Episode 71 - Russia’s role in the Anglo-Boer War

Episode 71 - Russia’s role in the Anglo-Boer War

This week its all about Russians and with good reason. ‘I am wholly preoccupied with the war between England and the Transvaal,’ Tsar Nicholas wrote to his sister at the outbreak of the Boer War in October 1899. ‘Every day I read the news in the British newspapers from the first to the last line . . . I cannot conceal my joy at . . . yesterday’s news that during General White’s sally two full British battalions and a mountain battery were captured by the Boers!’ He was beside himself with glee. Yet a few years after writing this, Russia would be fighting as an ally with Britain against the Germans on the Eastern Front during the First World War. But that was 13 years later. At this moment, Tsar Nicholas was the enemy. The British and Russians had fought head to head during the Crimean War forty years before, and the Royal squabbles and empire building on both sides had alienated one from the other. Some of this week’s episode is drawn from the book “The Russians and the Anglo-Boer War” by Apollon Davidson and Irina Filatova published in 1998. I’ve also used historian RW Johnson’s comments at times too. The characters involved .. as usual .. are unforgettable. We've met people from all over the world who’ve had a hand to play in this war, and the Russians were some of the most colourful. By the way, its largely thanks to Sol who lives in Russia for prompting this episode. I hope you’re not too cold right now! But back to the episode… In 1899 the Tsar was particularly interested in the Boer War and Britain’s hold on South Africa because the route to India lay via the Cape, and Russia had its own designs on India. Even Leon Tolstoy had a view about the Anglo-Boer war, and he supported the Boers.

Episoder(143)

Episode 79 - Reitz meets the Doppers and a wild-eyed prophet as the Gold Mines chug back to life

Episode 79 - Reitz meets the Doppers and a wild-eyed prophet as the Gold Mines chug back to life

Episode 79 is full of strange swirling tales where Deneys Reitz our intrepid Boer narrator has been separated from his brother near Rustenberg after riding to fetch his all important saddle bags. Then...

24 Mar 201918min

Episode 78 - American blockhouses from Cuba and the enigma that was the pro-Boer John Tengo Jabavu

Episode 78 - American blockhouses from Cuba and the enigma that was the pro-Boer John Tengo Jabavu

The ides of March were upon the British in South Africa as they continued chasing the ghost generals, Smuts, de la Rey, Beyers, de Wet across a cooling landscape that had begun its Southern Hemisphere...

17 Mar 201922min

Episode 77- Kitchener’s peace talks fail and De Wet experiences a miracle

Episode 77- Kitchener’s peace talks fail and De Wet experiences a miracle

Episode 77 and the Great de Wet hunt sees the English cornering their quarry in the North East Cape Colony, close to Hopetown. The mercurial Boer general Christiaan de Wet has given up the plan to inv...

10 Mar 201921min

Episode 76 - Labram loses his head, darkness is De Wet’s salvation & Peace Talks begin

Episode 76 - Labram loses his head, darkness is De Wet’s salvation & Peace Talks begin

This week we continue learning about Americans in the war and ride with Christiaan de Wet as he scurries back across the Orange River - his attempts at invading the Cape ending in failure. There are a...

3 Mar 201922min

Episode 75 - Cowboys, Theodore Roosevelt & Americans in the Anglo-Boer War

Episode 75 - Cowboys, Theodore Roosevelt & Americans in the Anglo-Boer War

This week I'm focusing on America and Americans who fought in the war. What made Americans travel half way around the world to fight for both the Boers and the English? The initial answer is obvious ...

24 Feb 201919min

Episode 74 - Louis Botha surprises the British near Ermelo & De Wet crosses a swamp in the Karoo.

Episode 74 - Louis Botha surprises the British near Ermelo & De Wet crosses a swamp in the Karoo.

The guerrilla campaign is moving ahead swiftly, while in the northern Cape, the Great De Wet Hunt is in full swing. In the Eastern Transvaal, General Louis Botha had attacked the British in a surpri...

17 Feb 201920min

Episode 73 - Malperd Dies, the ACC disbands & The Great De Wet Hunt begins

Episode 73 - Malperd Dies, the ACC disbands & The Great De Wet Hunt begins

This week Deneys Reitz finds himself walking, while the Great de Wet Hunt begins in the Northern Cape and Free State. I would like to thank listeners for the wonderful messages I've received and sugg...

10 Feb 201917min

Episode 72 - Breaker Morant, Bulala Taylor and a British Military War Crimes Court Case

Episode 72 - Breaker Morant, Bulala Taylor and a British Military War Crimes Court Case

This week we explore incidents involving Australians based in Pretoria who committed war crimes and were executed. But what really happened? I’m going to try and detach the myth from the reality a...

3 Feb 201919min

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