Guerre des Boers (Afrique du Sud, 1899-1902): Col Porter's Men ready to meet Boer Cavalry...

Guerre des Boers (Afrique du Sud, 1899-1902): Col Porter's Men ready to meet Boer Cavalry Charge', South Africa, 1899. Lines of British troops, with bayonets fixed, await a Boer attack at Naauwpoort, 13th December, 1899. One of a boxed set of stereoscope photographs which was produced for sale to the general public by a professional firm of photographers, Underwood and Underwood. The Second Boer War (1899-1902) was the first war to be covered comprehensively by both film and still photography. This was the result of improved technology in both photographic equipment and printing techniques; cameras were more portable and magazines started to reproduce half-tone photographs. Naauwpoort, a strategic railway junction in the northern Cape Colony, was the scene of fighting in late 1899 and early 1900 as the British tried to break the siege of Kimberley. ©SSPL/National Media Museum