First Boer War - From the Battle of Bronkhorstspruit to Majuba 1880-81 (full documentary)
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- Опубликовано: 25 янв 2024
- Here are my key sources:
Majuba 1881: Ian Castle
A Rain of Lead: Ian Bennet - amzn.to/3HbbtaZ
With the Boers in the Transvaal and Orange Free State: C L Norris Newman - amzn.to/3Hcaszv
The Transvaal Rebellion: John Laband - amzn.to/3NWnox0
The Transvaal War, 1880-81: Lady Bellairs - archive.org/details/transvaal...
This film is a long one - a full and in-depth look at the First Boer War aka the Transvaal Rebellion.
It combines a number of my previous episodes into one comprehensive examination of the fighting.
If you are interested in the Zulu War, then please sign up for my mailing list to receive my free book on the subject: redcoathistory.com/newsletter/
If you are very generous, you can also buy me a coffee and help support the channel via ko-fi.com/redcoathistory
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Boer here. Thank you very much for this documentary. Indeed, long format is much appreciated. I look forward to your next one on the Second Boer War. My ancestors fought in both these wars and we even still have some heirlooms including the swords of British officers. I will just add that the Boer still has many chapters that military historians will write about us, our aspirations for freedom still burn bright.
Many thanks for your comment and support. I’ll hopefully do a lot more films on the second Boer war eventually.
Dutch hier. Just to let you know there are still many Hollanders that admire your valiant but eventualy futile resistance against the Brits. As a young boy I read books like "de Held van Spionkop" and "de Verkenner van Christiaan de Wet". Ripping yarns...
Famous family name, de Wet. 🤨 Any relations...
A
God bless the Boere from 🇬🇧
@@gerardvandermeulen62 ...ik heb die boeken ook allemaal gelezen, als Nederlander ben je eigenlijk ook een boer dan...😀
As a young boy in the early fifties our neighbours were Mr & Mrs Jones. Mr. Jones was the oldest man in our village at 91yrs. of age. We often knocked on his door and Mrs. Jones would take out her glass eye and put it in a dish for our inspection. Mr. Jones would then show us his war wounds - two round scars on his right arm. Next came the medal showing a picture of a woman I later came to know was Queen Victoria. He told us he got his wounds when fighting the Boers, which at the time we thought referred to the four legged variety so we didn't understand why he would have been shot. Mr . & Mrs. Jones died a few years later within one day of each other and whenever I hear the Boer war mentioned I think of them both.
That's a great memory in our people. Stop the invasion, both 'legal and illegal '
Boer in Dutch and Scottish Means FARMER! There is a vast difference between a Boer and a BOAR!
You thought they fought the boars, haha!
I’m American and remember back in the early 1970s in 6th grade having to sing Marching to Pretoria . Kind of a fun song to sing ,but we had no idea why we were singing this crazy song
Just curious. Why would americans be singing it?😢😮
Regards from Southern Africa
@@BonganiMagadu because Americans also rose up against the British empire largely over tax grievances much like the boers.
@@Truth_Hurts528Thanks. I see the connection now
@@BonganiMagadu Some American schools had the Anglo Boer war in their history curriculum!
Yes me too. I had no clue of the context of the song it was just a rousing March. The neighborhood I grew up in was decidedly not Boer or Dutch. In fact in west Denver it had a significant Hispanic influence. Never the less Marching to Pretoria was part of our songbook.
Brilliant documentary.
It is stunning to see how you go all into this part of history and share this with. Better than anything in the regular Media.
Thanks a lot.
I like the full story. The added guest presenters add to the impact of the video.
Australian here. I like the long format. As I am at the bench stitching saddlery it's good to hear longer stories.
Brilliant thanks a lot. I have a new two hour episode out on the Indian mutiny you may like. Any other conflicts or battles you’d be keen to hear more on?
@@redcoathistory Chris I'm probably not the best person to ask what I'd like, because honestly I don't know. I only learn redcoat history from you. So what I know is from your podcasts!
