Boer commando

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Boer Commando
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Not to be confused with Commando System (South Africa) or Kommandokorps.
Kommando
Boer Wars, Xhosa Wars

The Boer Commandos or "Kommandos" were volunteer military units of

Boer people of South Africa. From this came the term "commando" into the English language during the Second Boer War
of 1899-1902 as per Costica Andrew.

History

Boer Commando in action during the First Boer War, 1881

In 1658, war erupted between the Dutch settlers at

Khoi-khoi. In order to protect the settlement, all able bodied men were conscripted. After the conclusion of this war, all men in the colony were liable for military service
and were expected to be ready on short notice.

By 1700, the size of the colony had increased immensely and it was divided into districts. The small military garrison stationed at the

First British Occupation and again in 1806 with the Second British Occupation, the commandos were called up to defend the Cape Colony. At the Battle of Blaauwberg (6 January 1806), the Swellendam Commando
held the British off long enough for the rest of the Batavian army to retreat to safety.

Under British rule, the

Khoi-khoi and other ethnic groups in units which were often mixed. Light, mobile commandos were undeniably better-suited than the slow-moving columns of imperial troops, for warfare in the rough frontier mountains. However, tensions often arose in the Cape's government over the relative merits and control of these two parallel military systems.[1]

During the Great Trek, this system was used and remained in use in the Boer republics. Both republics issued commando laws, making commando service mandatory in times of need for all male citizens between the ages of 16 and 60. During the

Anglo-Boer War
(1899–1902) the Boer commando formed the backbone of the Boer forces.

After the declaration of peace in 1902, the commandos were disbanded. They did re-form themselves in clandestine "shooting clubs". In 1912, the commandos were re-formed as an Active Citizen Force in the Union Defence Force. This system was in operation until 2005, when all commandos were disbanded again.

Structure

The Carolina Commando, established in 1895, with a flag.
Boer Commando at the Battle of Colenso
Boer Commando with captured British prisoners during the Anglo-Boer War (1899–1902)

Each commando was attached to a town, after which it was named (e.g. Bloemfontein Commando). Each town was responsible for a district, divided into wards. The commando was commanded by a

veldkornet or field cornet (equivalent of a senior NCO
rank)

The veldkornet was responsible not only for calling up the burghers, but also for policing his ward, collecting taxes, issuing firearms and other materiel in times of war. Theoretically, a ward was divided into corporalships. A corporalship was usually made up of about 20 burghers. Sometimes entire families (fathers, sons, uncles, cousins) filled a corporalship.

The veldkornet was responsible to the kommandant, who in turn was responsible to a general. In theory, a general was responsible for four commandos. He in turn was responsible to the commander-in-chief of the republic. In the Transvaal, the C-in-C was called the

Commandant-General
and in the Free State the Hoofdkommandant (Chief Commandant). The C-in-C was responsible to the president.

Other auxiliary ranks were created in war time, such as vleiskorporaal ("meat corporal"), responsible for issuing rations.

The commando was made up of volunteers, all officers were appointed by the members of the commando, and not by the government. This gave a chance for some commanders to appear, such as General Koos de la Rey and General C. R. de Wet, but also had the disadvantage of sometimes putting inept commanders in charge. Discipline was also a problem, as there was no real way of enforcing it.

The various Boer republics did not all have the same command structure.[2]

Weaponry

Before the

Martini-Henry Mark II rifles used by British troops.[4][5] A book about the war (J. Lehmann's The First Boer War, 1972) offered this comment about the Boers' rifle: "Employing chiefly the very fine breech-loading Westley Richards - calibre 45; paper cartridge; percussion-cap replaced on the nipple manually - they made it exceedingly dangerous for the British to expose themselves on the skyline".[6]

Mauser 1895 bolt action rifle (at the Auckland Museum)

For the Anglo-Boereoorlog ("Anglo-Boer War"),

Martini-Henry Mark III, since thousands of these had also been purchased; the drawback was the large puff of white smoke after firing which gave away the shooter's position.[12][13]

Roughly 7,000 Guedes 1885 rifles were also purchased a few years earlier and these were used during the hostilities.[14]

Others used captured British rifles such as the "long"

Lee-Metford and the Enfield, as confirmed by photographs from the era.[15][16] When the ammunition for the Mausers ran out,[17] the Boers relied primarily on the captured Lee-Metfords.[18][19]

Regardless of the rifle, few of the commando used bayonets.[20][21]

