Boer War Flashcards
what is included phase two
- Roberts took over - Roberts offensive
- Paardeberg
- relief pf the towns and major celebration
- change in tactics
- Kruger fleeing the Transvaal
when was the Battle of Paardeberg
- Feb 1900
why was the Battle of Paardeberg
- after relief of Kimberley Cronje and his men had to withdraw his position and they planned retreat to Bloemfontein
- but French + cavalry intercepted them and began firing heavily - this forces Cronje to make fateful decision to dig in banks of river and then British moved blocking the only way out
- Roberts mounted infantry was effective in pursing and rounding up the Boers to push them into this position
why is Paardeberg referred to as bloody Sunday
- the position the Boers were in meant it could have been an easy win for British
- all they needed to do was bombard the Boers into surrendering
- Roberts fell ill - command given to Kitchener
- Kitchener chose not to adopt obvious strategy of bombardment and ordered his cavalry to launch full frontal assault on the Boer position
- known as bloody Sunday - worst losses in a single battle in the Boer war
how did Britain mess up at the Battle of Paardeberg
- during full frontal assault Kitchener failed to notice De Wet and his forces had moved up on the British position in attempt to rescue Cronje and his men
- Britain in a Boer sandwich
- Roberts returned from illness after bloody Sunday and surprisingly continued the assaults but was met with resistance from officers who disregarded his orders
what did Cronje offer at the Battle of Paardeberg
- he offered a cease fire to bury the dead
- Roberts refused believing he could still win
what happened after the Cronje offer of peace treaty at Paardeberg
- British reinforcements arrived which forced De Wet’s rescue operation to retreat
- Britain’s assault continued over the next few days - advancing on position - dug in
- Cronje forced to surrender
why was Paardeberg a turning point in the war
- monumental - first British success
- beginning of more successful period
- down to details of battle
- first LT battle
- reinforced the fact that British army could be successful
- meant Roberts got trust of people and army back after Buller had lost it
- first fatal blow the Boers took which would be closely followed up by the relief of the Sieged towns
what is a funky thing about Paardeberg
- not a single British soldier got within 200 yards of the British position
what tactical changes and shit did Roberts do when he assumed command
- mounted infantry
- scorched earth
one of the most important changes Roberts made was to ensure that the majority of his army became mounted infantry this meant that they could traverse the vast lands of the veldt easily and keep up with Boers wars.
that sounds naughty lol :)
what did Roberts benefit from
- the influx/surge of men
- tho due to the poor health of the British nation it wasn’t as much as it could have been
what happened after black week
- after Black Week there was a huge influx of men who wanted to volunteer
- but a majority if around 60% were not fit enough to be a solider and could not pass the standardised army fitness test
