Boer War- Black Week and response

Question 1

what towns were sieged by the Boers at the start of the war?

Answer 1

Ladysmith
Kimberley
Mafeking

Question 2

when was Ladysmith besieged?

Answer 2

November 1899

Question 3

how many Boers besieged Ladysmith?

Answer 3

35,000 under the command of General Piet Joubert

Question 4

who was in command of British troops in Ladysmith?

Answer 4

Sir George White

Question 5

what had George White done to defend against the Boers?

Answer 5

he had set up a defensive perimeter made up of gun positions, guard posts and trenches

FIRST LINE OF DEFENCE

Question 6

what mistake had White made when setting up the defences?

Answer 6

he had left much of the defences to junior officers

Question 7

what artillery did the Boers use to siege Ladysmith?

Answer 7

French siege guns

Question 8

when was the Boer’s only attempt at assaulting Ladysmith?

Answer 8

6 January 1900

the British forces held them back

Question 9

who led the British response to the sieges?

Answer 9

Sir Redvers Buller

Question 10

when was Black Week?

Answer 10

10-17 December 1899

Question 11

what were the defeats suffered by the British during Black Week?

Answer 11

Stomberg and Magersfontein
Colenso
Spion Kop (january)

Question 12

what was Buller’s plan?

Answer 12

to advance along the railways and attack Boer strongholds

he split his force into three groups:
- Gatacre
- Methuen
- Buller

Question 13

Gatacre

Answer 13

was to lead 3000 men to recapture Stormberg

Question 14

Methuen

Answer 14

was to lead 10000 men to relieve Mafeking and Kimberley

Question 15

Buller

Answer 15

was to lead 20,000 troops to relieve Ladysmith

Question 16

when was Gatacre’s attack on Stormberg?

Answer 16

10 December 1899

Question 17

result of Gatacre’s attack

Answer 17

massive failure

British infantry was exposed to Boer rifle fire
AND
their own artillery fire

culminated in British retreat from Stormberg

Question 18

how many British taken prisoner by the Boers at Stormberg?

Answer 18

500

Question 19

who blocked Methuen’s advance towards Kimberley and Mafeking?

Answer 19

the Boers led by de la Rey

Question 20

where were de la Rey’s men positioned to ambush Methuen’s troops?

Answer 20

on the lower slopes of the hill Magersfontein

Question 21

when was the Battle of Magersfontein?

Answer 21

11 December 1899

Question 22

what tactics had the Boers used at the Battle of Magersfontein?

Answer 22

placed wire and tin cans to give warnings to hiding Boer troops that British troops were passing

Question 23

what were the British failures at the Battle of Magersfontein?

Answer 23

they had failed to scout ahead so were unaware of potential threats

their own guns fired upon them

Question 24

result of the Battle of Magersfontein

Answer 24

Boer victory

Methuen withdraw, which meant that Kimberley and Mafeking remained besieged

200 British men died

Question 25

what was Buller's repsonse to the failures of Methuen and Gatacre?

Answer 25

he launched his own attack to reach Ladysmith

Question 26

when did Buller launch his advance towards Ladysmith?

Answer 26

15 December 1899

Question 27

who intercepted Buller's force and where?

Answer 27

the Boers led by Louis Botha had ambushed the British at the Tugela river

Question 28

what tactics did the Boers use at the Battle of Colenso?

Answer 28

they had dug trenches along the river which were hidden from the British

Question 29

what were the British failures at the Battle of Colenso?

Answer 29

were poorly guided no recon to spot Boer positions no knowledge about local geography led to troops being sent across the river in the wrong places, straight into the Boer positions

Question 30

result of the Battle of Colenso

Answer 30

Boer victory Bullers retreated

Question 31

how many British died at Colenso?

Answer 31

143

Question 32

how many Boers died at Colenso?

Answer 32

8

Question 33

how many British captured at Colenso?

Answer 33

220

Question 34

what had Bullers told White to do after the defeat at Colenso?

Answer 34

to surrender

Question 35

what was White's response to Buller's order?

Answer 35

he rejected it 'I hold Ladysmith for my Queen'

Question 36

what does Buller's message show about his attitude?

Answer 36

he was a defeatist poor military commander

Question 37

when was the Battle of Spion Kop?

Answer 37

23 January 1900

Question 38

who led the British at Spion Kop?

Answer 38

Buller

Question 39

what were the British failures at Spion Kop?

Answer 39

for communication and intel informed British troops to take the wrong hill led to the Boers holding the higher ground and defeating the British from above

Question 40

how many British died at Spion Kop?

Answer 40

243

Question 41

when did Lord Roberts arrive in SA?

Answer 41

January 1900

Question 42

who was Lord Roberts 2ic?

Answer 42

Kitchener

Question 43

when did Buller attempt to cross the Tugela River for the final time?

Answer 43

14 February 1900

Question 44

what tactics did Buller use to successfully cross the Tugela River to get to Ladysmith?

Answer 44

he used pontoon bridges and artillery bombardment

Question 45

when did the British relieve Ladysmith?

Answer 45

28 February 1900

Question 46

how many Boers were besieging Kimberley?

Answer 46

7500

Question 47

when did Roberts set out to relieve Kimberley?

Answer 47

10 February 1900

Question 48

how many men did Roberts take with him to relieve Kimberley?

Answer 48

40,000

Question 49

when was Kimberley relieved?

Answer 49

15 February 1900 by Sir John French's cavalry

Question 50

who was in charge of the garrison at Mafeking?

Answer 50

Colonel Robert Baden-Powell

Question 51

how many men was Baden-Powell in charge of?

Answer 51

1200

Question 52

how many Boers did Baden-Powell defend Mafeking against?

Answer 52

7000

Question 53

what tactics did Baden-Powell use to defend against the Boers?

Answer 53

fake landmines dummy guns use of local population use of armoured trains to attack Boer camps

Question 54

how many Africans did Baden-Powell arm?

Answer 54

300

Question 55

how did Baden-Powell use local teenage boys?

Answer 55

as messengers

Question 56

when did the Boers try to take Mafeking?

Answer 56

12 May 1900 but defeated by Baden-Powell's garrison

Question 57

when was Mafeking relieved?

Answer 57

17 May 1900

Question 58

why can the sieges be seen as a positive?

Answer 58

they prevented the Boers from carrying out conventional tactics the static sieges meant the Boer tactics of ambushing and dissapearing was not possible

Question 59

by February 1900 how many British troops in SA?

Answer 59

180,000