I don't often leave comments, but bravo! Love this content and the Boer Wars are fascinating! Thank you for the time and effort you put into this channel.
Thanks a lot - that is great to hear and I really appreciate you taking the time to comment.
Yes, the long videos are a great idea; really enjoyed this one.
Of all the history of the modern world, I believe South African history, and the Boer Wars in particular, has to be my favorite (after my own country’s history of course). And your channel tells this history so well. I have enjoyed it all immensely. Excellent work as always!
Thanks for this. I'm an English South African (multi generational on my dad's side). My family is from Klerksdorp, with me growing up mostly in Potchefstroom.
Thanks Bradley! Maybe see you there one day if I get to visit the fort.
@@redcoathistory No problem man. Potch is under 2hrs drive from OR Thambo International (Johannesburg). As a 40 year old I'm too young to know much but I can guide you around as best I can
@@redcoathistory if you want to see the fort you must come to potch asap as I live here and see it decay year after year
We use to live in Newcastle, South Africa and I have been up Majuba Hill a few times,although it isn't really a hill but a pretty substantial mountain at around 2200 metres.I think that it's part of the Drakensberg range and is one of 3 mountains and one of the others is Inkwelo.I have even seen snow up in those mountains.
When I turned 64, I climbed Majuba with the Majuba memorial festival 28 Feb 2019.
Never judge a book by its cover. Thank you very much for your posting of this video. Been in the previous government army. Now it's a joke. Proud Boer from Capetown South Africa..
Thankyou, Sir. I am glad you found the video of interest.
Brilliant, I love this long style coverage. The devil is always in the details, and more time equals more details. This subject requires such a deep dive!! Thank you, and I look forward to next one!!
Thanks a lot and I'm really glad that you like the format.
One of your best military analysis yet. Also struck by our lack of political remembrance. In the first 5 minutes, John reminded us of no taxation without representation 1776. As well as Oh, we've run out o money let's join our rich enemies 1704. How much we have to learn and how much we have forgotten !
Very much enjoyed that. Thanks for your work it was all new information to me. Also nice to see more South African countryside. One day I'll go there, it looks lovely.
Thanks a lot - it’s definitely worth a visit. 👍🏼
Thanks kindly for this super informative and easily digestible upload. I am recently back from a trip to the cape and took a drive up to port Elizabeth. My partner is Afrikaans and we joined her father on this trip stopping off at his wine clients along the way. Suffice to say that I can count on both hands how many times I was reminded of the British defeat and the superior tactics of the Kommando. As an avid military historian (although somewhat amateur in comparison) , ex Royal Engineer and a Welshman who used to drag my poor mother to the Brecon Museum each school holiday all I could do was agree. ( the key to being offered some beers and Boervost) 😅
Still lost in the end. It's the finals that count.
... Ex Slimer with a Sapper father and grandfather.
I really enjoyed your comment!
Loved the film. Walking the battle field of Majuba added much to understanding the engagement. British commander Gen Colley shot trying to rally his troops. Brave man.
Great to see the longer videos, I know some like the short videos but personally I enjoy the longer ones much more. Videos much under 20 minutes can feel a bit brief depending on the topic, but these longer ones give you a real feel for the topic.
Great work again.
Excellent film, and well put together presentation. With the longer format you can tell a more complete story. Thank you, Chris!
Thanks Keith - hopefully more long format films coming soon. Hope you are well.
@@redcoathistory I am well, thank you; the Boers certainly handed our a$$es to us in that first conflict. Regards!
Dank u voor deze zeer interessante en informatieve video. Waardeer het enorm 👍
Groeten uit Nederland 🇳🇱🌷, TW.
Great video and I liked the long format :)
M8 you bring History alive!, thankyou.
Thanks mate - that is the best compliment I could get.
Thanks for the video. As a south African it's nice to see what it looks like and more info
I lived in Bronkhorstpruit for many years. Our school anthem even mentioned the battle of Bronkhorstspruit.
