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How did Boer commandos resist the British army during the South African War?

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Shiʿi militia fighter in Iraq — guerrilla warfare A masked Iraqi Shiʿi militia fighter dashing across a street, carrying a rocket-propelled grenade launcher, Baghdad, August 7, 2004.

During the final phase of the South African War, Boer commandos resisted the British army by abandoning conventional military engagements in favor of guerrilla warfare. Under the leadership of generals such as Christiaan Rudolf de Wet and Jacobus Hercules de la Rey, these forces utilized their familiarity with the terrain and support from the local Afrikaner populace to conduct hit-and-run attacks.12

The commandos effectively harried British bases and communication lines, keeping large rural areas of the Transvaal and Orange Free State outside of British control. These tactics were so persistent that forces led by Jan Smuts were able to conduct operations deep into the Cape Colony.2

The British eventually countered this resistance through a brutal scorched-earth policy, which involved destroying farms and interning civilians in concentration camps where thousands died of disease and malnutrition. This inhumane treatment of noncombatants is a stark reminder of the ethical failures inherent in such warfare, as it caused immense suffering to innocent populations.21