When the British army first reached Pretoria in 1900 during the South Africa War, Lord Roberts (Commander of British Forces) increasingly realised that the railway was of great strategic importance and that its long lines of communication lay undefended. This was further underlined by the destruction of the railway line and the detrimental effect this had on the transporting of troops and supplies to the front by train.
Relief Map of South Africa showing Railway Lines – 1900-1902
Safeguarding the railway lines, therefore, became an urgent necessity. Orders were accordingly issued that all posts along the railways were to be fortified. By July 1st, 1900, defences consisting of trenches and stone-sangars had been prepared at most points, and their numbers and strength increased as the attacks of the Boer Commandos grew more frequent. The wrecking of the railroads reached its climax at the end of 1900. The most important points along the railway line were safeguarded first, namely the stations and the train bridges. The oversight and/or the inability of the British, as they penetrated the Boer republics, to occupy the area properly, together with the Boers' will to resist and the decision to resort to mobile or guerrilla warfare (the classic strategic principles of time vs. space) and to take the battle behind the British front, can be seen as the basic reasons for the erection of the line of blockhouses.
Robert’s successor, Lord Kitchener, chose to counter the tactic of mobile warfare with a strategy based upon a “scorched earth” policy, exemplified by concentration camps, blockhouses and "drives". Lord Kitchener can therefore rightly be considered the father of the blockhouse system in South Africa during the Anglo-Boer War.
Blockhouse network in South Afrcia 1900-1902
By the end of the war a remarkable network of blockhouse lines covered South Africa (see map above). The lines constructed were as follows:
The Cape
A line extended from De Aar to Naauwpoort and through Rosmead to Cradock. A branch line, beginning at Middelburg, stretched through Steynsburg to Molteno. A line extended from Queenstown through Molteno to Burghersdorp, and further, beyond the Orange River through Bethulie to Springfontein. A branch line ran eastwards along the river to Aliwal North and Lady Grey. This region was the gateway for the republican invasions, and there were military posts and garrisons outside the lines at Bethulie, Venterstad, Stormberg, Lemoenfontein, Myburgh, Jamestown, Maraisburg, Dordrecht and Indwe. The formidable blockhouse line stretching from Naauwpoort to Colesberg and Norvalspont followed the railway to Bloemfontein and Kroonstad. This "backbone" stretched from Naauwpoort northwards through the O.F.S., Johannesburg-Pretoria, to Pietersburg (Polokwane).
A line stretched westwards from the main Beaufort West-Warrenton-Gaberones line, to Victoria West, Carnarvon to Williston, on to Calvinia and from there to Clanwilliam (a line which was still under construction in 1902); finally ending at Lamberts Bay on the west coast of the Cape Colony. A detached line extended from Wellington (where the blockhouse protecting the railway north of the station, is a declared heritage site) northwards through Porterville to Modderfontein. Between Wellington and Beaufort West there were scattered garrisons and constabulary posts everywhere with blockhouses at strategic points such as that at Tulbagh Road (see main image by Francois Swanepoel).
Wellington Blockhouse
Orange Free State
The main line followed the railway through Colesberg and Norvalspont to Bloemfontein and Kroonstad. To the north of Kroonstad it was strongly reinforced as far as Vereeniging, and this stretch (favoured by De Wet for breakthroughs) was also patrolled by armoured trains.
A line ran from Wolwehoek (north of Kroonstad) on to Heilbron, Frankfort, Tafelkop, Vrede, Botha's Pass and Mount Prospect in Natal. From Vereeniging a line ran eastwards on the Free State side of the Vaal River with a junction to Greylingstad. A third line ran eastwards from Kroonstad to Lindley, Bethlehem and Harrismith on to De Beer's Pass in the Drakensberg. The network in the northeastern Free State was completed by a line stretching from Bethlehem via Fouriesburg to Ficksburg, and another from Bloemfontein via Sannaspos to Ladybrand. Moreover, there were fortifications and military posts in the western Free State, extending from the railway to Kimberley all along the Modder River, and from Kimberley through Boshof and Bultfontein to Winburg Road, together with a blockhouse line to Winburg. From the Vaal River ran another line, through Hoopstad to Winburg Road.
Along the western boundary of the Republics, from Warrenton through Mafeking to beyond the Malopo, there was a series of military posts, and the railway was patrolled by armoured trains.
