Significance of British commanders in the outcome of the war

Question 1

Of the three commanders in the Second Boer War, which came out with enhanced reputations?

Answer 1

Roberts and Kitchener (although Kitchener was blamed for interning Boer civilians)

Question 2

How did Buller’s rep change after the SBW?

Answer 2

Was criticised for poor leadership and his career ended

Question 3

What was Sir Redvers Buller’s reputation before the SBW?

Answer 3

He was experienced in previous wars and had won the Victoria Cross in 1897 during the Zulu wars, fought in the first BW and served in Egypt as head of army intelligence

Question 4

What was Buller’s intention after reluctantly accepting the command of the British forces in the SBW and why was this changed?

Answer 4

He wanted to attack the Boers in the Transvaal but by the time he arrived in South Africa (Oct 1899) the sieges had begun

Question 5

How did Buller appear when preparing to relieve the sieges of Ladysmith, Kimberley and Mafeking?

Answer 5

He appeared confident giving the impression that the war would be short (explains why the army conducted its first offensive in a haphazard fashion)

Question 6

What did Buller fail to do in November 1899 as a former intelligence officer?

Answer 6

He ought to have known the importance of scouting but the main columns he sent north failed to gather info about the enemy

Question 7

Other than Buller’s failures to scout the enemy, why did Britain lack good intelligence at the start of the war?

Answer 7

Due to a shortage of horses and cavalry soldiers for scouting

Question 8

How did Buller’s indecision to commit to attacks and build up numerical superiority prove crucial at Colenso (and failure to communicate)?

Answer 8

He vacillated, ordering frontal attacks only days after considering them pointless/ Told White in Ladysmith that the town ought to be abandoned (Government found unacceptable). Yet he pushed on to meet disaster at Spion Kop

Question 9

Who was Buller replaced by and what campaign did he lead after?

Answer 9

Replaced by Roberts but then led the campaign in the Natal

Question 10

Where did Buller win on the 27th August 1900?

Answer 10

Won at Bergendal against Louis Botha after learning some lessons about intelligence and having better supply organisation

Question 11

How did critics portray Buller after he returned to Britain in 1900 autumn and spoke out against the Times in October?

Answer 11

Portrayed as the epitome of military incompetence

Question 12

What did Buller’s supporters argue?

Answer 12

He did his best to limit casualties and he was an innovator

Question 13

How was Buller seen as an innovator by his supporters?

Answer 13

He urged his men to make better use of natural cover and co-ordinated infantry rushes with a creeping artillery barrage to counter the Boer tactics of firing from concealed positions

Question 14

Who did Roberts appoint as chief scout?

Answer 14

American frontiersman Fredrick Burnham who knew Africa from previous colonial wars

Question 15

How did Roberts approach the SBW after arriving in South Africa in January 1900?

Answer 15

Knew he must raise British morale and set about lifting the sieges but also decided to capture Bloemfontein to show the Boers they could not win.

Question 16

What new instructions did Roberts issue after arriving in South Africa?

Answer 16

It was better to outflank the Boers, forcing them to retreat or face being surrounded. He wanted cavalry and mounted infantry to scout territory and to chase the Boers

Question 17

When did Roberts campaign start?

Answer 17

February 1900

Question 18

What did Roberts order after his campaign started?

Answer 18

Repairs to damaged railways as the army advanced, bringing up supplies quickly so the Boers couldn’t regroup

Question 19

How was Bloemfontein taken?

Answer 19

Kitchener fought a hard battle at Paardeberg before Roberts finally took Bloemfontein on 13th March 1900

Question 20

Why was Roberts forced to halt at Bloemfontein?

Answer 20

due to a shortage of supplies and an outbreak of typhoid that killed almost 1000 men

Question 21

What happened after Roberts was forced to halt at Bloemfontein?

Answer 21

Resupplied and reinforced, the British pushed north, relieving Mafeking on 17th May and taking Johannesburg on 31st May and Pretoria on 5th June. War almost seemed over

Question 22

When did Roberts hand over command to Kitchener?

Answer 22

November 1900

Question 23

Despite Boer fighters continuing to resist in the Transvaal, who had fled abroad by the end of summer?

Answer 23

Boer presidents Martinus Steyn of the Orange Free State and Paul Kruger of the Transvaal and both territories were formally annexed by Britain

Question 24

How did Roberts outflank the Boers and force them to retreat?

