THE GUERRILLA WAR, PART 2 The Scorched Earth Policy At the end of 1900 Lord Kitchener, who succeeded Lord Roberts in November 1900, realized that a new approach was necessary to counter-act to the Boers' guerrilla war. His new strategy consisted of three measures. Firstly the two Republics were systematically destroyed - farmsteads and some towns were burned down and food supplies were destroyed. Livestock were driven away or killed. Secondly all the women and children were placed in concentration camps. Thirdly large drives were begun with the aim to hound out and capture the Boer commandos. For this, Kitchener mostly made use of cavalry instead of infantry. To aid the drives, lines of blockhouses were erected to confine the movement of the Boer commandos. The Concentration Camps The first concentration camps were erected early in 1901. Thousands of women and children were removed from the farms and towns where they lived and placed in these camps. At the outset the British military authority was unprepared to accommodate thousands of people, and made scanty provision for food and medical supplies to the women and children. This resulted in malnutrition and disease, and the subsequent death of thousands of people in the camps. The Drives The Highveld of Transvaal was the first area Kitchener tested his new strategy on. A force of 15 000 men with 63 cannons under the command of General French were gathered east of the Witwatersrand. It was their task to systematically clear and destroy the whole area between the Delagoa Bay and the Durban railways. From time to time other columns joined French's force in their drive. Nothing that was of any use to the Boers was to be left behind. All women and children had to be captured and taken to concentration camps, and the commandos themselves had to be encircled and forced to surrender. On 28 January 1901 the British columns stretching from Pretoria to Heidelberg began their march. The Republican forces were caught off guard by this new strategy. They were confronted by superior numbers and only in small bands did they manage to break through the British lines. Behind the British lines they found little in the devastated country side to subsist on. Shortly after French's force started moving they were joined by a second force. In April 1901 the British columns reached the Natal border. A vast part of Transvaal now lay in ruin. Nearly all Boer farms were burned down and destroyed. Winter 1901 The scorched earth policy was soon applied in most parts of Transvaal and the Free State. As a result the winter of 1901 was one of unknown hardship to man, woman and child in these areas. Due to them being deprived of food, and due to the fact that weapons and ammunition were not available anymore, the Boer commandos were forced to depend on the British for supplies. British columns were attacked and forced into surrender. The Boers then confiscated their food supplies, weapons and ammunition and helped themselves to clothing and other necessities. Due to the shortages, the Boer commandos were much less active during the winter months. Considering these circumstances, members of the Transvaal Government came to the conclusion that the only way out was the cessation of hostilities and the commencement of negotiations for peace with the British. In a letter to the Free State Government, the Transvaal Government set out its proposals. In June 1901 the two Republican governments met at Standerton to discuss their positions. It was decided that the war should be continued until Britain acknowledged their independence. To bring some relief to the battered Republics, it was also decided that Gen. Smuts should launch a new attack into the Cape Colony. In July 1901 Pres. Steyn of the Free State narrowly managed to escape capture by the British at Reitz. Some member of the Free State government, as well as Steyn's correspondence - including the letter from the Transvaal Government - were however captured. The letter gave Kitchener the assurance that his scorched earth policy was having the desired effect. He only had to continue it to achieve victory.