HONOR 1-7
"BREAKER MORANT"
The Movie: The movie "Breaker Morant" is based upon the book Scapegoats of the Empire, written by Lieutenant George Witton in 1901. "Breaker Morant" is an Australian movie, released in 1980, with a running time of 107 minutes. The cast is as follows:
LT Harry Morant ..........Edward Woodward
MAJ J.F. Thomas...........Jack Thompson
CPT Alfred Taylor.........John Waters
LT Peter Handcock........Bryan Brown
LTC Denny....................Charles Tingwell
DR Johnson...................Frank Wilson
CPT Simon Hunt...........Terence Donovan
COL Ian Hamilton.........Vincent Ball
LT George Witton..........Lewis Fitz-Gerald
MAJ Charles Bolton......Rod Mullinar
Background: (key players)
LT Harry "Breaker" Morant
- commissioned in the Bushveldt Carbineers on 1 April 1901.
- born and raised in England. Went to Australia as an adult.
- known for his ability to break horses and was nicknamed "Breaker."
- had a reputation for high standards of discipline and his ability to maintain it.
- very close friends with CPT Hunt. CPT Hunt and he were engaged to two sisters in
England. They asked to join the same regiment and squadron.
- commanded a detachment of Carbineers.
LT Peter Handcock
- Veterinary Lieutenant.
- did not know very much about being an officer but was skilled in handling
horses and enjoyed fighting.
- of Australian descent.
LT George Witton
- assigned to the Bushveldt Carbineers on 13 July 1901.
- of Australian descent.
CPT Simon Hunt
- commanded a detachment at Fort Edward.
- very close friends with LT Morant.
- killed on the night of 5 August 1901 while attacking a farmhouse at Duival's Kloof,
a spot 40 miles east of Fort Edward.
- wounded initially and then tortured and murdered by the Boers.
MAJ J.F. Thomas
- assigned to the New South Wales Mounted Rifles. Served as defense counsel to
LT's Morant, Handcock and Witton.
CPT Alfred Taylor
- special officer of the Intelligence Department.
- lived a number of years in Africa among the natives.
- selected and sent to the Transvaal by Lord Kitchener due to his expertise of the area.
Bushveldt Carbineers
- formed in Capetown and Pretoria in early 1901 for service in the Northern Transvaal.
- consisted of 350 soldiers.
- comprised of the following units: 2nd Wiltshire Regiment, 2nd Gordon Highlanders,
a section of Royal Field Artillery and a detachment of Royal Garrison Artillery.
- commanded by Colonel Hall.
Sequence of Events:
13 July 1901 - LT Witton joins the Bushveldt Carbineers.
05 August - CPT Hunt is killed at Duival's Kloof.
06 August - News of CPT Hunt's death reaches Fort Edward. LT Morant organizes
a patrol in pursuit of the Boers that killed CPT Hunt.
07 August - CPT Hunt's body is discovered by LT Morant.
08 August - A Boer soldier, named Visser is captured. Visser is wearing a British tunic
and a pair of trousers, both belonging to CPT Hunt.
- LT Morant orders Visser shot by a firing squad.
23 August - LT Morant orders 6 Boer prisoners shot.
LT's Morant, Handcock and Witton encounter the German missionary, Hesse.
25 August - LT Handcock discovers the body of the dead missionary.
October 1901 - LT Morant's detachment is relieved at Fort Edward and returns to Peitersburg.
LT's Handcock and Witton return to Peitersburg.
22 October - LT's Morant, Handcock and Witton are placed under close arrest pending a
court of inquiry. They are charged with the following:
Charge 1 - "Complicity in the death of a prisoner named Visser".
Charge 2 - "Complicity in the death of 6 other Boers".
Charge 3 - "Complicity in the death of Mr. Hesse, a German missionary".
- court of inquiry is convened.
January 1902 - Bushveldt Carbineers Regiment is disbanded.
16 January - Courts-martial of LT's Morant, Handcock and Witton at Peitersburg,
Transvaal by order of Lord Kitchener, Commander of the Forces of South Africa.
29 January - LT Morant is found guilty of murdering the Boer prisoner, Visser.
4 February - LT's Morant, Handcock and Witton are found guilty of murdering
6 Boer prisoners.
17 February - LT's Morant and Handcock are found not guilty of murdering the
German missionary, Hesse.
27 February - LT's Morant and Handcock are executed by firing squad.
The Trial
Order of Testimony:
1. CPT Donald Robertson
2. Sergeant Major
3. Scout
4. LT Breaker Morant
5. CPT Alfred Taylor
6. COL Ian Hamilton
7. Corporal
8. LT Breaker Morant
9. LT Peter Handcock
Counsel for the Prisoners:
1. The Manual of Military Law states, "Retaliation is military vengeance; it takes place when
an outrage committed on one side is avenged by a similar act on the other." In times of war,
retaliation and revenge are justifiable. Rules that apply in peace do not apply in war.
