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Thread: Commando

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    Diamond Member Citizen X's Avatar
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    Commando

    1. I love History especially all aspects of the second world war;
    2. During 1941, the British wanted a specialized force that would be able to land on nazi enemy lines and literally strike fear and havoc in Nazi operations. The British looked to history for a never before used tactic, namely guerilla warfare by the Boers who were called commandos in the Angle/Boer War;
    3. Lieutenant-Colonel D. W. Clarke suggested the use of the name commando based specifically on the sheer effectiveness of the Boer commandos during the Anglo/Boer war;
    4. As history now tells us these British commandos were specialized raiding units which were deployed behind enemy lines;
    5. The word commando comes from the Afrikaans word Kommando which historically meant very mobile infantry group by horse;
    6. In the second english/boer war some 70 000 Boers called Kommados carried out guerilla warfare or asymmetric warfare against 450 000 heavily armed and well organized British forces;
    7. A lot of people are unaware of the ugly heinous atrocities that the British inflicted on the Afrikaners during this war. You see all the Boer men would leave their wives and families behind(at home) and form Kommandos to fight the British. The British realized that even under torture their wives would not give away their location so the British resorted to dirty warfare in which the burned down houses and crops and killed lifestock;
    8. The British went even further, they formed hell hole concentration camps in which Afrikaaner woman and children were kept and literally starved to death;
    9. I just find it interesting that the British would look to South African history for a name and tactic that actually contributed significantly to the allies winning the second world war
    “Ubuntu is the essence of being humane" Desmond Tutu
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    Diamond Member Blurock's Avatar
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    I avoided history at school, but have since grown a great interest as it puts the world in perspective. The atrocities of the British against the Afrikaner is well documented and is still a great shame on the British. Originally fuelled by the greed of Cecil John Rhodes.

    At the outbreak of the Boer War the Kommando's were called up to gather in certain major towns. Each district had its Kommandant reporting to a General.

    Being farmers and used to hunting, the typical Boer soldier reported for action armed with a Mauser, a bag of biltong, a bag of beskuit (rusks) and maybe a blanket and extra shirt. He had to have at least 5 bullets by order. The call up was treated almost as a weekend hunting trip. "ons gaan nou Rooibaadjies skiet" (we are now going to shoot redcoats). Later called Khaki's as they changed to khaki when they realised that the red uniforms made them easy to spot by the Boers.

    Fathers and and sons, cousins, uncles, neighbours. Everyone gathered as if for the nagmaal (communion) or a wedding. No-one was prepared for the massive influx of men to the designated towns. Who would feed them? Where would they sleep? It was a logistical nightmare!

    Eventually they moved out into the veld and some were loaded onto trains to Kimberly and other areas where they would confront the British army. Being used to living outdoors they would hunt for food while making war. The Brits started burning farms when they realised that the Boer kommandos were being supplied by the women who stayed behind on the farms.
    Excellence is not a skill; its an attitude...

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    Diamond Member tec0's Avatar
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    I dislike the taste of the second world war… Too many people had to die and this is on all sides. One forgets that many of the fallen was not war mongers and did not agree with what was happening.

    We forget that when the flags are down that these warriors where covered with mud and blood and their objective where to keep their loved one's safe.

    I will not deny that some where driven by hate other vengeance but all of them shared the same pressure and hardship. They faced the same dangers and had the same objectives.

    That said war made many advances both technological and biological, but I fear it did not accomplish the peace that so many have died for…
    peace is a state of mind
    Disclaimer: everything written by me can be considered as fictional.

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    Site Caretaker Dave A's Avatar
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    At a family gathering some time ago, and during the idle chit chat a brother-in-law was saying how bad the Germans were because of their concentration camps during WW2. So I pointed out that actually it was the British who invented concentration camps during the Boer war.

    Turns out said brother-in-law considered himself British and denied that the wonderfully ethical Brits could ever do such a thing rather strenuously.

    Took him about three months to get out of his blue funk when the point was confirmed by the undisputed master historian of the family.

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    Diamond Member Blurock's Avatar
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    Interesting fact I learnt from Discovery just the other day; the Lee Metford was considered the rifle of WWi and was still used by the outbreak of WWii. It is still considered one of the top 5 of all times.

    Yet in the Boer war, every Tommy wanted to trade their Lee Metfords for Mausers, the Boer guns. This was because the Boers shot all the s#!t out of the Tommies at Maagersfontein, Spioenkop, Majuba and other battlefields. The Boers were far better shots even with the much slower Mausers. The Boers in fact wanted the much improved Lee Metford!

    Just a correction on the numbers employed:

    The Boer forces had a potential of 54 000 men but never more than 30,000 - 40 000 were empIoyed at any one time as many went back to their farms to tend to farming matters and family. In contrast, the British forces grew to 450 000 at the height of hostilities. Casualties were as follows:

    British soldiers: 7 792 (killed) 13 250 (deaths from disease)
    Boers: 6 000
    Women and children in Concentration Camps: 26 370
    Blacks in Concentration Camps: 20 000+ (Official British figure: 14 154)
    Excellence is not a skill; its an attitude...

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    Diamond Member wynn's Avatar
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    The Boers also invented trench warfare, although not the sophisticated trenches of WWi if you could call them sophisticated?

    When setting an ambush they used to dig foxhole trenches on top of a hill and shoot from different positions making the Brits think there were more Boers than there actually were.

    When the Brits got too close they would scamper down the back of the hill and ride off to the next ambush.
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    Diamond Member tec0's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dave A View Post
    At a family gathering some time ago, and during the idle chit chat a brother-in-law was saying how bad the Germans were because of their concentration camps during WW2. So I pointed out that actually it was the British who invented concentration camps during the Boer war.

    Turns out said brother-in-law considered himself British and denied that the wonderfully ethical Brits could ever do such a thing rather strenuously.

    Took him about three months to get out of his blue funk when the point was confirmed by the undisputed master historian of the family.
    Slowly history will be rewritten as the pious hides the many truths.
    peace is a state of mind
    Disclaimer: everything written by me can be considered as fictional.

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    Athought for Dave
    It might be a good idea if the various countries of the world would occasionally swap history books, just to see what other people are doing with the same set of facts.
    Bill Vaughan



    Then there are those who got it horribly wrong:

    To throw bombs from an airplane will do as much damage as throwing bags of flour. It will be my pleasure to stand on the bridge of any ship while it is attacked by airplanes."
    Newton Baker, US minister of defense (1921)

    I do not believe there is the slightest chance of war with Japan in our lifetime. The Japanese are our allies.... Japan is at the other end of the world. She cannot menace our vital security in any way.... War with Japan is not a possibility which any reasonable government need take into account.
    Winston Churchill

    Airplanes are interesting toys but of no military value.
    Marechal Ferdinand Foch, Professor of Strategy, Ecole Superieure de Guerre.

    Flight by machines heavier than air is unpractical and insignificant, if not utterly impossible.
    Simon Newcomb , 1902, eighteen months before Kitty Hawk

    Airplanes suffers from so many technical faults that it is only a matter of time before any reasonable man realizes that they are useless!"
    Scientific American (1910)

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    Diamond Member Justloadit's Avatar
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    Where are they to eat their words?
    Victor - Knowledge is a blessing or a curse, your current circumstances make you decide!
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  10. #10
    Diamond Member Citizen X's Avatar
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    I love your disclaimer, may I borrow it?
    “Ubuntu is the essence of being humane" Desmond Tutu
    Spelling mistakes and/or typographical errors I found in leading publications.
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    sabbaticus

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