Military history of Australia during the Second Boer War the Tasmanian Imperial Bushmen; Lieutenant Guy Wylly of the Tasmanian Imperial Bushmen; Lieutenant Frederick William Bell of the West Australian Mounted Infantry; and Lieutenant Leslie Cecil Maygar of the 5th Victorian Mounted Rifles. KIA = 'Killed in action' DFD = 'Died From Disease' Australians also fought in the following units which were either privately raised or were raised in South Africa, but were not official units of the Australian colonies, or of the Commonwealth of Australia: Military history of Australia during the Second Boer War The military history of Australia during the Boer War is complex, and includes a period
Second Boer War Orange Free State declaring war on Britain. The war had three phases. In the first phase, the Boers mounted preemptive strikes into British-held territory in Natal and the Cape Colony, besieging the British garrisons of Ladysmith, Mafeking, and Kimberley. The Boers then won a series of tactical victories at Colenso, Magersfontein, and Spion Kop. In the second phase, after the introduction of greatly increased British troop numbers under the command of Lord Roberts, the British launched another offensive in 1900 to relieve the sieges, this time achieving success. After Natal and the Cape Colony were secure, Britain was able to