The Anglo-Boer War

The conventional war has ended and the guerilla war has begun.

The next few episodes will explore the actions of various leaders as they criss-crossed the South African countryside. But its not a romantic gallop, there are moments of unbelievable pain and suffering on all sides. The British soldiers were also to find their battles contradictory - not least being the political to-ing and fro-ing in their homeland while they marched back and forth on the harsh African veld.

There were Australians, Irish, New Zealanders, Canadians too. For the Australians, the veld was a reminder of home in many ways, full of snakes that could kill and heat that sapped and drained. The Canadians were mainly frontiersmen who signed up partly for king and commonwealth, and partly for adventure. They were used to snow and cold, but here in South Africa, the sharp contrast between day and night in winter can cause rocks .. and men .. to crack.

It was now midwinter. We’ll begin this week riding once more with Christiaan de Wet and the Free State commando which had been holed up in the mountains around the Caledon Valley. As we heard last week, Lieutenant General Hunter had arrived in Bethlehem which lies close to the Brandwater range - the Witterberge and the Rooiberge, on the Western arch of the Basutho or modern day Lesotho border.

Further east the barrier of spears or the Drakensberg mountain range - the Dragon Mountains - rise steeply and are covered in snow most of winter. It’s a dangerous place to be caught outside without food, shelter and fire with the igneous rocks worn sharp and high by weather that is as extreme as anywhere.

On the same day that Christiaan de Wet had given Hunter the slip from the Witterberge, Louis Botha had setup an attack on the Canadians who had just received their fresh Argentinian ponies east of Pretoria.

The Canadian Mounted Rifles rejoined their brigade at Rietvlei Pass, northeast of the Transvaal Capital Pretoria, on the 15th July, and by sunrise the next day, they were in a skirmish.

It was during this confrontation that another of the macabre co-incidences of this war took place. One of the Canadian officers who was well liked had just arrived back at the front after recovering from injuries. Lieutenant HL Borden was a tough Canadian soldier - the kind of soldier that the British were to rely on in the next war - the Great war of 1914-1918.

He and another Lieutenant by the name of Birch wanted to get a better view of where the Boers were on the Tigerpoort ridge - so both stood up to see where the Mauser fire was coming from.

Borden was the only son of Canada’s Minister of militia - or the army in common language. What happened next would resonate around the North American territory.

It’s early July 1900 and we’re into the phase of this conflict that is characterised by small Boer forces roaming the veld, hiding out and then striking weak points in the British line.

And in a country the size of South Africa, many weak points are to be found. The Transvaal government had relocated to the eastern town of Machadadorp which overlooks the escarpment down to the coast, what is known as the lowveld of the country.

It’s beautiful - but also trecherous. The canyons and gorges are heavily wooded and steep, an entire army could hide out in these thick overgrown and deep valleys, and they did.

Long rows of railway carriages constituted the new headquarters of the Transvaal government and its entourage of civil servants who had come from Pretoria.

Boer commando Deneys Reitz and his brothers had made their way to Machadadorp after the Battle of Diamond Hill or Donkerhoek as its also known. They had ridden east for three days before finally finding a berth on a cargo train in Middelburg, but had to leave their horses behind.

They reached Machadadorp early in the morning and found their father in one of the carriages. He was the Transvaal Secretary, EW Reitz, who worked alongside Oom Paul Kruger the president. One of Deney’s brothers, Arend, was in a Russian Field Hospital in Waterval Onder, which means Under Waterfall to translate correctly, in the lower slopes of the escarpment.

Reitz senior welcomed his sons, then told them to seek comfort from the fact that the war was not over - he said look at George Washington -“ He too had fought for a seemingly lost cause but triumphed in the end”.

The healthy Reitz brothers returned to the high plains heading west back to Middelberg where they collected their horses and joined a contingent of German volunteers, about 60 strong, led by an Austrian called Baron von Goldeck. This small unit was on reconnaisance for General Louis Botha who as we heard last week, who had gathered a force of 5000 together to continue the war against the British in the East of the country.

The important fact to note here was that these 5000 were what Botha called Good Fighting Men, unlike a large number of burghers who had been half-heartedly defending their country against the British at times.

But these Good Fighting men were not alone. In the West, the Orange Free State, like-minded boer Generals were at work. One was Christian de Wet, who’d been busy as we’ve heard.

