The following text is taken from Chapter I of Maurice's History of the
War in South Africa, entitled 'The Military system of the Transvaal'.
THE SUCCESSES OF THE BOERS—TO WHAT ATTRIBUTABLE—THEIR SYSTEM OF WAR
MODELLED ON THAT OF THE KAFFIRS AND HOTTENTOTS; PECULIAR ADVANTAGES OF
DUTCHMEN OVER NATIVES—NEW DEFENSIVE AND OFFENSIVE TACTICS—BOER MOBILITY—THE
MILITARY STRUCTURE—DISCIPLINE — MOBILISATION — TRANSPORT — FOOD SUPPLY—
ARTILLERY—ARSENAL — THE FREE STATE—ESTIMATE OF BOER STRENGTH—THE PRESENT
GENERATION
THE war which began in 1899 between Great Britain and the Boer Republics
was the outcome of causes which it is not the object of this book to
discuss. It is enough to say that after long and unavailing negotiations the
catastrophe was hastened by Mr. Krugers ultimatum, and by the irruption of
the Boer army into Natal. Before describing the operations of the subsequent
campaign, it is necessary to consider the main points of the Boer military
system, the initial advantages which our enemies possessed, and the state of
our own preparations at the outbreak of hostilities. Of all the phenomena
which have aroused the interest of soldiers during the past half-century
there have been none more startling than the sudden rise of the military
power of the Transvaal. That a population of some 200,000 souls [This
includes the Free State Dutch.], for the most part devoid of regular
military organisation, should have succeeded in baffling and defeating sixty
or seventy thousand fine troops, devotedly led and eager to win, is a fact
not altogether to be explained away by bad strategy, insufficient
preparation, and unfavourable local conditions. Brave as we knew the Boers
to be, deadly marksmen as they had proved themselves at Majuba and Laing's
Nek, few professional men, either in this country or on the Continent,
thought them capable of conducting large operations. Nor can we safely
attribute their success to foreign guidance. The ablest strategist will fail
if his troops are deficient in martial instinct, in that kind of knowledge
which, when gained in actual war, is called experience, but which can be
kept alive in peace by a vigorously held tradition and by favouring
conditions of country and habit of life. Assuredly the Boer has engrained in
his nature an aptitude for war unsurpassed by any other people. Not without
a large share of self-reliance, judgment, and, above all, inherited
principles of action, could a nation of peasants, however courageous and
skilled in the use of the rifle, have accomplished what the Boers
accomplished in the first three months of the war. It is worth while, then,
to glance briefly at their past history and at the. origin and development
of the system of warfare which they have so admirably turned to account.
It is hardly necessary to remark that military annals present no exact
parallel to the Great Trek and to the subsequent struggles of the Dutch
farmers. The exodus of a European people into a wilderness inhabited by
tribes fiercer and more militant than the American Indians, the gradual
conversion of the settlers to the native modes of warfare, and the final
adoption of these to modern conditions, stands alone in recent times. In
North America, where the conquest of the Indians by the whites warrants a
comparison, the immigration neither took place so suddenly nor on so large a
scale. The Red Man, too, lacked the headlong courage of the Zulu and the
ceaseless perseverance and fortitude of the Hottentot. The brief and bloody
raids along the Indian frontier rarely exhibited the same exterminating
energy as the wars which the Boers, hemmed in on three sides, waged against
Dingaan, the Basutos, the Matabele, and the other tribes whom the need of
expansion or of self-defence impelled them to attack or resist.
The characteristics of Boer warfare early disclosed themselves. At first
they seem to have clung to the protection of their laagers ; but they soon
saw the advantages of bolder methods, and learnt to meet
their cruel and subtle adversaries upon more than even terms. A recent
German writer,1 who has had especial occasion to study the question, thus
summarises this newer development:—
"The Military History of South Africa shows that the conduct of war
as practised by the Hottentots and Bushmen was gradually adopted by all
new-comers, first by the Kaffirs, then by the Boers, and finally by the
other whites, and that the change of armament," the transition from bow
and arrow to spear and firearms, found scarcely anything to alter in
their system of tactics. These tactics were borrowed entirely from the
hunting experiences of the Hottentots." [Kriegs fuhrung in Siid
Afrika," by Major C. v. Frangois, commandant in German South-West
Africa.]
