ARMY ON CAMPA IGN (2) 1854-56 BRIT ISH ARMY ON CAMPA IGN (3) 1856-1 881 BRITISH ARMY O N CAMPAIGN (4) 1882-1902 QUEEN VICTORIA'S ENEMIES (I) SOUTHERN AFRICA QUEEN VICTOR IA'S ENEMIES (2) NORTHERN AFRICA QUEEN VICTORIA'S EN EMIES (3) INDIA QU EEN VICTOR IA'S ENEMIES (4) ASIA CANAD IAN CAM PAIGNS 1860-70 INDIAN MUTINY BRITISH T RO O PS IN TH E IN D IA N MU T IN Y BENG A L CAVA LRY REGIM EN TS IN D IA N INFA NTRY REGIMEN TS FRENCH ARMY 1870-71 FRANCOPRUSSIAN WAR (I) IMPERIA L TROO~S FRENCH ARMY 1870_71 FRANCO PRUSSIAN W A R (2) REPUBLICAN TROOPS RUSSIAN-TURKISH WAR 1877 ZU LU WAR SUDAN CAM PAIGNS 1881_1898 US ARM Y 1890·1 920 T H E BOX ER REBELLION GRENAD IER GUARDS
THE WORLD WARS 80 81 286 245
269 208 29l
182 187 12] 74
112 120 225
70 238
T H E GERMAN ARMY 1914-1!! T H E BRIT ISH ARMY 1914-18 T H E FRENCH ARMY 19 14-18 BRITISH T ERRITO RIAL UNITS 1914-18 THE OTTOMAN ARMY 1914_1 8 LAWRENCE AND TH E A RAB REVOLT S T H E RUSSIAN C IVIL W A R (I) THE RED ARMY BRITISH BATTLE INSIGNIA (I) 1914-18 BRITISH BATTLE INSIGNIA (2) 1939-45 AUSTRALIA N ARMY AT WAR 1899- 1975 T HE SPANISH C IVIL WAR 1936-39 BRITISH BATT LE DR ESS 1937-61 ALLIED COMM ANDERS OF WORLD WAR 11 ROYAL AIR FORCE 1939-45 US ARMY 194 1-45 FO REIGN VOLUNTEE RS OF TH E A LLIED FORC ES 19 39-45
216 T HE RED ARMY OF THE GREAT PATRIOT IC WAR
246 T HE ROMAN IAN ARMY OF WW II 1941_45
220 THE SA 1921_45 HiTlER'S 24 266 l4 229
12. Il9
2Il III
147
25. 10] 142 169 282 117 270 27. 278
STO RMT RO O PERS PANZER D IVISIONS THE A LLGEMEINE-5S THE WAFF EN_SS LUFTWAFF E FIELD DIVI SIO N S GERMAN COMMANDERSO F WOR LD WAR II GERMAN A IRBORNE TRO O PS GERMAN MILITA RY PO LICE UN ITS GERMA N Y'S EASTERN FRONT A LLIES 1941-45 FOREIGN VO LUN TEERS OF TH E WE HRMACHT 1941_45 WEHRMAC HT AUX ILIARY FORCES GERMANY 'S SPAN ISH VOLUNTEERS 1941-45 PARTISAN WAR FARE 1941_45 RESISTANCE WARFARE 1940.45 AX IS FORC ES IN YU GO SLAVIA 1941_45 POLISH ARMY 1939.45 FLAGS OF THE T HIRD REICH I' WEHRMACHT FLAGS OF THE TH IRD REICH 2 WA FFEN-SS FLAGS OF THE T HIRD REICH 3 PARTY & POLICE UN ITS
M O D ERN WARFARE 300 FRENCH FO REIGN LEGIO N SINCE 1945 116 SPECIAL A IR SERVIC E Il2 MA LAYA N CAMPA IGN 1948-60 17. T H E KOREAN WAR 1950-53 1S6 T H E ROYAL MAR IN ES 19S6-84 217 WAR IN LAOS 1960-70 10. ARMI ES OF TH E VIETNAM WAR 1962-7 5 143 ARMI ES OF THE VIETNA M WAR 2 209 WAR IN CA MBODIA 1970_75 127 ISRA ELI ARMY IN THE M IDDLE EA ST WARS 1948-73 19. ARAB ARM IES OF THE MIDDLE EAST WARS (2) 16' ARMIES IN LEBA N O N 1982-84 I3l BATTLE FOR TH E FA LKLANDS I ' LAND FORC ES BATT LE FOR T HE FALKLANDS 2: NAVA L FORCES Il5 BATTLE FOR T HE FAL KLA N D S 3: A IR FORCES 250 ARG ENT IN E FO RCES IN TH E FALKLANDS 202 MODERN AFRICAN WAR S (2): ANGOLA & MOZAMBIQ UE 242 MODERN AFRICAN WARS (3): SOUTH-WEST AFRICA 1S9 GRENADA 1983 221 CENTRA L AM ERIC A N WAR S
",
GENERAL t 0 7 BRIT ISH INFA N TRY EQU IPMENT (I) 1808-1908
108 BRIT ISH IN FANTRY EQU IPMEN T S (2) 1908-1980 72 NORTHWEST FRON TI ER 21. US IN FA NTRY EQ UIPMENTS 197 RO YA L CANAD IAN MO UNTED POLICE 20' US COMBAT EQU IPMENTS 1910-88 23' GERMAN COMBAT EQU IPMENTS 1939-45 1]8 BRITISH CAVA LRY EQ UIPMENT 1800-1941 1S7 FLAK JACKETS