Transvaal
Most of the Transvaal lines were concentrated in the south and not always alongside the railway. A blockhouse line stretched from Mafeking through Lichtenburg to a point south of Ventersdorp. Then there was a quadrangular system of blockhouses extending from Ventersburg to Klerksdorp, on to Potchefstroom and a point north of Frederikstad. Another line stretched from Potchefstroom to Krugersdorp and on to Springs, and yet another from Potchefstroom to Rustenburg, along the Magaliesberg to Pretoria, and from there along the Delagoa Bay railway to Kaapmuiden where it was supplemented by an armoured train operating as far as Komatipoort. In the Eastern Transvaal and the Highveld (General Botha's field of activity) there were further lines from Machadodorp to Lydenburg; from Kaapmuiden to Barberton; from Wonderfontein (west of Belfast) to Carolina and Ermelo with a branch line to Amsterdam; from Ermelo to Standerton, and a line of fortifications stretching from south to north, from Greylingstad to Standerton and on to the Great Olifants River, west of Middelburg. Then too there was an important line stretching from Johannesburg along the railway (which was reinforced with armoured trains) to Volksrust and on through Wakkerstroom and Piet Retief eastwards to Derby.
Natal
Blockhouse lines stretched from Volksrust southward to Newcastle and from Vryheid to Dundee.
The blockhouses that stretched along the lines highlighted above can be divided into two main types, namely those built of stone and cement, and those built of corrugated iron (click here for an in depth look at the various types of blockhouses).
Stone and cement blockhouses
Initially masonry blockhouses were erected at important points such as large bridges and/or stations. Multi-storey blockhouses were usually two or three storeys high and were either square or rectangular, and from the machicouli galleries incorporated into the roof structure, a machine-gun could be fired. They were solidly built and, because a fair number are still standing, they are the best-known blockhouses in South Africa. Entrance was by ladder: parapets supported by brackets projected from the upper angles and steel portholes/ loopholes in the lower part enabled the garrison to fire on the ground below. The machicouli galleries were battlements with openings in the floor and wall, through which the enemy could be bombarded if they succeeded in advancing up to the blockhouse.
The costs involved in building such a blockhouse amounted to between £800 and £1 000 and it took approximately three/five months to build. About thirty men were needed to build such a blockhouse. This type of blockhouse was based on the structures which had been erected by the police in Samana and other parts of Northwestern India. The war situation, however, was of such a critical nature that a solution more economical of time and material, urgently needed to be found.
Blockhouse at Orange River Station
Corrugated iron blockhouses
Since by the end of 1900 there was still no peace in sight, there was a need for a type of blockhouse that was cheaper, quicker and easier to erect. As the Boer Commandos had fewer guns at their disposal, it was clear that this type of blockhouse only had to offer protection against rifle fire. In order to increase the building tempo, a simple blockhouse was designed which consisted of two rows of corrugated iron walls with a gap between them. This gap was then filled with gravel or small stones (gravel being more effective than soil in stopping rifle bullets from penetrating the wall). After intensive testing in January 1901, this type of blockhouse was approved for use. These early iron blockhouses were square, structurally unsound and not wholly effective against rifle fire.
The need for a very simple, yet safe blockhouse, that could be erected more cheaply and speedily, led to the design the round corrugated iron blockhouse in March 1901. On 11 March 1901 the first of the new type of blockhouse was erected at Gun Hill, near Middelburg, Transvaal.
The blockhouse consisted of two cylinders of corrugated iron placed 15 cm from each other. One of the cylinders was smaller than the other, so that it could fit inside the other. Thereafter, the gap between the two layers of corrugated iron was filled with gravel and soil. In addition, wooden blocks measuring 15 cm x 15 cm x 7,5 cm were used to keep the two layers of corrugated iron the correct distance from each other. The only other wood used was at the point where the roof was attached to the sheets of corrugated iron.
A pitched roof was built over each blockhouse, while water tanks were placed outside. The round blockhouse soon became the standard blockhouse, but it was a while before wood ceased to be used. The blockhouses were generally built on stone bases. The roofs of the blockhouses also differed from the so-called "pepper-pot" roof, which was a popular variation on the standard roofing form. The original roofing form was that of a gable, and was prefabricated. It was then just attached to the walls.
A trench approximately 1,35 m deep was dug around the blockhouse. This relatively deep trench enabled the guard to see and hear better at night, as he was closer to the ground. In addition, the trench could serve as an added defence measure, as extra troops could be placed in it during enemy attacks. For the further protection of the blockhouse a barbedwire snare was added to the outside of the trench. The blockhouses were also erected in zig-zagged lines so that the troops did not end up in each other's firing line. Kitchener was so impressed with the Rice blockhouses that he gave instructions for them to be erected alongside all the important railway lines. This resulted in the following railway lines having Rice blockhouses by the end of the war: Beaufort West-Warrenton; Orange River-Pietersburg, with branch lines to Winburg, Heilbron, Klerksdorp and Springs; Pretoria-Komatipoort, with a branch line to Barberton; and Johannesburg-Newcastle.
