1Who was the second Boer war between?
The British and the Boers in South Africa
2Where did the Boers originate?
They were decendants of the first Europeans in South Africa and spoke in Afrikaans, which came from Dutch
3What were the british colonies in South Africa?
Cape Colony and Natal
4What were the Boer colonies in South Africa?
Orange Free State and the Transvaal
5What were the strengths of the British army?
Aimed to increase professionalism
Previously performed well
New leaders wanted to reform the army
Prioritised mobility
6What were the weaknesses of the British army?
Small (135,000 men)
Government didn't want to spend money
Shortage of ammunition
Bright uniform colours
7What were the strengths of the Boer army?
Good horsemen and hunters
Best weapons - used smokeless German guns
Knew the lands well
8What were the weaknesses of the Boer army?
Smaller than the British army - 60,000 men
Very few artillery troops
Divisions between Transvaal and the Orange Free State
9What was the role of Colonel Robert Baden-Powell?
In charge of Mafeking
Initially the British army had no artillery, so Baden-Powell was creative in making the Boers think that there was a bigger garrison that there was
"A game of bluff from start to finish"
Ensured that there was no waste - used all parts of an animal etc.
10Ladysmith
Used pontoon bridges to cross the Tugela river, artillery forced the Boers to retreat
Lasted 118
11Kimberly
Superior numbers were used to push the Boers back
Lasted 124 days
12Mafeking
Baden-Powell used fake landmines and dummy guns to pretend that there were more supplies
Sent Africans and teenage boys to attack Boer camps
13What was the effectiveness of the sieges?
They had positives for the Boers as they were able to keep them going for a while, but they weren't sucessful as the british managed to relieve all of them and they didn't achieve much for the Boers
14What were the consequences of Black Week?
Changed the leadership of the British army
Increased recruitment for the army
Shocked the british public
had little impact on the fighting
15Why was Buller considered a "disastrous general"?
He made bad strategic decisions - eg. dividing the forces into 3
Lost confidence in the war
Not a strategist
His actions caused him to lose support
16What reasons was Buller defended for?
His was promoted beyond his abilities and didn't want the job
He cared about the soldiers
He had a Victoria Cross
17What did Roberts do during the second phase of the war?
Roberts was a commander in India who didn’t expect to move to South Africa
He arrived in January 1900 and was met with a big job and low morale
He planned to lift the sieges and capture Bloemfontein - the capital of the Orange Free State
His goal was to show the Boers that they couldn’t win
18What were factors in Roberts' success?
Superior numbers
Moving away from full frontal attacks
Outflanking
More use of cover
Made sure others were blamed for consequences
19Who was Kitchener?
He was the Commander in Chief from November 1900
Regarded the artillery as very poor
Thought that the food supplies and leadership were poor
20When did the Boers revert to guerilla warfare?
March 1900
21What methods did Kitchener use?
Scorched earth
Concentration camps
Blockhouses
Raiding columns
22What were people's opinions on the war?
Feelings on the war changed throughout the suration depending on how successful it was
23What did Emily Hobhouse do?
She travelled to South Africa and took blankets and medical supplies to the concentration camps
The people there desperately needed food instead
She expected 1 concentration camps but discovered that there were 40
She travelled back to Britain and wrote the Hobhouse report to document her findings
24What was the reaction to the Hobhouse report?
It was originally reported to the Distress Fund Committee where it eventually reached the British government in 1901
The government initially responded hosiley to the report but action started when it was published in newspaper
The Committee of Inquiry investigated camps and made reports of their own findinfs
This shocked the British public, who demanded action
Action caused the death rate of the camps fall to 2%