Episode 23 - Kitchener, Cronje and the Battle of Paardeberg

The siege of Kimberley has been lifted and the enigmatic and colorful General French and his 5000 strong cavalry are in charge of the city. The Boers have withdrawn just in time to avoid being caught by the flying column which had itself suffered from the speed of the trip between the Riet River and Kimberley. We heard last week how hundreds of horses dropped dead and the great flying columm was now a limping wreck, only about 1400 horses remained in operational health. De Beer’s diamond kingpin Cecil John Rhodes had demanded he be saved and his wailing had led to the rush to Kimberley. But in so doing, French had overstretched his horses and men and they were exhausted. The commander in Chief of the British Army Corps, Lord Roberts, was tracking the boer force of around 5000 which had retreated north eastwards towards Bloemfontein from their trenches. It was a strange cavalcade, oxwagons and horses and carts with the Boers entire families on board, moving at around 20 kilometers a day. So we arrive at another destructive battle where Lord Kitchener was to play an unfortunate role and condemned hundreds of his own men through his infatuation with action.