MARKSMANSHIP HISTORY, THE BOER WAR

[Cav1]

The Dutch Boers of South Africa, at the turn of the last century, sought to gain independence from Great Britain. Living a lifestyle very similiar to the American Pioneers, they were almost to a man noted for their rifle shooting skills, from hunting dangerous game to fighting the natives, as they wrested the land from its original owners. In anticipation of their revolution, the Boers ordered as many modern M-93/95 Mausers they could get their hands on and several million rounds of 7x57mm ammunition. The Boers titled themselves as simply Burghers, or citizens, and when called to action, they rode to assembly points with their own horse, rifle and ammunition to form up into "Commandos". One famous Boer slogan was: "Vertroue im God en die Mauser"... Faith in God and the Mauser.

Great Britain, at the time, had vast experience in quelling native revolts throughout her world-wide empire, and boasted one of the most modern armies in the world. They set out to quell the upstarts, and their arsenal included Maxim guns, quick-firing pom-poms, heavy artillery, aerial observation from balloons, armored trains, semophore signallers, and the Lee-Metford rifle. They marched in expecting a cake walk. It was to take them a half a million men and more than three years to subdue a force of, at its height, 40,000 Boers.

Rudyard Kipling describes the grudging admiration the British soldier had for the Boer's prowess with the Mauser:
"An' when there wasn't aught to do
But camp and cattle-guards,
I've fought with 'im the 'ole day through
At fifteen 'undred yards;
Long afternoons o' lyin' still,
An' 'earin' as you lay
The bullets swish from 'ill to 'ill
Like scythes among the 'ay.
Ah, there, Piet!--be'ind 'is stony kop--
With 'is Boer bread an' biltong, an' 'is flask of awful Dop;
'Is Mauser for amusement an' 'is pony for retreat,
I've known a lot o' fellers shoot a dam' sight worse than Piet."
(Note: Biltong is jerky and Dop is Cape brandy.)

British General Paul Methuen, at the Battle of Modder River, said, "I never saw a Boer, but even at 2,000 yards when I rode a horse I had a hail of bullets around me." He ended the day in hospital with a bullet in his leg. He was later to help re-train the British Army before WWI, where he stressed, "Good shooting, accurate judging of distance, and intelligent use of ground."

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who went on to create the character Sherlock Holmes, also witnessed the Battle of Modder River and said: "As to the rifle bullets the air was humming and throbbing with them, and the sand was mottled like a pond in a shower. To advance was impossible, to retire was hateful. The men fell upon their faces and huddled close to the earth, too happy if some friendly ant-heap gave them a precarious shelter. An always, tier above tier, the lines of rifle fire rippled and palpitated in front of them. The infantry fired also, and fired, and fired--but what was there to fire at? An occasional eye and hand over the edge of a trench or behind a stone is no mark at seven hundred yards."

Later, Doyle reported on the Battle of Colenso:"No sign of the enemy could be seen, though the men were dropping fast. It is a weird and soul-shaking experience to advance over a sunlit and apparently a lonely countryside, with not the  slightest movement upon its broad face, while the path which you take is marked behind you by sobbing, gasping, writhing men, who can only guess by the position of their wounds whence the shots came which struck them down. All round, like the hissing of fat in the pan, is the monotonous crackle and rattle of the Mausers; but the air is full of it, and no one can define exactly whence it comes. Far away on some hill upon the skyline there hangs the least gauzy veil of thin smoke to indicate whence the six men who have just all fallen together, as if it were some grim drill, met their death."

It took as many as 600,000 soldiers, the burning of farms and crops, the killing or impoundment of livestock, and the imprisonment of the Boers' families in concentration camps to beat them. The Boers and their Mausers, for the most part, were not defeated on the field of battle. Peace terms were actually quite generous towards the Boers as the exhausted British wished to simply end the war that had proven to be so unexpectedly costly in lives, manpower, time, effort, and money.

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[WECSOG]

I know of no good books on the boer's, could you perhaps recommend any?

[Will]

There are several chronicles of the Boer War that I can recommend- the first is by Thomas Pakenham, titled simply Boer War. The other is the Trilogy of Dennis Reitz.

The book is out of print or in and out of print and rather pricey. It was among Jeff Coopers recommended readings. It is a firsthand account of the war beginning to end by Dennis Reitz whose father I seem to recall was part of the South African goverment. It is the better of the two, have not read it in probably 8 years or so, need to dust that one off!

Most references you will find in other works- the example of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle being one- Winston Churchill also served and comments on it in his memoirs. So...not one book dealing with it exclusively but many short accounts.

