Silvapages

Practices of the Boer War

  • Use of rifled weapons by both sides expands the battlefield dramatically.  Forces troops to disperse and for the British to begin wearing khaki uniforms instead of red.
  • Use of rapid fire rifled artillery greatly expands the range of killing.
  • Machine gun use by the Boers also forces greater dispersal of forces.
  • Telegraph and heliographs are used to communicate over the great distances in South Africa
  • Boers use "rush and cover" tactics to great effectiveness against the British troops who initially still use formation such as squares, lines and fire by rank as witnessed in Black Week .  Black week temporarily halts British attempts to relieve three surrounded cites.
  • The Boers lay siege to important British cities of Ladysmith, Kimberly and Mafeking.  Mafeking becomes a major focus due to its precarious position deep in Boer territory and the remarkable leadership of Robert Baden-Powell who makes three months of food last for over a year.
  • Boers practice concealment from the outset
  • After a few months of stalemate the British finally defeat the Boers and advance into Johannesburg to apparently end the war.
  • Boers after being defeated in conventional warfare resort to guerilla warfare, which they call "commando."  The war continues and takes an ugly turn.
  • British respond to guerilla warfare with sweep, blockhouse and mobile warfare tactics and better British Technology.
  • Once the war goes commando, mounted forces become critical to both sides.
  • British decide to separate the civilian Boers from the commandos by removing the civilians from combat zones into concentration camps.  At first, the death rate in these camps was appalling until the British implemented modern health practices to reduce the mortality rate.
  • Boers often mutilate British dead, falsely surrender under flags of truce, often refuse to wear uniforms and sometimes wear British uniforms.  The British troops often murder Boer prisoners suspected of violating the rules of war as proper punishment for those who do not follow rules which give them status as Prisoners of War.
  • The British also violate the rules of war by placing Boer prisoners in harm's way to protect British trains or supply columns.
  • British sweeps, removal of civilians, blockhouses, mounted soldiers, cutting off of supplies along the Portuguese border and finally bringing the Zulus into the war cause the Boers to give up the fight.