9 - The First Anglo-Boer War, 1880–1881

Summary

In December 1880, the Boers of the Transvaal rebelled against the British annexation of 1877 aimed at bringing their republic into a British-ruled South African confederation. Their struggle to regain their independence assumed the nature of a civil war: English settlers in the Transvaal identified themselves as ‘loyalists’; while the Boer community fractured into ‘rebels’, ‘loyalists’, and ‘neutrals’. The campaign was the late Victorian army’s first experience of warfare against a similarly armed enemy and was fought while it was in the process of updating its military doctrine. Even so, British regulars were worsted by a mounted infantry of Boer militia deploying their modern rifles with superior effect in expert fire and movement tactics, signalling the need for the British army to improve its leadership, training, and tactics. The British government despatched reinforcements, but before their deployment it became alarmed that the war was provoking anti-British agitation across South Africa and decided to negotiate an end to the conflict. Disregarding his instructions to cease hostilities, Colley attacked again and was defeated at Majuba Hill on 27 February 1881. The British subsequently conceded the Transvaal its independence and temporarily shelved the confederation project.