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The Second Boer War was fought from October 11, 1899 to May 31, 1902
Britain
with
Netherlands
Descendants of immigrants
The Afrikaners
It was founded by the Boers
The Transvaal Republic
and
The Orange Free State
A war over the territory and resources of South Africa.
The Transvaal Republic
Pres.
Paul Kruger
An ultimatum for the British to withdraw from the Transvaal border was rejected by the British government. In the autumn of 1899, the British army began to accumulate on the Transvaal and Orange border, in order to prevent the British invasion, the Boers declared war on the British on 11 October 1899, and the Boer militia thus launched an active attack on the British forces in southern Africa.
In order to conquer the Boers, who had a population of only hundreds of thousands, the war lasted for more than three years, and the British invested more than 400,000 people and died more than 22,000 people. In the end, Britain signed a peace treaty with the Boers under the pressure of international public opinion and the huge losses brought by the war. The war has prompted
Union of South Africa
The formation of guerrilla warfare also promoted the influence of guerrilla warfare in the military field.
- Given name
- The Second Boer War
- Occurrence time
- October 11, 1899 - May 31, 1902
- combatant
- British Empire VS The Transvaal Republic , The Orange Free State
- Bear fruit
- Britain's defeat
- Combatant strength
-
347,000 people in the UK
British colonies 103,000-153,000 people
- Combatant strength
- 88,000 people in the Transvaal
- casualty
-
The British suffered 7,000 killed, 17,000 dead from disease, 934 missing and 22,828 wounded
Transvaal, 5,000 dead, 15,000 Boers - Chief commander
- Alfred Milner , Paul Kruger , Luis Botha
- alias
- South African War , Second Anglo-Bolshevik War
The migration of the Boers
In 1795, the British fleet sailed
S.Africa
The Cape landed and began a century-long battle with the Boers in South Africa. After years of conflict, the Boers were forced to move north in the face of British power, establishing themselves in 1852 and 1854
The Transvaal
and
Orange
Two Boer republics.
In 1867,
Orange River
Diamonds found in the area. The Orange government immediately declared that the area was under its jurisdiction. The British colonists strongly opposed this and hatched plans to annex the two Boer republics. In 1877, the British sent troops to annex by force
The Transvaal Republic
This provoked the Boers to revolt. In February 1881, the Boer Army defeated more than 1,000 British troops near Mazuba Mountain, forcing the British to recognize the independence of the Transvaal and sign a peace treaty with each other in the name of retaining some powers.
In 1884, prospecting experts in the Transvaal Republic
Pretoria
and
Waal
Between a remote pasture, found the world's largest
The Witwatersrand
Gold mine (referred to as Rand Gold Mine, Rand). Then it was built on this gold mine
Johannesburg
. Profits and taxes from the gold mines fueled the Transvaal's economic growth and increased friction with Britain.
In 1890, the Transvaal government announced that foreign nationals residing in Johannesburg would pay full taxes, but would not be entitled to vote in elections for the President and the Legislative Council (Volksraad) unless they had lived in the Transvaal for 14 years and held citizenship. In addition, all foreigners cannot hold government jobs and their children cannot attend government-funded schools. This law was protested by the British, as most of the Transvaal's expatriates were British. The trade war between the Transvaal and the British colony of South Africa
Tariff barrier
High taxes and economic restrictions on British-owned mining companies in the Transvaal were the three main causes of worsening tensions between the Transvaal and Britain in the late 19th century.
In 1895,
Joseph Chamberlain
Joseph Chamberlain became British Colonial Secretary and mining magnate
Cecil Rhodes
enthronement
Cape Colony
Prime minister. On 28 December, Rhodes' close friend Dr Jameson, a senior officer of the South African Mining Company, led 500 South African Company police officers and several machine guns in an attempt to overthrow the Transvaal government of Paul Kruger.
