The Boer War: A Captivating Guide to Its Causes, Battles, and Legacy in South Africa (African History) by History Captivating

Author:History, Captivating
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-04-02T00:00:00+00:00

A British illustration of the Battle of Modder River.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Battle_of_Modder_River_-_Bacon%27s_South_Africa_War_Prints.jpg

The next day, November 26th, the troops rested and reorganized themselves. On November 27th, they moved off, edging ever closer to their goal. Fifteen miles ahead lay the next significant obstacle for Methuen and his division: the railway bridge across the Modder River. This had the potential to be a major defensive position for the Boers.

And it was. The Boers had blown up the bridge. However, the terrain was different this time. There were no major pieces of high ground or kops, meaning there were no significant hills, ridges, or mountains. Houses, farms, and bungalows dotted the area of Rosmead village to the west of the bridge. The approaches to and from the river were flat, barren scrubland. But green foliage—poplar and eucalyptus trees and bushes—was abundant along the Riet and Modder River lines, making visibility difficult. However, it looked pleasant and peaceful. Some British officers drew comparisons with Maidenhead or Henley. Methuen and his officers planned to take breakfast under the shade of those trees once the Boers had been driven off.

The Boers’ tactics were evolving after their encounters with the British. They understood that the British artillery could be very effective and accurate and that it was invariably used to bombard hilltops before a British advance. Although a position on high ground offered advantages of height and range to the Boer riflemen, one of the more effective Boer commanders, Koos de la Ray, noticed that riflemen firing down on targets from a great height were less effective against a large mass of British infantry than firing on flat ground in front of a hill. If a Boer rifleman missed his target on a flat surface, there was still a reasonable chance that he might hit a man (or two) who were advancing behind.

The Boers dug many trenches along the river. They concealed them carefully and cleverly with bushes, grass, and branches. Furthermore, the Boers placed large stones that were painted white outward from the trenches at hundred-yard intervals so they could have an accurate sense of the range they would be firing at as the British approached. The Boers would have a clear field of view as the British came. The Boers would be dispersed in concealed trenches and firing smokeless ammunition, so the British would not be able to see the Boers until they were very close. And, of course, at that point, it would be far too late.[35]

A German Army officer, Major Albrecht, was in charge of the Boer artillery. He arranged for gun pits to be dug amid the trenches to allow him to move his guns to a protected position if needed.

Methuen’s plan was hampered by the same problems he had experienced at Belmont and Graspan. His reconnaissance was limited, as the Boer long-range marksmen made it almost impossible to draw near to observe the Boer positions. The maps were entirely inadequate. The Royal Engineers had managed to conduct a hasty investigation of the Boer defenses and produced a quick sketch of their findings.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.