What circumstances led up to the fashoda crisis and the boer war?

Ambush. The Boers were rough civilians who knew the land, were good marksmen. The US military would call it "asymetrical warfare" (where the two sides are very dissimilar in terms of strengths, tactics and size). 2. Tremendous new capability of distance killing. New rifled guns meant that a good marksman could kill a man at much greater distances. 3. The first real focus on "hearts and minds" as the British recognized that the civilian population provided significant support for the "commandos" (a term that came out of this war" so they formed "concentration camps" to herd all civilians into.