A History of the Boer Republic, 1900-1924

[Russ Haynes]

BAF Strength and National Make Up

Army Strength Returns

2x Infantry Brigades
21x Commandos
4x Light Cavalry regiments
84x Rifle Regiments
1x Trench Garrison Regiment
85x Artillery Batteries

The BAF had now grown to 357,000 men and 510 guns.

The Volksraad commissioned a study to determine the national make up of the BAF. It was believed that such a study would prove valuable during discussions of the new Militia Act and whether or not any other recruitment plans should be developed or discussed. The study was completed toward the end of January and here were the results:

Afrikaner: 186,000 men (52.1%)
Portuguese: 93,000 men (26.1%)
German: 27,000 men (7.5%)
British: 27,000 men (7.5%)
French: 24,000 men (6.7%)

As can be seen by the above results, almost half of the Boer Armed Forces were now of nationalities other than that of the true volk, the Afrikaner people. This situation was intolerable to many in the Raad, but it really couldn’t be helped. There were now 122 million people within the Republic’s borders, and the percentage of Afrikaner males was getting smaller as more and more territory was taken. It took years for Afrikaner colonists to change the national make up of a region. It would only get worse if and when the conquest of British Africa began. The key, as War Minister De Bruyn saw it, was to make the newly conquered population feel that they were a part of something greater than that of a colony of one of the European Powers. They had to feel that the Republic was their country as much as it was the Afrikaners’. This would mean a shift in thinking on the part of everyone, including the Afrikaner people.

Weeks 1-13, 1908

Early in February, the first phase of the West African Railway Project was declared complete. The only city not connected yet was Rio Muni and it was connected by road to Brazzaville. The connecting of all other Republic cities was seen as a necessary step toward unifying and defending the state. Reaction forces could now reach any part of the Republic within two weeks and still be ready to fight when they got there.

Economically, the 1907 Economic Development Plan continued to operate and provide production boosts to all of the newer cities. It was estimated that the majority of improvement and production goals for these new lands could be completed by the end of the year.

In early March the first Rifle Regiments raised on the island of Madagascar and not needed for the garrisons there, began to be transported for service on the mainland. These would be very valuable in increasing garrison strength in the newer cities.

On March 2, the British and Lowlands Countries went to war. Contingency plans were immediately updated by Minister De Bruyn, and plans for the capture of Lowlands-held Elizabethville were dusted off and revised. This was the only Lowland’s colony within the Republic’s sphere of influence and as such was seen as a prize that must be captured by the BAF before the British could take it. By the end of March, the plans had been updated and troops moved to the border near Port Franqui.

 

[Russ Haynes]

The Declaration of War

On April 15, Minister De Bruyn informed the Lowlands Ambassador of the Republic’s declaration of war. The Ambassador informed him that he already knew of the war and would inform the world of the devious nature of Boer foreign policy. At that same moment a messenger arrived to inform the War Minister that the troops had crossed the border several hours before the declaration was delivered. He couldn’t believe it! CG Joubert had allowed one of the most grievous errors to take place. All diplomats knew that troops were never allowed to cross a border or engage in hostilities before a declaration of war had been delivered. It could make any future arrangements or alliances very difficult or impossible to conclude.

The world community frowned on such behavior and in the world’s eyes the Republic had committed a criminal act. It didn’t matter that war was the intention. The formalities had to be observed or a country’s international reputation would suffer. No matter how much a hero he was to the volk, CG Joubert would now be a war criminal in the minds of the world.

Coastal Defenses Completed

Over the last several months the War Ministry had been directing work on coastal fortifications to guard the east coast cities. On April 19, Minister de Bruyn received a report that the work was done. The east coast cities would now be more able to resist naval bombardment when war came with the British.

Weeks 17-29 The Battle of Elizabethville

It took until May 21 for CG Joubert’s Army of the West was in position and ready to attack Elizabethville. Intelligence estimates put the garrison strength at 12-13 garrison infantry units or about 40,000 men at the most. The strength of the Army of the West was initially about 20,000 men and 144 guns, but many more were on the way. Battery positions were selected and trenches were dug. The Army was located to the west of the city, but scouts reported that British Colonial Cavalry units had been spotted to the east.