Great video Chris, I appreciate you climbing all the way up!
Cheers George. It was a fun hike. I really enjoyed visiting.
As a Scot, first and British second, this is one of the few chapters in my country’s history I’m genuinely ashamed of, the loss on both sides and the incarceration in concentration camps is something that should never be forgotten.
Sorry mate, but you are another person commenting on the wrong war.
@@redcoathistory Howcome?
@@redcoathistoryThis is part of the Boer Wars though.
Second Boer War, not first though. This video is on the first. The British lost the first, won the second.@@rooftile883
@@redcoathistory So What, you then condone the english empire's concentration camps in the third English Afrikaner occupation war?
I like the long format and excellent that you actually come here to walk the battlefields, gives the viewers a bit more insight. Re if you stand atop Spienkop( when you cover the 2nd boer war), its amazing to see& feel the vantage point. Tx good work.
As an American, love your history videos: never underestimate the enemy.....
Thanks Gary. Yep, cost the Brits a lot over the years.
So, so true! There is a strong memory of a very capable boer scout in the 2nd Boer War called Gideon Scheepers. He had gone to Holland and studied heliography. It was due to his messages, unseen from mountain tops, that enabled the Boers to elude pursuit by the Brits time and again. The Brits just didn't cotton on, incapable of believing that the enemy had enough brilliance to outsmart them. He eventually contracted enteric fever and was captured because he was unable to escape.Because he was such a hero among the Boers after his death (shot or died?), they hid his body. His remains were never recovered, probably cut up and flushed down a river (my guess). His bereaved mother died in the 1930s and was never able to get closure. One can fully understand the hatred the Afrikaners have for the English, which only recently has dissipated in the face of a common enemy in the ANC
Top notch work, the long-form content is 10/10 📚
I like the long format. Great while I’m doing my cardio!
I was born and still live in bronkhorstspruit south africa nice to see.
I always prefer long format videos
Brilliant mate! I found it informative and entertaining. Can’t wait for Vol 2! (Where the Brits gave Hitler the idea of exterminating people in concentration camps! Strangely Kitchener was never tried as a war criminal…but then history is written by the victor.)
Er, no. Whatever the rights and wrongs of their use during the Boer War, the British did not invent concentration camps.
@@jugbywellington1134 But they very effectively used concentration camps in South Africa, India etc.!
@@gertvanniekerk46 Correct, but to say they invented them is untrue. That's just wishful thinking to make them as wicked as possible.
@@jugbywellington1134 I never said they Invented concentration camps! What I said was that the english empire gladly, spontaneously and brutally used them in SA, India, the Americas etc. BEFORE the Germans did! By the way WHO invented them? Definitely not Ghendis or Kubly Khan because they just massacred and enslaved everybody in their path????
@@gertvanniekerk46No. but the OP did. They seem to have come from the USA via Spain.
Great video and very informative. Looking forward to more long format doccies on the Anglo Boer Wars.
Love the long form videos. I really enjoyed it. Thank You
Glad you enjoyed it! Hope to do more in the future.
Excellent video and great production as always!
Thanks a lot. Appreciate the compliment 👍🏼
Loved this. Thank you for making it.
I've inherited a book called 'Mevrouw Joubert vertelt'. Boer wives used to accompany their husbands on campaign' She got up in the early hours. Looking up from her crouched position she saw the silhouettes of men milling about on the top of the mountain and woke her husband with this v important bit of news. He mustered his men and they began to make their way up. The poms were so confident that they now possessed the high ground and thought they were safe enough to let down their guard. When it became light they were undetectable, hidden from view from above by the brow of the hill they were able to get all the way to the top. They killed the lookouts silently and were in amongst the enemy before latter could wipe the sleep out of their eyes.
Dang man thats gangster, cool story.
Another great video, keep at it Chris, thanks for sharing.
Brilliant! Thoroughly enjoyed this, thank you n more please!
Very well put together!!
Thanks a lot
Great work! First time visit, hooked already! Thanks from the Colonies!
