Episode 17- The centipede approaches Spion Kop
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We have arrived at the most momentous battle of the Boer War, the Battle of Spion Kop. Its notoriety continues to this day with war buffs traveling to the steep sided hill half an hours drive South West of Ladysmith in the Natal – or KwaZulu Natal as its now known.
The battle highlighted the failure of the British Army and its leadership to understand the requirements of modern warfare. They failed to cope with powerful long range artillery and magazine rifle fire, they used outdated communication and intelligence gathering, their chain of command was still the same as the Napoleonic era and their leadership suffered from a lack of flexibility.
You’d think that by now, after nearly three months of warfare in South Africa, that they would have reconsidered tactics. But imperialism and nationalism are hard coded in people’s minds, why change something that has led to an empire upon which the sun never sets?
The battle highlighted the failure of the British Army and its leadership to understand the requirements of modern warfare. They failed to cope with powerful long range artillery and magazine rifle fire, they used outdated communication and intelligence gathering, their chain of command was still the same as the Napoleonic era and their leadership suffered from a lack of flexibility.
You’d think that by now, after nearly three months of warfare in South Africa, that they would have reconsidered tactics. But imperialism and nationalism are hard coded in people’s minds, why change something that has led to an empire upon which the sun never sets?
