Imperial firefighters: Roberts, Kitchener, and the Anglo-Boer War

The closing months of 1899 saw the British Empire embroiled in a grave military crisis in South Africa. Britain had become involved in war with the Boer republics of the Transvaal and Orange Free State, whose forces invaded British territory in October and made rapid progress against a poorly prepared opposition. They besieged the garrisons of Ladysmith, Kimberley, and Mafeking, and then, in ‘Black Week’ in mid-December, inflicted three successive defeats on British troops – at the battles of Stormberg, Magersfontein, and Colenso.

This was a stunning series of reverses. British troops had been caught off guard by a nation of farmers whose skills they had seriously underestimated. It was in part a question of numbers. Until reinforcements could be shipped to Africa, British forces were outnumbered by more than two to one. The Boers were also excellent marksmen and riders, who knew the terrain and made skilful use of natural cover. Rather than being organised as a traditional army, they formed highly mobile volunteer militia bodies, known as ‘commandos’, in which each man brought his own horse and rifle. They were passionately committed to defending their independence. As relations with Britain deteriorated in the run-up to war, they also had the foresight to purchase the latest artillery from Europe.

Faced with this evidence of failure, the British government decided to relieve the luckless man on the spot, Sir Redvers Buller, of his command. In his place arrived two generals with a proven track record of success in colonial warfare. They knew and respected each other, but had never before campaigned together. In South Africa, they would forge a professional partnership that was to turn the tide of conflict.