Military History of Australia During The Second Boer War - Outbreak of Hostilities

Outbreak of Hostilities

A Boer force of mostly farmer volunteers, formed up as mounted infantry, armed primarily with German built Mauser Model 1895 rifles. The effectiveness and superiority of this weapon over the British Lee-Metford and Lee-Enfield Mark I, led to the development of the Pattern 1913 Enfield, and the upgrading of the Lee-Enfield to the SMLE Mark III, which would be the stock rifle of choice for most British Empire armies in World War I. These highly mobile mounted infantry formed the basis of the Boer Commando, which was the primary organisational unit of the Boers.

At the outbreak of hostilities, a superior rifle was not the only advantage held by the Boers. The British forces in southern Africa were still composed mostly of infantry, while most of the Boers were skilled horsemen, who used their superior mobility to good advantage. Realising that continuing to engage the British in set-piece battles where British troops could utilize their superior numbers would result in a quick defeat, the Boers adopted tactics of hit-and-run guerilla attacks, picking off men, and disrupting supply lines.

The Boers first struck at the Battle of Kraaipan on 12 October 1899. Late at night, 800 commandos rode south into the Cape Colony, attacking the British garrison at Kraaipan and cutting railway and telegraph lines. Although the British repelled their advance at the Battle of Talana Hill, and the Battle of Elandslaagte, the Boers continued to pour south, besieging the British settlement of Ladysmith and advancing on Mafeking and Kimberley.

As the Boers established siege-guns around Ladysmith, the British commander of the garrison there, Sir George Stuart White, attempted a sortie with cavalry against the Boer gun positions, but the attack was a disaster, and a state of siege followed as both side attempted to consolidate their position.