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Military History – South Africa – Europe – England 19th Century
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habit of issuing all orders verbally. In person he could not communicate sufficiently and without
staff to carry his orders he could not co-ordinate his forces. By evening the attacks had halted with
serious losses, including that of Colonel O. C. Hannay who had led his Mounted Infantry on a futile
charge directly ordered by Kitchener. Another blow came with the arrival of Vecht-general
Christiaan De Wet from the south. The energetic Boer seized Kitchener’s Kopje and the Stinkfontein
farm and kopjes, thereby threatening the British rear.
Lord Roberts arrived on the morning of 19 February to take command and the siege began. De
Wet heliographed Cronjé and sent Danie Theron secretly with a message to get the fighting men out
and surrender the non-combatants, but the old man and his followers refused. The laager was shelled
continuously and sniping took its toll on both sides. On 21 February, with his 75mm Krupp and his
Pom-Pom running low on ammunition, and with another plea to Cronjé refused, De Wet withdrew,
pursued by the British. In the early morning of 27 February the Royal Canadian Regiment attacked
and, although they did not break into the laager, it was more than the defenders could stand. White
flags appeared. General Smith-Dorrien remarked that so many men popped out of the ground that it
was like the resurrection. Cronjé and all his men surrendered, more than 4,000 people altogether,
while British losses came to around 303 killed and some 900 wounded. It was the first notable
British victory of the war and, what was more, occurred on the anniversary of the Battle of Majuba,
the famous Boer victory of 1881.
See also:
Kimberley, Relief of; Magersfontein, Battle of; Waterval Drift, Action at.
Reference:
Baker, Anthony, Battles and Battlefields of the Anglo-Boer War 1899–1902 (Milton Keynes, The
Military Press, 1999); Carver, Michael, The NAM Book of the Boer War (London, Sidgwick &
Jackson, 1999); De Wet, Christiaan, Three Years War (London, Archibald Constable, 1902);
Jones, Huw G., and Meurig G. M., A Gazetteer of the Second Anglo-Boer War 1899–1902
(Milton Keynes, The Military Press, 1999); Marix Evans, Martin, The Boer War: South Africa
1899–1902 (Oxford, Osprey Publishing, 1999); Pakenham, Thomas, The Boer War (London,
Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1979; Abacus, 1992).
Paterson, A. B. (Banjo),
1864–1941
The poet Andrew Barton Paterson was born in Narambla, near Orange, New South Wales. He
became the Sydney Morning Post’scorrespondent in South Africa and wrote vivid reports of the
Boer War which undoubtedly influenced Australian public opinion. He was critical of British
conduct in the war, first the manner of supervising the surrender of weapons by Boers seeking
amnesty, and secondly the policy of land clearance.
On the former he wrote: “These old weapons they [the Boers] solemnly
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