BATTLE OF COLENSO

In October 1899 war erupted between the British Empire and the Boer republics of the Transvaal and Orange Free State. At first glance the two sides seemed laughably mismatched, and there were few in Britain who doubted another swift and victorious colonial campaign. However, in the first few weeks of the war, the hardy, highly mobile Boers shocked everyone by invading the Cape Colony and Natal, and trapping the majority of British troops in South Africa in the frontier towns of Mafeking, Kimberley and Ladysmith. In Ladysmith alone, 13,000 British troops under Sir George White were besieged and soon rapidly running out of food and supplies.

Enter Redvers Buller

The only encouraging news for the British was that en route to South Africa was an army corps of 47,000 men – the largest force to leave the British Isles since the Crimean War – under the command of Sir Redvers Buller, a celebrated hero of numerous colonial campaigns. Barrel-chested and bewhiskered, with a ruddy, avuncular face and commanding bearing, Buller appeared to be the epitome of the Victorian officer. During the Zulu War of 1879, he had won the Victoria Cross and lasting fame as a swashbuckling officer who rode into battle with a weapon in each hand and the reigns between his teeth. Before leaving for South Africa, he had personally assured the aging Queen Victoria that the war would soon be over.

But beneath his confident demeanour, Buller had deep misgivings about his own abilities and the coming campaign. It had been years since he had last seen active service, and even then it had never been as a commander-in-chief. By his own admission, he was best-suited to following orders rather than crafting strategy, and at 59 years of age, he lacked both the energy and desire to learn. His performance during the 1895 army manoeuvres had been so bad that he was reportedly heard grumbling, “It appears I have been making a fool of myself all day.” Coming events would prove his apprehensions correct.

Buller’s confidence was further shaken when he arrived in Cape Town on 31 October to find himself under tremendous pressure from the British Army, government and people to relieve the besieged garrisons as