The second phase of the war

Question 1

Changes in leadership

Answer 1

Lord Roberts arrived in South Africa in January 1900

Question 2

Changes in tactics

Answer 2

• Careful reconnaissance before offensives, use of cavalry and mounted infantry to chase and scout Boers
• Avoid frontal attacks in mass formations (preferred to outflank the Boers, forcing them to retreat or face being surrounded
• More use of artillery and infantry cover

Roberts also felt (like Buller) that he needed to relieve besieged garrisons. This would improve public opinion about the war, and he wanted to capture Bloemfontein (capital of Boer republic, Orange Free State) to show them that they could not win

Kitchener also wanted to make troops less reliant on railways by improvising a system of wagons, however Roberts also ordered repairs to damaged railways. this allowed supplies to be brought up quickly without leaving time for Boers to regroup

Question 3

Relief of Kimberley

Answer 3

John French relieved Kimberley on the 15th Feb 1900, by outflanking the Boers at Magersfontein, just south of Kimberley

Question 4

Bloemfontein

Answer 4

Kitchener fought a long battle at Paardeberg (18-27th February), before Roberts was able to take Bloemfontein on 13th March 1900.

Roberts was forced to halt at Bloemfontein for 6 weeks before proceeding due to a typhoid outbreak and an overwhelmed Hospital Field Service, which killed almost 1,000 men.

Question 5

Relief of Ladysmith

Answer 5

Buller led an all-out offensive on Colenso on 16th February, leading to the defeat of Louis Botha’s Boers

Question 6

Relief of Mafeking

Answer 6

Roberts was able to push further north once resupplied and reinforced and relieved the siege of Mafeking on the 17th May 1900. Led to great celebrations back home. Greatly improved the morale and public opinion.

Question 7

September 1900 - May 1902

Answer 7

The war was effectively over, as in the summer of 1900, the presidents of the Orange Free State (Martinus Steyn) and of the Transvaal (Paul Kruger) had fled and both territories were formally annexed, and the major sieges had been relieved. However, there was now a “mopping up” of any problems left in the region, left up to Kitchener. His role was primarily organisation and supply, but was now appointed as commander-in-chief from November 1900. The British were forced into a war of attrition by Boer guerillas.

Question 8

How did guerrilla warfare suit the Boers?

Answer 8

• They had no uniform; they were difficult to recognise as they were just informal civilian militias
• They operated in smaller groups, called commandos, which were more mobile than large battalions. Were able to strike and disappear before reinforcements could arrive.
• The use of local farmsteads for shelter and support, living off the land, possibly vulnerable to the later ‘scorched earth’ tactic
• Knowledge of the terrain

Question 9

Blockhouses

Answer 9

• Fortresses suited for up to 8 soldiers
• 8,000 blockhouses were used to protect supply routes
• Allowed Kitchener to ‘segment’ the Veldt, and seal sections of it off. They could clear out guerrillas section by section.
• They were eventually linked with 4,000 miles of barbed wire to help the British further establish control.

Question 10

Other tactics used by Kitchener to deal with the guerrillas

Answer 10

• Use of armoured trains; from May 1900, the British started to gain control of Transvaal railways, and incorporated them into their own Imperial Military Railways. They had a metal shield, and some were equipped with field guns and machine guns.
• Scorched earth policy
• Telephone and telegraph to communicate
• Raiding columns in support of larger sweeper columns

Question 11

Scorched earth policy

Answer 11

Policy began under Roberts, and was meant to deny food and shelter to the guerrillas. They swept through Boer territory systematically, leading to the destruction of livestock, food, ammunition and displaced thousands of civilians. These civilians were then taken to internment/concentration camps.

Question 12

Concentration camps

Answer 12

• Designed to end guerrilla tactics, but badly managed and led to a number of civilian deaths.
• This was to ‘save’ them from starvation and prevent them from giving aid to the Boer guerrillas.
• Some thought that this would make them stop fighting, however, this could have been a mistake, as men in the commandos may have periodically left the war to tend to their families. With them being in camps, they had no reason to leave. Plus, this may have spurred on a willingness to fight for them.
• There was improper sanitation, and diseases like typhoid killed thousands.
• Nearly 28,000 people had died. 22,000 were children under 16.