Episode 54- The flimsy Oath of Neutrality collapses at the start of a Southern Spring

It’s October 1900, and Spring is a month old in Southern Africa. Some of the mountains in Basutholand (Lesotho) still have their snowy caps, but the temperatures are already climbing to 30 degrees in other parts of the region. In Cape Town, the Governor of the Cape Sir Alfred Milner was completely unconvinced by Lord Robert’s assertion that the war was technically over. Spring had come - but what was actually happening was it had breathed new life into the Boers. For some they reckoned this war was only just beginning. Valley after Valley of the South western Transvaal for example had slipped back under the control of Boer General Koos de la Rey. He was back in his happy hunting ground, snapping up convoys, swallowing prisoners, a swirling cloud on the horizon the size of a dynamited train as Thomas Packenham described it. At the epicentre of this miniature cyclone was de la Rey, and Louis Botha had requested all commanders to meet in the SwartRuggens ridge at the end of October. That was west of the capital Pretoria, a long line of steep hills that afforded a view across the flats of the Transvaal. Meanwhile Louis Botha remained active to the East of the capital. The curling smoke in the distance was not limited to British trains being blown up - Robert’s command for increasingly tough action against Boers including the destruction of their farms had begun in earnest. We heard last week how this decision to target civilians had led immediately to an escalation of the number of Boers who’d returned to the commandos despite taking an oath of neutrality. The debate about this moment in the war has literally continued to this day with biased views on both sides.

7 Loka 201818min

We are up to episode 53 and this week we’ll take a closer look at the use of Improvised Explosive Devices or IEDs in the war. While not a new invention, a Scotsman fighting for the Boers used a new remote triggering mechanism which is illuminating. Nothing brings out innovation in humans more than creative techniques to kill and maim each other. The war at this point in the third week of September 1900 appeared to be in one of those natural lulls, where small skirmishes were reported, and a bridge or two was blown up. But the Boers were planning a long term strategy which the British were only now beginning to fully understand. And the IED was symptomatic of the new guerrilla war. We know that the British in South Africa were totally reliant on the railway lines that had been built through the 19th century. The British army needed these to transport men and material to the two main battle fronts in the Free State and Transvaal - and also to transport the injured back to the various ports in order to be shipped back to their home countries. That’s because the alternative to these railway lines, the paths, dirt roads and tracks, were unpredictable and susceptible to the seasonal conditions. Also, mechanised equipment was in its infancy - there were steam driven vehicles which the British used for example, but these were few and far between. Oxen and horses were expensive to ship and these supplies were not always easy to come by - we’ve heard for example how Argentina, Canada, the USA, Arabia, India and other parts of Africa had been tapped for supplies of mules, horses and oxen. More about this when we hear about the shipping lists in a while. It took months to source these animals, then load them aboard ships which would sail or steam to Cape Town, Durban, Port Elizabeth, East London and even Beira in Portuguese East Africa.

23 Syys 201816min

This episode features what’s known as the Khaki election of 1900 in England, German mercenaries, Portuguese East Africa, and another update from the teenage schoolgirl called Freda who’s unique view of this war continues through her diary. It also the point at which Lord Roberts makes another proclamation after his September 1st declaration that the Transvaal Republic is now officially part of the Queen’s dominion. As we know, that was somewhat presumptuous as the British did not control the territory within South Africa, only the main railway line and cities. The veld remained unconquered. Transvaal President Paul Kruger and his government had been pushed inexorably towards the Portuguese EAst African territory and were based in Nelspruit, only 85 kilometers from the border. The British under Lord Roberts were about to strike at the town and a meeting of Boer leaders including President Steyn of the Free State had decided that Kruger would have to make a sea journey to Europe in an effort to beef up diplomacy. It was also to protect Kruger. Had he been captured its clear that most of the Boers would have surrendered so his leaving Africa would be both strategic and tactical. He bowed to the decision apparently as the sentence of God and on the 11th of September he bid farewell to his friends and his government at Nelspruit. Though he was really only taking leave for six months, most wondered if they’d ever see him again. He entrained for Delagoa Bay and while the Portuguese government received him with full diplomatic honours as he awaited his ship to Europe, he must have realised that this was symbolic of a circle which began with the Dutch colonising the Cape in the 1600s, leading to the Great Trek, the war, and now he was to return to the Netherlands amongst other European countries.

