First phase: The Boer offensive (October–December 1899)
Second phase: The British offensive of January to September 1900
Third phase: Guerrilla war (September 1900 – May 1902)
Boer foreign volunteers
Conclusion
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 Stormberg, Magersfontein, Colenso and Spion Kop. In the second phase, after the number of British troops greatly increased unde…