While the same writer admits that this people borrowed something from the
Boers, he seems to make it clear that the latter owed still more to the
natives. The more unpleasant aspects of Boer fighting were plainly due to
this source. The disregard and the open abuse of the formalities of European
war by the rougher elements of the Transvaal army were but an illustration
of the native principle that the enemy must be destroyed regardless of
honour or mercy. The Hottentot, whose base was his laager, and who was
influenced only by his anxiety for what it contained, held the annihilation
of the opposing laager and its defenders to be the sole object for which war
was waged. The conditions of civilised war are different, and for the most
part our enemy has conformed to its formalities, but it is no injustice to
the Boers to say that the more ignorant of them remained somewhat under the
influence of the cruel and unscrupulous lessons which they had learned while
raiding and being raided by the natives.
In matters of pure tactics, according to Von Francis, the Boer methods were
a still closer imitation of those employed by the Hottentots. His remarks so
admirably describe the offensive side of our enemy's system that we quote
his paragraph in extenso :—
"When about to fight, the Hottentots separate themselves into
detachments of from five to twenty men. The detachments approach the
enemy in a thin line of skirmishers—each sharpshooter twenty paces and
more from the next—and making a most careful use of the ground,
endeavour to outflank and to surround him. The bodies held in reserve
are invariably used against the flanks of the enemy. This formation is
taken up with the greatest rapidity. The detachments in rear execute
their movements on horseback at full gallop. Characteristic of the
formation are the immense frontages occupied by few men. As a result,
losses are diminished, firing is easier, especially against an enemy who
remains massed or is so weak that he allows himself to be surrounded. It
further facilitates their withdrawal and retirement. Generally they look
upon a body of European troops as a savage and very dangerous wild beast
against which they must take up secure positions, and at which they must
shoot very carefully from different sides, so that he may not know
whence the shots come or against whom to turn. By brute force, says the
Hottentot to himself, no success is attainable, but it is easily so by
the use of wile and cunning."
The description of the Hottentot defensive was equally applicable to the
Boers before they were allowed time to turn hills into forts. The exigencies
of war caused changes in their offensive tactics also. Their assaults
occasionally partook of a more desperate character, though their failure,
however necessary from a general point of view they might have been, proves
that the skirmish and the 44 surround" are better suited to an irregular
system. The great and obvious weakness of the Boers as soldiers was their
helplessness in front of strong and resolutely held positions.
In their own style of combat they were unsurpassed. The dominating
qualities of the European had made their copy of native models infinitely
more formidable than the original. To the craft, quickness, and patience of
the savage they added the steady nerve, the unbending courage, and the
religious fanaticism of the Huguenot.
"Fierce, poor, content, ungovernably bold"
were the early Transvaalers, and their descendants have inherited many of
their sterner virtues. In the wild days of early settlement all had to learn
the trade of war, and the lessons of that early training were
never forgotten. Confident in their shooting powers, mounted on horses as
tough and wiry as themselves, and quick to utilise every advantage of
ground—the Boers were probably still the finest light horse in the world.
Effecting by shot more than regular cavalry achieve by lance and sword, more
enduring than the disciplined squadrons of Europe, they could also hold a
position with the cool obstinacy of veteran footmen in the face of the most
appalling fire. Only when their opponents were near enough to use the
bayonet were they forced to retreat. Then for the first time shock tactics
came into play, and the irregulars, without the necessary cohesion, and
unequipped for hand-to-hand fighting, yielded before the unwavering and
irresistible rush of British infantry.
