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Post by volkssturm on Apr 6, 2010 19:30:17 GMT -5
I’ve been reading “Thank God We Kept the Flag Flying: The Siege and Relief of Ladysmith, 1899-1900”, by Kenneth Griffith (1974), about the Boer War (Actually the Second Boer War to be accurate). Very well written and entertaining. Anyhow, this paragraph struck me as an argument for not selecting general officers by seniority. And also for not allowing general officers to travel with a private supply of champagne, which General Buller was known for. And maybe for testing general officers on their map reading ability.
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CptJericho
Private 1st Class
"We got to stop the Germans from getting the secret weapons!"
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Post by CptJericho on Apr 6, 2010 19:45:59 GMT -5
I can imagine one of the soldiers saying: We already took hussar hill sir, your standing on it...
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Post by volkssturm on Apr 6, 2010 19:51:18 GMT -5
My word! One does NOT correct a general officer! It's just not done, old boy. ;D
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CptJericho
Private 1st Class
"We got to stop the Germans from getting the secret weapons!"
Posts: 495
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Post by CptJericho on Apr 6, 2010 22:20:13 GMT -5
Right Sir!, everone off the hill and back on it, we are going to reenact the battle of hussar hill.
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Post by volkssturm on Apr 7, 2010 13:53:24 GMT -5
In Buller's defense, (or defence, if you're British), I suspect what may have happened was that Buller didn't make his intention to seize Hussar Hill known until after he returned to headquarters, at which point Dundonald had already withdrawn and pointing out that they'd already had the hill was a moot point.
An interesting aspect of the Boer War: the Boers (Dutch settlers in South Africa, the name is Dutch for "farmer") were largely armed with M1895 Mauser rifles in 7mm Mauser, the forerunner of the Gew 98 and Kar 98k. Most of them were used to hunting and/or had taken part in campaigns against the natives. They also had German and French artillery and some Vickers-Maxim "pom-pom" guns. The terrain they were fighting on had a lot of open grassland or tree savannah, so it was not uncommon for the shooting to start at 800-1000 yards or more. The British, trying to advance against Boer positions in lines, repeatedly got their fish and chips shot away. As a rehearsal for WWI, it was pretty good. Just add more machineguns and more and better artillery. Yet, 14 years later, the British, the French, the Germans, the Russians, the Austrians were still lining up, fixing bayonets and marching into walls of lead. You have to wonder what they were thinking.
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Post by Fusilier on Apr 7, 2010 17:08:09 GMT -5
Because the generals still believed in large masses of men to take objectives. Also,there were a couple other Wars where the lessons weren't learned either. The Austro-Prussian and Franco Prussian Wars in 1859 and 1870,when bolt action rifles were first used with deadly effect. Sad how generals always try to fight their current Wars like the previous ones..
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Post by fandalorian on Aug 22, 2010 14:03:52 GMT -5
In Buller's defense, (or defence, if you're British), I suspect what may have happened was that Buller didn't make his intention to seize Hussar Hill known until after he returned to headquarters, at which point Dundonald had already withdrawn and pointing out that they'd already had the hill was a moot point. An interesting aspect of the Boer War: the Boers (Dutch settlers in South Africa, the name is Dutch for "farmer") were largely armed with M1895 Mauser rifles in 7mm Mauser, the forerunner of the Gew 98 and Kar 98k. Most of them were used to hunting and/or had taken part in campaigns against the natives. They also had German and French artillery and some Vickers-Maxim "pom-pom" guns. The terrain they were fighting on had a lot of open grassland or tree savannah, so it was not uncommon for the shooting to start at 800-1000 yards or more. The British, trying to advance against Boer positions in lines, repeatedly got their fish and chips shot away. As a rehearsal for WWI, it was pretty good. Just add more machineguns and more and better artillery. Yet, 14 years later, the British, the French, the Germans, the Russians, the Austrians were still lining up, fixing bayonets and marching into walls of lead. You have to wonder what they were thinking. Hehe, we shot their fish and chips away alright ;D Most Boer where very motivated ,excellent shots , could live of of the veld , highly mobile and didn't wear bright , easy to spot, uniforms.........the only units of the Boers that had uniforms was the Staatsartilerie and Verkenningskorps. The Zuid Afrikaansche Rupubliek commandoes where equipped with mostly Mausers , while most Orange Free Staters used Martini Henry rifles I'l be inheriting my great grandfather's Mauser soon . He fought for the Orange Free State and was a teenager at the time . He was in a POW camp on St.Helena at the end of the war.
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Post by volkssturm on Aug 22, 2010 23:02:14 GMT -5
Deneys Reitz wrote an excellent account of his experiences as a 17 year old in the war, "Commando." The text is available on-line. ourcivilisation.com/smartboard/shop/reitzd/commando/index.htmReitz later reconciled with the British and became a prominent politician in South Africa. In many respects, the British won the war, but in the long run the Afrikaners won the peace.
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