BOER WAR CAVALRY CHARGE

[Mervyn Mitton]

We all like edged weapons on this sub-forum, but, perhaps we forget sometimes the 'horror' of actually having to fight with one ? This famous Illustrated London News double page is from the Boer War (1899-1902) and shows the 19th. Hussars in a night charge. They are using the standard cavalry sword of that period. These old prints are now hard to find - Lydenburg is in the Eastern Transvaal (now Gauteng)

[Chris Boonzaier]

Yozu often read british accounts that claim the boers did not have the nerve to face cold steel and ran away when the British broke into their positions with bayonets and swords...

This overlooks the fact that the boers did not have bayonets or swords ;-)

[Mervyn Mitton]

Chris - one of the great difficulties our troops had was to ever get close to the Boers. They used their superior marksmanship to great advantage - they would take up a shielded position and fire on our advancing men - however, out of sight behind them, a number of their men held all of their horses and by the time our men reached the position all that was usually left was a cloud of dust. So, a night charge was an effective way of catching them un-prepared but, obviously must have been a terrible experience for everyone concerned.

One of the worst incidents, where our superiority in close quarter fighting was apparent, was the 2nd battle of the War - the Battle of Elandslaagte. We were retreating fom Dundee and our 'victory' at Talana - when the Boers attacked the railway sidings at Elandslaagte , which were roughly mid-way between Dundee and Ladysmith, where we were retreating to. The Boers were caught in the open by our forces - which included a number of units. The cavalry had detachments from the 5th. Lancers; the 5th Dragoon Guards; Imperial Light Horse and - I think - Natal Mounted Rifles. They charged using both sword and lances - nine feet long (app.3metres) - the Boers made a run for it and a lot were lanced during the chase. Many Boers never forgave the British for this and it caused great enmity over the years - the famous saying they had , was - 'white men do do not do things like that to other white men' !!

The reason the battles took place at Talana and Elandslaagte were for the coal. They were trying to cut us off from supplies - which in those days were vital for the railways and all our shipping. (An Eland is the largest African antelope - weighs over one ton - and laagte , means a confined area - usually surrounded with cut down thorn bushes - so, I suppose at some time it had been one to hold captured animals.)

[Guest Darrell]

One of the great difficulties our troops had was to ever get close to the Boers. They used their superior marksmanship to great advantage - they would take up a shielded position and fire on our advancing men - however, out of sight behind them, a number of their men held all of their horses and by the time our men reached the position all that was usually left was a cloud of dust. So, a night charge was an effective way of catching them un-prepared but, obviously must have been a terrible experience for everyone concerned.

Meryn is quite correct. Plus, during the early stages of the war the British were completely caught off guard employing outdated infantry attacks against strategically emplaced BOER positions. They had the smokeless Mauser Rifles which made it extremely difficult for the British to see the enemy. This led to numerous slaughters until they developed a more careful advance.

The days of Calvary (against a equally equiped enemy) pretty much ended during this time period. Sporatic attempts during the 1st World War ended poorly against the machine gun.

[Mervyn Mitton]

Darrell - have you ever read any accounts of the 1st. Boer War in 1881 ? Particularly the battle of Laing's Nek ? That was famous for changing a number of practices from the past, which the Victorian generals' would not give-up. Your comments re. old fashioned thinking are , therefore 'on the button' ! I will do a resume of the War if I can find some good illustrations - we were defeated in every battle and our general was killed - so, being British - we left him buried in a field and did not issue a medal !!! I tried to have him ( Maj.Gen. Colley ) taken back to UK and for him to be buried in Westminster Abbey - he was a famous man in his day - but, as always, they turned it down.

This battle must not be confused with the Battle of Laing's Nek in the second Boer War - and for which a battle clasp was issued.

[Guest Darrell]

Mervyn, I haven't done alot of reading about the 1st Boer War (or insurrection if you will). I am almost through a book by Martin Meredith called "Diamonds, Gold and War". It traces the history of South Africa from the 1820's till around 1910. A good chunk related to the Diamond and Gold Magnets (incl. Cecil Rhodes, Alfred Beit among others).

Fascinating history. He does cover the 1880-81 clash a little bit, but doesn't go into too much detail on the battles (where, like you say, the English got a good thrashing from the Boers).

[Mervyn Mitton]

Cecil Rhodes - Barney Barnato and Oppenheimer - the three 'big' names who benefited from the gold and diamonds, were living at the right time. Their exploits - if they happened today - would probably make headlines in every paper. They were total exploiters.