Some information about the background to the Boer War and the lessons the British army learnt and used in World War I
The Second Boer War (Afrikaans: Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, literally "Second Freedom War") otherwise known as the Second Anglo-Boer War or the South African War occurred from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902.
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The United Kingdom fought the South African Republic (Transvaal Republic) and the Orange Free State. The British war effort was supported by troops from several regions of the British Empire, including Southern Africa, the Australian colonies, Canada, Newfoundland, British India and New Zealand.
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Many of the tactics used in the early part of the war were to be used in the First World War, most notably the use of Trenches by the Boers.
When Britain despatched an Expeditionary Force (the BEF) to the Continent in August 1914, the German Kaiser issued an order of the day to his generals to “walk over General French’s contemptible little army”.
But despite being heavily outnumbered, this small force, including many men from the West Midlands, played a vital role in stopping the seemingly overwhelming German advance across Belgium and into France.
Small in size compared with the much larger armies of France and Germany, the BEF was highly effective. This was in stark contrast to the disasters that the British Army had experienced a few years earlier at the start of the Second Boer War (1899-1902) in South Africa.