'Breaker' Morant

[Andromache]

Do you believe 'Breaker' Morant was a scapegoat of British military policy or a bona fide war criminal in the Boer War?

[Zen]

Draw your own conclusions...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breaker_Morant

[Andromache]

I already have an opinion Zen. I was interested in a British perspective on his execution for shooting prisoners of war, but thanks for replying.

[angeldraws]

No!!!!

[Peter Pedant]

I got interested in this when the film came out.

I thought the law was good - if you have a man in a military prison, and if the Huns attack, and he gets a gun and goes chugga chugga chugga, killing a few of them
then he is forgiven his crime

However the film is not what happened necessarily

There was a good tv prog on this, about 20 years ago as well, and that has not been repeated - the Bushveld carbineers seem to have been a bit like the Cossacks so to speak

I dont think we have enough evidence to decide but I admit I thought he was a scape goat of the empire !


I thought the solicitor/military man had written a book about it, but that does not seem to be the case. I think he would have if he thought it unfair.

[onslow1]

Morant and his co accused, ******** and Witton, were certainly scapegoats of British policy. Unable to defeat the Boers by conventional military action, the British formed several units such as the BVC to take the war direct to the Boers. This guerilla conflict was nasty and brutal with no quarter given by either side and it was accepted official policy to excecute Boers caught in British uniform.

However this policy began to generate heat in the press in europe and the politicians got cold feet and wanted scapegoats. Kitchener was not going to cop the blame so he set up the three BVC officers to appease the press and politicians.

Ironically, the one dodgy killing, that of the missionary Hesse, was the one they were found not guilty of.