The Boer War 1899–1902 (Essential Histories)

My initial introduction to the Boers/Afrikaners' heroic struggle against the British Empire came while watching a TV series called "Transvaal's Gold" as a kid during a period of Saturday afternoons. Despite the obvious constraints on breadth (altogether 95 pages), this is a rather detailed and lavishly illustrated study - apart from 10 colour maps, a selection exclusively taken from the Ann Ronan Picture Library. We can read, among many other topics, about conventional and guerilla phases of the war; description of opposing forces and their commanders, strategies employed (i.e., trenches, Kitchener's ruthless "policy of containment, combined with great 'drives' - some over 50 miles long"); siege of Ladysmith, Mafeking, and Kimberley; snapshot of life in Boer commandos; the plight of internees in concentration camps; Emily Hobhouse's humanitarian mission; further implications of the Vereeniging Treaty; lessons learned, used and misused in WWI."Both British Commanders-in-Chief, Field Marshal Sir John French and Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, were cavalry commanders, each of whom not only possessed outmoded ideas on the place of the mounted arm, but failed to understand the proper role of infantry and artillery, both of which replaced the cavalry as the primary elements of continental European warfare more than a generation before 1914" (p. 91).The military historian manages to avoid being repetitive, a feature I've encountered in two other Osprey publications, except for one occasion, namely on page 65 regarding the role of blockhouse system, where the same information is given both in the main text and the smaller typeset caption to the map on page 66.Not surprisingly, perhaps due to PC conditioning, a crucial factor goes unmentioned: the machinations of Jew 'gold (and diamond) bugs' as instigators and beneficiaries of the war. De Beers was controlled not only by the Rothschild-backed Cecil Rhodes but by Barney Barnato (né Barnett Isaacs). Allies (controllers?) of Alfred Milner included Wernher, Beit and Co. (Julius Wernher, Alfred Beit, Lionel Phillips et al. - the Eckstein Group). They financed the thwarted Jameson raid in 1895 that can be viewed as a warning prelude to the outbreak of hostilities in 1899. For more on this (the Consolidated Goldfields, S. Neumann and Co., and the Exploration Company, which was another Rothschild tentacle) and related issues, consult British economist John Atkinson Hobson's (1858-1940) book entitled  The War in South Africa: Its Causes and Effects (Classic Reprint)  (first edition: New York - Macmillan 1900), particularly the chapter 'For whom we are fighting?' pp. 189-97 - available online. As an eyewitness, he made the following observation:"It is difficult to state the truth about our doings in South Africa without seeming to appeal to the ignomious passion of Judenhetze (Jew-baiting)...Recent developments of Transvaal gold-mining have thrown the economic resources of the country more and more into the hands of a small group of international financiers, chiefly German in origin and Jewish in race. By superior ability, and organisation these men, out-competing the slower-witted Briton, have attained a practical supremacy which no one who has visited Johannesburg is likely to question...I thus discovered that not Hamburg, not Vienna, not Frankfurt, but Johannesburg is the New Jerusalem."

This book is another excellent volume in the outstanding Ospery series! The story of the Boer War is told with crisp prose and organized in the same way as all of the books in this series. This is a story of a clash of cultures during the age of imperialism. Its also the story of how small rural nations fought a bloody war against the mightiest empire in the world. Its a story of how one side lost the war but won the peace.The author's narrative is balanced and informative, supplemented with excellent maps. Every aspect of the conflict is presented; the battles, the politics, the civilians, and a new concept for the times:the concentration camps.

The book needed much more maps so that you could follow the progress of the war.not only as to the movement of the troops but the lay of the land.Not being familiar with South Africa, like most of the readers, maps help to understandthe progress of the war and the difficulties in the terrain. Also it would have been goodto have broken down the population in more detail. The books does not discuss whathappened to the Utilanders in the Transvaal or the Orange Free State.

I knew next to nothing about the Boer War when I sat down to read this book. Though I can't truly claim to be an expert on the subject now, I almost feel as though I am one, because this book is so well written. The narrative is very easy to follow and the plentiful maps and photographs are close to superb. Plus, the discussion of the centuries preceeding the actual war, though brief, put the war in context quite nicely. There really isn't anything more to say except that if you want a short introduction to the Boer War, then buy and read this book!

The "Essential Histories" series from Osprey could easily be compared to the Cliff Notes series. They'll give you a nice introduction to a topic you are not familiar with, but no real depth. Most volumns are under 100 pages; therefore, don't expect many "man in the trenches" stories.This book is what this series does best: present a little understood period of military history with some background, goals of participants, and outcome.

Book is well written and laid out, with maps and pictures, but it is a little to thin on some aspects, such as the Imperial German Governments fishing in troubled waters, the control of the British Government by the industrialist in Britain and Africa as well as the political and social affects on race later one. But the overall coverage of the war itself is well done.

A good introduction to this conflict. It looks beyond the military scene på the political prequel and sequel. The Boers basically lost the war and won the peace.

I have always been courious about this chapter in hisory. This book povided a comprehensive view of what transpired. What I enjoyed was its brevity, wanted facts not an elaborate novel. I got what I wanted.

Brilliant book. For a relatively small book, it explained the origins, strategy and tactics of the Boer War. It made for fascinating reading

Yawn, don't buy this. Buy the Men-at-Arms series for uniforms & Packenham for the history.

A good detailed account of a war that is sometimes forgotten, this also gives an account of how the Boers suffered and their bravery

good

Bought as present for my Dad so not read myself but ticked all the boxes for him!