Content deleted Content added
link edit |
Added a quote |
||
| (36 intermediate revisions by 30 users not shown) | |||
Line 1:
{{Other uses}}
{{short description|Successive British defeats in the second Boer War}}
{{for|the late 19th-century crisis in Hawaii|Black Week (Hawaii)}}
British units were armed with then-modern magazine-fed small arms, the .303 caliber [[Lee–Enfield]] and [[Lee–Metford]], and breech-loading field artillery. Boers were armed with the [[Mauser Model 1893|7mm 1893 Mauser]] rifle, and fielded German-built breech-loading field artillery. The British, however, were accustomed to fighting tribal wars with tactics more suited to the Napoleonic era, and had no tactical doctrine in place to fight against a foe also armed with the same modern weapons, and suffered accordingly.<ref>http://www.britishbattles.com/battle-of-stormberg/</ref>▼
The events were an eye opener for the government and troops, who had thought that the war could be won very easily.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Denis|last1=Judd|first2=Keith|last2=Surridge|title=The Boer War|url=https://archive.org/details/boerwar00judd|url-access=registration|location=New York|publisher=Palgrave MacMillan|year=2003|isbn=9781403961501 |ref=p.118}}</ref>
With new, modernized troops came new tactics; only a few months after Black Week, one of the main British cavalry divisions led a flanking march that ended with a victory.<ref>{{cite book|first=Stephen|last=Badsey|title=The Boer War (1899-1902) and British Cavalry Doctrine: A Re-Evaluation,|publisher=The Journal of Military History|date=Jan 2007|series=Vol. 71, No. 1 in Jstor [database online]|accessdate=November 9, 2009}}</ref> Besides equipping the cavalry with rapid-firing rifles instead of [[lance]]s, the new British military doctrine also started using [[artillery]] as a defensive unit of the army, and saw innovation in the use of [[machine gun]]s.<ref>Deborah D. Avant, "The Institutional Sources of Military Doctrine: Hegemons in Peripheral Wars," International Studies Quarterly, Dec. 1993, Vol. 37, No. 4 in Jstor [database online], accessed November 9, 2009.</ref>▼
▲British units were armed with then-modern magazine-fed small arms, the .303 caliber [[Lee–Enfield]] and [[Lee–Metford]], and breech-loading field artillery. Boers were armed with the [[Mauser Model 1893|7mm 1893 Mauser]] rifle, and fielded German-built breech-loading field artillery. The British, however, were accustomed to fighting tribal wars with tactics more suited to the Napoleonic era, and had no tactical doctrine in place to fight against a foe also armed with the same modern weapons, and suffered accordingly.
▲With new, modernized troops came new tactics; only a few months after Black Week, one of the main British cavalry divisions led a flanking march that ended with a victory.<ref>{{cite book|first=Stephen|last=Badsey|title=The Boer War (1899-1902) and British Cavalry Doctrine: A Re-Evaluation
These new volunteers served as a "new face, untainted by defeat and accusations of defeatism…to breathe life back into the campaigns and restore hope at home."<ref name=Miller/> Other changes enacted by the British immediately following the Black Week disaster were the mobilization of two more divisions, the calling up of the army reserves, raising a force of mounted cavalry for better mobility, and most importantly by sending volunteers from home overseas which added more than one hundred thousand additional troops by the end of the war.<ref name=Miller/>▼
▲These new volunteers served as a "new face, untainted by defeat and accusations of defeatism…to breathe life back into the campaigns and restore hope at home."<ref name=Miller/> Other changes enacted by the British immediately following the Black Week disaster were the mobilization of two more divisions, the calling up of the army reserves, raising a force of mounted
==Political situation==▼
{{Quote|text="The week which extended from December 10th to December 17th, 1899, was the blackest one known during our generation, and the most disastrous for British arms during the century. We had in the short space of seven days lost, beyond all extenuation or excuse, three separate actions. No single defeat was of vital importance in itself, but the cumulative effect, occurring as they did to each of the main British forces in South Africa, was very great. The total loss amounted to about three thousand men and twelve guns, while the indirect effects in the way of loss of prestige to ourselves and increased confidence and more numerous recruits to our enemy were incalculable."|author=[[Arthur Conan Doyle]]|title=The Great Boer War|source=Chapter 12 - The Dark Hour}}
During Black week, the War Office took primacy, as the Colonial secretary took a back seat in the cabinet, the Boer War raged on.<ref>Chamberlains's record Chapter LXX, Black Week. pp.518-536.</ref> Chamberlain was eclipsed in Cabinet during December 1899. It must have been a blessing in disguise for the man himself: had he accepted [[Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury|Salisbury]]'s initial offer he would have been at the War Office dealing with the difficulties in the Cape. The [[Liberal Unionist Party|Liberal Unionist]] was not going to be a scapegoat for [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] policy. The reverses and humiliations for the Army hit the London government hard. ▼
▲==Political situation==
[[Arthur Balfour]] was acting Prime Minister, and [[Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne|Lord Lansdowne]], Secretary for War. [[Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury|Lord Salisbury]], grieving at [[Hatfield House|Hatfield]] for his dead wife, was incapacitated. Cometh the hour, and Chamberlain was hailed as a great statesman, raised to the occasion by the debility of Lord Salisbury, the titan of foreign policy. Chamberlain wanted a tolerant liberal civilized Empire, and a generous reconstruction of South Africa.▼
▲During Black
▲[[Arthur Balfour]] was acting Prime Minister, and [[Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne|Lord Lansdowne]], Secretary for War. [[Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury|Lord Salisbury]], grieving at [[Hatfield House|Hatfield]] for his dead wife, was incapacitated.
