The Stalemate at Natal and Buller’s Frustrations

By early 1900, the Second Boer War had reached a critical juncture. British forces, despite overwhelming numerical and artillery superiority, found themselves repeatedly thwarted by the tactical brilliance of Boer commanders like Louis Botha. General Redvers Buller, demoted from overall command to leading the Natal front, faced mounting pressure to break the deadlock. His forces outnumbered the Boers 4-to-1 in manpower and 10-to-1 in artillery, yet Botha’s intimate knowledge of British movements allowed him to construct impenetrable defenses along the Tugela River.

Buller’s initial attempts—marked by hesitation and poor coordination—ended in costly failures. The battles at Colenso, Spion Kop, and Vaal Krantz saw British troops mowed down by entrenched Boer marksmen. However, a shift in strategy emerged in February 1900. Instead of grand flanking maneuvers, Buller adopted a methodical approach: systematically dismantling Boer positions south of the Tugela. The capture of key heights like Cingolo Ridge and Hart’s Hill, supported by relentless artillery barrages, finally cracked Botha’s defenses.

The Breakthrough: Relief of Ladysmith

On February 27, 1900—coincidentally the 19th anniversary of the Boer victory at Majuba Hill—Buller executed a masterstroke. Deploying a creeping artillery barrage (one of the earliest recorded uses of this tactic), British infantry advanced under a curtain of shells, overwhelming the Boers at Pieters Hill. This innovation, though logistically demanding, proved decisive. As Boer morale collapsed amid news of Cronjé’s surrender in the west, Buller’s forces shattered the siege of Ladysmith after 118 days.

The cost was staggering: 5,000 British casualties (a sixth of Buller’s force) versus 400–500 Boer losses. Yet the victory’s psychological impact was profound. For Britain, it erased the sting of earlier humiliations; for the Boers, it marked the beginning of a strategic retreat into guerrilla warfare.

Roberts’ Western Offensive and the Fall of Bloemfontein

While Buller grinded through Natal, Lord Roberts orchestrated a sweeping campaign in the Orange Free State. After Cronjé’s capture at Paardeberg, Boer resistance wavered. Roberts’ march on Bloemfontein—aided by French’s cavalry outflanking maneuvers—saw Boer militias disintegrate at Poplar Grove on March 7. By March 13, the British entered the undefended capital, offering generous surrender terms to hasten peace.

Notably, the war attracted figures like Arthur Conan Doyle, who documented the conflict in The Great Boer War. His presence underscored how the struggle had captured global attention, even as it devolved into brutality.

The Collapse of the Boer Republics

By mid-1900, the British advance seemed unstoppable. Johannesburg fell on May 30, Pretoria on June 5, and the Transvaal was annexed as a Crown Colony. President Kruger fled to Europe, while Botha and De Wet shifted to guerrilla tactics. The conventional war appeared over—yet the conflict’s most savage phase loomed.

Legacy: From Conventional War to Scorched Earth

The 1900 victories masked deeper flaws in British strategy. Overconfidence led to underestimating Boer resilience, prolonging the war for two more years through bitter insurgency. The eventual British response—concentration camps and scorched-earth policies—tarnished their moral standing and foreshadowed 20th-century total war.

For the Boers, 1900 marked the end of their republics but not their identity. Figures like Deneys Reitz, who fought from adolescence to adulthood, symbolized a nation forged in defiance. His memoir, Commando, remains a poignant testament to their struggle.

Modern Relevance: Echoes of Imperial Overreach

The Second Boer War’s lessons resonate today: the limits of firepower against asymmetric warfare, the moral costs of counterinsurgency, and the dangers of imperial overstretch. As Britain celebrated its pyrrhic victory, it unknowingly sowed the seeds of its imperial decline—and the rise of Afrikaner nationalism that would shape South Africa’s future.

In the end, 1900 was not the war’s conclusion, but the prelude to its darkest chapter.