Story of the War in South Africa

the War in South Africa, by
Alfred T. Mahan

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Title: Story of the War in South Africa 1899-1900
Author: Alfred T. Mahan
Release Date: April 5, 2007 [EBook #20987]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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[Transcriber's note: Obvious printer's errors have been corrected, all
other inconsistencies are as in the original. Author's spelling has been
maintained. Page numbers are shown as {p.xxx}]

[Illustration: CAPTAIN ALFRED T. MAHAN, U.S.N.; D.C.L.]

STORY OF THE WAR
IN
SOUTH AFRICA
1899-1900

By
Captain A. T. Mahan, U.S.N.
With Map and Portrait of the Author

CONTENTS
PAGE
CHAPTER I
The Theatre of the War 1
CHAPTER II
The Opening Campaign in Natal to the Investment of Ladysmith
(October 11--November 2) 28
CHAPTER III
The Colonies and the Transports 71
CHAPTER IV

The Western Frontier to Magersfontein and Stormberg. Operations of
General French about Colesberg 102
CHAPTER V
The Natal Campaign from the Investment of Ladysmith through the
Battle of Colenso 177
CHAPTER VI
The Natal Campaign. British Prepare for a Flanking Attack upon the
Boers' Right at the Tugela. The Boer Assault on Ladysmith, January
6th 233
CHAPTER VII
Natal Campaign. The Unsuccessful British Attempts to Turn the Boers'
Right Flank at Spion Kop and at Vaal Krantz 249
CHAPTER VIII
The Relief of Kimberley and of Ladysmith, and the Surrender of
Cronje 266

THE SOUTH AFRICAN WAR {p.001}
CHAPTER I
THE THEATRE OF THE WAR
The war in South Africa has been no exception to the general rule that
the origin of current events is to be sought in the history of the past, and
their present course to be understood by an appreciation of existing
conditions, which decisively control it. This is especially true of the
matter here before us; because the southern extreme of Africa, like to
that of the American continent, has heretofore lain far outside of the

common interest, and therefore of the accurate knowledge, of mankind
at large. The Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn, in themselves remote,
tempestuous, and comparatively unproductive regions, for centuries
derived importance merely {p.002} from the fact that by those ways
alone the European world found access to the shores of the Pacific and
Indian Oceans. The application of steam to ocean navigation, and the
opening of the Suez Canal, have greatly modified conditions, by
diverting travel from the two Capes to the Canal and to the Straits of
Magellan. It is only within a very few years that South Africa, thus
diminished in consequence as a station upon a leading commercial
highway, has received compensation by the discovery of great mineral
wealth.
Thus separated from the rest of the world, by lack of intrinsic value as a
region producing materials necessary to the common good, the
isolation of South Africa was further increased by physical conditions,
which not only retarded colonisation and development, but powerfully
affected the character and the mutual relations of the European settlers.
Portuguese mariners, after more than half a century of painful groping
downward along the West African coast in search of a sea route to
India that vague tradition asserted could there be found, in 1486
rounded the Cape of Good Hope, which then received the despondent
name of {p.003} the Cape of Storms from its first discoverer,
Bartholomew Diaz.
Vasco da Gama, following him in 1497, gave to it its present
auspicious title, which was to him of sound augury; for he then passed
on to explore the East coast and to find the long-desired Indies. It was,
however, the latter which constituted the Portuguese goal. Africa was
to them primarily the half-way house, where to refresh their ships on
the long voyage to Hindustan, which then took near a year to complete.
For this purpose they established themselves on the island of
Mozambique, and gradually took possession of the country to this day
known as Portuguese East Africa.
From that far back settlement, Delagoa Bay, near the southern border,
is now a thorn in the side of the British invasion; a port with which they

are not at war, and therefore cannot seize or blockade, but which,
through the supplies that thence reach the otherwise isolated Transvaal,
contributes powerfully to support the defence.
Upon the heels of the Portuguese followed the Dutch, aiming like them