The 1881 Anglo-Boer War, variously known as the 1st Boer War or the Transvaal Revolt, has for some reason not achieved the level of interest which might be expected of one of the last British red-coat wars. Fortunately, there are hints that this might change. Last year Osprey brought out an excellent Campaigns series title by Ian Castle on Majuba and the Natal campaign, and now Greenhill Books have published Col. Ian Bennett’s ‘ A Rain of Lead; The Siege and Surrender of the British at Potchefstroom’.

The sieges of the British garrisons in the Transvaal are perhaps the least-well known aspect of the war. When the British annexed the Transvaal in 1877, they established garrisons across it to control it. When the war broke out, these garrisons came under attack, and it was their plight that prompted Colley to try to force the Laing’s Nek pass in an attempt to march to their relief. Some of the first fighting of the war took place at Potchefstroom, and the British garrison there - some 200 men, including a number of survivors of Isandlwana and Rorke’s Drift - soon found themselves beleaguered in an improvised fort no bigger than a tennis court.

And there they were to remain for 95 days, under constant fire from the Boers, who did not scruple to fire on non-combatants or under cover of the flag of truce. At times, the fighting raged throughout the outskirts of town, in a manner reminiscent of a Wild West gun-fight, as both sides sought to occupy strategic buildings. The weather throughout was appalling, alternately baking hot or pouring with rain, and by the end of the war the British had suffered nearly a third of their men as casualties.

In the end, they were forced to surrender by something closely approaching a trick, although by that time Colley was dead on the summit of Majuba, and the war was largely over.

Col. Bennett wisely opts to concentrate on the day-to-day plight of the garrison, and evokes an extraordinary tale of endurance and derring-do.

Anyone with an interest in colonial warfare should read this book, and gamers should find plenty of interest in the detailed maps of the town and fort.

While still on the subject of the 1881 campaign, the South African movie ‘Majuba’ turned up on a satellite channel in that country recently. Made in the 1960s by local director David Millin, ‘Majuba’ was one of three historical epics, largely thought to have been lost. The film was made in both English and Afrikaans-language versions, and this one was largely in Afrikaans (although the British characters spoke English). Based on Stuart Cloete’s novel ‘Hill of Doves’, the story tells of the lives of a Boer family torn apart by the war. It must be said that in some respects the film hasn’t aged well; the acting standard strives to rise to levels of mediocrity, character development is nil, and the foreign language does at least obscure the worst aspects of the script.

But - and it’s a big but! - the film is well worth seeing as it boasts no less than three set-piece battle-scenes. These feature the opening battle of Bronkhorstspruit, when a column of the 94th Regiment was annihilated by long-range Boer fire, the attack on Laing's Nek, and finally Majuba itself. All three are surprisingly complete and well done.

Although there are some inevitable artistic licenses, the broad flow of events is accurate enough, and the locations are excellent. Both the Laing’s Nek and Majuba sequences were filmed close to the real battle-sites, and are almost indistinguishable from the real thing. Laing’s Nek has the distinction of being the last time a British infantry battalion - the 58th - carried Colours into battle, something which is strongly featured in the movie. The Brits, of course, are in scarlet with white sun-helmets, and the film has something of the look of ‘Zulu’ about it.

The hope is that if the film has turned up once, it will do so again, either on satellite or in a video release, in which case it is well worth looking out for, whatever it’s faults.

If anyone is interested, I’ve included some stills from the movie on Chris Ferree’s ‘By Jingo’ site.