In 1899, the Boer republics of the Transvaal and the Orange free State, had gone to war with Britain, invading the British dominions of Natal and the Cape and laying siege of the town of Ladysmith, Kimberly and Mafeking. The Transvaal president Paul Kruger had belived that war was inevitable and that his people's independance was gravely threatened by Britain's imperial ambitions for the region. In the last decade of the XIXth century, gold-mining have transformend the Transvaal from one of the poorest to one of the richest countries in the world upsetting the balance of power and undermining Britain's hitherto undisputed dominance in the area. Gold also enabled the Boers to arm themselves with the most modern European weapons, enhancing their traditional marksmanship to an astonishing accuracy. In the first months of their war, the Boers had inflicted a series of crushing reverses on the British but their natural caution had prevented them from following up these victories and overrunning large areas of the Cape. The new century found them holding essentially defensive positions on the frontiers of their homelands. Time however was not on their side. From months, British troops have been disembarking in the Cape ports in ever-increasing number. In December, general Buller has been replaced as commander in chief for Britain's forces in the region by Field Marshall Roberts. Roberts appointment signaled if anything a hardening of resolve.

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