Hi, I'm the History Guy. I have a degree in history and I love history,
and if you love history too, this is the channel for you.
Of the many British Colonial wars of the 19th century the second Boer War,
fought between 1899 and 1902, was by far the longest, and most deadly. The second Boer War
had roots that went back hundreds of years, and was emblematic of the wars of colonial ambition,
but it was unique in that it was one of the first truly industrial wars. Utilising many of the
technologies, and tactics that would define the coming century, and the Great War which, by then,
was already on the horizon. For many Britons, their romanticized vision of empire, and the Pax
Britannia, passed on December 15th of 1899, at the end of what was bleakley called, The Black Week,
at the Battle of Colenso. It is a battle that heralded the end of one era of warfare,
and the beginning of another more terrible era. It is a battle that deserves to be remembered.
The first European exploration of South Africa occurred when Portuguese Knight,
Bartholomew Diaz, rounded the southern tip of Africa while searching on behalf of King John
the Second of Portugal, for a sea route to India, in 1488. The first permanent European
settlement on the tip of Africa did not occur however, until a resupply point was established
by the Dutch East India Company in 1652. The base soon developed into a settler community,
which then grew. The settlers easily dominated the local population of Khoikhoi, and San people,
whose populations were devastated by smallpox brought by the Europeans. By the 1790s,
the population in the colony was estimated to exceed 60 thousand. Great Britain took
the colony during the Napoleonic Wars in 1805, as the kingdom of Holland was allied with the
French. British rule led to a conflict with the Dutch settlers who refer to themselves as Boers,
the Dutch word for farmer. To escape the rules of British Dominion, most especially the abolishment
of slavery in 1833, the Boers continually moved inland in a migration called the Great Trek,
eventually establishing two Boer Republic's, the South African Republic, and the Orange Free State.
But the discovery of diamonds, and then gold, threatened the Boer Republic's as thousands of
foreigners immigrated to work the mines, and ambitious politicians looked to unite East
Africa under British rule. After a brief conflict in 1881, all-out war came in October of 1899 when
negotiations over voting rights for so-called Buit Landers, Europeans who had immigrated to the Boer
Republic's to work in the gold and diamond mines, turned into a conflict over troops on the border.
The Boers mobilized quickly, their army made up of a population skilled at riding and shooting.
Boer militias from the South African Republic, and Orange Free State, could muster as many as 40,000
men. Their army was well equipped with modern weapons, as South African Republic President
Paul Kruger had imported 37,000 of the latest German Mauser model 1895 rifles, and some forty
to fifty million rounds of ammunition, as well as dozens of modern artillery pieces in anticipation
of war. They invaded the British colonies of Natal, and Cape Colony against British troops that
were scattered, and largely unprepared; besieging the towns of Ladysmith, Kimberley, and Mafeking.
The British responded with significant reinforcements under the command of
General Sir Henry Redvers Buller, a cavalry officer who had won the Victoria Cross for
bravery during the 1879 Anglo Zulu war; his first goal was to relieve the besieged towns.
Despite having been defeated by the Boers in the brief 1st Boer War in 1881, the British
entered the conflict confident. Their army was larger, and they thought more professional,
having honed their skills in over a century of colonial warfare, against what they saw as a
rabble made up of farmers. But they underestimated the accuracy of the Boers and their Mauser rifles,
and their tactics failed to anticipate modern developments like trench warfare, and innovative
Boer tactics. The British suffered a set of stunning defeats the week of December 10th
to the 15th, 1899. On December 10th, the force under Major General William Gatacre was thrown
back trying to take a railway junction at a place called Stormberg, after attacking Boer positions
without proper reconnaissance. The British lost over 600 soldiers captured, while the Boers took
insignificant losses. The following day a British force of 15,000 was defeated trying to relieve the
town of Kimberley, in the Battle of Magersfontein, taking over a thousand casualties in the face of
entrenched war positions. But the worst was yet to come, as Buller himself, attempting
to relieve the siege of the town of Ladysmith, would lead a force of 21,000 to face the Boers
on December 15th. As he tried to cross the Tugela River, near the natal province town of Colenso.
While outnumbered, the Boers had prepared to defend the river crossing, digging over
three miles of trenches. Bowler had limited reconnaissance, and was convinced the Boers
had withdrawn from the area. As Boers forces moved towards the town and the river fords,
the fifth Irish Brigade, on the left flank, was misdirected by their guide. Left massed up at a
loop in the river, they were decimated by Boers rifle fire, taking over 500 casualties in just
a few minutes. In the center, two batteries of field artillery set up too close to the enemy,
misjudging the range of Boer rifles. When the entrench Boers opened fire, most of the
horses and crews were killed in a matter of minutes. Volunteers were able to fight out,
and retrieve two of the guns but took heavy casualties. On the other flank,
a detachment of light cavalry was pinned down by Boers occupying a strong position on a hill. They
might have taken the position if Buller had sent reinforcements, but shaken by the losses on his
other flank, Buller refused to send in more troops. Despite some success in the center,
Buller, stunned by the heavy losses, ordered a withdrawal, leaving behind 10 guns of
the Field Artillery. In the end Bullers forces took over a thousand casualties,
while the Boers lost only eight killed. The humiliating defeat, so soon after the losses
at Stormberg and Magersfontein, marked the low point of what came to be known as, The Black Week.
Tactics which had been successful against colonial opponents, often armed with spears,
proved to be disastrous against an army armed with modern magazine-fed rifles. The Boers,
while not a professional army, were individually expert marksmen, they were accustomed to feeding
their families by hunting. The British Army would continue to take terrible casualties throughout
the Boer War, as their leadership adapted very slowly to a new form of warfare. Redvers Buller
was eventually replaced in command by Field Marshal Sir Frederick Roberts, whose own son,
Lieutenant Freddy Roberts, was one of those officers who died trying to retrieve the guns at
Colenso. Eventually the British prevailed as the Boer could not match British numbers, and British
commands slowly developed more effective tactics. But even after the Boer army was defeated in the
field, the war continued for another two terrible years of horrible, and bloody guerrilla warfare,
that devastated the Boer population both civilian, and combatant, and shocked the British public.
But the importance of Bullers defeat at Colenso was not so much in the context of this war,
the last great colonial war of the Victorian era, as it was for the Wars of the coming century. The
British started the second Boer War using antiquated tactics, moving in formation,
attacking in close order, firing by volleys in line. They had a modern magazine-fed rifle but
they hadn't developed tactics to take advantage of its accuracy, and rate of fire. Cavalry was still
seen as a shock force to use and attack. An idea that was proven to be outdated in the Boer War,
even as the mobility of mounted infantry was shown to be valuable. And Bullers own defeat
proved that many of the officers who had been successful in colonial warfare, were ill suited
to modern warfare. During the second Boer War a whole new cast of British officers would arise,
many of whom would have leadership roles in the Wars of the coming century. It was because of
Bullers defeat at Colenso, that the British Army modernized its training, its tactics,
its equipment, and its leadership. In many ways it was because of Colenso,
and The Black Week, that the British Army was prepared for the coming First World War.
I'm the History Guy, and I hope you enjoyed this episode of my series, five minutes of history,
short snippets of forgotten history, five to ten minutes long. And if you did enjoy it, then
please go ahead and click that thumbs up button which is there on your left. If you have any
questions or comments, or would like to suggest other topics for the History Guy,
feel free to write those in the comment section, I will be happy to respond. And
if you’d like five minutes more of forgotten history, all you need to do is subscribe.