The degree of mobility shown by the Boers naturally varied greatly
according to the operation of the moment. In sudden manoeuvres over
distances within the zone of immediate supply—by which we mean the limits to
which horse and man may range without recourse to baggage-trains and other
encumbrances—they possessed all the advantages of horsemen. But their
transport was inadequate for long marches at a distance from their base, as
was shown in the advance into Natal. Their movements under such conditions
were no faster than, often not as fast as, those of a large body of regular
infantry. Our own immobility in the earlier part of the struggle freed them
from the necessity of swift and sustained marches in the presence of a
strong and ready enemy.
The most remarkable and interesting personality among the leaders of the
Boers was Commandant-General Joubert. The story that he was a native of
Louisiana and fought in the American Civil War is incorrect. He was born in
Cape Colony in 1831, and was a descendant of the Huguenots who fled to
Holland. As a child of six he accompanied the farmers who first trekked over
the Cape frontier. His people traversed the Karoo and the territory which is
now the Orange Free State, and entered the then almost uninhabited country
of Natal. The boy, upon whom this migration made a great impression, was
seven years old when the heaviest disaster which had befallen the Boers took
place—the massacre by the Zulus of Piet Retief's party of sixty-seven souls.
A few months later, on December 16th (a date ever afterwards solemnly
observed by the burghers as Dingaan's Day), the whites in a great battle
totally destroyed Dingaan's army.
In 1847 the Jouberts moved from Natal into a region now part of the
Transvaal. After serving on several commandos, young Joubert took part in
1852 in real fighting against Sechel6. The farmers, commanded by Field
Cornet, now President Kruger, were victorious after a six hours' combat. In
this year Joubert married. His wife, who accompanied him on all his
campaigns, distinguished herself more than once in the fighting with the
Kaffirs, and had a considerable influence on Joubert's political career.
From 1853 to 1877 the future Commandant-General lived quietly on his farm,
and was a kind of attorney, and afterwards a magistrate.
During the Presidency of Mr. Burgers Joubert was elected to the Chair of
the Volksraad. As its head he had an interview with Sir T. Shepstone, in
which he declined to support the proposed British annexation of the country.
When the Union Jack was hoisted at Pretoria he refused an appointment from
the Queen's representative. Afterwards when called upon to take the oath of
allegiance he would not do so, and became a leader in the agitation for the
withdrawal of the British sovereignty. Joubert left his country for the
first time when he went to England in 1878 as a member of the second
deputation which tried, unsuccessfully, to get the act of annexation
annulled. The farmers refused to pay taxes to the British officials, and a
great meeting was held at Paardekraal (where there is now a commemorative
monument) at which Kruger, Pretorius, and Joubert were elected Triumvirs—the
last named being also designated Commandant-General.
The first shots between the Republicans and the British troops were
exchanged on December 16, 1880. The British reverses at Potchefstroom and
Bronkhurst Spruit followed. At the latter place we had sixty-five killed and
ninety-one wounded against seven Boer casualties. General Colley was next
defeated at Laing's Nek (British loss, eighty-three killed, 111 wounded;
Boer loss, fourteen killed and thirty wounded) and the Ingogo. On December
27th Majuba Hill was carried, the presence of the British on the eminence
being first detected by Mrs. Joubert. The Boers, who numbered 154, had one
killed and six wounded. Of the British force there were five officers,
including General Colley, and eighty-six men killed, eight officers and 125
men wounded, and six officers and fifty-one men were taken prisoners. These
figures are interesting as confirming to some extent the extraordinary skill
with which the Boers evade heavy losses. The peace negotiations were now
resumed and the Republic was recognised.
The year after Joubert was again in the field against a Kaffir chieftain.
The wars against Malaboch and Magato came later. As a general, Joubert was
famous for the care he took of his men and an avoidance of what has been
called u military grand stand tactics." His cleverness procured him the
nickname of "'Cute Piet." In May, 1883, he was elected Vice-President and
Commandant-General, with Kruger as President, and they were re-elected in
1888, 1893, and 1898. Joubert stood against Kruger for the Presidency
several times, and was credited with holding more Liberal views than "Oom
Paul."
