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Snapshots in History: February 18: Remembering Canada and the Battle of Paardeberg

February 19, 2014 | John P. | Comments (0)

1-3-19880069-145-lrg-995

 

(Credit: Canadian War Museum - Map of the Battle of Paardeberg Showing the Position of the IX Division (which included the 2nd Royal Canadian Regiment) on 18 February 1900 during the First Engagement - URL: http://www.warmuseum.ca/cwm/exhibitions/boer/map-paardeberg1_med_e.shtml - See also: http://www.warmuseum.ca/cwm/exhibitions/boer/boerwarmaps_e.shtml#paardeberg1

 

On February 18 and beyond, take a moment to remember the Battle of Paardeberg during the Boer War in Orange Free State, South Africa from February 18-27, 1900. The battle began with British and allied forces besieging a Boer army commanded by Piet Cronjé at Paardeberg Drift on the banks of the Modder River. Included amongst the British-led forces were 31 officers and 866 other ranks of the 2nd (Special Service) Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment of Infantry (known also as 2 RCRI). This constituted the first major involvement of Canadian troops in the South African War. It also resulted in the worst losses suffered in a single day during the Boer War with 18 Canadians dead and 60 wounded. Consequently, the British high command opted to play a waiting game with the surrounded Boers until a surprise attack was launched on the evening of February 26-27, 1900 with troops of the 2 RCRI in the forefront of the attack that led to the surrender of General Cronjé's Boer forces in the first important British victory of the war.

One can also read further accounts of the Battle of Paardeberg on the Royal Canadian Regiment website, the Canadian Anglo-Boer War Museum website, (For an Australian) Boer War Memorial website, and on the BritishBattles.com website. See also Cameron Pulsifer’s article “It’s Just Like the Resurrection: The Boer Surrender to the Canadians at Paardeberg” from the journal Canadian Military History, Volume 9 Issue 1 Article 5 (2000). See also The Great Boer War by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (available as an eBook online by Project Gutenberg) by clicking here.

Consider the following titles for loan from Toronto Public Library collections: 

 

Canada's soldiers in South Africa tales from the Boer War 1899-1902

Canada's soldiers in South Africa: tales from the Boer War, 1899-1902 / John Boileau, 2011. Book. Adult Non-Fiction. 968.0484 BOI

Follow the journey of Canadian soldiers who fought alongside British troops to prevent the Boer farmers from establishing their own state separate from the British Empire. Picture the differences in Canadian public opinion over whether to help out the “mother country” (Great Britain) or to mind one’s own business and stay out of foreign adventures and military incursions.  

 

Canada's little war fighting for the British Empire in Southern Africa 1899-1902

Canada's little war: fighting for the British Empire in Southern Africa, 1899-1902 / Carman Miller, 2003. Book. Adult Non-Fiction. 968.0484 MIL

Historian Carman Miller has set the stage for the reader: Picture the superpower of the day (i.e. Great Britain) flexing its muscles to prevent the independence of two Dutch-speaking republics in southern Africa owing to the presence of rich gold and diamond resources, not to mention their strategic position on the African continent situated by the southern oceans. Canada, then a British colony, sent 7,000 soldiers to supplement the British force of 200,000 troops. Canadian troops contributed to victories in campaigns such as the Battle of Paardeberg but some also participated in questionable tactics such as the scorched earth policy and the establishment of concentration camps that imprisoned women and children. All the while, public opinion was divided back home with English Canada predominantly in favour of aiding Great Britain and French Canada overwhelmingly against the Boer War.  Consider the Boer War as foreshadowing of the 1917 and 1944 conscription crises in the first and second world wars with divided public opinion back home in Canada.  

 

Our little army in the field the Canadians in South Africa 1899-1902

Our little army in the field: the Canadians in South Africa, 1899-1902 / Brian A. Reid, 1996, Book. Adult Non-Fiction. 968.0484 REI

Read about the first Canadian troops sent overseas to fight. Learn about the different units that distinguished themselves in the conflict and earned battle honours. 

 

Painting the map red Canada and the South African War 1899-1902

Painting the map red: Canada and the South African War, 1899-1902 / Carman Miller, 1993. Book. Adult Non-Fiction. 968.0488 M

Historian Carman Miller researched private and public papers from manuscript and printed sources to produce this book. The author set the context of why many Canadians volunteered to fight for the British Empire in the Boer conflict despite the debate over whether or not to participate. Miller examined the challenges of leading citizen soldiers into battle and the various leadership types associated therewith. Learn how the soldiers’ experiences and the public’s view of the war shaped Canadian viewpoints as well as the country’s political and military development.

Click here to access 1st paperback edition copy (1998, c1993). Book. Adult Non-Fiction. 968.0484 MIL

 

Canada at Paardeberg / Desmond Morton, 1986. Book. Adult Non-Fiction. 968 M

Military historian Morton authored this booklet for the Canadian War Museum that covered regimental histories of participating Canadian regiments in the Boer War.

 

"The Canadians": those who served in South Africa, 1899-1902 / Gary A. Roncetti and Edward E. Denby, 1979. Book. Adult Non-Fiction. 968.048 R

This publication listed the names, units, campaigns and casualties of the Canadian forces in the Boer War as well as mentioning Canadians who served in the South African Constabulary.

 

The Montreal Highland cadets being a record of the organization and development of a useful and interesting corps / Ernest J. Chambers, 1901. eBook. Access Online. (Access URL: http://www.archive.org/details/montrealhighland00chamuoft )

View this eBook online to review the following content by chapter: 1) British Cadet Corps; 2) Montreal’s First Cadet Corps; 3) The Cadet Movement of 1889; 4) Highland Cadets Organized; 5) Under the Critical Eyes of Royalty; 6) The Duke’s Flag; 7) Ten Years’ Work and Progress; 8) Official Recognition; 9) Highland Cadets in South Africa.

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