The South African or Anglo-Boer War rounded off the British conquest of Southern Africa. While ultimate British victory was scarcely in doubt, the unsettling experience of having to field an army of 450,000 troops to break two of the world's tiniest agrarian states gave imperial society much to reflect upon, both during and after the conflict.. "Bill Nasson's lively new history is a crisp, up-to-date account not only of the military struggle but also of the whole web of miscalculations and shattered illusions that surrounded it, spreading far beyond the battlefields.