Mafeking Mooch of the right foot pointing inward, whereas middle and upper-class men pointed their toes outward. Montague was outraged at the notion that perfectly healthy men would have the audacity to pretend that they had served His Majesty and pretend that they had been injured to win respect, sympathy and the possible affections of a young woman. The phenomenon of the Mafeking Mooch added to the already considerable national anguish caused by the Boer War. Although Britain ultimately triumphed over the Boer republics, the country's perceived military might have been shown to be wanting in the face of the nimble and
Military history of Australia during the Second Boer War disrupting supply lines. The Boers first struck at the Battle of Kraaipan on 12 October 1899. Late at night, 800 commandos rode south into the Cape Colony, attacking the British garrison at Kraaipan and cutting railway and telegraph lines. Although the British repelled their advance at the Battle of Talana Hill, and the Battle of Elandslaagte, the Boers continued to pour south, besieging the British settlement of Ladysmith and advancing on Mafeking and Kimberley. As the Boers established siege-guns around Ladysmith, the British commander of the garrison there, Sir George Stuart White, attempted a sortie with cavalry against the Boer