Three months in, and the war with the Bowers has so far given the British nothing but bad news.

Seages of their garrisons, defeat and humiliation in the field, international embarrassment.

In early February, 1900, two weeks after the defeat at Spionkopf, a motion was introduced into the House of Commons

to censure the government over its conduct of the war.

Colonial Secretary Joseph Chamberlain took to the floor of the House to defend government

policy and the motion was defeated.

But what next?

The British have their backs to the wall. To settle for anything short of total victory

now would be a body blow to British prestige. The Germans were already watching the situation

closely, and for that matter, so were the Irish. Britain would do whatever was required to turn

this war around, and she had an empire's worth of resources to draw upon,

and draw upon them she did.

Welcome to the history of the 20th century.

The 20th century. Episode 12, The Empire Strikes Back.

We left off last time at the low-water mark of British fortunes in the Boer War.

You may recall that every attempt by Sir Reaver's Buller, the British General in command in South Africa,

to relieve the three British garrisons under siege has ended in bloody

and embarrassing defeat. You may also remember that the government has given up on Sir Revers

and is searching for a new commander. They chose the 67-year-old field marshal Lord Roberts,

probably the most respected soldier in the country.

Lord Roberts was a veteran of the Indian rebellion of 1857 and had fought in British colonial wars

and served at posts across the empire, including previous postings in South Africa.

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