Royal Artillery

The Royal Field Artillery in the Boer War faced a series of problems that it had largely not encountered before. Artillery as a unit was very effective against fortifications or standing phalanxes of men, neither of which featured in any great numbers in South Africa. It was designed to fight in a European war not the open savannahs of South Africa.

Artillery and its ammunition were big and heavy, requiring a large number of heavy horses to move them. The horses themselves needed large amounts of fodder and water, neither of which the arid and poor soils of the South African veld could supply in any quantity. Even when the artillery could be brought into action against the Boer’s the British enemies largely dissolved into the landscape. Taking artillery into action in South Africa shows a lack of understanding by the British of the enemy they were fighting; the Boers’ hit and run tactics were difficult to be countered by artillery – the large guns were simply never designed to engage a fast-moving foe. The British expended much effort on taking the Royal Field Artillery to South Africa, and that effort was never completely repaid. However that does not mean that the efforts of the British soldiers should be forgotten. Disease, hunger, thirst and a dangerous enemy were problems that the artillery gunners faced just as much as their infantry brothers.

The names of the men who served in the regiment are listed below

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