On 2 January 1896, the Janssen forces were surrounded by South African police forces in Krugersdorp, and all but 134 of them, including Janssen, were killed and taken prisoner. The Aliens Reform Committee, which was preparing to riot in Johannesburg, acted quickly, but was also suppressed by the South African police. Jensen and his associates were handed over to the British and sentenced to 15 months in prison for "attempting a military expedition against a friendly nation." The leaders of the Johannesburg "Reform Committee for Aliens" were sentenced to death by the Transvaal court, which was later commuted to 15 years' imprisonment and a fine of 25,000 each after strong British protest
Pound sterling
.
After Jensen's expedition, the Kaiser
Wilhelm II
President Transvaal
Paul Kruger
A famous telegram of congratulations was sent, which soured Anglo-German relations and convinced Britain to settle the dispute with the Transvaal by force.
April 1899 - Prime Minister of the British Cape Colony
Alfred Milner
Sir Alfred Milner was inspired by the British diaspora in the Transvaal
Queen Victoria
Wrote a letter of grievance asking her to protect the interests of British subjects. In June of that year, Milner and Krueger met
Bloemfontein
A final negotiation was held on the protection of the rights of aliens. While negotiating, the British wasted no time in sending troops from overseas to South Africa.
The Western world launched a campaign of sympathy and solidarity in 1899
Boer Republic
The movement of... Dutch sum
Belgium
Numerous civic groups were formed, donations were collected, articles were published, foundations were established, and wartime mobile hospitals and medical equipment were donated to the Transvaal. From Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France, the United States, Russia,
Ireland
,
Italy
and
Scandinavia
Thousands of volunteers from the nation traveled across the ocean to the Transvaal, ready to fight alongside the Boers.
In September 1899, Krueger told Milner that consideration could be given to reducing the period of residency for foreigners to obtain Transvaal citizenship from 14 years to five years, but demanded that Britain stop making future claims to the Transvaal Republic
suzerainty
The requirements of.
Influenced by domestic public opinion,
British parliament
In his reply to Kruger, he said: "... Her Majesty's Government considers the response of the Government of the Republic of South Africa to be negative or inconclusive... Her Majesty's Government reserves the right to reconsider the situation and take any last resort measures accordingly." To increase military pressure on the Transvaal, the British began
India
and
Mediterranean
Each sent 2,000 men to reinforce the Natal colony.
On October 9, 1899, the Transvaal government issued an ultimatum to the British to stop sending more troops to South Africa, withdraw all troops that had arrived in South Africa after June 1, and submit all disputes to diplomatic arbitration with 48 hours to reply. On 10 October, Chamberlain ordered Milner to reject the South African offer. At exactly 5pm on 11 October 1899, the Federal Parliament of the Transvaal Republic and the Orange Free State Republic declared war on Britain, and the Second Boer War broke out.
The Boer Plan
Before the British reinforcements reached South Africa, the superior forces were assembled, divided in two, and attacked all the way east to Natal, dividing and encircling the two main British strongholds
Ladysmith
(Ladysmith and Dundee), and occupied
Port of Durban
Access to the sea; The other way to the southwest, occupy the west
Cape
The two strategic points on the railway where the main British forces were stationed -
Mafeking
(Mafeking) and
Kimberley
. At the same time, he incited Boer riots in the Cape Colony to contain British forces, especially disrupting the transport of the two Cape Railways in the east and west to prevent the reinforcement of the British army from using the railways to advance north. In addition, in order to prevent native Africans from attacking the Boers, General Antonie Princloo led a heavy army stationed in the Elephant River valley, far from the front line
Pedis
A militia of 800-1000 men was stationed on the border of Eswatini, with a militia of 1000 men
The Calydon River
Valley of Basotho border.
Battle of Tarana Hill
On 12 October 1899, the Boer Alliance, consisting of the Transvaal Army and the Orange Armed Forces, moved east. General Pierre Joubert, commander-in-chief of the Bianconian Army, led the main force from
East Orange
Cross Drakens Hill, enter Natal Colony, and head straight for Ladysmith, where the main British force of Natal is located. Early on the morning of 20 October, the pursuing brigades engaged at Talana Hill with a brigade of British troops stationed there to defend the perimeter of Ladysmith. Their commander, General Lucas Meyer, took advantage of the favorable terrain and the cover of the morning fog to launch a surprise attack on the British. The British lost 465 men and the Buchanan lost 145.
