HIGHLANDERS IN ATTACK (SECOND BOER WAR 1899-1902)

After the end of the Crimean War in 1856, the British Army took part in many smaller or larger colonial military conflicts, including the suppression of the Sipaya uprising (1857-1858), the conflict in Sudan that ended with the Battle of Omdurman ( 1898) or the First and Second Boer Wars (1880-1881 and 1899-1902). All these conflicts had a significant impact on the British Army, and forced significant changes in the British infantry. Even before the outbreak of the Crimean War (1853-1856), the British infantry began to receive Lee Enfield rifle rifles with bullets in the Minie system, which gave them a huge advantage over the Russian infantry during this conflict. After the Sipay Uprising was suppressed in 1858, several battalions from the former East India Company Army were incorporated into the British Army. The British infantry then (1861) consisted of three infantry regiments and 110 line and light infantry regiments. It is worth adding that the Gwardia regiments had three battalions each, line and light infantry regiments usually had only one battalion - only about 25 of them had two battalions. It is worth adding that attempts at deeper reforms in the British infantry were undertaken as early as the beginning of the 1860s, but were not implemented. Significant reforms were introduced only by the Whig government, in the early 1970s, by the secretary for war Secretary of State for War) Edward Cardwell. His reforms changed the conditions of recruitment and service as well the reduction of the period of regular service from 21 to 12 years in order to increase the trained reserves. From 1871, the basic armament of the infantryman began to be the Martini-Henry rifled sniper rifle. Its rate of fire was up to 12 shots per minute, and the maximum range of the shot was about 1700 meters. Subsequent reforms began in the early 1880s, when the regular infantry regiments were unified, grouping them into 69 line infantry regiments, each in the strength of two battalions. They were the so-called Childers reform. Huge changes took place in the British infantry after the end of the Second Boer War, which highlighted many of its shortcomings. First of all, it was decided to change the "eternal" red uniforms to those in khaki color. Changes were also introduced in the armament, equipment and training.