The Boer

The Boers came from two sections of society, the Boers or farmers from the rural areas and the Burghers or townsfolk from the cities but for ease of reading I will be using one term, Boer. They were/are direct descendants of settlers from Holland, Germany and France (French Hugenot’s). Their language at the time of the Boer War was for the most part Dutch. By nature he was a family man who thoroughly disliked being away from home but if he had to move for any period of time then he invariably took his family along with him.

A law in both the Free State and Transvaal Republics ensured that every male between the ages of sixteen and sixty joined a Commando group so that if war broke out he was automatically conscripted. He was expected to provide a riding horse, saddle, bridle, rifle and thirty cartridges. If he did not possess a rifle then he was required to supply thirty bullets, thirty caps and half a pound of powder; this alternative was given because few at the time possessed breach-loading rifles. He also was required to provide provisions for eight days and consisted of biltong, dried strips of meat and a Boer biscuit. (see section 29 of Act 20 1898) In addition the wagons and oxen had to be provided and in December 1899 Commandant Piet Joubert decreed that there would be about 30 Burghers to each wagon which would carry their belongings.

At the outbreak of hostilities on 11^th October 1899 there were estimated to be between 32 000 and 35 000 Burghers from the Transvaal and Free State under arms. By December this figure had increased to 45 000.

Raw meat and mealie flour was issued to each man who cooked for himself or brought a native along to do this for him. Conscription was started on 2nd October 1899, long before the war began which is another indication that President Kruger had every intention of fighting. Many cases were to be found of boys as young as thirteen and fourteen fighting alongside their fathers and at the other end of the scale were many men of seventy and even older. When General Cronje surrendered his forces at Paardeberg there were estimated to be about a hundred boys under the age of sixteen.

The Boer, who had been living off the land for generations, had two advantages over the regular British soldier. He could understand and use the veldt to his advantage and he was a survivor by nature. His prowess with a rifle was second to none with examples of accuracy at 1500 yards often cited although farmer friends of mine dispute any degree of accuracy over 1000 yards. He had little or no technical experience of warfare, no military training at all and most would not have risen to “Corporal” status in a European army. They were mostly farmers and hunters and were totally unused to any form of discipline. No roll call was ever taken or training given in the finer arts of warfare and because of their deep religious beliefs they did not fight on the Sabbath unless forced to do so by the British. The American journalist Howard Hillegas remarked that the Boer “became an army unto himself”. He looked after himself and his own and required no guidance from anyone other than God and we often read of him taking a “holiday” every so often or making up excuses to return to his family. On one occasion, because there were so many men taking “leave” General Joubert wrote to Pretoria requesting that all travellers carry a letter of authorisation for their journey. Failure to do so could result in their arrest as “deserters”.

The officers and men were equal in all aspects and lived, ate and slept together. The top echelon of officers were elected by the men and were invariably those who had been in the political arena prior to the conflict, irrespective of their military accomplishments with the consequences that in some cases their military leadership left a lot to be desired.

In general the Boer preferred to defend rather than attack and decisions to do the latter were taken by calling a Council of War. All officers above the rank of Veldt Cornet were given a chance to put over their point of view which although democratic in the extreme did take away the decision and responsibility from the officers. As an example one needs to look at Louis Botha’s predicament at Spioenkop after both the British and Boer forces had retreated from the top. Expecting a counter attack Louis Botha called for men to re-arm and defend the hill and out of some 10 000 troops at his disposal he managed to muster a mere 400 volunteers.

Historians have generally felt that the Boers had good maps of the area whereas the British did not and I have read that the British had to make do with maps out of school books. I have never subscribed to this thought, dismissing it as and excuse for the failures at Colenso, Spioenkop and Vaalkrantz. Recent research at the Natal Archives in Pietermaritzburg has shown that there were several maps that I am sure the British would have found very handy in deed.

There were over 7000 “foreigners” in the Boer army almost all of whom were volunteers who received no payment for their services other than a horse, ammunition and their food. Approximately 6000 came from the European sympathisers in Natal and the Cape Colony but reduced to 2000 within six months of the conflict starting.

  

 

 

 

 

         

Commando can mean two things, a soldier or a group of soldiers and the latter could consist of ten or ten thousand men, equating to a British regiment. The main officer structure comprised Fieldcornets, Commandants and a Commandant General with intermediate ranks similar to those of the British army. The senior positions were elected by a democratic vote from the Burghers, except in the Freestate, where the Commandant General was elected by the officers. They were not by law empowered to fight, although the individual had to become part of a commando. The Boer was by nature a family man and had an intense dislike of being away from home and, if he had to move for any period of time, he invariably took his family with him. This is exactly what most of them did when called up to fight taking along their sons and, in some cases, grandsons.

Private individuals, at their expense raised the first commandos to fight marauding Bushmen in the Cape, South Africa in the early 18th century. Various commandos were raised from that time until the First Anglo Boer War when the government of the Republic financed them.

For the Second Anglo Boer War conscription was introduced and began on 2nd October 1899, yet another indication that President Kruger had every intention of fighting. A law in the two republics, Orange Free State and Transvaal, ensured that every man between 16 and 60 joined a commando group so that when the War arrived he was called up. He was expected to provide a riding horse, saddle, bridle, rifle and 30 cartridges and provisions for 8 days, which consisted of Biltong, dried strips of meat and Boer biscuit called a Rusk. If he had no rifle then he had to bring 30 bullets, 30 caps and half a pound of powder. The alternative was given because few Boers at the time possessed breach-loading rifles, uniforms were non-existent except for senior officers. It was more a case of come as you are. Rumour has it that Winston Churchill, in the early years of World War 2, was discussing, with Jan Smuts, an idea he had for a new “behind the lines” action group remarking that the group needed a special name. Smuts is purported to have suggested “Commando” a name that has been synonymous with daring deeds ever since.

See Daniel Jacobus Geldenhuys  and Pieter Roos

For more information contact the Military Museum of the Boer Republics at Bloemfontein.