==Military situation==▼
[[Paul Methuen, 3rd Baron Methuen|Lord Methuen]] was on the march to Kimberley, only 25 miles away. Unscreened from the Boer's trenches in the town, the mounted force lost 500 men. But they managed to wheel round to cross the [[Modder River]] by nightfall. There he rested from 1 to 7 December using the river for refreshments. They fully expected [[Redvers Buller]] to simultaneously march on Ladysmith in north [[Colony of Natal|Natal]]. These blows they hoped would end the war by [[Christmas]]. By [[Lord Milner]]'s assessment conveyed to London, 70,000 troops would be needed to complete the business.<ref>Milner to Chamberlain, Nov 9, 1899.</ref> Milner's concern over losses mitigating success on the field had caused a rethink of the situation in the [[South African Republic|Transvaal]].▼
▲[[Paul Methuen, 3rd Baron Methuen|Lord Methuen]] was on the march to Kimberley, only 25 miles away. Unscreened from the Boer's trenches in the town, the mounted force [[Battle of Modder River|lost]] 500 men. But they managed to wheel round to cross the [[Modder River]] by nightfall. There he rested from 1 to 7 December, using the river for
<blockquote>...If we had known all we do now, I suppose that we should have taken up a position probably at Colenso and left all the northern part of Natal undefended. We ought also probably to have abandoned Mafeking.<ref>''Secret'' - Chamberlain to Milner, December 6, 1899, cited in Garvin, p.520.</ref></blockquote> One serious deficiency was the low velocity artillery which shot less far than the Boers' excellent guns.
Line 24 ⟶ 29:
<blockquote>I dare not speculate on the further progress of the war. The Boers seem to have fought with the greatest courage and determination, and I do not gather that they have lost their power as marksmen</blockquote>
On Monday 11 December, [[William Forbes Gatacre|General Gatacre]]'s night attack into strong Boer defences at Stormberg had ended in failure. The enemy had modern rifles, accurate artillery, bandoliers for all, and proven horse commandos.
On the Modder River, Methuen's division of 15,000 frontline troops ran into heavily dug-in Boers on the [[Battle of Magersfontein|Magersfontein Heights]]. The British artillery barrage warned the Boer of the impending assault, led by the Highland Brigade in the monsoon rains in the darkness. At dawn the British were caught by a murderous cross-fire. [[Andrew Gilbert Wauchope|Major-General Wauchope]] became a high-ranking casualty. The British casualties were 1000 men to the Boers' 250. The defeat delayed the relief of [[Kimberley, Northern Cape|Kimberley]].
Line 34 ⟶ 39:
==Consequences of the defeats==
The British government drastically changed their mindset after the Black Week disaster to the realization that the Boer war would not be an easy victory or won by Christmas. They undertook many changes in the military including military personnel, better mobilization, and better modernization in order to match and then surpass the Boer troops. Many different opinions arose in the United Kingdom. Although there were many doubters who criticized the overall justice of the British cause, the patriots who would end up volunteering, fighting, and winning this conflict were the majority. Following Black Week, the government called "for able-bodied men willing to abandon their homes and families and risk their lives to serve their country."<ref name=Miller>{{cite journal|first=Stephen M.|last=Miller|title=In Support of the 'Imperial Mission'? Volunteering for the South African War, 1899-1902
Buller's decisions at Ladysmith caused him to be sacked and replaced with [[Frederick Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts|Lord Roberts]]. It was the end of a career for the man the press dubbed "Sir Reverse" Buller.
Line 46 ⟶ 51:
===Bibliography===
* {{cite book|first=J. L.|last=Garvin| author-link = J. L. Garvin | title=The Life and Times of Joseph Chamberlain|volume=
* {{cite book|last=Porter|first=Andrew|type=Oxford History of the British Empire|title=The Nineteenth Century|url=https://archive.org/details/nineteenthcentur00port|url-access=registration|location=Oxford|year=1999|isbn=978-0-19-820565-4 }}
* {{cite book|last=Wasserstein|first=Bernard|title=Herbert Samuel: A Political Life|year=1992}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:
[[Category:Second Boer War]]▼
[[Category:English phrases]]▼
[[Category:1899 in South Africa]]
[[Category:1899 in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:20th-century history of the British Army]]
[[Category:December 1899 events]]
▲[[Category:English phrases]]
▲[[Category:Second Boer War]]
| |||