Answer 24

Used superior numbers and having Burnham meant better intelligence so the British could slip around Boer positions

Question 25

How did Roberts escape criticism?

Answer 25

Wasn't there for the army's early failings, making sure Buller took the blame and played a major role in his dismissal. He was also slow to defend Kitchener against critics of the scorched earth policy

Question 26

What was Kitchener's main role as Robert's chief of staff?

Answer 26

Primarily in organisation and supply, though he was also involved in fighting

Question 27

How was Kitchener unimpressed with what he found when he was Robert's chief of staff?

Answer 27

British artillery was useless as he had expected and complaining about food supplies, especially lack of emergency rations

Question 28

What did the determination of Boer guerrillas force Britain into?

Answer 28

A war or attrition // Scorched earth policy

Question 29

Under who, did the scorched Earth policy begin?

Answer 29

Roberts

Question 30

What was the scorched Earth policy supposed to do?

Answer 30

Deny food and shelter to the guerrillas. The British swept through Boer areas systematically, removing or destroying food, livestock, ammunition and more

Question 31

What did the scorched Earth policy produce?

Answer 31

Thousands of displaced civillians who, as refugees, were escorted by the British soldiers and 'concentrated' in internment camps

Question 32

What were the conditions in the concentration camps?

Answer 32

Overcrowded, few food supplies and medical care causing a high death rate

Question 33

How did the concentration camps cause people to react?

Answer 33

Anger among Boers and a national outcry in Britain

Question 34

How many camps were there in March 1901?

Answer 34

27, holding 35000 people

Question 35

How many camps were there in September 1901?

Answer 35

35 holding 110000

Question 36

By the end of the war how many people had died from the concentration camps?

Answer 36

28,000 died (22,000 were under 16) and 1/4 camp internees died from disease

Question 37

How did Kitchener justify the use of camps?

Answer 37

He said they were humanitarian because to leave civilians without food and shelter was tantamount to a death sentence

Question 38

What debate was there over the use of camps?

Answer 38

Whether they were intended to terrorise the Boers or not

Question 39

Which high profile case highlights the issue of "When soldiers commit war crimes, are they individually responsible or the officers who give the orders?"

Answer 39

Lieutenant Harry 'Breaker' Morant, an Australian cavalry officer, and 6 others were accused of ordering the shooting of Boer prisoners. He was found guilty and shot.

Question 40

What position were many Boer commandos in by September 1900?

Answer 40

They had surrendered and were prisoners of war, and others had fled to the mountains. Kruger and other leaders had left South Africa

Question 41

What issues did the British face due to the continued Boer resistance by September 1900?

Answer 41

They didn’t have enough troops to control the two large Boer republics. when they were visible authority was established but as soon as they moved on it evaporated

Question 42

What dilemma did the British face due to the continued Boer resistance by September 1900?

Answer 42

Should they guard the towns, railways and roads or should they spread out to seek and destroy Boer forces

Question 43

How did Kitchener isolate Boer resistance towards the end of the war?

Answer 43

He ordered the segmenting of the countryside by wire and blockhouses (small forts for up to eight soldiers)

Question 44

How did the British use Blockhouses to isolate Boer resistance?

Answer 44

The army used them to seal off sections then send in mounted infantry and cavalry to clear out Boers section by section

Question 45

How many blockhouses did the British have?

Answer 45

8000 block houses and 4000 miles of barbed wire

Question 46

Who led the Boers in invading Cape colony?

Answer 46

De Wet and Jan Smuts

Question 47

What did Boer fighters and their leaders hope would happen when invading Cape Colony?

Answer 47

That local Boers would join

Question 48

After local Boer’s did not join De Wet and Jan Smuts invasion of Cape Colony, what happened?

Answer 48

General uprising did not take place and the invading Boers were chased back into the Orange Free State. Boer guerrilla groups continued to trouble the British in the Transvaal until the last skirmish of the war.

Question 49

What was the last skirmish of the Boer War?

Answer 49

Rooial in April 1902, after this peace negotiations were concluded

Question 50

How did peace negotiations of the Second Boer War conclude?

Answer 50

The Boer leaders met Kitchener and the Treaty of Vereeniging was signed on 31 May 1902 in Pretoria.