16 Syys 201818min

This episode will focus on Australia - their troops had already had a major impact on the war particularly as they joined the Canadians in the relief of Mafikeng. When the Anglo-Boer war broke out in October 1899 most corners of the empire were convinced these handful of Boers would be brought under control within a few weeks. However, it was black week in December 1899 that shook the empire and its commonwealth. Remember those battles - Colenso, Stormberg and Magersfontein. After this, in Australia for instance, speakers toured the towns particularly in the South East of the country promoting the imperial cause and the demonisation of the Boers in the regional press was complete by February 1900. They were now “treacherous savages” who fired on hospitals, convoys of the wounded, women and children; they poisoned water, used dum dum bullets, buried their own critically wounded and robbed the dead. Membership of what were known as rifle clubs jumped after Black Week,where mainly urban Australians rediscovered their roots by training in the use of rifles. New clubs were formed, including some formed by women. But were the rifle clubs capable of defending their ownb colony in the event of an invasion? Apparently not, according to Yackandandah’s Councillor Beatty. In February 1900, he called for the establishment of units of Mounted Rifles or Rangers in every town and district. Although he had no criticism to make of the rifle clubs, he claimed, he believed that they would be virtually useless in the face of an invasion. It of course was not entirely clear who would be invading but the war in South Africa had applied Australian minds. Councillor Beatty had a son in uniform in South Africa and he reflected a long-standing demand in the region for local defence units that could defend both hearth and home. Beatty’s call sparked a number of public meetings across the region supporting his call for the establishment of Mounted Rifle or Ranger units. The government’s response, however, was cool. While this was the official reaction, in small towns across Australia contingents of men began to show up for assessment in order to be shipped off to the Anglo-Boer war — along with their horses.

9 Syys 201820min

The beginning of September 1900 is characterised by small skirmishes that continue to plague Lord Robert’s army in South Africa. It’s also the start of Spring - which came as a relief for the men who’d slept under the stars with winter temperatures slipping well below zero in many parts of South Africa. But they’d forgotten what happened in mid-Summer as the blazing sun bleached the bones of the dead and powerful thunderstorms lashed the living. September and October 1900 also revealed the limitations of the political will. Remember there’s been an uprising called the Boxer Rebellion in China which has occupied the minds of the citizens, whereas this show in Africa is receding in the public consciousness. The government of John X Merriman was to face more criticism shortly. Think about contemporary wars - the UN and American campaign in Iraq and Afghanistan for example. After initial reports from imbedded journalists with their dramatic stories, then the audience begins to wane particularly if the effect of the war is not immediate. Think too of how badly the Russians fared in Afghanistan after they invaded in 1979 - the result of which accelerated the decline of the Soviet Union. Unlike the first world war where people in England could actually hear the Western Front artillery barrages at times, or were bombed by Zeppelins, and in the Second world war where tens of thousands of civilians were killed in Britain, in the Anglo-Boer war the hospital ships limped into harbours with fanfare but no direct effect was felt. So the Anglo-Boer war drifted into the background, to be manipulated by political parties as they argued back and forth about ethics, empire and cost. Something like the American experience where the left and right grapple with internal issues through the lens of distant wars. For the Boers, however, this life and death struggle was very much front and centre, as it was for all South Africans. The Transvaal’s political leaders were now compelled to retreat further eastwards, towards the Portuguese East Africa border, while the Orange Free State President Styen had joined Transvaal President Paul Kruger as they moved inexorably towards Delagoa Bay. Portuguese East Africa was neutral territory, and Delagoa Bay was a short-term bolt hole that beckoned both political leaders. Steyn had arrived at Waterval Onder in the final stages of the battle of Bergendal which we heard about last week. He wanted to confer with Ooom Paul Kruger and the remnants of the Transvaal government. Both were forced out of this town and headed further east to Nelspruit, only 85 kilometers from the Portuguese East Africa border. A meeting was held on the 28th August in Nelspruit and apparently this was a memorable occasion. A number of decisions were made including the crucial approval of the new method of war espoused by both General De Wet in the West along with General Koos de la Rey, and General Louis Botha in the East.

