 they were soon converted into mounted infantry . Further units from Queensland and New South Wales arrived in December and were soon committed to the front . The first casualties occurred soon after at Sunnyside on 1 January 1900 , after 250 Queensland Mounted Infantry and a column of Canadians , British and artillery attacked a Boer laager at Belmont . Troopers David McLeod and Victor Jones were killed when their patrol clashed with the Boer forward sentries . Regardless , the Boers were surprised and during two hours of heavy fighting , more than 50 were killed and another 40 taken prisoner . Five hundred Queenslanders and the New South Wales Lancers subsequently took part in the Siege of Kimberley in February 1900 .   Despite serious set @-@ backs at Colenso , Stormberg , Magersfontein , and Spion Kop in January — and with Ladysmith still under siege — the British mounted a five division counter @-@ invasion of the Orange Free State in February . The attacking force included a division of cavalry commanded by Lieutenant General John French with the New South Wales Lancers , Queensland Mounted Infantry and New South Wales Army Medical Corps attached . First , Kimberley was relieved following the battles of Modder River and Magersfontein , and the retreating Boers defeated at Paardeberg , with the New South Wales Mounted Rifles locating the Boer general , Piet Cronjé . The British entered Bloemfontein on 13 March 1900 , while Ladysmith was relieved . Disease began to take its toll and scores of men died . Still the advance continued , with the drive to Pretoria in May including more than 3 @,@ 000 Australians . Johannesburg fell on 30 May , and the Boers withdrew from Pretoria on 3 June . The New South Wales Mounted Rifles and Western Australians saw action again at Diamond Hill on 12 June . Mafeking was relieved on 17 May .   Following the defeat of the Afrikaner republics still the Boers held out , forming small commando units and conducting a campaign of guerrilla warfare to disrupt British troop movements and lines of supply . This new phase of resistance led to further recruiting in the Australian colonies and the raising of the Bushmen 's Contingents , with these soldiers usually being volunteers with horse @-@ riding and shooting skills , but little military experience . After Federation in 1901 , eight Australian Commonwealth Horse battalions of the newly created Australian Army were also sent to South Africa , although they saw little fighting before the war ended . Some Australians later joined local South African irregular units , instead of returning home after discharge . These soldiers were part of the British Army , and were subject to British military discipline . Such units included the Bushveldt Carbineers which gained notoriety as the unit in which Harry " Breaker " Morant and Peter Handcock served in before their court martial and execution for war crimes .   