Though the organisation of the Burgher Army had been regulated and
developed since the days when the old Vortrekkers set forth to find a
promised land, its general characteristics at the beginning of the war were
the same. The Republic primarily meant the subjection of the different
bodies of emigrants to one government. The fighting men of each band of
settlers used to assemble at the call of their leaders, going " on commando"
when and where required. This commando system still survived, but according
to the arrangement devised by General Joubert it had become territorial, the
Transvaal being divided into seventeen districts, each of them supplying a
commando varying in numbers and efficiency. The limits of each district and
field cornetcy were settled by the higher authorities. Within them the
Commandant and the Field Cornet were invested with large powers and
responsibilities. All white men between sixteen and sixty years of age, and
all dependable natives, were liable to service, the latter being employed as
labourers, spies, runners, and team-drivers. The Commandant, chosen by the
enfranchised burghers of the district, held office for five years. He was
intended to lead the commando in war, and preside over the affairs of the
district in peace. The chief executive officer, however, was the Field
Cornet. He carried out the mobilisation, served out arms, and kept the
burgher-lists. He was elected by the burghers of the wards, and held office
for the same time as the Commandant. In peace he assisted in the
administration of justice and the execution of the laws. In war he bore the
rank of captain, and commanded the men of his cornetcy. There were several
cornets to each district, and they were supported by assistants in times of
pressure. A system, under which the same officers discharged the duties of
military commander and civil administrator, was obviously a form of military
despotism. Lieutenants, sergeants, and corporals were elected after
mobilisation, the latter being charged with such camp duties as were not
performed by individuals, but no absolute rule can be laid down, as the
whole organisation was in a high degree haphazard and irregular.
The principle of election, probably the best that could under the
circumstances be devised, had at least a precedent in the armies of
revolutionary France. Though incompatible with really strict discipline, it
generally ensures the choice of a fairly capable man, and may result in the
discovery of brilliant talent. It can hardly be said, however, that in the
Boer army " la carri&re £tait ouverte aux talents." Local prejudice, the
limitations of birth, and frequent corruption, all of which appeared to hold
a considerable place in the conservative Transvaal, were not generally
favourable to upstart genius. It is difficult to speak definitely of the
discipline. Certainly Mr. Raes book, " Malaboch," does not give the idea of
exact orders or prompt obedience. In one instance, in front of Mafeking, the
Boer leader admitted that he could not control his men. But gross
insubordination there could not have been. " There was very little
discipline or method in the camp," wrote a Times correspondent of the
Pretoria commando in October, " but plenty of willingness and a natural
instinct for doing the right thing, which served very well in its place."
This very fairly describes one side, perhaps the most important side, of the
Boer soldier.
On the other hand, the general was probably very dependent upon public
opinion. The burghers criticised loudly. Though ready enough to follow their
leaders in action and to carry out his plans at the moment of crisis, any
cessation of active operations gave opportunity for an expression of views,
which could hardly fail to influence the judgment and will of the commander.
While this failing did not diminish the fighting powers of the force, it
might seriously affect the general plan. It is possible, for instance, that
the wasteful attack upon Kimberley was undertaken in deference to popular
hatred of Mr. Rhodes.
The Boer mobilisation was carried through with great rapidity. Mounted
men rode round the farms warning the inmates, and the call was promptly
answered. Horses were caught, rifles and ammunition collected, the waggon
filled with a supply of food and other necessaries, and within an hours
time, perhaps even less, the males of the family were hastening to the
rendezvous, sometimes accompanied by their women. The principle of
commandeering private property was pushed to its logical extreme. Horses
were taken out of the shafts, stores ransacked, and carts seized. The
fighting man was allowed as much baggage as he chose. In old days every one
was expected to furnish his own rifle and horse, and to bring a certain
quantity of food, varying in proportion to the length and importance of the
expedition. When his ammunition was exhausted the Boer would * sometimes
leave the front and go to buy more in the neighbouring towns. At the
beginning of the present war, however, the ample provision of Mauser and
Martini rifles and the other stores massed at Pretoria enabled the
Government to supply a large part of the burghers with arms, ammunition,
food, forage, mackintoshes, tents, and blankets. Of late years a regular
cartridge allowance was issued at stated intervals, as Dr. Jameson knew.