2 Syys 201822min

We’re in the Eastern Transvaal where Lord Roberts large army mobilised once more in late August 1900 in order to march on Boer General Louis Botha. Robert’s had been joined by General Redvers Buller who’d made his way north from the Natal Colony, pushing the Boers before him. On the 13th Buller took possession of Ermelo. His advance was steady and led to the Standerton commando numbering 182 men surrendered to Clery. Buller’s men continued skirmishing with the Boers, for instance on the 15th, his men were at Twyfelaar, and had taken possession of Carolina. Here and there a distant horseman riding over the olive-coloured hills showed how closely and incessantly he was watched and snipers continued to fire on his flanks. Buller's column had come nearer to the main army led by Lord Roberts, but it was also nearer to the main body of Boers who were waiting in that very rugged piece of country which lies between Belfast in the west and Machadodorp in the east. A note here about the feud between Lord Roberts and General Buller. When the war began in October 1899 Buller had been the commanding officer of the entire British army in South Africa. He was demoted when Roberts had arrived in early 1900 and both neither liked the other. Curiously, they feuded from a distance, their first face to face meeting was on the 7th July. So when Buller joined Roberts in the Eastern Transvaal in August 1900 it was significant for it all boiled to a simple fact. Buller was in charge of what was known as the African British experience, and Roberts was the Indian British experience. Two worlds clashed along with these two men. Louis Botha’s army had grown - there were now 7000 men dug in along the edge of the escarpment and from this rocky stronghold they had thrown out mobile bodies to harass the British advance from the south, and every day brought Buller into closer touch with these advance guards of the enemy. On August 21st he had moved eight miles nearer to Belfast, French operating upon his left flank. Here he found the Boers in considerable numbers, but he pushed them northward with his cavalry, mounted infantry, and artillery, losing between thirty and forty killed and wounded, the greater part from the ranks of the 18th Hussars and the Gordon Highlanders.

26 Elo 201817min

This episode is dominated by a failed attempt by the Boers at international diplomacy, the continued zig zagging of General Christiaan de Wet, and Lord Roberts setting out his stall to attack Louis Botha in the Transvaal. So it was then that on the afternoon of Wednesday 15th August 1900, a train pulled into Moscow Station in Russia. It was carrying Boer emissaries led by Willem Leyds, who had been criss-crossing the world trying to drum up support for the Boers in their battle against the British. We’re heard in earlier podcasts how Leyds failed in both the USA and Holland - despite sympathies and even citizens of both countries fighting for the Boers. However the political situation was not in their favour. So Leyds and three other Boer emissaries, Fischer, Wessels and Wolmarans were on board the train in Moscow and looked out of their carriage. They were gratified to see hundreds of Russians cheering their arrival. But that was the only really warm welcome they received. It was quickly clear to these Boer emissaries that the Russian authorities regarded them as uninvited guests. Russian newspaper editors were ordered by the Tsar’s officials to avoid writing stories about the Boers arrival, or even interview the men. At the same time, Leyd’s was informed that the Tsar was unavailable. He was apparently on a tour of his military bases and had been gone for weeks. The Boers said they’d wait. While public coverage was limited and the Russian formal welcome was lukewarm, Leyds did eventually manage to secure a meeting with the Tsar along with Russian Foreign Minister, Count VN Lamsdorff. The meeting was accorded full diplomatic honours without Fischer, Wolmarans and Wessels. Count Lamsdorff made it clear that Leyds was the only real Boer diplomat and that the other three were not welcome. This was a bitter pill to swallow. The team had travelled the globe and now made the long trip to Mosco only to be told Fischer, Wolmarans and Wessels were persona’s non grata. In the meantime the ever resourceful Leyds printed 100 copies of the letter he’d received from the Russian government and had them distributed to media across the world.

19 Elo 201819min