Key Battles of The Boer War

Key Battles of The Boer War

In my opinion the battle of Talana was a very key battle because it was the first real battle of the war and set off other key events to come. The commanding officer of the 3500 Utrecht, Wakkerstroom, Krugersdorp, Vryheid, Middelburg and Piet Retief commandos was General Lucas Meyer and on the British side of 4363 men the commanding officer was Major-General Sir William Penn Symons and he was stationed at Dundee which was where the attack from Meyer took place. 

The attack took place on the 20th of October 1899 and in the battle the British commander died along with 53 other troops, 203 were wounded and 246 were captured during the charge of Danie Theron's commandos. In comparison Meyer who lost 31, wounded 66 and had 20 captured this was a failure, however the Boers did have to retreat to the over looking hills.

Dundee was captured by the Boers till the 15th of May 1900 but was relieved from their control after the relief of Ladysmith.

To conclude I believe this is a key battle because Dundee is strong military position to have, it was the first real battle of the war and led up to the rest of the wars events.

Key Individuals of The Boer War

Key Individual of The Boer War

Lord Kitchener 

Kitchener was a British military leader who gained his fame for campaigns and a central role in WW1. He often planned and organized huge battles in WW1 and is on one of the most famous war recruitment posters of all time (seen above)

Chamberlain

Joseph Chamberlain was a British politician that gained renown fast as he had no qualifications and had also had lots of pressure on him when concentration camps were discovered in the next Boer War. He became colonial secretary under Salisburys government in 1895.

Lloyd George

Lloyd George was a British politician during World War 1 and again straight after it. He was not PM during the Boer War but did oppose Chamberlain and was known for his radical opposition towards him. However he was not against colonization or the Empire.

Alfred Milner

Milner was the high commissioner of South Africa and later a member of the cabinet. He was a large supporter of imperialism. He directly stopped British policy to do with the Boers changing due to lack of trust with the Boers which led to the war. After the war he lost respect for having a large input in its causes.

Causes of The Boer War

Causes of The Boer War

The first Boer War was between Britain and the South African Republic and was caused by the British trying to expand, problems with the Transvaal government, the opposition of British rule in the Transvaal. Britain had hoped to gain a larger Empire and create a confederation of colonies, Boer republics and South African groups. The Brits did not risk much by trying to achieve this besides soldiers lives and money but the gain if the plan was successful out weighed these risks. 

This war happened because the British Empire got greedy and felt like they wanted to be the most powerful in the world as they once were which tells people that they were selfish and only wanted to rule over rather than rule for people. The events that triggered it were the annexation of the Transvaal government and when the Pedi attacked the Boer the British did not assist them as they should have.

Outcomes of The Crimean War

Outcomes of The Crimean War

A total of 5 countries were involved in the war: Britain, France, Russia, Turkey and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was between Russia and the Ottoman Empire (backed by Britain, France and Sardinia). The Allies won the war and France greatly benefited from this as it now replaced Russia as the dominant power and stopped Russia gaining more territory. Russia lost the war and with it their status and with it 220,000 troops, they had also failed to gain more control of the world. 

The war left the British realizing how under trained and poorly managed their armies were which led the the Cardwell reforms in the 1860's, these reforms made the army more organized and better equipped than they had been previously. It also left Britain with new heros such as the nurses that served in the barracks and in turn set in motion female rights. The impact on British politics was quite large because after the war commissions came under fire and were eventually abolished.

The only people that truly gained from this war were the French since they were now the dominant military power and had made money selling arms to the Ottomans, however you could say that Britain did gain the knowledge of how their country needed change which then led to a more effective country and army. The Ottomans gained weapons and the safety of their land as well as allies in Britain and France. All countries lost something but the major loser was Russia because they started a war hoping to gain and lost men, money and power all in one swoop, their loses were greater than all other countries and their government was now very unstable.

In Britain much changed socially because now war correspondents were being used and more of the public were reading the news papers day to day, people were for the first time interested in foreign affairs. Medically  a huge amount changed except we gained knowledge of how useful nurses were in barracks and after health care for soldiers was improved to keep them fit. On the military side of change we have the Cardwell reforms which changed almost every aspect of the army all the way from leaders to basic training.

Major Battles in the Crimean War

The Battle of Balaclava was fought on 25 October 1854 and was part of the Anglo-French-Turkish campaign to capture the port and fortress of Sevastopol, which was the Russian main naval base on the Black Sea. The battle followed the earlier Allied victory in September at the Battle of the Alma. The Crimean War, known for the 'Charge of the Light Brigade', would hugely shift the balance of power in Europe and in a way make way for WW1.
The highest ranking officers and the ones to blame are Lord Raglan, Lord Cardigan , Lord Lucan and Lord Nolan . However, the most influential officer responsible was Lord Raglan as he was in command at the time.
Lord Raglan was overall commander of the British forces and had intended to send the Light Brigade to pursue a retreating Russian artillery battery. Due to terrible communication and confusing orders the Light Brigade was instead sent on an assault against a different battery which was more prepared and had a huge strategic advantage.
The Light Brigade reached the battery under direct fire and scattered some of the gunners, the brigade was forced to retreat. The assault ended with very high British deaths and gain to the Army. 

