NAM.1967-05-67-1

The Attack on Cronje’s Force at Vedute Drift near Paardeberg, 1900. Oil on canvas, signed and dated lower left ‘G D Giles 1900’, by Godfrey Douglas Giles (1857-1941), 1900. Panoramic view, the retreating forces of the Boer leader, Piet Cronje, surprised at a crossing of the Modder River, by General French's cavalry brigade. On 17 February 1900 during the Boer War (1899-1902), Lieutenant General John French's cavalry brigade, which had fortuitously arrived from Kimberley, surprised the retreating forces of the Boer leader, Cronje, at a crossing of the Modder River. Accompanied by their families, the Boers chose to take up a defensive position on the north bank of the river. Here they successfully resisted a frontal attack by Major General Lord Kitchener on 18 February, but lack of supplies and a continuing bombardment forced their surrender a few days later. Paardeberg was the first major British victory of the war, resulting in over 4,000 Boer prisoners. ‘The Graphic’ employed Giles, a veteran of the 1st Sudan War (1884-1885), as a special artist during the Boer War; he was present at the Relief of Kimberley and the Capture of Cronje. (See also 1967-05-68)

Paardeberg, Battle of, 1900 (Boer War 1899-1902)