By the beginning of June the Army of the West consisted of over 60,000 men and 282 guns. The time was right, but CG Joubert decided to allow the British an opportunity to attack. Since no more that 9,000 to 15,000 British troops had been seen south and east of the city, Joubert figured the Lowlands garrison could bleed the British and destroy some units. The example of Luderitz had now been made a part of BAF operational doctrine. With 40,000 garrison troops in the city it would take more than 15,000 attackers to capture it. The first week of June the British lost at least 2 Colonial Cavalry units in assaults on the city. During the next eight weeks they lost 4 more cavalry units while inflicting losses of 3 Colonial Infantry on the Lowlands' garrison.

August 9 was set as the date for the Boer assault. The Army of the West's strength had now been raised to 83,000 men and 282 guns. It was ready to add another city to the Republic.

 

[Russ Haynes]

Week 33, 1908 The Battle of Elizabethville

As the sun came up on August 9, 282 guns and howitzers spoke. The Lowland garrison troops huddled in their dugouts and trenches and died. Slowly the barrage was walked across the landscape and into the first buildings and huts on the outskirts of Elizabethville. The attackers readied themselves for the advance.

More reinforcements had brought the number of Boer troops up to 83,400. The new units included quite a number of regular troops without any battle experience. It was decided by CG Joubert to give them some. 4 Commandos were sent forward together in a mass assault. All 4 gained elite status and were designated the 16th – 19th Commandos. The 19th got the honor of capturing the city. It was also the first commando of mostly German decent to gain elite status.

Although the Lowland Ambassador would not receive anyone from the Foreign Ministry, the capture of Elizabethville essentially ended the war with the Lowland Countries as far as the Republic was concerned. There weren’t any other Lowland colonies close enough to be of any interest.

With the exception of the passage of the Militia Act in November, little else happened during the rest of 1908. Militia troops normally took from 4-8 weeks to train so a total of 8 regiments were available as the New Year dawned. Recruitment of other troops also continued and by January 1, 1909 the BAF was made up of the following:

2x Infantry Brigades
32x Commandos
4x Light Cavalry Regiments
112x Rifle Regiments
97x Artillery Batteries
1x Trench Garrison Regiment

Including the Militia Regiments the BAF now consisted of 476,400 men and 582 guns. The artillery included 9 batteries of a new mountain gun designated the 7.5cm GebK 247(n). Its projectile was similar in weight to that of the 7.7cm FK 96 Field Gun, but its range was quite a bit less (6,900m to 10,300m). However, the overall weight of the gun was less than half of that of the FK 96, so the gun was more mobile and able to move faster and better over rough terrain.

The national make up of the army was now:

Afrikaner: 218,400 (45.8%)
Portuguese: 129,000 (27.1%)
French: 51,000 (10.1%)
German: 45,000 (9.4%)
British: 33,000 (6.9%)

This was the first time in the history of the Republic that more than half of its armed forces weren’t from Afrikaner stock. This trend was bound to continue as more of Africa was taken into the Republic.


1908 ended much as it had begun, in relative peace. The storm was about to break.

 

[Russ Haynes]

Jacob Kronstaad had served in the BAF for a little over two years. He was now Korporal Kronstaad now. Once he was done with his basic training he had been sent to the 7th Commando as a replacement. During the last two years the 7th had been part of the Pretoria garrison and had been training to fight the British in a war for control of all Africa.

The 7th was referred to by many in the BAF as the ‘Loot and Glory Boys” because in the Franco-Boer War they had been called upon to complete the capture of several towns and cities. As the capturing unit they had first crack at any spoils of war that might be lying around waiting to be picked up. Jacob and many others in the 7th hated the name, but nicknames have a way of sticking, and it really didn’t matter anyway. They were a veteran outfit and could take pride in their battle honors.

Officially, they hadn’t seen action in over two years, but this didn’t mean they had gotten lax. Their commanding officer was strict but fair and believed in hard training. The men had weekly target practice which included shooting at moving targets. Jacob had been a good shot as a young man, but now he was even better. He could regularly hit man-sized targets at 500 yards over open sights, and he was very adept at hitting moving targets at over 300 yards. The 7th had been issued the 7mm Mauser Carbine Model 1895. It was an extremely accurate weapon, but it was not quite as robust as some other long arms in use with other armies.

The training also included long field rides that included live-firing exercises and coordination with artillery batteries firing in support. Trenches were constructed and barbed wire entanglements laid. Physical training without the horses was also emphasized because the terrain of Africa was unforgiving of those in poor physical condition.

Jacob knew they would be ready when their turn came against the British.

 

[GamezRule]

Great Story

(Just a tip: I think you're army's numbers would be more proportionate if you increased the number of guns in an arty battery)

 

[CELTICEMPIRE]

This story is epic, I've been waiting for another Aoi story for months.