The British tactical reaction to battlefield conditions during the Anglo-Boer War

Abstract

Only eighteen years prior to the commencement of the Anglo-Boer War the Boers gave Great Britain an excellent demonstration of their tactical skills. A comparison of the casualties of the opposing forces during the few, but decisive battles fought at the beginning of 1881 during the Anglo-Transvaal War, surely should have raised a few eyebrows among British officers and politicians alike.