With the guerrillas requiring supplies , Koos de la Rey lead a force of 3 @,@ 000 Boers against Brakfontein , on the Elands River in Western Transvaal . The post held a large quantity of stores and was defended by 300 Australians and 200 Rhodesians . The attack began on 4 August 1900 with heavy shelling causing 32 casualties . During the night the defenders dug in , enduring shelling and rifle fire . A relief force was stopped by the Boers , while a second column turned back believing that the post had already been relieved . The siege lasted 11 days , during which more than 1 @,@ 800 shells were fired into the post . After calls to surrender were ignored by the defenders , and not prepared to risk a frontal attack , the Boers eventually retired . The Siege of Elands River was one of the major achievements of the Australians during the war , with the post finally relieved on 16 August .   In response the British adopted counter @-@ insurgency tactics , including a scorched earth policy involving the burning of houses and crops , the establishment of concentration camps for Boer women and children , and a system of blockhouses and field obstacles to limit Boer mobility and to protect railway communications . Such measures required considerable expenditure , and caused much bitterness towards the British , however they soon yielded results . By mid @-@ 1901 , the bulk of the fighting was over , and British mounted units would ride at night to attack Boer farmhouses or encampments , overwhelming them with superior numbers . Indicative of warfare in last months of 1901 , the New South Wales Mounted Rifles travelled 1 @,@ 814 miles ( 2 @,@ 919 km ) and were involved in 13 skirmishes , killing 27 Boers , wounding 15 , and capturing 196 for the loss of five dead and 19 wounded . Other notable Australian actions included Slingersfontein , Pink Hill , Rhenosterkop and Haartebeestefontein .   Australians were not always successful however , suffering a number of heavy losses late in the war . On 12 June 1901 , the 5th Victorian Mounted Rifles lost
Ġthey Ġwere Ġsoon Ġconverted Ġinto Ġmounted Ġinfantry Ġ. ĠFurther Ġunits Ġfrom ĠQueensland Ġand ĠNew ĠSouth ĠWales Ġarrived Ġin ĠDecember Ġand Ġwere Ġsoon Ġcommitted Ġto Ġthe Ġfront Ġ. ĠThe Ġfirst Ġcasualties Ġoccurred Ġsoon Ġafter Ġat ĠSun n ys ide Ġon Ġ1 ĠJanuary Ġ1900 Ġ, Ġafter Ġ250 ĠQueensland ĠMount ed ĠInfantry Ġand Ġa Ġcolumn Ġof ĠCanadians Ġ, ĠBritish Ġand Ġartillery Ġattacked Ġa ĠBo er Ġla ager Ġat ĠBel mont Ġ. ĠTro opers ĠDavid ĠMc Leod Ġand ĠVictor ĠJones Ġwere Ġkilled Ġwhen Ġtheir Ġpatrol Ġclashed Ġwith Ġthe ĠBo er Ġforward Ġsent ries Ġ. ĠRegardless Ġ, Ġthe ĠBo ers Ġwere Ġsurprised Ġand Ġduring Ġtwo Ġhours Ġof Ġheavy Ġfighting Ġ, Ġmore Ġthan Ġ50 