On the 8th July 1900, British Commander Lieutenant General Sir Archibald Hunters’ two thousand strong column plodded into Bethlehem in the East of the Orange River Colony as it was now called, close to the Basutoland Frontier - or modern day Lesotho.

Hunter was moving with a few hundred Rimington’s Tigers, the English speaking colonial fighters, and the Black Watch, the Seaforth unit, and the Highland Light Infantry. They were veterans now, as were the Highland Yeomanry and the Lovat Scouts.

And as they approached the town named after the birthplace of Jesus, their prayers were answered. It had taken weeks of marching through undulating veld, and the descriptions are very much like the Germans and French description of marching towards Moscow through the steppes. Week after week of unrelenting flatland which eventually played on the soldiers’ minds.

We’re up to episode 41 of the series and Lord Roberts and the British army have taken control of most of South Africa.

In this episode we’ll hear about the last pitched conventional battle of the Anglo-Boer war, Diamond Hill. It’s also unique for the fact that an earthquake struck the region east of Pretoria in the Transvaal Republic as the battle raged.

The Free State Republic has fallen, so too the Transvaal Republic. But have they really? Their capitals have been seized by the British, but there are still thousands of Boer commandos willing to fight on.

We heard last week how General Christian de Wet was making life difficult for Lord Methuen and others in the Free State, now our attention shifts back to the Transvaal and the area around the Capital Pretoria in particular.

Boer President Oom Paul Kruger has fled to Machadadorp in the east along with his government, while back in Pretoria Burghers are trying to make up their minds about their next steps.

The fighting is about to switch to unconventional warfare, guerilla warfare, and the Boers are gathering under the leadership of General Louis Botha. First he decided to face off against the British at a sweeping group of hills that formed a natural semi-circle called Donkerhoek which means Dark Corner. The English referred to this coming battle as Diamond Hill.

This would conform to the recent style of fighting and was not strictly guerilla in tactics.

With Lord Kitchener in the south trying to tie down General de Wet, the coming fight was left to Lord Roberts and General Hamilton.

It’s the morning of 10th June 1900, and we’re riding with General Christian de Wet who is about to make Lord Kitchener’s acquaintance far from the capital Pretoria, where Lord Roberts has bivouacked with his 16 000 troops, expecting the Boers to quit fighting.

But they don’t.

In the Free State, General de Wet has been creating his own brand of guerilla warfare which the British realise suddenly is likely to extend the conflict at least for a few weeks. Once again they’re wrong - the war is about to extend for two more years and worse for the British, the new brand of highly mobile hit and run warfare has never been seen. Their response eventually is to design one of the most terrifying tools created by man - the concentration camp.

Furthermore, the reason why this historic moment is so discernable from previous tactics of the same is the complexity of the Boer military structure and their complete dominance of the veld, the plains of South Africa.

They’re the Sioux or Apache warriors of South Africa but with the latest weapons, heavily armed and mightily motivated, supplied surrepticiously and constantly moving.

And de Wet is the master of his landscape, but he’s about to meet a man who eventually became one of the most hated in Southern Africa by Boer and even black South Africans - the man who was to perfect the idea of the concentration camp - Lord Kitchener.

So its the morning of June 10th, and its winter in South Africa. Kitchener has around 15 000 men under his command, de Wet a few hundred. And the Boer commander is using the British weak link as his attack point - the railway line between the inland cities and the ports of Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and East London.

De Wet is in a quandry. If he continues to attack the railway line, eventually Kitchener will catch him or surround his little force, particularly on the open plains around Heilbron and Vredefortweg.

There are no large ranges of mountains to use as strategic points, they lie further south east along the Drakensburg and the Lesotho border. So he must rely on his wits and false trails.

He says in his book Three Year’s War:

“I gave orders that the few wagons which we had with us should proceed in the direction of Kroonstad.. to the west of the line, once out of sight they were to turn sharply to the West and continue in that direction. This manoeuvre I hoped would serve to mislead the enemy, who was on the lookout for us…”

We’re up to episode 39, and we’re concentrating on the Natal front - or what was known as the Eastern Front.

The Natal town of Ladysmith was relieved by General Sir Redvers Buller on 28 February 1900, following the battle of the Thukela Heights. Buller rode into the town on 1 March 1900 and if you’ll remember, made movie history by being the first general filmed entering a town to relieve a siege.

