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The Anglo-Boer War Study Group of Australia's
EXHIBITION GALLERY No. 8
 Anglo-Boer War 1899-1902
TECHNOLOGIES OF WAR

 

INDEX TO THIS PAGE

 

Photo of observation balloon
Observation balloons had been used in earlier wars, but proved
very effective in South Africa where rough terrain provided cover
for ambushes and hidden movement of Boer commandos. You can
read a Boer soldier's reaction of surprise and frustration when
first confronted by an observation balloon--click here.
 
Observation balloon on the move.
Royal Engineers trek across the veldt with
their observation balloon at the ready.
 
 
An armoured train: Photo
Boer Commandos found it difficult to resist attacking trains which could be easily halted by demolition
of a bridge or otherwise derailed. Armoured trains helped to stem the trend.
 
An armoured train at Ladysmith.
An armoured train with the locomotive in the middle.
 
 
Inside an armoured train.
British troops inside an armoured train.
 
Blockhouse on the Orange River
In the later stages of the war, blockhouses like this one
on the Orange River were built to contain the Boers and
to provide a 'wall' against which the Boers could be driven
by drives of mounted infantry.
 
Photo of Fort Sydney
Fort Sydney (1899) guards the road tunnel at Kogsmanskloof,
near Montagu, South Africa. The fort is situated at top right
of the photograph. A sign in Afrikaans reads 'Old English
Fort (1899).
 
Closer view of fort  A closer view of Fort Sydney.
 
Impregnable.  Fort Sydney was virtually impregnable,
but the Boer forces were adept at avoiding such obvious, deadly obstacles.
 
9.2 inch gun
A British 9.2 inch gun mounted on a railway wagon. This was then the largest gun
ever used in land warfare. But pitted against Boer commandos, the gun was next
to useless. It would have proved effective in siege warfare or against massed forces.
 
Maxim-Nordenfeldt 'Pom Pom' gun
Boers with a 'Pom-Pom' gun. The Maxim-Nordenfeldt gun had a firing rate of
60 rounds per minute, but usually had a belt of 25 one pound shells. Austr-
alians at Elands River Post said it could cover an acre with shells as fast as
a person could count. Various weapons manufacturers produced variants of
the gun, including Hotchkiss-Maxim for the British forces, and Vickers-
Maxim used by both sides.
 
 
Boer Maxim machine-gun and howitzer.
Boers firing a Maxim machinegun (left) and a howitzer. Modern technology
was eagerly accepted by the Boers, but their ability at sniping proved dominant
in many engagements. British forces also possessed Maxims and a wider range
of artillery including naval guns adapted to mount on railway wagons, and
some Mountain Batteries provided by Indian Artillerymen.
  
Machine Gun section of 1st Batt, 5th Australian Infantry Regiment.
A few Australian Contingents took horse-drawn machine-guns to
the Anglo-Boer War, but found their horses unequal to the task
of hauling the heavy guns far, especially on extended treks. Above
is the machine-gun section of the 1st Battalion, 5th Australian
Infantry Regiment outside Victoria Barracks, Melbourne, after the
war. Many soldiers from the Brigade had served in South Africa.
 
 
Boer trenches at Magersfontein.
Abandoned Boer trenches at Magersfontein. The trenches were five feet deep
and bags filled with earth were placed on the edges of the trench. Saps and
trenches had been used in earlier wars, but here provided vivid memories
when Anglo-Boer War veterans volunteered for World War One. These
trenches hid the Boer force leading to the decimation of Britain's Highland
Brigade which had been given the 'honour' of leading the attack.
 
British trenches at Orange River. British soldiers repel
a strong Boer attack from their trench at Orange River
in early 1900.
 
 
A British field hospital
The Orange River Field Hospital. Heat, dust and flies helped to complicate
modern surgical and medical procedures on the veldt. But, as in previous
wars, the survival of amputees was rare despite the use of antiseptics (see
box in foreground, right) and the best of nursing care.
 
A captured Boer ambulance
A captured Boer ambulance. The clever cart enabled the seriously wounded
to be evacuated from the battlefield by one man and not several as would
have been the case with a stretcher, or if they had been carried away by
comrades. For the wounded a ride in the ambulance cart would have been
an uncomfortable and bumpy experience.
 
Nurses tend the wounded in hospital. Photo of the rare Royal Red Cross.
Vast improvements in military medicine, and the provision of constant
nursing attention spared the lives of many wounded soldiers. Previously
most would have died from complications like septic infection. Life for
nurses was gruelling in hard conditions. Only three Royal Red Crosses
were awarded to Australian nurses. This rare medal (left, medals photo)
was awarded to Sister Martha Bidmead of South Australia. On the right
is her Queen's South Africa medal. Photo provided by Chris Thomas.
 
A nurse and orderly attend a battle casualty.
A Nurse and orderly tend a battle casualty.
The patient's bedside table has been made
from used antiseptic cases.
 
  
An X-ray machine in use
A bullet in the arm of a wounded soldier is located by
Rontgen rays (x-rays) at Ladysmith Hospital. Discov-
ered by Wilhelm Rontgen in 1895, X-rays made invis-
able things visible.
 
British orderlies in a hospital train
Guerilla warfare by the Boers stetched British logistics to the limit. This
specially built hospital train helped to evacuate the wounded to major
hospital facilities in the distant rear of the action.
  
  
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