Ġwere Ġkilled Ġand Ġanother Ġ40 Ġtaken Ġprisoner Ġ. ĠFive Ġhundred ĠQueensland ers Ġand Ġthe ĠNew ĠSouth ĠWales ĠL ancers Ġsubsequently Ġtook Ġpart Ġin Ġthe ĠSiege Ġof ĠKimber ley Ġin ĠFebruary Ġ1900 Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠDespite Ġserious Ġset Ġ@ - @ Ġbacks Ġat ĠCol en so Ġ, ĠStorm berg Ġ, ĠMag ers f on tein Ġ, Ġand ĠSp ion ĠKop Ġin ĠJanuary ĠâĢĶ Ġand Ġwith ĠLad ys mith Ġstill Ġunder Ġsiege ĠâĢĶ Ġthe ĠBritish Ġmounted Ġa Ġfive Ġdivision Ġcounter Ġ@ - @ Ġinvasion Ġof Ġthe ĠOrange ĠFree ĠState Ġin ĠFebruary Ġ. ĠThe Ġattacking Ġforce Ġincluded Ġa Ġdivision Ġof Ġcavalry Ġcommanded Ġby ĠLieutenant ĠGeneral ĠJohn ĠFrench Ġwith Ġthe ĠNew ĠSouth ĠWales ĠL ancers Ġ, ĠQueensland ĠMount ed ĠInfantry Ġand ĠNew ĠSouth ĠWales ĠArmy ĠMedical ĠCorps Ġattached Ġ. ĠFirst Ġ, ĠKimber ley Ġwas Ġrelieved Ġfollowing Ġthe Ġbattles Ġof ĠMod der ĠRiver Ġand ĠMag ers f on tein Ġ, Ġand Ġthe Ġretreating ĠBo ers Ġdefeated Ġat ĠPa arde berg Ġ, Ġwith Ġthe ĠNew ĠSouth ĠWales ĠMount ed ĠR ifles Ġlocating Ġthe ĠBo er Ġgeneral Ġ, ĠPiet ĠCron j Ã© Ġ. ĠThe ĠBritish Ġentered ĠBl o em f on tein Ġon Ġ13 ĠMarch Ġ1900 Ġ, Ġwhile ĠLad ys mith Ġwas Ġrelieved Ġ. ĠDisease Ġbegan Ġto Ġtake Ġits Ġtoll Ġand Ġscores Ġof Ġmen Ġdied Ġ. ĠStill Ġthe Ġadvance Ġcontinued Ġ, Ġwith Ġthe Ġdrive Ġto ĠPret oria Ġin ĠMay Ġincluding Ġmore Ġthan Ġ3 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 ĠAustralians Ġ. ĠJohannes burg Ġfell Ġon Ġ30 ĠMay Ġ, Ġand Ġthe ĠBo ers Ġwithdrew Ġfrom ĠPret oria Ġon Ġ3 ĠJune Ġ. ĠThe ĠNew ĠSouth ĠWales ĠMount ed ĠR ifles Ġand ĠWestern ĠAustralians Ġsaw Ġaction Ġagain Ġat ĠDiamond ĠHill Ġon Ġ12 ĠJune Ġ. ĠM af eking Ġwas Ġrelieved Ġon Ġ17 ĠMay Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠFollowing Ġthe Ġdefeat Ġof Ġthe ĠAf rik an er Ġrepublic s Ġstill Ġthe ĠBo ers Ġheld Ġout Ġ, Ġforming Ġsmall Ġcommand o Ġunits Ġand Ġconducting Ġa Ġcampaign Ġof Ġguerrilla Ġwarfare Ġto Ġdisrupt ĠBritish Ġtroop Ġmovements Ġand Ġlines Ġof Ġsupply Ġ. ĠThis Ġnew Ġphase Ġof Ġresistance Ġled Ġto Ġfurther Ġrecruiting Ġin Ġthe ĠAustralian Ġcolonies Ġand Ġthe Ġraising Ġof Ġthe ĠBush men Ġ' s ĠCont ing ents Ġ, Ġwith Ġthese Ġsoldiers Ġusually Ġbeing Ġvolunteers Ġwith Ġhorse Ġ@ - @ Ġriding Ġand Ġshooting Ġskills Ġ, Ġbut Ġlittle Ġmilitary Ġexperience Ġ. ĠAfter ĠFederation Ġin Ġ1901 Ġ, Ġeight ĠAustralian ĠCommonwealth ĠHorse Ġbatt alions Ġof Ġthe Ġnewly Ġcreated ĠAustralian ĠArmy Ġwere Ġalso Ġsent Ġto ĠSouth ĠAfrica Ġ, Ġalthough Ġthey Ġsaw Ġlittle Ġfighting Ġbefore Ġthe Ġwar Ġended Ġ. ĠSome ĠAustralians Ġlater Ġjoined Ġlocal ĠSouth ĠAfrican Ġirregular Ġunits Ġ, Ġinstead Ġof Ġreturning Ġhome Ġafter Ġdischarge Ġ. ĠThese Ġsoldiers Ġwere Ġpart Ġof Ġthe ĠBritish ĠArmy Ġ, Ġand Ġwere Ġsubject Ġto ĠBritish Ġmilitary Ġdiscipline Ġ. ĠSuch Ġunits Ġincluded Ġthe ĠBush ve ld t ĠCarb ine ers Ġwhich Ġgained Ġnotoriety Ġas Ġthe