2. CPT Hunt had told his subordinates on numerous occasions that prisoners were not to be
taken. CPT Hunt had received orders from COL Hamilton, Military Secretary to Lord Kitchener,
that prisoners were not to be taken. LT's Morant, Handcock and Witton were simply
following orders. Numerous witnesses testified that CPT Hunt had given instructions that no
prisoners were to be taken. Additionally, articles appeared in Australian newspapers during
November 1901 that Lord Kitchener had ordered that all Boers captured wearing British
tunics were to be shot. British military regulations state that in time of peace, a person caught
wearing a military uniform, when not authorized to do so, would be fined. However, in time of war,
that person could be put to death.
3. The three LT's were charged with the crime of murder, not as principals, but as accessories
to the fact. However, there had been no charges brought against the soldiers who comprised
the firing squad. If the principals were allowed to escape justice, so should the accessories.
Prosecution:
1. LT's Morant, Handcock and Witton were able to be tried as accessories to murder because
according to the statue law of England, an accessory can be tried before, after or with a principal
felon, regardless of the guilt or innocence of the principal.
2. The Manual for Military Law states, "an officer is responsible for the carrying out of even
lawful commands which result in injury and is responsible for the carrying out of obviously
illegal and improper commands from superiors." That LT's Morant, Handcock and Witton were
only following orders is not a valid defense for their actions.
3. Retaliation is legitimate according to the Manual of Military Law. Retaliation is defined as,
"the deliberate and authoritative taking of measures of reprisal in response to some action by the
enemy contrary to the customs of war." This does not allow an officer to shoot a prisoner of
war in his control. There was no evidence that Visser was responsible for CPT Hunt's death.
Judge Advocate:
1. Two wrongs do not make a right. The commission of a wrongful act is not justification for the
commission of another wrongful act. The first wrongful act of the killing of CPT Hunt does not
justify the wrongful act of killing the Boer prisoners.
2. Retaliation is an extreme right of war and must be used only as a last resort and by someone in
authority. The first principle of war is that an armed enemy which resists can be killed through
legitimate means. Once that enemy is unarmed and no longer resists they are to be treated as a
prisoner of war with the rights that such status guarantees.
3. Officers are responsible for the subsequent consequences of their orders. Therefore an officer
who orders the execution of prisoners of war is responsible for their death even though he/she did
not personally shoot them.
4. Col Hamilton, Military Secretary to Lord Kitchener, clearly denied in his testimony that he had
given orders to CPT Hunt that no prisoners were to be taken alive. Additionally, he clarified that
he had never spoken to CPT Hunt regarding his duties in the Northern Transvaal.
The Verdict:
1. Charge 1 - the murdering of the Boer prisoner, Visser.
LT Morant was sentenced to death by firing squad.
2. Charge 2 - the murdering of the 6 Boer prisoners.
LT's Morant, Handcock and Witton were sentenced to death by firing squad.
LT Witton's sentence was commuted to life imprisonment by Lord Kitchener.
3. Charge 3 - the murdering of the German missionary, Hesse.
LT's Morant and Handcock were acquitted.
DISCUSSION
1. What were the major points in the defense of the actions of LT's Morant, Handcock
and Witton?
See The Trial above.
2. What were the major points in the prosecution of the actions of LT's Morant,
Handcock and Witton?
See The Trial above.
3. What was the Judge Advocate's rationale for his verdicts?
See The Trial above.
4. Were the executions of LT's Morant and Handcock just, in light of their actions?
It is imperative to relate to the First Class cadets that in spite of their reasons (just or unjust)
LT's Morant and Handcock were guilty of committing war crimes. They were both responsible
for the execution of defenseless prisoners of war. The moral ethical dilemma in this movie is the
choosing of the easier wrong over the harder right by these two LT's. They chose to retaliate
against the Boers by committing atrocities themselves. Rather than taking the harder right of
properly securing POW's and so forth, LT's Morant and Handcock succumbed to their emotions
and frustrations. The defense that,"everyone's doing it" and that, "I was only following orders"
did not absolve them of their actions.
5. Is Breaker Morant a hero or a villain?
During the course of the movie, Breaker Morant is seen as a competent and brave leader of men.
He is confident with a flair for poetry. However in reality, he is a villain - a leader guilty of war
crimes. Once the audience works through his glamorous facade, LT Morant is simply a man
who takes justice into his own hands.
(Information is derived from Scapegoats of the Empire by Lieutenant George Witton).
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