You might Google Spion Kop for an account of a Boer battle that showcased their superior tactics and skill at arms.

[mountainman]

Although classified as "historical fiction" James a Michner's "The Covenant" and Wilbur Smith's African sagas contain interesting info on the Boers and the history of Africa.

mountainman

[didactic]

It was Col. Cooper's observation, after walking several of the Battlefields, that the Boers outshot the Brits overwhelmingly.  But it wasn't super-human marksmanship, headshots at 700+ yards with open-sighted rifles, but the ability to consistently make torso shots at 200-400 yards.  The Boers could usually do it, the Tommies usually not.

[wcmartin1]

It was Col. Cooper's observation, after walking several of the Battlefields, that the Boers outshot the Brits overwhelmingly.  But it wasn't super-human marksmanship, headshots at 700+ yards with open-sighted rifles, but the ability to consistently make torso shots at 200-400 yards.  The Boers could usually do it, the Tommies usually not.

Hmmm... Seems I've heard that concept somewhere before. 

[socalserf]

Cav 1,
That was an excellent synopsis of the Boer War.
There was a lot of interseting fallout from that war.
The Lee-Metford Rifle was reworked into the SMLE.
The Brits shot so poorly that they instituted serious rifle training for their Tommies. By WW1 the regular army Tommie (the old contemptables) was really good.
It also started the Boy Scouts to teach young boys fieldcraft/riflery.
It also started a movement among civilain shooters to learn rifle marksmanship.
Does histrory repeat itself? Again and Again.

[voortrekker]

This is an excellent post.

Thanks Cav1.  Your first thread very well written and thought out.

The Boers, as for myself, I came to know about them, unknowingly in 1990.

In 1990, I went to my first gunshow in Houston, TX.  There I saw the rifle I wanted to own since I was 15 years old.  A new in the box Springfield Armory FAL for $850.

My father's book shelves, with books regarding guns etc.  I thumbed through them at bedside more times than I'd like to admit.  Wishing and wondering.

The one rifle I swore to myself was the FAL.  I thought, "I will own this rifle".

In 2000, own one I did.  I've since sold it to my brother.

Not that there was something wrong with it.  Nothing was wrong with it, it was pristine, and was simply a work of art to my eyes and it shot very, very well.

But, as an owner of a FAL I was spurred to know it's history.

This led me to Rhodesia in Africa.

The Rhodesians used the FAL to great effect, even in as far as rendering their MBR's without select fire to save ammo.  In fact, when they did this there was little difference statistically inasfar as kill ratios.

What does this tell you?   The Rifleman's Universe.  Remember?  Shoot as if you've only one round.

I read everything I could about the Rhodesians fighting to preserve their way of life, whilst the world super powers put their knee in the back of Rhodesia.  SANCTIONS.  POLITICS.

NOW, look at former Rhodesia, as it's called Zimbabwe.

Former Rhodesia, was a thriving agricultural pillar for Africa.  NOW Zimbabwe, ruled by a dictator, Mugabe, who is responsible for his country's enormous inflation and poverty.

Rhodesia was not perfect, but the boot of world politics was stamped down on its face.

There was not much they could do.


I will remember Rhodesia.


Learning about Rhodesia led me to the Afrikaners.  The Afrikaners, much of whom populated and developed what would become Rhodesia.

Afrikaners, were of Dutch descent.  They had their own language, their own way of life.  For the most part, they were farmers and ranchers.  They knew the horse and the rifle, they had to, to survive.

Remember, the Dutch settled in South Africa well, well before England did.  These people were pioneers just like our American forebearers, simply wanting to live their life.

They lived a very hard life to make end means, but they were free.

Take a look at the terrain they decided to trek forth and be free.  Google Zimbabwe, Rhodesia.  It's beautiful country, but hard at the same time.

It did not take long after word got to England that gold and diamonds were found in north South Africa and it's borders.  Land the Boer's settled and fought dearly for.

England, a world super power of the time made full effect their intentions of a land of potential monetary resources. 

Take heed today.

Hence, the Boer War.

If you remember anything from this thread, remember this, the Boer's, their marksmanship and their fight for independence should be REMEMBERED,  a chapter in your children's public school books that were likley forgotten, BUT SHOULD BE REMEMBERED.

Secondly, the terms :  commando    and    concentration camp      were coined during the Boer war.


P.S.  Shooters have asked, what does your screen name mean, "voortrekker".  It's from the Boer's, voortrekker, "those who trek ahead".  My screen name, this is my salute to them, that they will not be forgotten.


Respectfully,


Brett

[Cav1]

For further reading, I also recommend Pakenham's book.