Another army, commanded by General De La RAE, known as the Lion of the West Transvaal, entered British Bechuanaland on 11 October and cut off the Western Cape Railway Main line, thus cutting off the Cape region
Rhodesia
The connection between... De la Rey divided his forces in two directions, one under General Piet Cronje to encircle Maffutin, and the other (mostly Orangemen) under Louis Botha to encircle the diamond town of Kimberley.
A third army crossed the Orange River and moved south, absorbing small Boer forces from the British Cape Colony and operating in the northeast of the Cape, threatening the East-West Cape Railway line. The British had to fight
Orange River
The railway bridge was heavily guarded against Boer attempts to blow it up. De Aar, the most important railway junction and distribution point for military supplies on the Western Cape line, was also harassed by the Boers. In order to protect the normal passage of the East-West Cape Railway, the British had to put 4.7
inches
The naval guns were mounted on the trains and slowly advanced under cover, repairing the railway in small sections.
Battle of Leddy Smith
On 30 October 1899 (later known in the British Army as "Sad Monday"), Leddy Smith's 4,000 British men under Lieutenant General Sir George White launched a counterattack against the Army, meeting the main force of Jubert's army at Nicholson's Nek. The British were defeated, losing 1,272 men, and the remainder retreated to Ladysmith, where they were soon surrounded. With Lydie Smith well defended, Joubert failed several times to capture the city, and sent reconnaissance troops deep into the British hinterland, as far as the Estcourt line, to scout points that could be used to hold. The rest of the main force camped around Ladysmith, awaiting the arrival of the British overseas regiments.
At the end of October, 20,000 British troops, led by General Sir Redvers Buller, commander of the British Reinforcements (South African Expeditionary Force), who had suppressed insurrections in Ireland, finally arrived in Cape Town. Beginning in mid-November, British forces under Buller's command launched counterattacks on three fronts, eastern, central, and western: Lieutenant-General Lord Paul Methuen lifted the siege of Kimberley on the Western front, Lieutenant-General French attacked the Orange Free State on the central front, and General Buller led the main force to lift the siege of Lydie Smith on the eastern front.
On the morning of 15 December, General Buhler attacked the Buhlers at Colenso, a small station southwest of Lydis Smith, in an attempt to force a pass
The Tugela River
(Tugela River), head to Ladysmith. Buhler commanded the British 2nd, 4th, 5th, and 6th Brigades, totaling 16,000 men, as well as four Light horse regiments and three squadrons of Lancers made up of colonial cavalry. The artillery had five batteries and 30 guns, in addition to 16 Navy 12-pounder and 4.7-inch guns. Buhler's total strength, including cavalry and artillery, was 22,000 men. Boer troops at the Battle of Colenso included troops from Johannesburg, Heidelberg,
Krugersdorp
Militia groups in eight regions, including Freyhead and Utrecht, troops in the Orange Free State, and white police forces in Johannesburg and Eswatini, totaling 3,500.
There is also a 120mm German system
Krupp
Howitzer, 1 75 mm Krupp field gun, 2 75 mm Fesshnid-Cruso cannon, 1 37 mm Maxim rapid-fire gun (Pom Pom). Due to the fact that the artillery positions had been concealed in advance, as well as the mismanagement of the British commander, which led to the dispersion of troops and rigid tactics, the British suffered a heavy defeat in the battle, with 1,139 men killed, 250 missing, and 10 artillery pieces lost. The Boers lost only eight dead and 30 wounded.
During the same period as the Battle of Lydie Smith, the British also suffered defeats at Kimberley on the Western Front and at Stormberg on the centre front, losing more than 2,800 men
British army
It is known in history as "The Dark Week". General Buller resigned as commander-in-chief of the British Expeditionary Force because of the defeat.
