The Boer War of 1899-1902 was an epic of heroism and bungling, cunning and barbarism, with an extraordinary cast of characters - including Churchill, Rhodes, Conan Doyle, Smuts, Kipling, Gandhi, Kruger and Kitchener. The war revealed the ineptitude of the British military and unexpectedly exposed the corrupt underside of imperialism in the establishment of the first concentration camps, the shooting of Boer prisoners-of-war and the embezzlement of military supplies by British officers. This acclaimed book provides a complete history of the Boer War - from the first signs of unrest to the eventual peace. In the process, it debunks several of the myths which have grown up around the conflict and explores the deadly legacy it left for southern Africa.

IllustrationsAcknowledgementsMapsPrefaceIntroduction: An Irrepressible Conflict?PART I: THE BACKGROUND TO THE WARBritish Rule, Confrontation and Compromise 1815-1886The Descent to War 1886-1899PART II: THE COMBATANTS3. The British Army4. Rallying the Empire5. The BoersPART III: THE CAMPAIGNS 1899-19026. The Opening Battles, October 18997. The Disasters of Black Week, December 1899: The Battles of Stormberg, Magersfontein and Colenso, and their less disastrous prelude8. Humiliation, January and February 1900: The Battles of Spion Kop and Vaal Krantz9. 'I thank God we have kept the flag flying': The Besieged Towns of Ladysmith, Kimberley and Mafeking10. The Turn of the Tide, February 1900: The Relief of Kimberley, the Battle of Paardeberg, the Relief of Ladysmith11. Marching to Pretoria (and Johannesburg): The British Advance through the Boer Republics, the Relief of Mafeking, the Start of the Guerrilla War12. Methods of Barbarism? December 1900 to October 1901: The Guerrilla War, Farm Burning, the Concentration Camps13. Seeking Peace, March 1900-June 190114. The Final Battles, May 1901-May 1902PART IV: THE AMBIVALENCES OF WAR15. Big Business, Capitalism and War16. The Last of the Gentlemen's Wars?17. The Pro-Boers18. Foreigners and the War19. The Press and the War20. The Literature of the WarPART V: THE PEACE21. The Talks Begin22. Taking StockPeace at Last