Bittereinder on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
The ''Bittereinders'' () or irreconcilables were a faction of Boer
The ''Bittereinders'' () or irreconcilables were a faction of Boer guerrilla
Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, Partisan (military), partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include Children in the military, recruite ...
fighters, resisting the forces of the British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...
in the later stages of the Second Boer War
The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...
(1899–1902).
By September 1900, the conventional forces of the South African Republic
The South African Republic (, abbreviated ZAR; ), also known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer republics, Boer republic in Southern Africa which existed from 1852 to 1902, when it was annexed into the British Empire as a result ...
and the Orange Free State
The Orange Free State ( ; ) was an independent Boer-ruled sovereign republic under British suzerainty in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, which ceased to exist after it was defeated and surrendered to the British Em ...
had been largely defeated by the British army. The remnants of Boer government resolved to fight on in a guerrilla war, to try to force the British to retreat from the territory. As it became clear that military victory was unlikely, opinion among the guerrillas divided between those who wanted to secure a negotiated peace and those who preferred to fight on to "the bitter end" (). The decision to continue the fight was given particular motivation by the British use of concentration camps to intern captured Boers.
Taken more generally, it could be used as another name for a "war party" (a faction within a political or military group favouring the waging of war) or for any group which does not wish to diminish its "fighting spirit" wanting to fight it out to the "bitter end".
See also
* Deneys Reitz — chose exile (inMadagascar
Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...
) at the war's end rather than sign an undertaking that he would abide by the peace terms.
* Ferdinandus Jacobus Potgieter — continued to fight and was shot in the Battle of Rooiwal, 11 April 1902.
* Maritz rebellion (1914) — took place at the start of World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
by some Boers who were not prepared to see South Africa side with the British against the Germans
Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...
(who had aided the Boer Republics during the Boer War).
References
{{Authority control Afrikaans words and phrases Second Boer War