Referat Der Burenkrieg

Der Burenkrieg

As a result of the British plans to build a railway all the way through Africa they had to take possession of the Transvaal, a country where farmers predominantly from

the Netherlands had settled and had founded their own independent state. This list contains the most important and most useful facts.

End of September 1899 : mobilization of the Boers, humble farmers prepare themselves for a fight whose duration could not be imagined. They set up a force led

- unlike in the British army - not by those with the highest rank but by those with the profoundest experience and skills. Very often they could not be distinguished

from their fellow soldiers.

October 1899 the British sailed out with a strong feeling of supremacy and the undoubtable idea they would be home for christmas but had to realize the Boers were

a lot more capable in using horse and gun.

End of October 1899 until end of January 1900 numerous struggles took place.

January 23 1900 a hill called Spion Kop (spy head) which had been taken possession of by the British was retaken by the Boers, a severe setback for the

British army and the moral of its troops.

May 31 1900 Johannesburg and June 05 1900 Pretoria (the capital of the Transvaal) were occupied by the British, but this did by no means indicate the end

of the war, but led to an even more continuous resistance among the Boers.

Autumn 1900 a guerilla war was commenced by the Boers and the British had to organize an immidiate army which consisted halfly of soldiers recruted in the

overseas empire. In this phase of the war the British had difficulties with their arms, for the elusive bunches of Boer partisans were equipped with German guns

(„Mausers') which were a lot easier to handle in comparison with the heavy British canons.

Therefore the British started to burn down most of the Boer farms where mostly women and children had been left for they were afraid Boer soldiers would hide

there. These cruel actions were accompanied by the establishment of so called „refugee camps' to „concentrate' the rest of the Boer civilisation (ö

concentration camps).

These camps were presented as a part of British welfare for the poor homeless Boers and their shabbiness and dismangagement was blamed on the shortage of time

in which they had to be set up. In the beginning 34% of the inmates died. After the enormous reaction among the British poulation, improvements were made and in

the end „only' 7 % died and all the time photos of healthy Boer children were widespread all over the world, although 22000 of the 28000 Boers who died

in the camps were children.

May 31 1902 a contract was signed by general de Wet and general Kitchens to cease the battles. Even those Boers who had strongly believed in their ideals had

to lay down their guns.

The end of the Boer War was celebrated hugely in London an South Africa.