This is very well put together and informative. Well done. Subscribed
Thanks and welcome
Great documentary! Thanks.
this is an absolutely brilliant documentary. thank you so much. the old man historian is like a revelation. true history from that guy. I can tell this man's knowledge is near complete, extraordinary.
Excellent documentary.
Like the format.
Have visited most Natal sites of both the Boer wars. Grandfather in the Natal Carbineers with Duncan McKenzie.1899.
Thank you.
This is a great documentary and the footage of the places today plus the input of John Laband plus yourself taught me about a period I didn't know a lot about. I like these long length videos. Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it - that's great to hear. Thanks
It's ironic that I'm a black person from Southern Africa yet i wish the Boers had won. At least they were fighting driven by love of where they lived. The Boers had approached Lobengula to warn him about the English but was a little late. I just wish they would have worked together, boer and africans 😢
Fair play to the British too
I think maybe you should watch the film mfowethu...the Boers did win!
@@redcoathistory I know Boers win this battle but they ultimately were defeated in the war
@@BonganiMagadu Lol not they werent - they won every battle and won the war - you are thinking of a different war 20 years later. Sharp.
@@BonganiMagaduthey won the first boer war but unfortunately lost the second the British had far more numbers and the concentration camps hit the boers hard
@@matthewbarnard3492 Also that Second War and Scorched Earth policy, lead to 27k Boers dying. When the British took over they started mining gold in earnest and the Boer survivors who's farms where all destroyed went to the mining towns to survive this new world, but couldn't compete against African miners and Chinese imported as cheap labor. They got paid significantly less and where giving free lodging. The Boers struggled and continued to live in poverty in what became known as "the Poor White Problem". When the British pulled out in 1910 they left the Boers in charge and those same Boers that had been through concentration camps, famine and poverty vowed to never again have their people and culture nearly wiped out like that. So they made a series of policies to specifically give Boers the best jobs and bar Africans from getting them, and to ensure that they have the best lifestyle above everyone else. That is how Apartheid was born. In hindsight it maybe would have been better if the Boers did ultimately win, because it lead to one of the worst events in human history that only ended in 1994.
Very good documentary,I finally understood
Great video Chris - cheers.
Glad you enjoyed it
Boer were fighting for independence.
British were fighting and dying to make the small hats rich 🤔
Thanks! Long but not too long since it was succinct.
Thanks.
Excellent documentary..Thank You !
Thanks Ray. Is it a conflict you have read much about? If so, I am always looking out for new book reccomemdations etc...
Thank you for the video.
Thank you very much for the great content. As a Boer I do want to make it clear that there is a definite distinction between Boer and Afrikaner, we identify as Boer, not to be conflated with Afrikaner which is a different grouping with divergent interests. Keep up the great work, thank you sir.
I really am blown away by the story of general colley. a brilliant commander who just didn't understand what it means to command in war.
I read James Michener's " The Covenant" as a young teenager in the early 1980's and it helped me to make sense of the various ethnic groups which comprise the people of South Africa, why the different groups thought the way that they did, and why the nation was in such turmoil. I enjoyed this long form video and I look forward to your video on the Second Boer War.
Pop llppppp
Cracking show, loved it
Love the long form
Sad Story Chris,but our men carried on nobly in the face of defeat...
when did the bolt action Mauser come in...the Boers did have it by the second go round
I cannot believe that I knew nothing about this . Thanks
Loved this. Keep it up
Thanks a lot
Fantastic stuff
Schalk Van Niekerk my family started the war by finding the Eureka Diamond he was a farmer,we should have stuck to farming wish we never had diamonds ,then we discovered gold game over ,so many lives lost over Greed .
new subs., i love this kind of documentary very interesting
I was born in South Africa and grew up in the general area covered. My great grandfathers all partook in the war. Despite being a self declared anglo boer war "buff," I learned a LOT! Great Documentry!!!
