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On 11 October 1899 the Second Boer War between the British and the Boers began. The war saw the most powerful professional army in the world pitted against the unconventional tactics of the undisciplined Boers. Although the Boers were finally forced to surrender in May 1902 the war had taken its toll on their opponents who lost some 8,000 troops killed in action with a further 13,000 dying from disease. This book covers the organisation, uniforms and very different tactics involved in the conflict, from guerrilla warfare to a final war of attrition that the Boers could not hope to win.
My grandfather fought in the Boer War! He was in the Cheshire Regiment and became a mounted infantryman. He made the army his career and was a sergeant in the 7th battalion of the Cheshires throughout World War One.
ReplyDeleteOh nice one. Interesting career. Respect
ReplyDeleteI kind of scratch my head to think that my own grandfather was an actual horse-cavalryman! This grandfather was in his forties when my dad was born, hence him being from a generation earlier again than the men of World War One. Sadly he died when I was only nine or ten, but I remember him as a stereotypical "old soldier": pipe puffing away, military music on the radio, and a daily pint in the local pub, which happily was called the "Military Arms"! When he retired from the regular army he played some role in the Cheshire Yoemanry ( territorial army cavalry). Before he died he was the guest of honour at the Cheshire Regiment's annual reunion dinner, on account of being the oldest member of the regiment there! I still have his medals and collection of badges and buttons. His enthusiasm for military matters probably passed to me, via my dad who served in Burma during WWII, albeit in a much more twentieth-century role.
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