On 17 December 1899 Lord Frederick Roberts was appointed Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Salisbury
Lord Kitchener was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the South African Expeditionary Force, with Lord Herbert Kitchener as Chief of staff. As a result of the defeat, militancy increased among the British people, and the Salisbury Cabinet's policy of "taking the war to the end" was supported.
On January 10, 1900, Roberts and Kitchener arrived
Cape Town
. They brought home the Seventh Army, from
Australia
,
NZ
and
Canada
Reinforcements, as well as troops stationed in India and
Ceylon
Three cavalry detachments. By January 1900, the number of British troops on the South African battlefield had increased to 180,000, and by March it had increased to 220-250,000, which was an absolute advantage. In addition, thousands of army horses arrived in South Africa from Britain and Australia, increasing the mobility of British troops.
In February 1900, after considering the situation on the battlefield, Roberts changed his strategy, shifting the focus of the attack from Natal west to the weaker Orange area in the center, and changing the rigid frontal assault tactics to a flanking strategy. On the western front, the British defeated the militia commanded by Pieter Kronye, the fiercest "Black general" of the Bianconeri, and on 16 February liberated Kimberley, which had been besieged for months. The British offensive on the eastern front began on 27 February and defeated the Boers at Dordrecht on 3 March, finally breaking the siege of Lydis Smith.
Having eliminated the most formidable Kronye threat to the left flank, Roberts turned the main thrust back to Orange and marched steadily north. Learning from the failure of the first phase, the British changed their tactics. When ambushed by the Soviets, the infantry did not remain in formation, but dug trenches nearby to shield the cavalry from charging the positions. Under this tactic, the Brigades failed at Poplar Grove, Abrahams Kraal, and other points. On 10 March, the British 6th and 7th Divisions defeated the best-equipped Johannesburg Police Force at Abraham's Cattle Pen. On 12 March, the President of the Orange Free State, Mattius Stein, led government and parliamentary officials to flee the capital, Bloemfontein, to the north
Kronstad
(Kroonstad). On the afternoon of 13 March, the British marched into Bloemfontein. Mid-to-late March, British forces
Typhoid fever
The British offensive was interrupted when Roberts ordered a stoppage. On 26 March, Joubert, the Brigadier General, fell from his horse again and was seriously wounded in the battle of Willow Grange; he died on 27 March. Good at guerrilla warfare, according to his dying wish
Luis Botha
Louis Botha took over as Commander-in-chief of the Boer Field Forces.
At the end of April 1900, a large contingent of British reinforcements arrived in South Africa. Roberts had eight infantry divisions (the 3rd, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, and Colonial Divisions) and the 12th Cavalry Division. The British renewed their offensive in early May. On 12 May, Roberts' army captured Kronstad, the new capital of the Orange Free State. As a result of the successive defeats, the morale of the Boers plummeted. With Roberts' promise of leniency, many of the vigilantes operating behind British lines surrendered to the British, surrendered their weapons, and returned to their farms. By mid-May, only over 20,000 Boers remained in the fighting.
On 24 May 1900, in Bloemfontein, Lord Milner announced the British annexation of the Orange Free State. After the annexation of Orange, the British intensified their assault on the Transvaal. On 29 May, General French took command of the Australian cavalry and defeated the last of the defending forces at the Klip River on the southern outskirts of Johannesburg. On May 30, President Krueger left the capital Pretoria by train. Roberts entered Johannesburg on 31 May and Pretoria on the early morning of 5 June.
On 1 September 1900, Roberts announced the British annexation of the Transvaal and declared the war over. On 11 September, President Kruger arrived in Portugal, authorized by the Transvaal government in exile
Mozambique
The capital of Lorenzo Marques, October 19, Kruger ride
Queen of the Netherlands
Wilhelmina
The cruiser De Gelderland was sent
Europe
A plea.
After the capture of Pretoria, Roberts' 40,000 troops rested in place. But the long British supply route from Cape Town to Pretoria came under attack from the Boers, who were still resisting. By this time the major cities and railway lines of the Transvaal and Orange had all been occupied, and the Bianconeri had turned to guerrilla warfare. In Johannesburg and Pretoria, the British thwarted several Boer riots.
