The South African “Kommandos” paved the way for contemporary Special Forces.
The name “commando” emerged during the Boer Wars in South Africa. In response to a numerically overwhelming British army, the Boers adopted an unorthodox method of combat. The Boer Kommandos comprised excellent riders who grew up on the saddle. Because Afrikaners were farmers and did not have a professional military force, they consisted entirely of volunteers. Due to their rural origin, the Kommandos were loosely structured, did not wear uniforms, and generally fought near their homes.
During the Second Boer War, the 88,000-strong Boer army bought sophisticated weapons from the German business Deutsche Waffen- und Munitionsfabriken. In 1900, after assuming leadership of the Boer troops, General Louis Botha launched operations against British railway supply lines. The British Empire finally defeated the Boers in the Second Boer War, but their legacy continues via special operations troops. According to the journal of a British Army schoolmaster, the British were not as creative as the Boers with their food.