On 19 May, Buller planned the next stage. The Boers had crossed the Drakensberg at Lang's Nek and those who could be persuaded to remain had established well concealed trenches on either side of the pass. Realizing this, Buller decided to create the impression that Lang's Nek was his target, rather than his true objective which was actually Botha's Pass named after the Boer Leader, Louis Botha.

The 4th Brigade and the 1st West Surrey Regiment were ordered to form the advance guard. They marched to Ingogo or what the Boers called Schuinshoogte where they bivouacked for nine days.

Their camp could be clearly observed as usual by the burghers from their positions at Lang's Nek.

Lyttelton's division commenced clearing the Doornberg to the south-east near Landman's Drift, while general Hildyard reached Utrecht on 29 May. After a considerable amount of discussion, the landdrost or magistrate formally surrendered the town of Utrecht and the Boers retreated, taking up a position on the hills above in return for the assurance by the British that Utrecht would not be shelled if they remained there.

The Transvaal flag and six rifles were taken away as a sign of submission and Buller's proclamation of surrender by the town was posted up on its notice boards. But Hildyard had hardly left Utrecht before the Boers returned, re-occupied the town, tore down the proclamation and arrested the landdrost who had surrendered.

Despite the comical aspect of this incident, it proved once again how adept Buller's commanders were at wasting time. He had halted in Newcastle for no less than sixteen days and had failed to move further than Ingogo and Utrecht.

Meanwhile Lyttelton moved his division northwards having cleared Christiaan Botha's force from the Doornberg, and advanced as Wakkerstroom in the eastern Traasvaal which he captured on 13 June.

So at this stage that we shall leave Lyttelton and return to Buller and the remainder of the Natal Army.

It may be recalled that during the vacillation following the relief of Ladysmith, Lord Roberts eventually gave up any hope of co-operation from Buller and informed him by telegram on 25 May that he could manage without him.

For those who’ve followed this story from our start in October you know that we’re tracking the weeks of the war itself, and it’s now the first week of June 1900. This moment is what Lord Roberts has been waiting for - the triumphant march into the Transvaal Capital Pretoriathus putting an end to the uppity Boers.

But there’s more bad news mixed with the good for the British. Christian de Wet, Koos de la Rey and Louis Botha along with other Boer leaders, are going to make the English lives a misery over the next 24 months, so Roberts and his men may as well enjoy the Indian Summer while they can.

In the traditional mode of warfare in Europe, the army arrives at the capital, destroys the opposing army, the generals hand over their swords, the monarchy or political leadership kow tows and the war is over. Reparations and various modes of punishment follow. As Napoleon found out when he ransacked and burnt Moscow, its not that simple.

And in Africa, things are far more complex. Often there’s no capital, there’s no proper army, there’s just an vague hint of force - then its gone. Its like a myth, a legend and momentarily it appears to cut your throat or knock your commander from his horse at a distance of 2 kilometers. For proper soldiers brought up on dignified marches and saluting, parade ground discipline, stratified leadership, court martials and empire states, the war in Africa is still infuriating and mysterious.

General Christian de Wet was about to attack Roodewal Station in the Free State, way behind British lines, in an incident which shook the British and caused the loss of half a million pounds of goods - which in 1900 was a real fortune.

We are into week 37 of this series and Johannesburg lies before Lord Roberts’ army. But he’s using a Velvet Glove which in retrospect is one of the biggest bungles of his career. While he frets over the details in Johannesburg, Colvile is given a severe case of bloody nose by the Boers in Lindley in the Free State.

Lord Robert’s large army has made its way over 1400 kilometers from Cape Town to Johannesburg, and in the north, the Transvaal Republic Capital Pretoria awaits his khaki dressed soldiers.

The mines are safe, and that’s been one of the main worries facing the British commander as he marched northwards, with Oom or Uncle Paul Kruger the Boer President threatening to blow them up, while his General, Louis Botha, was threatening to protect these mines saying it would be cowardly to destroy them.

Lord Roberts thought it best to allow the Boers to withdraw as the commander of Johannesburg, a Mr Krause, asked that the last commandos be allowed out and avoid the killing of women and children who remained in the city. Their commander in chief, their hero Kruger, remained at large.