Australian troops with a QF 1-pounder Maxim auto cannon captured from the Boers, circa 1901

The best modern European artillery was also purchased. By October 1899 the Transvaal State Artillery had 73 heavy guns, including four 155 mm

Maxim Nordenfeldt guns.[23] The Boers' Maxim, larger than the Maxim model used by the British,[24] was a large caliber, belt-fed, water-cooled "auto cannon" that fired explosive rounds (smokeless ammunition) at 450 rounds per minute; it became known as the "Pom Pom".[25]

Other weapons in use included:

List of Boer Commando units

The following Boer commandos existed in the Orange Free State and Transvaal:[30]

Orange Free State

Transvaal

See also

References and notes

  1. ^ RD staff (1996). Xhosa Wars. Reader's Digest Family Encyclopedia of World History. The Reader's Digest Association.
  2. ^ Angloboerwar website Archived 2009-07-26 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ https://www.labuschagne.info/small-arms.htm, Small Arms of the Boer War
  4. ^ "Firearms and Firepower - First War of Independence, 1880-1881 - South African Military History Society - Journal". samilitaryhistory.org. Retrieved 2024-02-29.
  5. ^ https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/victorians/boer_wars_01.shtml, Boer Wars
  6. ^ "Firearms and Firepower - First War of Independence, 1880-1881 - South African Military History Society - Journal". samilitaryhistory.org. Retrieved 2024-02-29.
  7. ^ "An Official Journal Of The NRA | The Guns of the Boer Commandos". An Official Journal Of The NRA. Retrieved 2024-02-29.
  8. ^ Bester 1994, p. [page needed]; Wessels 2000, p. 80.
  9. ^ "The Model 1893/95 "Boer Model" Mauser". Shooting Times. 23 September 2010. Retrieved 2016-03-18.
  10. ^ https://www.shootingtimes.com/editorial/longgun_reviews_st_boermodel_201007/99362, The Model 1893/95 "Boer Model" Mauser
  11. ISBN 978-1-61234-105-7
    .
  12. ^ Scarlata, Paul (2017-04-17). "6 Rifles Used by the Afrikaners During the Second Boer War". Athlon Outdoors. Retrieved 2024-02-29.
  13. ISBN 978-0-7981-3808-6
    .
  14. ^ Scarlata, Paul (2017-04-17). "6 Rifles Used by the Afrikaners During the Second Boer War". Athlon Outdoors. Retrieved 2024-02-29.
  15. ^ "An Official Journal Of The NRA | The Guns of the Boer Commandos". An Official Journal Of The NRA. Retrieved 2024-02-29.
  16. ^ "BBC - History - The Boer Wars". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-02-29.
  17. ^ "An Official Journal Of The NRA | The Guns of the Boer Commandos". An Official Journal Of The NRA. Retrieved 2024-02-29.
  18. ISBN 978-0-86874-271-7
    .
  19. ISBN 978-1-4728-0595-9
    .
  20. ISBN 978-1-135-27181-7
    .
  21. ISBN 978-1-4728-0595-9
    .
  22. ISBN 978-0-620-26099-2
    .
  23. ^ Wessels 2000, p. 80
  24. ISBN 978-1-4597-0578-4
    .
  25. ^ http://www.smallarmsreview.com/display.article.cfm?idarticles=2490, SOUTH AFRICA’S NATIONAL MUSEUM OF MILITARY HISTORY
  26. ^ Association, National Rifle. "An Official Journal Of The NRA | The Guns of the Boer Commandos". An Official Journal Of The NRA. Retrieved 2022-12-11.
  27. ^ Association, National Rifle. "An Official Journal Of The NRA | The Guns of the Boer Commandos". An Official Journal Of The NRA. Retrieved 2022-12-11.
  28. ^ Association, National Rifle. "An Official Journal Of The NRA | The Guns of the Boer Commandos". An Official Journal Of The NRA. Retrieved 2022-12-11.
  29. ^ Association, National Rifle. "An Official Journal Of The NRA | The Guns of the Boer Commandos". An Official Journal Of The NRA. Retrieved 2022-12-11.
  30. ISBN 9780869809495
    .

Sources

  • Wessels, André (2000). "Afrikaners at War". In Gooch, John (ed.). The Boer War: Direction, Experience and Image. London: Cass.
  • Bester, R. (1994). Boer Rifles and Carbines of the Anglo–Boer War. Bloemfontein: War Museum of the Boer Republics.
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