Such a plan is calculated to introduce uniformity of armament as well as
sufficiency of ammunition, but a sum of money often takes the place of
cartridges, the receiver buying the kind his rifle required. It is probable
that all the burghers ended by using weapons recognised by the Government,
private or purchasable supplies having soon been exhausted.
The miscellaneous collection of carts, horses, mules, and oxen which
accompanied a commando was not so unwieldy as might be supposed. Each man
looked after his own beasts and baggage, and orders were carried out with
fair punctuality and little straggling. A laager was about as mobile as an
ordinary transport column. The Boers, like other nations more accustomed to
the sun than to milestones, reckon distance by hours. As a rule the waggons
followed at the interval of an hour's riding; that is to say, about six
miles behind. Like the game they have gradually exterminated, the Boers
travel furthest by night, forty miles without waggons being no uncommon
distance. Usually the laager was very safely placed, its security being
all-important. To irregular troops a general point dappui is more necessary
than to regulars. It helps to keep such a corps together, and its capture
after a defeat probably entails the dispersion of its owners. The lack, too,
of a second line of transport makes the loss of the domestic waggon much
harder to replace. But the Boer's horse was yet more precious. Dismounted he
was demobilised. His safe retreat was endangered and his offensive power
destroyed.
Want of food was constantly reported to be troubling the Boers. There is
no reason, however, to believe that this was really serious. The local
knowledge and general resourcefulness of the farmer, the quantities of
biltong with which he was furnished at home, and of which he could carry a
good supply on his saddle, and the abundant crops of his still unwasted
country, sufficed—especially when supplemented by requisitions —to keep him
in the field. Mr. Kruger had plenty of foodstuffs at his disposal. The
difficulty was to convey them regularly to the fighting line.
While a review of the military system of the Transvaal would be
incomplete without a reference to the volunteers raised in the towns, these
corps cannot be regarded as specially important in the history of the war.
Their organisation was not indigenous, and though fairly efficient, they
were in no way equal to the burghers. Their ranks included men of all
nations and were formed largely of infantry, the shopkeeping element
probably predominating. The Pretoria corps, for instance, had a strength of
eight hundred infantry and two hundred cavalry. It served creditably in the
Swazi campaign.
The greatest advance made by the Transvaal since the days of Majuba was
its recognition of the scientific side of war. The discovery of gold and the
consequent increase of wealth made possible a supply of war-material whose
size and value we appreciated only too late. Pretoria was fortified, an
arsenal founded, and enough mechanical plant collected for the casting of
field guns, the repair of heavier pieces, and the manufacture of explosives.
While the burghers still formed the real strength of the army, they had been
stiffened by the introduction of a corps of artillery, organised upon
foreign models and managed by foreign officers. Hopes were raised that, as
in the case of the Mahrattas, the endeavour to conform to European ideas
would cripple the efficiency of their light horsemen. The result was a
totally contrary one. Their tactical mobility proved as remarkable as ever,
and peculiar circumstances enabled them to use heavy guns as they were never
employed before. How large the artillery force was at the beginning of the
struggle cannot be stated with certainty. In June, 1899, the English
Gvpernment was informed that the Transvaal Republic possessed sixteen
15-centimetre Creusot guns (6-inch "Long Toms"), twenty-one 37-millimetre
automatic guns, nine 75-millimetres plus eleven more introduced in
September, and four 47-inch howitzers—sixty-one pieces in all. Adding to
these twelve 75-millimetre guns belonging to the Free State and eighteen of
various antiquated patterns in the possession of the Transvaal in 1891, we
have a total of ninety-one available in October, 1899. Later consignments
arriving via Delagoa Bay probably raised this number to a far higher figure.
