The Jameson Raid (German as: "Jameson Raid") was a pro-British invasion of irregular items in the South African Republic (Transvaal), which lasted until January 2, 1896 by December 29, 1895 and by Leander Starr Jameson was cited. It was intended from the Cape Colony from an uprising of mainly British foreign workers ( Uitlanders support) in Transvaal and eventually to annex the area to the British territory.  The Raid indeed failed, however, was an important step in the Second Boer War .
The raid sparked in the wake an international crisis: Wilhelm II. , Congratulated the President of the Transvaal Paul Kruger with the so-called Kriiger telegrampersonally to victory, which resulted in both the German Empire and the United Kingdom to a nationalist wave and both countries strongly alienated .
The South African Republic was inhabited at that time of about 30,000 Boers. In addition, about 60,000 lived Uitlanders (foreigners) in the country, mainly British and German who worked in mining. To counteract this demographic imbalance and any British possession claims (the South African Republic had already been under British administration from 1877 to 1881), adopted the Boer government laws that the Uitlanders denied political and economic equality. Especially among British Uitlanders this led to considerable discord. This culminated in the planning of a coup which was to overthrow the Boer government. The political leadership of Uitlanders was the Reform Committee in Johannesburg . 
Part of the plan was the deployment of pro-British military units on the border of Bechuanaland to the Transvaal , which should come to the uprising of Uitlanders quickly to help.  On the assumption were the units Leander Starr Jameson, the chief administrator of Rhodesia . The force was approximately 600 men strong: 400 members of the Matabeleland Mounted Police and 200 volunteers . The armament consisted of rifles , six Maxim machine guns and three piece lighter artillery . 
The aim of the Jameson raid was to march to Johannesburg and to support the coup, which should take place simultaneously. The raid was in mid 1895 by Prime Minister of the Cape Colony, Cecil Rhodesplanned. The action was financed primarily by the German-British Alfred Beit .  However, In the embodiment, it soon came to significant delays. 
Frustrated by the delays decided Jameson, to act on their own. He sent a telegram to Rhodes, where he informed him of his intentions, and crossed with his troops on December 29, the border with the Transvaal towards Johannesburg. The British Colonial Secretary Joseph Chamberlain was, although he sympathized with the aims of raids, with the unappealing. He instructed the Governor-General of the Cape Colony, to distance themselves from Jameson's action and warned Rhodes that the mine licenses would be in danger if public would, that the prime minister of the Cape Colony was involved in the raid. All British colonists were instructed not to support Jameson.
Jameson met first resistance when it came to a brief exchange of fire with a Boer outpost on 1 January. At noon, he met another small Buren unit that had dug in and blocking the road to Johannesburg. This is Jameson's troops delivered several hours firefight that cost them a few men and many horses. Towards evening Jameson withdrew and marched southeast to drop the Boers in the flank. However, the Boers and followed him on the morning of January 2 met Jamesons exhausted troops on stronger Boer units and artillery, which they at Doornkop (west of present-day Soweto ) already expected. In the ensuing firefight Jameson lost 30 men before he realized that the situation is hopeless and the Boer commander Piet Cronjé returned. The survivors were then in Pretoria prison. 
The Boer government handed the surviving participants of the raid later the British for trial. The prisoners were brought to London and the government of the Transvaal received compensation in the amount of one million pounds from the British South Africa Company . Several members of the Reform Committee were sentenced to death; the sentences were later commuted to long prison sentences.  Jameson was accused of guiding the raids in England. Meanwhile, he was hailed by the British press and public who interpreted his defeat as a victory. He was sentenced to 15 months in prison, of which he only five months in Holloway dismounted. 
From 1904 to 1908, Jameson Prime Minister of the Cape Colony and finally one of the founders of the Union of South Africa .
The affair burdened the already tense Anglo-Boer ratio that ultimately the Second Boer War led, additionally. As a result of the failed raid Rhodes resigned as prime minister of the Cape Province. 
The raid was considered by the governments of France, Germany and Russia as controlled by the British government. 
Further escalation resulted from the subsequent Kruger telegram in which the German Emperor Wilhelm II. The President of the South African Republic , Paul Kruger congratulated for defense of the attack, the Boer Republic recognized and offered her support. The at that time already frosty relations between the United Kingdom and the German Empirereached thereby a new low.