The second Anglo Boer war. - Historum

Dawson567 · June 27th, 2012, 07:55 PM

I was wondering if anyone had any knowledge of this war? I know that it was fought between England and the Boers. I also think (not for certain) that the first concentration camps were used and that a famous general was Del la Rey. If any of our Dutch members could help me on this subject, it would be much appreciated.

Diced · June 27th, 2012, 10:25 PM

Well the Wiki is actually pretty extensive on the subject and makes for an interesting read:

Second_Boer_War

Christiaan_De_Wet

is probably the most famous leader of the Boer guerrillas, however for me it was Paul Kruger who really stood out. After doing a search Koos de la Rey also came up as one of the strongest commanders, however it does seem he opposed the war. Paul Kruger also came to Holland looking for help, instead of helping him he was simply ignored... Sad.

Most notable for me during the battles would have to be the excellent marksmanship the average Boer had, and the obvious underestimation of the British forces.

About the concentration camps the Wiki has this to say.
The British also implemented a "

Scorched_earth

" policy under which they targeted everything within the controlled areas that could give sustenance to the Boer guerrillas with a view to making it harder and harder for the Boers to survive. As British troops swept the countryside, they systematically destroyed crops, burned homesteads and farms, poisoned wells, and interned Boer and African women, children and workers in

Concentration_camp

. Finally, the British also established their own mounted raiding columns in support of the sweeper columns. These were used to rapidly follow and relentlessly harass the Boers with a view to delaying them and cutting off escape, while the sweeper units caught up.
...
The term "

Concentration_camp

" was used to describe camps operated by the British in South Africa during this conflict, and the term grew in prominence during this period.
The camps had originally been set up by the

British_army

as "

Refugee_camps

" to provide refuge for civilian families who had been forced to abandon their homes for whatever reason related to the war. However, when Kitchener succeeded Roberts as commander-in-chief in South Africa on 29 November 1900, the British army introduced new tactics in an attempt to break the guerrilla campaign and the influx of civilians grew dramatically as a result. Kitchener initiated plans to

flush out guerrillas in a series of systematic drives, organised like a sporting shoot, with success defined in a weekly 'bag' of killed, captured and wounded, and to sweep the country bare of everything that could give sustenance to the guerrillas, including women and children.... It was the clearance of civilians—uprooting a whole nation—that would come to dominate the last phase of the war.[45]

Lizzie_van_Zyl

, visited by

Emily_Hobhouse

in a British

Concentration_camp

As Boer farms were destroyed by the British under their "

Scorched_Earth

" policy—including the systematic destruction of crops and slaughtering of livestock, the burning down of homesteads and farms, and the poisoning of wells and salting of fields—to prevent the Boers from resupplying from a home base many tens of thousands of women and children were forcibly moved into the concentration camps.

Dawson567 · June 27th, 2012, 11:09 PM

Ok thank you.

Cavanboy · June 27th, 2012, 11:12 PM

Who was right in the boer war?

The Cell · June 27th, 2012, 11:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dawson567

I was wondering if anyone had any knowledge of this war? I know that it was fought between England and the Boers. I also think (not for certain) that the first concentration camps were used and that a famous general was Del la Rey. If any of our Dutch members could help me on this subject, it would be much appreciated.

I know quite a bit about this subject

, but you have to be more specific as to what you would like to know...

The Cell · June 27th, 2012, 11:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cavanboy

Who was right in the boer war?

No one, to be honest. But if you are going to compare motives for war... I honestly think that the Boers had the better of the two. Their reason for War was to maintain the independence of their Republics.

Cavanboy · June 27th, 2012, 11:20 PM

I had a relative who fought in the boer war, from australia.

The Cell · June 27th, 2012, 11:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Diced

Well the Wiki is actually pretty extensive on the subject and makes for an interesting read: Second Boer War - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Christiaan De Wet is probably the most famous leader of the Boer guerrillas, however for me it was Paul Kruger who really stood out. After doing a search Koos de la Rey also came up as one of the strongest commanders, however it does seem he opposed the war. Paul Kruger also came to Holland looking for help, instead of helping him he was simply ignored... Sad.

Most notable for me during the battles would have to be the excellent marksmanship the average Boer had, and the obvious underestimation of the British forces.

About the concentration camps the Wiki has this to say.
The British also implemented a "scorched earth" policy under which they targeted everything within the controlled areas that could give sustenance to the Boer guerrillas with a view to making it harder and harder for the Boers to survive. As British troops swept the countryside, they systematically destroyed crops, burned homesteads and farms, poisoned wells, and interned Boer and African women, children and workers in concentration camps. Finally, the British also established their own mounted raiding columns in support of the sweeper columns. These were used to rapidly follow and relentlessly harass the Boers with a view to delaying them and cutting off escape, while the sweeper units caught up.
...
The term "concentration camp" was used to describe camps operated by the British in South Africa during this conflict, and the term grew in prominence during this period.
The camps had originally been set up by the British army as "refugee camps" to provide refuge for civilian families who had been forced to abandon their homes for whatever reason related to the war. However, when Kitchener succeeded Roberts as commander-in-chief in South Africa on 29 November 1900, the British army introduced new tactics in an attempt to break the guerrilla campaign and the influx of civilians grew dramatically as a result. Kitchener initiated plans to

flush out guerrillas in a series of systematic drives, organised like a sporting shoot, with success defined in a weekly 'bag' of killed, captured and wounded, and to sweep the country bare of everything that could give sustenance to the guerrillas, including women and children.... It was the clearance of civilians—uprooting a whole nation—that would come to dominate the last phase of the war.[45]

Lizzie van Zyl, visited by Emily Hobhouse in a British concentration camp

As Boer farms were destroyed by the British under their "Scorched Earth" policy—including the systematic destruction of crops and slaughtering of livestock, the burning down of homesteads and farms, and the poisoning of wells and salting of fields—to prevent the Boers from resupplying from a home base many tens of thousands of women and children were forcibly moved into the concentration camps.

Just to add. Most people are under the impression that the Boers used Guerrilla warfare throughout the War. however the war was actually fought in three phases, and it was only in the third phase that the Boers resorted to Guerrilla Warfare...