Why did Britain experience difficulty in defeating the Boers in the period of 1880 – 1902?

(10) (Timed + notes)

The Boer wars lasted from 1880-1902. They mainly highlight the British army’s weaknesses upon a small
number of farmers (A.K.A Boers). The first Boer war was short and consisted of simply a few skirmishes. It’s
outcome however was that the British lost their rights upon the Transvaal and Orange Free State: via the
Pretoria Convention. Many historians also acknowledge that the causes of this could be the over-confidence
and a small British army.

Although it was the largest and most costly war in which the British engaged, the British gave the most they
could (well at least in the Second Boer War). The total British military strength in South Africa reached nearly
500,000 men, whereas the Boers could muster no more than about 88,000. But the British were fighting in a
hostile country over difficult terrain, with long lines of communications, while the Boers, mainly on the
defensive, were able to use modern rifle fire to good effect at a time when attacking forces had no means of
overcoming it.
the British in Southern Africa were unprepared and militarily weak. Boer armies attacked on two fronts: into
the British colony of Natal from the SAR and into the northern Cape Colony from the Orange Free State. The
northern districts of the Cape Colony rebelled against the British and joined the Boer forces. In late 1899 and
early 1900, the Boers defeated the British in a number of major engagements and besieged the key towns
of Ladysmith, Mafeking and Kimberly. Particularly of note among Boer victories in this period are those that
occurred at Magersfontein, Colesberg, and Stormberg, during what became known as Black week
Kruger’s October 1899 offensive had taken the British by surprise, and it accounts for the early Boer victories.
However, the arrival of large numbers of British reinforcements by early 1900 made an eventual Boer defeat
inevitable. In this second part of the war, the British, under Lord Kitchener relieved the besieged towns, beat
the Boer armies in the field, and rapidly advanced up the lines of rail transportation. Bloemfontein (capital of
the Orange Free State) was occupied by the British in February 1900, and Johannesburg and Pretoria (capital
of the SAR) in May and June
At the end of 1900 the war entered upon its most destructive phase. For 15 months, Boer commandos, under
the brilliant leadership of generals; held British troops at bay, using hit-and-run guerrilla tactics. They strained
the British army bases and communications, and large rural areas of the SAR and the Orange Free State which;
remained out of British control.

In conclusion, it is fair to say that Britain’s victory came at great difficulties and at great costs. This including
deploying vast amounts of troops; using the unpopular scorched by earth policy (which it received lots of
criticism for); as well as 22,000 British deaths.