For us frugal types, Project Gutenberg has a few freebies:
From Capetown to Ladysmith
The Great Boer War
Three Years War
With the Boer Forces

Socalserf beat me to the punch on the Old Contemptibles, the next little synopsis.

[socalserf]

Please have at it sir!
I love a well told tale.

And somewhat off topic- there is a nice little yarn called The Defense of Duffers Drift.
It is a classic text for beginers tactics based on the experiences of that war.
I beleive it is on the US Marine Corp Commandants reading list.

http://members.tripod.com/RegimentalRogue/duffersdrift/Duffers_Drift.htm

[Cav1]

Ah yes, The Battle of Duffer's Drift. Required reading. Some lessons have to be learned by the military over and over again. Find it and read it for free at the US Army Command and General Staff College:

http://www-cgsc.army.mil/carl/resources/csi/Swinton/Swinton.asp

[Wayne Conrad]

Ordered: Commando: A Boer Journal of the Boer War.

Ordered Paul Revere's Ride while I was at it.  It's going to be a good month for reading.

[Cav1]

Wayne, I hope it wasn't On Commando by Dietlof Von Warmelo that you ordered. It's a freebie at Project Gutenberg:
http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/15160

[earthman92]

I found this book, The Great Anglo-Boer War, by Byron Farwell very informative.
It was the first book I read about about the Boer War.

[Wayne Conrad]

Wayne, I hope it wasn't On Commando by Dietlof Von Warmelo that you ordered. It's a freebie at Project Gutenberg:
http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/15160

Cav1, I don't think so, but I'd order the paper copy even if it were.  As many times as I've tried to take a Project Gutenburg book to the head, my monitor and keyboard don't have a long enough cord to make it.  Still, thank you for thinking of saving me the money.

The Boers were quite the riflemen.  Here's a quote from Commando: A Boer Journal of the Boer War.  A patrol of 10 men are on horseback, only a few days into the war...

...we saw half a dozen English soldiers running up the slope about 500 yards off.  We shouted to them to stop, but as they paid no heed, we sprang to the ground and fired, bringing two men down.  The others now halted, and, riding up, we found one dead and another badly wounded.

Look at that again.  10 men went from horseback to prone, and--under field conditions--fired on six moving targets at 500 yards and made critical hits on two.

It would be easy to pass this paragraph by, thinking, "They only hit two.  So what."  That would be a mistake.  How many of us have had any training at shooting moving targets?  Is the flat, prepared ground of our range anything like the weathered ground of the world?  What's it like to go from physical exertion to a shooting position in an instant?  For ten men to have brought down two, at 500 yards under those conditions is excellent marksmanship, and explains with an exclamation mark why the remaining four Englishmen halted in their tracks once their compatriots fell.

[gewehr]

  I read "The Washing of the Spears" several years ago although can't remember the author's name. It is primarily concerned with the Zulus and how they interacted with other peoples in their region but gives a lot of history about the Migration of Europeans who's descendants would become Boers. Also Boer culture and lifestyles.

[mark1174]

My dad recounted a true story told to him by his father, who ran away from his home in England and joined the army. He fought for the British in the Boer War. He said his father was out alone in the bush and spotted an armed Boer on a hill across from him -- about 400 yards away. He fired and missed; the Boer fired and missed; then he fired again and hit and killed the Boer. He went over to the body and went through his haversack. He found a pocket watch, which he took, and an onion which he ate. After the war, he came back to England and became a Presbyterian minister, then emigrated to America.

[T191032]

Cav1  wrote :

Wayne, I hope it wasn't On Commando by Dietlof Von Warmelo that you ordered. It's a freebie at Project Gutenberg:
http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/15160


Wayne Conrad  replied :

Quote from: Cav1 on April 30, 2008, 02:04:13 PM
Wayne, I hope it wasn't On Commando by Dietlof Von Warmelo that you ordered. It's a freebie at Project Gutenberg:
http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/15160


Cav1, I don't think so, but I'd order the paper copy even if it were.  As many times as I've tried to take a Project Gutenburg book to the head, my monitor and keyboard don't have a long enough cord to make it.  Still, thank you for thinking of saving me the money.



And, to which I would like to add (and I've been looked/laughed at for saying this, so go ahead and hollar and laugh . . . then think about it!) 
Ladies and Gentleman, downloadable books on the internet are a wonderful thing, especially when they are free.  I don't know about the rest of you, but I cannot carry my computer into the bathroom, or sit in front of my TV and read with it on my lap!  Yes, I spend far too much time on thet computer these days, but darn it, it just isn't the same!