The Last Phase of the War
The coming of spring 1901 brought new life to the Boer war effort during the Anglo-Boer War and saw an increase in the number of battles in the Cape Colony, Orange Free State and Transvaal. Because of the British superiority in numbers, the Boers avoided large battles as far as they could and only engaged in small skirmishes.
The Cape Colony
On 3 September 1901 Gen. Smuts crossed the Orange River into the Cape Colony. Strong British columns continuously gave chase to Smuts’ commando and only with the greatest of efforts did Smuts manage to evade the British. In January 1902 his commando joined forces with that of Gen. Maritz. With the two forces joined, Smuts and Maritz attacked and captured Springbok in March 1902. Thereafter they launched an attack on Okiep, but were forced to evacuate their position when a strong British force arrived.
The support and sympathy the Boer commandos received from Afrikaners living in the Cape Colony, were of some concern to the British military authorities. To combat this air of sympathy, they implemented some military measures. Martial law was declared over the whole Cape Colony. Horses, wagons and carts were removed from nearly all farms to prevent the Boer commandos from using them. Cape Afrikaners that took up arms in aid of the Boers were particularly firmly acted against. The British authorities felt that this was necessary to prevent a general rebellion in the Cape Colony.
The Free State
As in the other parts of South Africa, several small skirmishes occurred in the Free State. On the night of 24 December 1901 Gen. De Wet dealt the British a painful blow when he attacked and completely overrun the British camp at Groenkop between Bethlehem and Harrismith. De Wet’s successes in the Free State made Kitchener more determined to pin the Boers down by erecting even more blockhouses. To hamper the Boers’ escape, barbed wire fences were put up between the blockhouses. Special effort was made to capture De Wet. More than 30 000 troops were used in three unsuccessful drives in early 1902 to capture him.
Eastern Transvaal
With the coming of spring in 1901 in the eastern Transvaal Gen. Botha planned to launch a repeat invasion of Natal. The British got wind of Botha’s plans and strong British forces were subsequently sent to the Natal border to prevent the invasion. The relentless British pursuit eventually persuaded Botha to relinquish his hope of invasion and by the end of October 1901 he was back on the Transvaal Highveld.
Back on the Transvaal Highveld, Botha achieved a smashing defeat over the forces of the very capable Col. Benson at Bakenlaagte on 30 October. The battle of Bakenlaagte was the last major battle in the Eastern Transvaal. Several smaller skirmishes took place after that, but none of them had any effect on the outcome of the war.
Western Transvaal
The Boer commandos in the Western Transvaal were very active after September 1901. Several battles of importance were fought here between September 1901 and March 1902. At Moedwil on 30 September 1901 and again at Driefontein on 24 October Gen. De la Rey’s forces attacked the British but were forced to withdraw after the British offered strong resistance.
A time of relative quiet descended thereafter on the western Transvaal. February 1902 saw the next major battle in that region. On 25 February De la Rey attacked a British column at Ysterspruit near Wolmaranstad. De la Rey succeeded in capturing the column and a large amount of ammunition - enough to last his commando a long time.
The Boer attacks prompted Lord Methuen, the British’s second in command after Lord Kitchener, to move his column from Vryburg to Klerksdorp to deal with De la Rey. On the morning of 7 March 1902 the Boers attacked the rear guard of Methuen’s moving column at Tweebosch. In the confusion that soon reigned in British ranks, Methuen was wounded and captured by the Boers. The battle of Tweebosch was one of the De la Rey’s finest victories.
The Boer victories in the west led to stronger action by the British. In the second half of March 1902 large British reinforcements were sent to the Western Transvaal. The opportunity the British waited for, arose on 11 April 1902 at Rooiwal where the combined forces of Gens. Grenfell, Kekewich and Von Donop came into contact with the forces of Gen. Kemp. The British soldiers were superbly positioned on the mountain side and mowed down the Boers charging on horseback over a large distance, beating them back with heavy casualties.
This was the end of the war in the Western Transvaal and also the last major battle of the Anglo-Boer War.