ABSTRACT
The British Army of the Victorian era possessed vast experience in colonial warfare. Over the course of Queen Victoria’s reign the army fought an incredible 230 wars. 1 Many of these conflicts were quintessential ‘small wars’, fought by a handful of regular troops in a distant geographic location. Although these conflicts could feature hard fighting and occasional setbacks, the technological advantage possessed by the British Army was typically decisive. In colonial wars from 1857 to 1899, British forces only twice lost 100 men killed in a single action. 2 Yet, despite this considerable combat record, the British Army had surprisingly little experience in facing the fire of modern weapons. Few of the colonial foes encountered by the army possessed more than a handful of effective firearms. However, there was one major exception to this general rule, namely the Boers of South Africa. The Boers were almost universally armed with modern rifles and possessed a distinctive military culture that emphasised firepower.