With the cessation of hostilities on 31 May 1902, according to most of the sources, a total of approximately 8 000 blockhouses over a distance of 6 000 km at an estimated cost of £1 000 000 had been erected. According to the table compiled by Captain R. Harvey on 12 May 1902, there were 441 stone blockhouses, at least 6 883 Rice-pattern and similar corrugated iron blockhouses and 555 so-called "works" (fieldworks), that is to say a total of at least 7 879 fortifications.
Barberton Blockhouse
If one takes into account that on average there were twenty people in a stone blockhouse, seven in a Rice-pattern (corrugated iron) blockhouse and five in the fieldworks and posts, the total number of soldiers manning the blockhouse lines must have amounted to at least 60 000, because the multi-storey blockhouses sometimes housed 25 or more men. If there were an additional three or four black or coloured guards at each of the Rice Pattern blockhouses, approximately 25 000 black and coloured people were also involved.
Today there are only approximately fifty of the nearly 8 000 blockhouses which were erected by the British from the beginning of 1901 until the end of May 1902 still standing - that is, those in good condition. Together with a few other remaining fortifications, they are silent witnesses to one of the most remarkable fortification-building projects in the military history of South Africa, or, for that matter, the world!
The passages above form part of a report titled 'The Evolution of the Blockhouse System in South Africa' compiled by Johan van den Berg (click here to view). Thank you to Jayson Clark from the Tulbagh Valley Heritage Foundation for sending the report through. The pioneering work of Richard Tomlinson on this topic must be acknowledged. His seventeen year journey set the standard for Blockhouse research in South Africa. Click here to read his epic piece: Britain's Last Castles: Masonry Blockhouses of the South African War, 1899-1902.
References
- Amery, L.S. (General Editor), et.al: THE TIMES HISTORY OF THE WAR IN SOUTH AFRICA 1899-1902, Vol. V: Sampson, Low, Marston & Co., London, 1907 (1st ed.).
- Barthorp, Michael: THE ANGLO-BOER WARS 1815-1902: Bok Books, Durban, 1987.
- Farwell, Byron: THE GREAT ANGLO-BOER WAR: Harper & Row Publishers, New York, 1976.
- Ferguson, Thomas G.: BRITISH MILITARY INTELLIGENCE, 1870-1914 – The Development of a Modern Intelligence Organisation: Arms & Armour Press, London, 1984.
- Holt, Edgar: THE BOER WAR: Putnam, London, 1958.
- Judd, Denis & Surridge, Keith: THE BOER WAR: John Murray, London, 2002.
- Lee, Emanoel: TO THE BITTER END – A Photographic History of the Boer War 1899-1902: Book Club Associates, London, 1985.
- Marix Evans, Martin: ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE BOER WAR: ABC-CLIO, California, 2000.
- Maurice, Major-General Sir Frederick, et. al.: HISTORY OF THE WAR IN SOUTH AFRICA 1899-1902, Vol IV: Hurst & Blackett, London, 1910. 1
- Oberholster, J.J.: THE HISTORICAL MONUMENTS OF SOUTH AFRICA: The Rembrandt van Rijn Foundation for Culture (at Request of The National Monuments Council): Struik (Pty.), Ltd., Cape Town, South Africa), 1972.
- Pakenham, Thomas: THE BOER WAR; Jonathan Ball Publishers, Johannesburg, 1979.
- Pretorius, Fransjohan (Editor): SCORCED EARTH: “The British Blockhouse System” by Johan Hattingh: Human & Rousseau (Pty.) Ltd., Cape Town, 2001.
- Royle, Trevor: THE KITCHENER ENIGMA: Michael Joseph, London, 1985.
- Trew, Peter: THE BOER WAR GENERALS: Jonathan Ball Publishers, Johannesburg, 1999.
- Warner, Philip: KITCHENER – The Man Behind the Legend: Hamish Hamilton Ltd., London, 1985.
- Westby-Nunn, Tony (Compiler): A TOURIST GUIDE TO THE ANGLO-BOER WAR 1899- 1902: “British Blockhouses and British Forts” by Richard Tomlinson: Westby-Nunn Publishers CC., Cape Town, 2000. Collated & arranged from the above-listed sources by JOHAN VAN DEN BERG, April 2009.