Many reports were current regarding the personnel of this force. The higher
officers, such as Albrecht and Schiel, were Germans; the rank and file a
mixture of all, nations. Boers were the nominal commanders, but all the
technical work was done by the foreigners. When the campaign opened the new
arm was not popular with the country burghers. The Times correspondent wrote
that when the Pretoria commando was told off to escort the guns the disgust
was great and general. Few probably regretted the innovation later. The
foresight and boldness of the Transvaal Government was amply rewarded.
Rarely in the course of a few years had a so-called pastoral people
developed such fighting power.
In the Orange Free State, where the military system resembled in all
essential points that of the Transvaal, the same massing of armament had
long been in progress. A few years ago its artillery was far superior to
that of its sister Republic, its officers being entirely Germans. The
burghers themselves did not show the marked inferiority to their northern
cousins as was so confidently predicted. Doubtless they were less immured to
war at the commencement, but the rawness wore off, and in the fight they
displayed throughout the stubborn qualities of their race in just as high a
degree as the Transvaalers.
The most reliable estimate of the Boer armies we at present possess is that
given out in Parliament, which was based on the reports of the Intelligence
Department. It is as follows :—
June, 1899. 1. Transvaal.
Burghers liable to service .... 29,279
Trained Artillerymen ............. 800
Police ............................ 1,500
31.579
2. Orange Free State Burghers ........ 22,314
53,893
3. Cape Colony Dutch, estimated at .... 4,000
4. Foreigners... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .4,000
8,000
Total....... 61,893
The Government deducted from the total 2,000 Free State burghers as
probably unfit to serve. The Cape Colony Dutch perhaps numbered many more
than 4,000, but in any case estimates of 80,000 and 100,000 appear
exaggerated. The enemy's mobility multiplied them in a most distracting
fashion. We think ourselves justified in saying that at the outbreak of
hostilities—that is to say, before the last reserves had reached the front
and the influx of Cape rebels had become a serious factor—the troops
immediately disposable did not exceed 45,000, of which probably 30,000
entered Natal.
Whatever the debt which the enemy owed to foreign generalship, the fact
remains that the execution of plans was entrusted to the Boer leaders and
their resolute followers. It was said before the war began that the burgher
had deteriorated. Only in so far as it referred to that new phenomenon in
the Transvaal, the town-bred man, is this statement appreciably true.
Obviously the storekeeper could not compare in either endurance, knowledge,
or powers of riding and shooting with the countryman whose father, if not he
himself, was bred up in the time of stress and danger, and whose life was
passed in warfare and hunting. Of these older men, too, there were still
many in the Boer ranks, the non-commissioned men, so to speak, who were the
backbone of the whole. Some there were still who, like Joubert and Kruger,
remembered the days of the Trek. The younger men were not less hardy than
their fathers. They were still far enough removed from the enervating
influences of civilisation, and their chief amusement was rifle-shooting. In
the Transvaal cartridges were sold in every store ; a hundred were as
welcome as a box of cigars in England. The demand for rifle ammunition was
constant, arid firing at marks may almost be said to have taken the place
occupied by billiards in Europe. But there were stronger spurs to warlike*
prowess than love of the rifle. Every Boer had been reared under the
dictates of a severe and narrow-religion, whose outward expression is an
intensified form of patriotism. He was taught to regard his race as a
peculiar people, to hate and despise the Englishman, and to live in the
remembrance of his own strange and triumphant history. His political ideal
was assertion of the national superiority and independence, hopes which he
had been taught to believe could best be realised by means of the old
national weapon, a steady rifle and an active horse. So environed and
prejudiced, it would have been wonderful if he had neglected to cultivate,
even though with limited opportunities, the system and training which
brought honour and victory to his fathers.