General Roberts left Pretoria on 29 November 1900 and returned home to take over as Commander-in-Chief of the British Army. He handed over command of the South African Army to Lord Kitchener, with Lord Ian Hamilton taking over as Chief of Staff.
The Boer army, which had withdrawn from the city, had now broken up into guerrilla groups. Boer partisans fought in Dvete, Delaray, Bota,
Jan Smuts
(Jan Smuts) and
James Herzog
Under the leadership of James Hertzog and others, he used his field cavalry skills to attack British lines of communication, plunder British supplies, and annihilate small groups of British troops.
From December 1900 to April 1901, Boer partisans fought deep into the British Cape Colony under the command of Botha and DeWitt.
During the winter Campaign from April to September 1901, the partisans launched several surprise attacks on the British forces in the Transvaal and Orange, and were successful in capturing large quantities of ammunition, supplies and artillery.
From September 1901 to May 1902, Smug and Herzog entered the Cape Colony again. They led 5,000 cavalry, divided into small groups of guerrillas, rushed thousands of miles, deep behind the British army, until the advance
Atlantic
The coast and the outskirts of Cape Town forced the British to declare martial law in the Cape region.
The Boer War was long and exhausting on both sides, and the attacks and accusations against Britain in European countries were increasingly fierce. By February 1901, Kitchener had begun secret negotiations with Louis Botha.
By May 1902, the British had spent 220 million pounds in South Africa and lost more than 21,000 lives. The Boers' fighting capacity was also declining rapidly, from a peak of 88,000 men to 22,000, and the militia soldiers were malnourished, ragged, and demoralized due to lack of supplies. They have run out of supplies and are dependent on booty.
In 1902, the British and British sides began formal peace talks. The key to the negotiations was the question of the independence of the Boers and the treatment of them
African
The issue (the core is African suffrage). On the second question, Britain, at the expense of the interests of the Africans, moved closer to the Boers and quickly reached an agreement with the Boers.
The purpose of the war was the annexation of the Boer Republic, and Britain refused to give an inch, refusing five times the demands of the Orange President Stein to maintain independence. The Boers had no choice but to back down and claim the power to formulate and execute their own policy towards the natives.
On 15 May 1902, Boer representatives representing the two Boer Republics, thirty-two local militia groups, and 165 partisans met at a conference
Vereenigin
(Vereeniging) meeting to discuss and fight the future. On 27 May, Lord Milner arrived at Vereenishin for a meeting with General Smutz, the Boer representative.
At the meeting, Milner laid out twelve conditions for peace talks. Its contents are:
- 1.
Boer field forces and armed citizens lay down their weapons, surrender all guns and war materiel in their possession or control, and terminate the war Edward VII To continue any attempt by His Majesty's Government to resist, and to recognize His Majesty as its rightful sovereign;
- 2.
Boer prisoners who swore allegiance to the King were to be released immediately;
- 3.
To guarantee the personal liberty and inviolability of the property of the Boers;
- 4.
A general amnesty, except for certain violations of the customs of war;
- 5.
- 6.
Boers were allowed to keep their guns for self-defence, subject to a licence;
- 7.
Replace military rule in the Transvaal and Orange with civil administration as soon as possible;
- 8.
- 9.
No tax levied to pay for the war was imposed on the two newly conquered territories;
- 10.
The British helped the Boers rebuild their farms;
- 11.
Compensation of three million pounds to farmers and Boer citizens who suffered losses;
- 12.
The main commanders of the Boer army were stripped of their citizenship, but not sentenced to death.
On 30 May, 60 Boer delegates voted on whether to abandon the idea of maintaining independence, with a vote of 54 to 6 to accept the treaty's crucial first article. On 31 May, a peace treaty was signed at Vereeniging. For 31 months
Anglo-burgundy War
Declare the end.
During the Second Boer War, 450,000 British troops (officially 448,435) were mobilized, including 256,000 regular British troops, 109,000 British volunteers, 53,000 British colonial troops in South Africa, and 31,000 from Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. The British sent 380,000 troops to South Africa by sea, in addition to 350,000 horses, 100,000 mules, 1.34 million tons of military equipment and other supplies, and 1,027 ships were used. A total of 1,072 officers and 20,870 men from the British, Australian, New Zealand and Canadian forces were killed.
