The Somerset Light Infantry - The Boer War, 1899 - 1902
Background to the Conflict
The causes of the Boer War go back to 1795 when Britain took over the Cape Colony from the Dutch, and British troops started to arrive. At first, the Dutch settlers, known as the Boers, ignored their new governors and moved away from the administrative centres; they were fiercely independent and refused to accept any outside rule or influence. However, the British authorities began to follow the Boers and hostilities began to develop with the introduction of new laws, such as the order in 1823 for English to be adopted as the official language and the emancipation of British slaves in 1833. This second law struck the Boers deeply as it threatened their economic stability: their farms depended on free labour. Unhappy with British rule, a large number of Boers began to move away from Cape Colony. In 1852 the British conceded to allow Boers self-government, and thus the Republic of Transvaal was born, with the Orange Free State following two years later. However, the Boers continued to argue among themselves, and with the discovery of diamonds in 1867, Britain annexed Transvaal. Anglo-Boer tensions continued to simmer throughout the second half of the 19th century, until the uprising of the 'Uitlander Question' caused the spark to ignite the Boer War.
The Utilander or Outlander question began to arise in the 1880s. The Boers' fears of being swamped by the (mainly British) Utilanders during local elections led to increased tensions. Coupled with this, Cecil Rhodes, the British Prime Minister of the Cape Colony, began to stir up dissent among the British Utilanders; he aimed to try to incorporate the Boer territories with the British to form one large, strong, British South African state. In 1898 the final tipping point came: a Boer policeman shot Tom Eggars, an unarmed British miner, and the policeman was found not guilty. This decision enraged the British Uitlanders, who sent a petition to Queen Victoria demanding equal political rights in a state where they formed the majority. This led to talks in May 1899 to try and solve the Utilander problem, but the talks hit problems. Worrying that they didn't have enough military representation in the same area, Britain began to amass troops in South Africa. This led to an ultimatum from the Boers asking for the end of troop movements. This ultimatum was ignored, and thus war was declared.
The Conflict
In October 1899 the British government issued orders to mobilise an Army Corps, consisting of three Infantry Divisions and Corps troops, a cavalry division and lines of communication troops. The 2nd Battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry were selected as part of the Communication troops. The 2nd Battalion arrived at Cape Town on 20 November and proceeded to De Aar, an important railway junction on the direct line to Kimberley, a town under siege. By early December the Battalion was moving toward Ladysmith to take part in an attempt to lift the siege; however, the military situation turned further against the British and any plan to relieve Ladysmith were postponed.
In early February, a third attempt was made to relieve Ladysmith. The operation lasted a week and was unsuccessful; the 2nd Battalion covered the army's retreat back across the Tugela River. A fourth - and luckily final - attempt began towards the end of February. Attention was turned to the east where the Tugela River, in a great loop, cut the Boer defences. A pontoon bridge was built over the River, and the 2nd Battalion were given the honour of leading the advance. A 2pm on the 21 February the Battalion crossed the river and immediately ran into trouble; the Battalion occupied a front of about a mile, which lay upon an open plain totally devoid of cover. About a thousand yards in front of the line lay the lower slopes of Grobelaar's Kloof that held the enemy. The Boers were fighting from well-defended positions that soon brought the British attack to a standstill. For four days the British continued to bombard Grobelaar's Kloof, losing 1,200 men in the process. Buller then shifted his attentions to the right and began to to press the advantage that lay there. In just under 24 hours, on the 27 February, the Boer line was broken and the road to Ladysmith was open.
After the relief of Ladysmith and the town of Kimberley the nature of the war changed: things were finally moving in favour of the British. Mafeking, Bloemfontein, Johannesburg and Pretoria all came under British control, and in July 2,000 Boers surrendered in the Orange Free State. It appeared to most, on both sides, that the war was over. However, with the British occupying all the major towns the Boer forces split up and took to the countryside, to continually harass the British using guerilla tactics. The British army adopted a system of marching and countermarching, trying to anticipate where the next attack would come from.
In early 1900 the Somerset were split between two infantry columns, and also supplied two companies of Mounted Infantry, who took part in some attacking manoeuvres in the Transvaal and Orange Free State. The main action the 2nd Battalion saw during this period was the De Wet Hunt. De Wet was a Boer Commando General operating in the Orange Free State. He managed to escape an encircling net which was laid for him by Kitchener, the new commander of the South African forces; this meant that a column of British forces were tied up trying to track him down. In two months the column marched 560 miles without any sighting of the enemy.
In May 1902 peace terms were finally agreed, and the British soldiers were congratulated in bringing the war to a successful end. The Somersets won two more battle honours - the Relief of Ladysmith and South Africa, 1899-1902 - along with the South Africa medal.