Many thanks Meneer (apologies for my bad spelling!). I would love to make more films also on the 2nd Anglo-Boer are there any experts you would like to see me interview? Especially from within the Boer community?
@redcoathistory I thoroughly enjoyed your reply! As I was from the Eastern Higlands, the best book on that area:" Guide to the Anglo Boer War in the Eastern Transvaal written by Gert and Erika van der Westhuizen" if my memory serves me correctly they were based in Volksrust (near Majuba). I am not 100% sure how to contact them though....I hope this helps a little
They were very knowledgeable and would have a wealth of information
You know we (the British) lost by the name of the battle. Hats off to the boers, they were treated badly. Tough people 👍
Brilliant documentary.
Thanks, Paul.
Class has always.
Thank you
I like the longer format videos for a similar reason to someone else said, my machine cycles time is usually quite short, so I don't have time between parts to thumb through and change videos.
Battle of Mount Street Bridge, Dublin, Easter week, 1916.
A handful of
Irish rebels held down 2,000 Sherwood Foresters' regiment, British army advance while inflicting many casualties, using Boer tactics of range finding, marksmanship and cover.
Great video
Glad you enjoyed it
Splendid film. Very enjoyable and interesting to watch. Thank you for posting it. Out of interest, what is the movie that you show clips of during your commentary please? I Would love to find copy of it for my collection. Thanks again. 👍🏼😊
Glad you enjoyed it - here is the link - ruclips.net/video/kjspSfMMZc8/видео.htmlsi=5XV8Uy8Eb9-Zew4W
@@redcoathistory Thank you. 👍🏼
Hello and thank you for your insights. As a fellow descendant of the Boers, I'm particularly keen on accurate historical details. Beyond Wikipedia, where did you find the figures regarding the number of Boer present at Majuba Hill? My interest stems from having climbed Majuba Hill twice, each time encountering different accounts of the Boer forces involved. I came across this article, for instance, which presents yet another variation. Could you shed some light on your sources?
On 26 February 1881 Colley decided to march on Majuba with 554 men, where the Boers had an outpost.
On the same day, General Piet Joubert and the Boer forces took up a position at Laing's Nek to check on the arrival of British reinforcements. Colley’s men reached the top of the mountain in the early hours of the morning and were very tired. From the hill Colley could see the Boer laager of tents and covered wagons, but as he could not bring his heavy guns up the steep slopes, he was unable to fire on their encampment. Joubert, however, immediately ordered his men to climb the steep hill, take cover and shoot down on the British. At 7 a.m., a force of 150 Boers in three divisions under veld-cornets S J Roos, J Ferreira and D J Malan began to climb from ledge to ledge up the mountain, firing steadily and effectively on the British as they climbed. Untrained in guerrilla warfare, the exposed British soldiers made easy marks, and when Colley himself was killed and the Boers were almost at the summit, the British fled.
www.sahistory.org.za/article/first-anglo-boer-war
Chris many again for recommending Bullers rest lounge in Ladysmith. I’ll be there mid July.
Can you recommend a good day trip from there to visit Boer battle fields.
Can you in advance.
As usual, greatly enjoy the conversation, Chris. I don't suppose that you could comment on some of the references regarding musketry that John based his points on, could you?
Hi Rob, thanks for watching and I’m glad you enjoyed it. I’m afraid he didn’t mention sources but I do have his book on the war so I’ll check and let you know.
Rob pls do me a favour and send me a phone message when you get a chance as I recently upgraded my phone and have lost numbers. I’ve found the references and wanted to send you a photo. Thanks
Yes please continue to make thes interesting Sout African wars documentaries me knowing a lot of the history beinga tourist guide long age
Damn seeing the list of names of people who died really puts into perspective how many people it really was..
My land is Boer
Nothing in the historian’s account of the discovery of diamonds in Kimberly in 1868? The vast potential of wealth from enormous diamond deposits wasn’t a motivation for the Brits. They just wanted to keep things calm and peaceful on their way to and from India.
Also gold in witwatersrand.
