Skip to main content

Military Geography: Landscapes of the Anglo-Boer War

  • Chapter
  • First Online:

Part of the book series: World Geomorphological Landscapes ((WGLC))

Abstract

The Anglo-Boer War of 1899–1902 was a significant conflict in the recent history of South Africa, but the military geography of this conflict has not been subject to systematic analysis. This chapter explores the relationship between the strategies of military engagement during this conflict and the nature of the physical landscape in which these engagements took place. An overview of the broad types of geomorphological and geological settings for some 43 major engagements of the conflict is followed by a detailed case study of the landscape contexts of engagements around Colenso (former province of Natal). The relatively limited degree of post-conflict land use and geomorphological change in these parts of South Africa also renders many of these battlefield sites readily appreciated in the landscape and is reflected in an increasing interest in battlefield heritage tourism .

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Buying options

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   149.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   199.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   199.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

References

  • Amery LS (ed) (1906) The Times History of the War in South Africa: 1899–1902, vol. 4. Sampson Low, London, 597 pp

    Google Scholar 

  • Doyle AC (1902) The Great Boer War. Nelson & Sons, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Copley IB (1993) The Battle of Silkaatsnek—11th July 1900. S Afr Mil Hist Soc Mil Hist J 9(3)

    Google Scholar 

  • Cuthbertson G, Jeeves A (1999) The many-sided struggle for Southern Africa, 1899–1902. S Afr Hist J 41:2–21

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davitt M (1902) The Boer Fight for Freedom. Funk & Wagnalls Company, New York, p 603

    Google Scholar 

  • Grenfell MC, Ellery WN, Grenfell SE (2008) Tributary valley impoundment by trunk river floodplain development: a case study from the KwaZulu-Natal Drakensberg Foothills, eastern South Africa. Earth Surf Proc Land 33:2029–2044

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harris JD (1994) The other Vlakfontein: an action in the Anglo-Boer War, 3 July 1901. S Afr Mil Hist Soc Mil Hist J 9(6)

    Google Scholar 

  • Jooste CP (2002) The battle of Bergendal: the last pitched battle of the Anglo-Boer war. S Afr Mil Hist Soc Mil Hist J 12(4)

    Google Scholar 

  • Judd D, Surridge K (2013) The Boer War: a History. IB Tauris & Co, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Maio CV, Tenenbaum DE, Brown CJ, Mastone VT, Gontz AM (2013) Application of geographic information technologies to historical landscape reconstruction and military terrain analysis of an American Revolution Battlefield: preservation potential of historic lands in urbanized settings, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. J Cult Heritage 14:317–331

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marix Evans M (1999) The Boer War: South Africa 1899-1902. Osprey, Oxford 160 pp

    Google Scholar 

  • Marix Evans M (2002) Maps and decisions: Buller South and North of the Tugela, 1899–1900. In: Doyle P, Bennett MR (eds) Fields of Battle: Terrain in Military History. Kluwer Academic, Dordrecht, p 387

    Google Scholar 

  • Meskell L, Scheermeyer C (2008) Heritage as therapy—set pieces from the new South Africa. J Mat Cult 13:153–173

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pakenham T (1979) The Boer War. Weidenfeld and Nicholson, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Partridge TC, Dollar ESJ, Moolman J, Dollar LH (2010) The geomorphic provinces of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland: a physiographic subdivision for earth and environmental scientists. Trans R Soc S Afr 65:1–47

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Passmore DG, Harrison S, Tunwell DC (2014) Second World War conflict archaeology in the forests of northeast Europe. Antiquity 88:1275–1290

    Google Scholar 

  • Tooth S, Brandt D, Hancox PJ, McCarthy TS (2004) Geological controls on alluvial river behaviour: a comparative study of three rivers on the South African highveld. J Afr Earth Sci 38:79–97

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tooth S, Rodnight H, Duller GAT, McCarthy TS, Marren PM, Brandt D (2007) Chronology and controls of avulsion along a mixed bedrock-alluvial river. Geol Soc Am Bull 119:452–461

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wessels A (2011) Boer guerilla and British counter-guerilla operations in South Africa, 1899 to 1902. Scientia Militaria, S Afr J Milit Stud 39:1–24

    Google Scholar 

  • Winters HA, Galloway GE Jr, Reynolds WJ, Rhyne DW (1998) Battling the elements: weather and terrain in the conduct of war. John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore 317 pp

    Google Scholar 

  • Wolmar C (2010) Engines of war: how wars were won and lost on the railways. Atlantic Books, London 310 pp

    Google Scholar 

  • Woodward R (2014) Military landscapes: Agendas and approaches for future research. Prog Human Geog 38:40–61

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to David G. Passmore .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Passmore, D.G., Knight, J., Harrison, S. (2015). Military Geography: Landscapes of the Anglo-Boer War. In: Grab, S., Knight, J. (eds) Landscapes and Landforms of South Africa. World Geomorphological Landscapes. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-03560-4_18

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics