 Complete the following phrase:  Chamberlain was in charge of the war from his base in the Colonial Office. The Prime Minister rubber-stamped his decisions. Boer regular army units outnumbered the British 3:1 on the front lines and quickly besieged the towns of Ladysmith, Mafeking and Kimberley. Some ten thousand Cape Afrikaners joined the Boers. In mid-December 1899, during Black Week, the British Army suffered reverses at Stormberg, 