Second Boer War

The Second Boer War was a military struggle between British troops and the Boers from the Transvaal Republic and the Orange Free State. It took place from 1899 to 1902, in South Africa. Having won the First Boer War (1880-1881), the Dutch-descendant independent farmers (Boers) of Transvaal (South Africa Republic) had obtained self-governing status. However, the discovery of gold in the Transvaal in 1885 had caused many people to migrate into that region and led the native Boers to pass laws restricting the activities of foreigners. As a result, a British officer, Jameson, had made an unauthorized raid on Boer territory in 1895. Although the British government disavowed the act, by 1899 several British military units had been deployed along the Transvaal border.

This is how, just like in 1880, the British would attempt again to annex this territory. Thus, this armed conflict began as a result of British encroachment on the Transvaal Republic territorial borders and meddling in its internal affairs. On October 11, 1899, president Paul Kruger sent an ultimatum the British colonial government, demanding that every political disagreement between the parties be put under arbitration and that the British military units, threateningly deployed on the border, be pulled back. The ultimatum was turned down and the hostilities began.

The Second Boer War was much longer and more vicious than the First, involving a greater number of troops, specially on the British side as volunteers soldiers from Australia, New Zealand, and Canada joined the British Army in their conflict against the Boers. After three years of fierce fighting, with many battles and skirmishes fought, Britain finally won the war, but at a high cost, since 8000 imperial troops got killed in action; a high number compared to the 4000 Boers soldiers fell in the battlefield. One of the reasons the South Africans lost the war was that the British burned their farms and crops, and stole their livestock, driving their families into internment camps as they deprived the Boers of vital food supplies.

The first battle of the Second Boer War was the Battle of Kraaipan, in which the Boers defeated the British forces, and the last one was the Battle of Rooiwal, which was a British victory. Nevertheless, in most of the military confrontations the Boers came off winners, using unconventional tactics, such as hit-and-run attacks, ambushes, flanks attacks, etc. Besides, the South Africans were marksmen and professional hunters; using a different military approach, they shot from a prone position, behind covers, as they were patient and knew the rewards of waiting. They were the first to dig trenches and foxholes, which the British would use during World War I.

British Commanders: Lord Kitchener, Lord Roberts
Boer Commanders: Louis Botha, Koos De La Rey

Below, Boers fighters. They were Dutch-descendant farmers and cattle raiser from South Africa