For black workers in Johannesburg It must have been an utter shock to discover that the English were not their saviours, that the plan was to force the 14 000 back to role serving the gold mine owners for measly few shillings a month.

This episode is going to concentrate on the minutiae of the British army surrounding the city of Gold, Johannesburg. Its the city that was the main cause of this war with its gold and uitlanders or immigrants, who were mainly English speaking and had demanded the right to vote in the Transvaal. It was Kruger who denied them this vote knowing that his government would disappear under the weight of the uitlander city men and women who were colonials through and through and his culture would end.

That was the belief. For black Johannesburgers who lived under the harsh Calvinistic overtones of the Boer rule, it was the possibility of freedom that beckoned. Little did they know that the British would impose far harsher rule on blacks than the Boers, and in fact the British adherance to their imperial bureaucracy meant that the weak control over black movement for example would be beefed up with the arrival of the super-efficient British Empire.

So as the townships of the Witwatersrand echoed with happy sounds as black residents waited in expectation for the British arrival, the Boer administrators were rushing to empty the city of all its valuables.

Twenty six kilometres away to the south west, Roberts was coming to visit. The main song sung by troops in his army was “We’re marching to Pretoria” which became a clarion call and a morale booster during tough times.

The pattern of the advance rarely faltered, and surprised even Lord Roberts and one of the most famous war reporters riding alongside - Winston Churchill. He’d already been imprisoned and escaped from Pretoria, only to return to report for the Morning Post newspaper on the battles since. However, Churchill was beginning to have his doubts about the British role in this war.

It’s been a brutal seven months but for the English, they are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Or so it appears, because as the joke goes, the light at the end of the tunnel could be an oncoming train.

The Boers are falling back across a broad front, to the East in Natal, General Redvers Buller finally has found his military mojo and is approaching the Boer lines across the Biggarsberg to the north of Ladysmith. This is where the Highveld or the high plains of South Africa lie, and between him and the plains are Boers ensconsed in the three main passes.

In the centre, and about to cross the Vaal River, is Lord Roberts with his massive army of around 50 000 marching steadily towards Pretoria, and in the West, Lord Methuen’s unit under Mahon is moving up towards Mafeking and Plumer is north of the same town - they plan to join up there with the Canadians who approached via Beira in Portuguese East Africa.

Throughout South Africa, the British plan is finally falling into place.

It has taken seven months to subdue the Boers and now for the first time in this conflict, the British Empire appears just that. If you can cast your mind back to October 1899 when the Anglo-Boer war burst onto the global consciousness, the British really believed they’d crush these insolent burghers in the space of a few weeks.

The ongoing march north by Lord Robert’s army continues, and also swing around to Mafeking just before Plumer’s relieving force arrives because the Boers have a surprise in store for the towns’ commander in chief, Lord Baden-Powell.

The British had accomplished half their journey to Pretoria, and it was obvious that on the south side of the Vaal no serious resistance awaited them. Burghers were freely surrendering themselves with their arms, and returning to their farms again. Although as we’ve already heard, many of these surrendered arms were delapidated single shot elephant guns or even muskets. Surrendering Boers were burying their valuable Mausers and ammunition and biding their time.

 

In the south-east Rundle and Brabant slowly advanced, while the Boers who faced them fell back towards the Vaal River.

In the west, Hunter had crossed the Vaal at Windsorton, and Barton's Fusilier Brigade had fought a sharp action at Rooidam, while Mahon's Mafeking relief column had slipped past the Boer flank, escaping the observation of the British public, but certainly not that of the Boers themselves.

 

The casualties in the Rooidam action were nine killed and thirty wounded, but the advance of the Fusiliers was irresistible, and for once the Boer loss, as they were hustled from kopje to kopje, appears to have been greater than that of the British.

 

The Boer forces fell back after the action along the line of the Vaal, making for Christiana and Bloemhof in the far north of Orange Free State republic. Hunter entered into the Transvaal in pursuit of them, being the first to cross the border, with the exception of raiding Rhodesians early in the war.

Meanwhile Methuen was following a course parallel to Hunter but south of him, Hoopstad being the immediate objective. As Arthur Conan-Doyle writes in his history of the Boer War,

“The little union jacks which were stuck in the war maps in so many British households were now moving swiftly upwards.”