No Hope of…

“You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than live as slaves.” Sir Winston Churchill (1874 to 1965) Conservative Prime Minister twice: from 1940 to 1945 (before being defeated in the 1945 general election by the Labour leader Clement Attlee) and from 1951 to 1955.… Read More

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Commander … Assert Yourself

“…he did not do the one thing that the complexities of modern warfare made it essential for the GOC to do – to assert himself during a battle and not delegate the chief command.” (Pakenham, 2004, p.392). Reference Pakenham. T. (2004) The Boer War. London: Abacus.

A Most Disagreeable Ambush!

“Nothing concentrates the military mind so much as the discovery that you have walked into an ambush. Brigadier-General Robert Broadwood was confronted with this disagreeable news soon after dawn on 31 March.” (Pakenham, 2004, p.390). Reference Pakenham. T. (2004) The Boer War. London: Abacus.

Battlefield & Salient: The Hangman’s Noose!

“Now Hart knew enough about war to know that there are few more dangerous places to send men on a battlefield than into a salient – the open end of a loop. To march into a well-defended salient is like putting your head into a noose. There were many other choices open to him. […]… Read More

The Private Soldiers’ Attitude to Death

“Treves watched a fatigue party of grave-diggers, the symbols of death, march jauntily past the door of his tent. It struck him that this devil-may-care attitude was characteristic of the private soldiers’ attitude to death. They had learnt now to hide their feelings behind the screen of tobacco smoke and the gallows humour.” (Pakenham, 2004,… Read More

The British Army: The Boer War & Tactical Developments

Research Paper Title The Influence of the Boer War (1899-1902) on the Tactical Development of the Regular British Army 1902-1914. Abstract This thesis examines the influence of the Boer War 1899 – 1902 upon tactics and training in the regular British Army 1902 – 1914. The work argues that several key lessons drawn from South Africa became… Read More