The Battle of the Alma, 20 September 1854, which is usually considered the first battle of the Crimean War, took place just south of the River Alma. An Anglo-French force commanded by General St. Arnaud and Lord Raglan defeated the Russian army, which lost around 6,000 troops.

General St. Arnaud  was a French solider and he served as French Minister of War until the Crimean War when he then became Commander-in-chief of the army in the East. He commanded in the Crimean War with Raglan, both commanders led the allies to the first victory which set morals high for the British, conditions slipped more and more throughout the war due to leadership not being up to a good standard and the supplies the Army needed were not there due to the government being run by under qualified aristocrats. This impacted the war because if they hadn't won this battle, they would have found themselves becoming more prepared for events throughout the war which as I know would have saved the Army countless deaths and losses at the hands of the Russian army.

Key Individuals of The Crimean War

Lord Aberdeen was the Prime Minister during the Crimean war, the most influential happened involving him, ended with his resignation from power. This was due to the media coverage the war received through the newspapers. The Crimean war was the first to involve reports by the media and one of its main reporters was William Howard Russell. His reports showed what was happening in the Crimea and led the Aberdeen and his party to step down at the start 1855. Aberdeen was important as he ran the country, but in running the country he didn't do a good job of looking after his countries troops e.g. making sure they had all the supplies they needed, especially in the winter. 

Lord Raglan was a part of was one of the most influential moments in the Crimean War. Raglan commanded the Charge of The Light Brigade which led to many deaths of soldiers in the British army. This act showed Britain as weak, but it also made for a lot of glorification and pro-war propaganda in the media. The war effected Raglan because as part of the aristocracy, it showed Britain how incompetent the aristocrats were, all they had was status and money. Raglan had great importance in the war. When war ended, the ability to buy your way into the Army at high ranks was removed and this was just one part of the military reforms to come.

Mary Seacole was a nurse in the war and made herself very famous for helping lost soldiers on the battle field; many people have said that she would not have been famous if it wasn't for her race because she didn't do much to be very significant. However she did give moral to the soldiers when they came to her nursing house that they could visit. These houses had alcohol, tobacco and food available for the soldiers. She did treat soldiers on the front line and her bravery was widely recognized, because of the war she became known  for working as a women in medicine but also being of a different ethnicity. 

At the time of the Crimean war, women didn't play a role in much. Florence Nightingale had influences on the Crimean war, being one of the first women in to the nursing practice she came up with new ways of medicine usage. She became an important figure for women and nursing and made it become a valued profession. Helping soldiers in the Crimea meant she was able to improve health and sanitation issues. The war effected Nightingale because she became known throughout history.  She became known as the lady with of the lamp, her hard work helped many movements towards female rights.

William Howard Russell was a war correspondent, sending dispatches home from the front line. His articles and reports, often exaggerated, caught the attention of the public in Britain. Russell spent 22 months reporting the war, including the Battle of Balaclava and The Charge of The Light Brigade. He became known for his articles being published in The Times which, was being read by millions. He had a great impact on the war. War corresponding is now a big part of public knowledge on war and kicked started the detailed reports we have today 

The editor of The Times, John Delane, had a lot of power over what the British public got to read. He allowed William Howard Russell to write what he wanted and say what he liked about different groups such as the aristocracy and the French ( he disliked the French) and the majority would be printed to be read back in Britain. His newspaper became common reading to all classes which meant, during the Crimean war a few million would read the reports in The Times which were radical and previously unheard of. It also allowed people to see truthful accounts,leading up to the over throwing of the government

Roger Fenton sent photographs of the war back to Britain to be used in news papers such as The Times. The people in Britain had never seen a battlefield in imagery. They had not seen the conditions or what anything looked like. However Fenton didn't photograph battles but instead the landscapes in the aftermath when no fighting was taking place, meaning people didn't actually see the reality of war. They did have reports from Russell which filled in blanks however. This had an impact because it began to create a certain amount of curiosity which meant people wanted to read more and see more.

Alfred Tennyson was a British poet who published 'The Charge of The Light Brigade', this poem of glorification became famous when honoring those who had died in the battle. Alfred Tennyson is an influential figure in Crimean war because his poem has meanings; one of glorification and one of disappointment. This poem can be seen as a glorification of war but it can also be seen as defining faults of the system being allowed in the army (the aristocracy and commissions system). Depending on who read it, its meaning changed.

The Crimean War (1853 - 1856)

The Crimean war started in 1853 and ended in 1856 lasting about 3 years. The war is known  as the Eastern War and was between the Russian Empire and the French against the  British and the Ottoman Empires (Turkey) There were many reasons for the beginning of the Crimean war, such as Russia demanding the right to protect Christian shrines in Jerusalem,which was a part of the Ottoman Empire at the time. Below is a map of the Crimea where the war took place.

The French were Catholic so wanted to protect the Catholics in the Ottoman Empire at the time. Britain did not want the Russians to expand their current empire and threaten their own because Britain had the strongest empire at that time. They allied with the Ottoman empire to help prevent the Russians from invading and taking over more land.

Britain was triggered to war when the Ottoman empire suffered a defeat against the Russians when the Ottoman fleet was destroyed. After going to war in the Crimea it became obvious that Britain and its huge empire were not as strong as previously thought, suffering losses and defeats which were reported through newspapers and photography.