Ġunit Ġin Ġwhich ĠHarry Ġ" ĠBreaker Ġ" ĠMor ant Ġand ĠPeter ĠHand cock Ġserved Ġin Ġbefore Ġtheir Ġcourt Ġmartial Ġand Ġexecution Ġfor Ġwar Ġcrimes Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠWith Ġthe Ġgu err illas Ġrequiring Ġsupplies Ġ, ĠK oos Ġde Ġla ĠRey Ġlead Ġa Ġforce Ġof Ġ3 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 ĠBo ers Ġagainst ĠBra k f on tein Ġ, Ġon Ġthe ĠE lands ĠRiver Ġin ĠWestern ĠTrans va al Ġ. ĠThe Ġpost Ġheld Ġa Ġlarge Ġquantity Ġof Ġstores Ġand Ġwas Ġdefended Ġby Ġ300 ĠAustralians Ġand Ġ200 ĠRhodes ians Ġ. ĠThe Ġattack Ġbegan Ġon Ġ4 ĠAugust Ġ1900 Ġwith Ġheavy Ġshelling Ġcausing Ġ32 Ġcasualties Ġ. ĠDuring Ġthe Ġnight Ġthe Ġdefenders Ġdug Ġin Ġ, Ġenduring Ġshelling Ġand Ġrifle Ġfire Ġ. ĠA Ġrelief Ġforce Ġwas Ġstopped Ġby Ġthe ĠBo ers Ġ, Ġwhile Ġa Ġsecond Ġcolumn Ġturned Ġback Ġbelieving Ġthat Ġthe Ġpost Ġhad Ġalready Ġbeen Ġrelieved Ġ. ĠThe Ġsiege Ġlasted Ġ11 Ġdays Ġ, Ġduring Ġwhich Ġmore Ġthan Ġ1 Ġ@ , @ Ġ800 Ġshells Ġwere Ġfired Ġinto Ġthe Ġpost Ġ. ĠAfter Ġcalls Ġto Ġsurrender Ġwere Ġignored Ġby Ġthe Ġdefenders Ġ, Ġand Ġnot Ġprepared Ġto Ġrisk Ġa Ġfrontal Ġattack Ġ, Ġthe ĠBo ers Ġeventually Ġretired Ġ. ĠThe ĠSiege Ġof ĠE lands ĠRiver Ġwas Ġone Ġof Ġthe Ġmajor Ġachievements Ġof Ġthe ĠAustralians Ġduring Ġthe Ġwar Ġ, Ġwith Ġthe Ġpost Ġfinally Ġrelieved Ġon Ġ16 ĠAugust Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠIn Ġresponse Ġthe ĠBritish Ġadopted Ġcounter Ġ@ - @ Ġinsurgency Ġtactics Ġ, Ġincluding Ġa Ġscor ched Ġearth Ġpolicy Ġinvolving Ġthe Ġburning Ġof Ġhouses Ġand Ġcrops Ġ, Ġthe Ġestablishment Ġof Ġconcentration Ġcamps Ġfor ĠBo er Ġwomen Ġand Ġchildren Ġ, Ġand Ġa Ġsystem Ġof Ġblock houses Ġand Ġfield Ġobstacles Ġto Ġlimit ĠBo er Ġmobility Ġand Ġto Ġprotect Ġrailway Ġcommunications Ġ. ĠSuch Ġmeasures Ġrequired Ġconsiderable Ġexpenditure Ġ, Ġand Ġcaused Ġmuch Ġbitterness Ġtowards Ġthe ĠBritish Ġ, Ġhowever Ġthey Ġsoon Ġyielded Ġresults Ġ. ĠBy Ġmid Ġ@ - @ Ġ1901 Ġ, Ġthe Ġbulk Ġof Ġthe Ġfighting Ġwas Ġover Ġ, Ġand ĠBritish Ġmounted Ġunits Ġwould Ġride Ġat Ġnight Ġto Ġattack ĠBo er Ġfarm houses Ġor Ġencamp ments Ġ, Ġoverwhelming Ġthem Ġwith Ġsuperior Ġnumbers Ġ. ĠInd icative Ġof Ġwarfare Ġin Ġlast Ġmonths Ġof Ġ1901 Ġ, Ġthe ĠNew ĠSouth ĠWales ĠMount ed ĠR ifles Ġtravelled Ġ1 Ġ@ , @ Ġ8 14 Ġmiles Ġ( Ġ2 Ġ@ , @ Ġ9 19 Ġkm Ġ) Ġand Ġwere Ġinvolved Ġin Ġ13 Ġskirm ishes Ġ, Ġkilling Ġ27 ĠBo ers Ġ, Ġwounding Ġ15 Ġ, Ġand Ġcapturing Ġ196 Ġfor Ġthe Ġloss Ġof Ġfive Ġdead Ġand Ġ19 Ġwounded Ġ. ĠOther Ġnotable ĠAustralian Ġactions Ġincluded ĠS ling ers f on tein Ġ, ĠPink ĠHill Ġ, ĠR hen oster k op Ġand ĠHa arte be est ef on tein Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠAustralians Ġwere Ġnot Ġalways Ġsuccessful Ġhowever Ġ, Ġsuffering Ġa Ġnumber Ġof Ġheavy Ġlosses Ġlate Ġin Ġthe Ġwar Ġ. ĠOn Ġ12 ĠJune Ġ1901 Ġ, Ġthe Ġ5 th ĠVictorian ĠMount ed ĠR ifles Ġlost