The 2nd Manchesters was mobilized into a new 8th Division going to South Africa for the war. 930 officers and men of the regiment left Southampton in the "SS Bavarian" in March 1900, and in April arrived in Natal as reinforcements. Both battalions participated in the offensive that followed the relieving of Ladysmith, Kimberley and Mafeking. After the fall of Bloemfontein and Pretoria, the Boer commandos transitioned to guerrilla warfare. The 2nd Manchesters operated in the Orange Free State, searching farms and burning those suspected of housing commandos. The war ended with the signing of the Treaty of Vereeniging in May 1902. The 2nd battalion stayed in South Africa throughout the war. Four months later 340 officers and men of the battalion left Cape Town on the SS "Michigan" in late September 1902, arriving at Southampton in late October, when they were posted to Aldershot.