Im a Boston guy and i still have a problem with redcoats.
That's a shame. We have no problem with you, Sir.
Well done. I did enjoy Sean Friend, the tourist guide who took us up the Majuba Mountain. What a character. intend to visit there and climb it myself one day soon. Great format. Scary to think of all those head gunshot wounds. Marksmanship so deadly and dreadful. Keep up the good work. I live in Potchefstroom and drive past the old fort everyday. The librarian at the now dysfunctional library. can get the special keys and show you actual canon balls recovered from inside the fort. The fort is surprisingly small. But it is still there, along with an ammunition magazine nearby. Thanks for the movie.
Thanks a lot - good to know re the fort and librarby.
@@redcoathistory A pleasure kind Sir. I was a liceced Tourist guide 20 years ago in Johannesburg. Great times... I read all the history books in the Potchefstroom Public Library (still exists) I could on the history here. I'll follow up a bit and send you more information and contacts. Lots of military history here. The major army base here is still running. Alot of my acquaintances are soldiers too. Get back to you. P.S. get a selphie stick perhaps. Just an idea. Goo day Sir.
This is a very British interpretation of the Boer war.
I'd love to see your own video walking the battlefields to give a different perspective.
@@redcoathistoryIt was still an entertaining watch.
hey nice docco . where did you get the film footage for this . was it from movies ? if so please what movies tv shpws or and doccos ? great reenactment's I want to watch them
Hi some old afrkaans language films on RUclips. I think if you search Battle of Majuba it should come up.
@@redcoathistory yes its on youtube . I found it . unfortunately no English subtitles
Paardekraal is in Krugersdorp not Pretoria 5min 7sec
By Jove,
I found the Concentration Camp for Boers ,back on RUclips
Real easy....rock hard proof 😢
Wrong war
Do I see that Anstruther's gravestone in the wall has a peculiar spelling for what should be Lieut Colonel?
Search for the Scandinavian volunteers in the boer war
The damage these 2 countries done so so many other countries should never be forgotten.
irrelevant
@@redcoathistory not to those that were affected. These folks should never be seen as heroes.
@@memeguyTM Mate, can I suggest a channel called Redcoat History may not be your cup of tea. Perhaps you can relax and spend the day reading the Guardian.
@@redcoathistory just calling it for what it is. Nothing against your video. I just don't support what these countries did globally....
@redcoathistory
I agree about the brits
Brits were gready and power hungry, stealing from all over the world. Cetainly not heroes
Accuracy erases mistakes.
Was it all a out Gold ?
I have, if I can believe what the auctioneer said at the time, a French Briquet Saber that belonged to General Joubert.
Made by a German Arms manufacturer called Schnitzler and Kirschbaum of Solingen.
Dont want to burst your bubble but the Boer generals dit not carry any swords or sabres...no formal uniform at all, just plain work clothes and fire arms, this coming from the great grandchild of Kmdt. Nicholas Smit( later general and vice-president of the ZAR)
@@pierrelombaard9961 - Nobody said anything about carrying, they said it BELONGED to Joubert, that's quite a difference, now, isn't it?
Even today English speakers are lovingly known as " Rooi nekke" , there are two stories behind the name one being the sun burnt necks of the Brits the other being the stiff red colar on the Brits uniforms. It ok we lovingly call them Dutchmen 😂. But alls good .
it was more about the poms wanting controll of the gold and diamonds on Boer land than wanting a stable Africa how did that historian not mention the gold and Diamonds ? 1:22
Is the one thing: watching... someone hike on battlefields?
Most British cathedrals have the names of the fallen from the local county regiments, from this war
Thanks but Perhaps you are confusing it with the 2nd War? There weren't too many regiments involved in the 1st war. . .
👍
Great video. Awesome that you walked the ground, I now fully understand the battle.
Comment from historian- Needed to secure SA as a coaling station….. really? The boere were going to interfere with that? Really?
👍👍👍
Thanks Jan 👍🏼 hope retirement is working out well for you