A total of 88,000 people took part in the war (South Africa's official statistics are 87,365), of which 43,000 Transvaal, Orange 30,000, the entire population of these two countries is only 440,000, so almost all of the young men fought; In addition, there were 13,000 Boers from the Cape Colony and 2,000 foreign volunteers. By the time the peace treaty was concluded, 3,700 Boers had been killed, 31,000 had been taken prisoner, 20,000 had surrendered their arms, and more than 10,000 had fled into exile
German South-West Africa
And Mozambique.
After the Anglo-Bolshevik War, Britain joined its colonies in southern Africa and controlled the corridor to the Great Lakes region in the heart of Africa.
Cape of Good Hope
Based on the vast interior of South Africa, it became one of the most important outposts of the British overseas Empire. Economically, with the world's largest Rand gold mine controlled by the United Kingdom, the United Kingdom was able to control the lifeline of the global economy. Gold from South Africa quickly made London a centre for global finance and gold trading.
But the Second Anglo-Bolshevists War also marked the end of Britain's overseas expansion. British politicians found it economically and strategically unfeasible to defend the overseas territories of the British Empire and the British mainland at the same time because of the high cost of modernizing wars. So Britain should no longer be isolated. After the end of the Boer War, Britain began a global strategic contraction, transferring part of its overseas sphere of influence to the white self-governing territories such as Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and the strategic focus of Britain itself turned back to Europe.
The Boer War brought about great changes within the British Empire. The high war expenditure made Britain unable to spend a huge price to maintain the imperial system, and even Chamberlain, who had always been keen on the imperial colonial cause, lamented "this is a burden" after the war.
Beginning in 1902, the British government began to consider the adoption of tariff reforms
Preferential tariff system
Holding the Empire together. This tariff reform actually enhanced the economic status of the colonies within the Empire. At the same time, after the outbreak of the Boer War, Australia and other colonies held a military summit and decided to send volunteers to South Africa so that their troops could serve in extraterritorial operations. The decision was echoed by the colonies of Canada, New Zealand, and India, all of which sent volunteers to South Africa. This in turn enabled the colonies to gain military autonomy from within the British Empire.
In 1901 and 1907, Australia and New Zealand became
dominion
. Many of the colonies of the British Empire subsequently declared themselves dominions. After the First World War, the trend of British decline was very clear.
It was promulgated in the United Kingdom in 1931
Westminster act
The British colonial system was shaken by the declaration that Britain and the dominions were equal and independent of each other in all aspects of their domestic and foreign affairs. After the Second World War, Britain's economic power was greatly weakened, and its political status was extremely declining.
With 1947
Pakistan
and
India
By the 1960s, the British imperial colonial system had completely collapsed.
In addition to its direct impact on the participating countries, the Boer War also had a profound impact on the development of modern military theory and equipment technology. In this war, many important modern warfare theories have emerged or played an important role for the first time. During the Boer War, the German General Staff sent military advisers to the Transvaal and Orange, and military observers from Switzerland, the Netherlands, and France were sent to South Africa. In the face of the large and rapid troop movements by the British by rail and the overwhelming head-on combat of large corps, the German General Staff deepened its trust in the doctrine of "total warfare". And Switzerland (and later
Israel
According to the Boer military idea of "all the people are soldiers", they established their own unique national defense system.
In terms of operational theory, the Boer War once again put forward the theory of "war for all" : every eligible civilian is a conscript soldier, usually engaged in his own business in farms and towns, and received short military training during a certain period of the year, and when the war broke out, he was quickly assembled by the area to form a militia to fight. For small countries with relatively poor population and resources, it is impossible to maintain a standing army with a certain scale because the army does not produce in peacetime and the military expenditure is very high, so the policy of national mobilization, peacetime and war integration, and the combination of soldiers and civilians can solve certain difficulties.
