Boer Wars 1881, 1899-1902

Boer War 1899-1902: Recently discovered mineral wealth in Transvaal led to envy amongst certain British industrialists and politicians and an attempt to flood the area with British-speaking prospectors, in an effort to undermine the Transvaal government by outnumbering the local electorate. Rather than await a British attack, the Boers launched pre-emptive strikes themselves. One of their targets was Ladysmith, at that time considered the ‘Aldershot’ of southern Africa.

Transvaal War 1881: (previously known as the First Boer War) use Boers as above, and British from our Zulu War range, as some of the same regiments were still in South Africa when the conflict started. The British were still in their red tunics (rifle regiments still being in rifle green). Artillery and mounted infantry were also dressed as they would have been during the Zulu War. The Boers can also be used for conflicts against the Zulus, as they were long-standing enemies.