Episode 33 - Lord Roberts takes Kroonstad & the Canadians march

Mafikeng is still besieged, but columns of British soldiers are advancing on the town from both the North and South. The Boers are falling back across both the Free State and Natal fronts. President Steyn of the Free State is about to retreat still further north from his temporary capital, Kroonstad, while in the Natal theatre of operations, the Boers are finding General Redvers Buller more than a match as the burghers vascillate between farming and fighting. Its been seven months of grind in a war that the British thought would take a few weeks. It was supposed to be a relatively inexpensive clash launched ostensibly to secure the important gold mines of Johannesburg for the Empire but has become expensive and politically taxing. Before quitting Kroonstad which is around 120 kilometers north of Bloemfontein on the main road and railway line from the Cape to Johannesburg .. a number of crucial meetings have been held by the Boers. These are led by President Steyn who continues to be a source of strength for the defenders, secure in his knowledge that they are fighting a just war against an invasion of Empire. But as we know, believing your cause is just doesn’t mean success is guaranteed